Blogging Therapy
« exploring healthy therapy & counseling »

By Marti Granizo-O’Hare

“I became a lawyer 20 years ago to represent children’s rights. I became a mediator to assist partners restructure their lives in the face of a divorce, and in doing so minimize the deleterious effects of separation.”

More and more couples are participating in divorce mediation to effectively communicate about their financial and parenting matters. Particularly where families are involved, all other dispute resolution processes are dwarfed by the advantages and benefits of the mediation process. The legal fees, costs and emotional strain entailed in starting a court action against a life partner can be daunting. Although, mediation has been in existence for decades, in the past 10 years it has progressively gained recognition as a preferred alternative dispute process to litigation and attorney negotiated settlements. Among the reasons for its growth, is the fundamental objective of the mediation process: to assist both parties in effectively communicating and negotiating solutions which are best for them, their family and their situation. Mediation seeks to empower both parties by providing information in a neutral manner, respecting and supporting each individual’s rights and feelings, acting as a resource for professional referrals, and ultimately facilitating what often can be a difficult-and at times, tumultuous situation.

What is Mediation?

Mediation is a dispute resolution process which assist parties’ communications for agreement. (See: mediate.com/articles/what.cfm). It is voluntary and confidential, and is conditioned on the informed consent of parties to actively participate in the process. It is a dispute resolution process which honors and is predicated on the self -determination of the participants involved. The parties have control over how they want the process to proceed and they have total control over what agreements are reached as a result of their participation in the process. Mediation is an all-inclusive process. The active involvement of the parties’ attorneys, third party professionals such as financial advisors or therapists, is always available to the parties and at the parties’ discretion. Read the rest of this entry »

A GoodTherapy.org Featured Column written by Cedar Barstow, M.Ed., C.H.T.

Click here to contact Cedar and/or see her GoodTherapy.org Profile

A comment from Todd in response my most recent GoodTherapy.org Ethics Column, touched me. How brave and sincere. And what an important question! I tend to focus on right use of power as any use of personal and professional power to heal harm, repair harm, reduce harm, and facilitate the common good. Inspiring, yes. But given our personal history with power and our dominant cultural frame for power (force), how do we get there? How really do we change historic and embedded habits, beliefs, and patterns?

Here’s what Todd says: “I grew up in a forceful household and that caused me to be the same way in my own home. I do not like it but that was how I was trained and even why I try to do things differently I always find myself back in that forceful position and way of handling things. It is the only way that I know. My kids I know hate me for that. How do I make that change to be a more collaborative person instead of what I am?”

Again, thanks for asking this question. As a psychotherapist and teacher, here’s my take on the process of changing at the level you are seeking. Notice which one or ones appeal to you and experiment with them as tools to help you shift into a more effective and satisfying set of responses.

Notice Something Isn’t the Way You’d Like it to Be
You’ve already taken the first and biggest step. Using your situation, Todd, as an example: You can see how you want to use your power with your kids (and, I assume in other areas of your life); and you can see the negative impact of the way you have been using your power. (Your kids hate you for it.) How painful that must be. Trying is important, but as you notice, not quite sufficient for change.
Read the rest of this entry »

A GoodTherapy.org News Update

It’s no secret that a good night’s rest is a key ingredient of a happy and healthy waking life. In modern societies where time is often seen as a commodity and stress prevails among much of the population, getting a night of quality, undisturbed sleep is often seen as a luxury. But the need for adequate rest is clear, as it affects everything from mood to productivity to physical health. Recently, a study was performed to understand the impact of sleep on romantic relationships, and as you might have guessed, there is a clear correlation between the quality of sleep a couple receives and the perceived quality of their interactions.

The study followed twenty nine couples over the course of a week; each individual was asked to record their thoughts on the quality of interactions during the day, as well as information about their sleep during the night. While the information recorded about interactions was necessarily subjective to a certain degree, the trend was clear: those couples who received a poor night of sleep experienced a decrease in the quality of interactions the following day. To make matters more difficult, women who recorded poor experiences during the day subsequently received a lower quality in sleep that night, as did their partners.

This “vicious cycle” of sleep and social interaction may have important implications for therapists and counselors, especially those who work with couples. While there are a range of methods involved in working out differences and creating a positive, rewarding relationship, the benefits of working out any differences before heading off to bed can be included as a valuable tool in the arsenal of healthy relationships. And getting quality sleep may become a more pressing prescription.

©Copyright 2009 by http://www.GoodTherapy.org - All Rights Reserved.

A GoodTherapy.org News Update

Over the past several decades, the emergence of powerful new drugs has made recovery possible for many people who had previously struggled with other methods. While there are advocates of medication for use in mental health treatments as well as fervent opponents, however, the prevalence of these drugs tends to be collectively understood as inordinately high, especially in wealthy Western societies. Stressing the need for quality, comprehensive therapy for clients intent on resolving their issues, many professionals have jumped on the bandwagon of educating the public about their range of choices when it comes to seeking mental health treatment. Recently, famed writer/psychologist Richard Bentall, who has previously published award-winning books on the mental health fields, has released a tome which underscores the need for a collective makeover of the psychiatric landscape, a book which has firmly ensconced itself in the effort to bring about more therapy and less drug dependency. Read the rest of this entry »

A GoodTherapy.org Featured Column written by Sarah Jenkins, MC, LPC

Click here to contact Sarah and/or see her GoodTherapy.org Profile

I am writing this article as the plane I’m on rises to join a sky that clamors to support and embrace it. And as I struggle to wrestle my unruly, petulant judgments about air travel, I find myself reflecting on the actual journey that I have taken. Not a vacation, but my return to from where I lived most of my years as a young adult. I had returned to Virginia to help my mother, and all of her memories packed in unassuming boxes, as they travel to their new home in Arizona.

The process of moving my mother, and our history in Virginia also comes on the heels of a dear friend’s request to write a letter for his parents as part of a scrapbook in celebration of their anniversary. And as both of these experiences ask for my reflection upon “the past,” I find that they also make me consider the idea of “attachment” and “impermanence.” Maybe you can relate.

The classic saying about change is that change is the only thing that is truly predictable; nevertheless, and as my trip to Virginia serves to remind me, no matter what one is attached to, it is not “permanent.” Thought it may be uncomfortable, and illicit strong reactions as you consider it, impermanence is what is permanent. Everything, and anything in life, is temporary, even this very moment. For while we may seek to get attached to things, people, events, substances, emotions, money, objects, beliefs, perceptions of others, even memories of the past, and ourselves, it is predictable that things do end. We just do all that we can to avoid it. Read the rest of this entry »

A GoodTherapy.org News Update

For many therapists and other mental health professionals, the symptoms of obsessive compulsive disorder, or OCD, are fairly clear. But for parents of children who suffer from related difficulties, it’s not always a straightforward matter to distinguish between positive and unhelpful behaviors, and sometimes parents’ efforts to help their children can have the opposite effect. Validating the behaviors associated with OCD is a common, and often unintentional, result of parents’ reactions to their children’s symptoms. But through consultation with a mental health professional and a better understanding of how OCD tends to work, parents can provide the care they seek to bestow upon their children without worsening symptoms.

A study recently published in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology has revealed that a large number of families engage in what the study terms as “accommodations,” which typically take place when parents wish to soothe upset over a particular worry or concern experienced by a child. Such accommodations can include assistance in carrying out obsessive rituals, or the verbal assurance of certain conditions about which the child is worried.

The study, conducted at the University of Florida, aimed to discover if therapy delivered to both young clients and their families could achieve more positive results, and to determine whether such therapies impacted the families as well as the children involved. Significantly, families who participated in the study showed a decrease in the occurrences of accommodating behaviors, in a direct relationship with the improvement of the child’s symptoms. The study may have important implications for the fields of child and family therapy, as the message that including family members in treatment is continuing to gain momentum throughout these fields.

©Copyright 2009 by http://www.GoodTherapy.org - All Rights Reserved.

A GoodTherapy.org News Update

Though there have been many positive trends in the worlds of therapy and mental health treatments over the past few years, not all areas have been improving. Amidst a chaotic and stressful society with increasingly tight demands on youth, eating disorders have become a more prominent issue in the United States and around the world than many had imagined, touching the lives of children –especially adolescent girls– with alarming frequency. A great deal of treatments and programs have been developed in an effort to help curb the development and pervasiveness of anorexia, bulimia, and other sufferances, but one approach proposed by Houston psychotherapist Mary Jo Rapini takes an angle that’s close to home.

Specifically, Rapini’s focus is on the relationship between girls and their fathers. While it’s well known that healthy relationships between children and their parents are essential for positive childhoods and the creation of many proactive behaviors, the specific interactions of fathers and daughters as they relate to issues of body image are less often discussed. Rapini notes that fathers can help their daughters achieve a more positive body image by participating in healthy family activities and being open about the paternal love a father feels for his child.

Though the intention is rarely present, Rapini contends, fathers sometimes contribute to their daughters’ difficulties with self-image and self-esteem by focusing on their appearance –or by ignoring it altogether. Read the rest of this entry »

The GoodTherapy.org Team is pleased to announce the release of GoodTherapy.org Version 3.0, our updated and highly improved website and therapist directory. The Team has been working on GoodTherapy.org V.3.0 for over a year and is excited to introduce all the upgraded features of the new system. It’s taken much longer than anticipated to finalize V.3.0 and we appreciate all the patience our members have shown in waiting for its release. GT 3.0 includes:

• More appealing and attractive design
• Updated Member’s Area
• Easier to register and cancel participation in Free CEU events
• Downloadable CEU certificates
• Archives of all past recorded events for your listening pleasure
• A more powerful search function for potential clients
• Optional “Verified Credentials Seal” added to your profile
• Redesigned Membership Seal for your promotional material or website
• Redesigned Search Results Page
• Redesigned Profile Page complete with maps to your office, optional video and audio clips, and other goodies
• Secure Online Messaging Center to view emails from Potential Clients
• Online Profile Stats Tracking, to track how potential clients are finding and contacting you

The best part about GoodTherapy.org V.3.0 is that it is designed with search engine optimization in mind and includes the latest technology which will enable GoodTherapy.org to rise even higher in the search engine results.

We hope you love the new website as much as we do. Enjoy!

The GoodTherapy.org Team

A GoodTherapy.org News Update Presented by Jolyn Wells-Moran, PhD, MSW

Chances are good that someone you know suffered or will suffer from a major depressive episode (MDE), according to a nationwide study by the US government’s Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA’s 2007 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH)). An estimated 16.5 million people in the US, one in 13 adults aged 18 or over (7.5 percent), experienced major depression during the study’s one-year time-frame. While their May, 2009 news release reports that approximately two-thirds of people suffering from a major depressive episode sought help initially, less than half followed up with the recommended mental health professional counseling, took medication for the disorder or both. The research reveals why one-third did not seek even initial help, the rate of people who followed up with counseling or medication, the rates of depression among certain age groups and a significant general health association with the occurrence of a major depressive episode (MDE).

“The most frequently reported reasons for not receiving mental health services among these adults was not being able to afford the cost (43.2 percent), feeling they could handle the problem on their own (29.3 percent), not knowing where to go for services (18.1 percent), not having the time (16.7 percent), having health insurance that did not cover enough treatment (11.3 percent), and concerns about confidentiality (11.1 percent),” according to the SAMHSA news release.

Almost 45,000 civilian, non-institutionalized adults participated in the study. The research found that young people, aged 18 to 25, were slightly more likely to experience a major depressive episode (8.9 percent) as compared to people in the age group of 26 to 49 years (8.5), and that people aged 50 or over were less likely to experience it than both groups (5.8 percent). Almost a quarter (24 percent) of the people who experienced major depression and saw a doctor or mental health professional did not use a prescription medication for the disorder. The rate of MDE among people who reported poor or fair health was greater than three times as many as those who reported excellent health. Read the rest of this entry »

A GoodTherapy.org News Update

We’ve all seen the occasional Dear Abby article or glanced at the column of a local love “expert,” in which writers send in their romance woes and are served a paragraph or two of opinion, sense, prejudice, or any number of slanted answers (with, of course, the occasional honest piece of advice). The dilemmas described in these pieces are often not so far removed from trials experienced by most people during the course of their love lives; concerns may include a suspected affair, feelings of guilt or inadequacy, disappointments in intimacy, and beyond, spanning the common conflicts that arise in romantic relationships. But while we might be able to relate to these concerns on a personal level, a new study shows that we tend to avoid such columns and articles when we’re feeling unlucky in love.

The study, a joint effort between researchers at the Ohio State University in the American Midwest, and the University of Erfurt and the Dresden University of Technology in Germany, sought to understand the ways in which people use and interact with media in times of personal distress. The idea that we tend to avoid touchy subjects may not seem very surprising, but the study uncovered a tendency to seek out advice selectively; while scorned lovers avoided romance advice, those enduring difficult financial periods embraced the help of related columns and articles. Read the rest of this entry »

A GoodTherapy.org News Update

It’s no secret that a lot of modern insurance companies harbor a preference for what they view as the most cost-effective measures when it comes to addressing emotional well-being and health in general. In relation to therapy, this attitude has often lead to a hasty endorsement of short-term therapies, especially in conjunction with various medicines. But Falk Leichsenring, a professor of Psychotherapy Research at the University of Giessen in Germany, has long suspected that this hasty endorsement is a departure from understanding which types of therapy are most effective.

Based on the extensive review of a collection of twenty three in-depth studies involving over a thousand participants, Leichsenring set out to pinpoint the therapies that clients found most beneficial, and with which therapists themselves were most satisfied. What he found was that while short term therapies usually had some degree of impact on the lives and prosperity of clients, in-depth courses of therapy involving psychodynamic elements and techniques were responsible for greater rates of achievement. Over the course of several months or even a few years, long term therapy embracing the person as a whole and taking the time to look at their backgrounds, memories, relationships, and personal observations is capable of serving as the foundation for profound change, the study suggests, while less involved treatments can fail to address deep-rooted feelings and ideas. Read the rest of this entry »

A GoodTherapy.org News Update

The idea of putting the pieces of our lives together only to have them suddenly halted in an accident in the prime of our years is, for most of us, well, paralyzing. Yet that’s exactly what happened in the tale of Daniel Gottlieb, a New Jersey psychologist and family therapist whose journey through the mental health profession was remarkably turbulent. Through a series of trials which may have claimed the professional aspirations of many, this Daniel rediscovered his love for helping people reach their full potential and conquer their concerns.

After establishing a therapy practice and settling down with his wife, Daniel’s progress toward achieving the dream he’d visualized seemed to be putting him within close reach of his own concept of success. But at the age of 33, the budding counselor was involved in a serious car accident which left him paralyzed from the neck down. While coping with the ensuing trauma and adjusting to the new constraints and demands of day to day life, the therapist experienced another round of difficult times; his wife divorced him and several members of his immediate family passed away, all within the scope of a few years. Daniel recounts an especially dark night spent in the intensive care unit of a hospital, feeling oppressed by his life and the events that had recently occurred and established themselves as the core of his reality. That night, a distraught nurse approached him asking for advice or assistance in coping with the death of a loved one, and as Daniel helped guide her through her grief, he realized a profound well of compassion and love of life within himself. Read the rest of this entry »

A GoodTherapy.org News Update Presented by Jolyn Wells-Moran, PhD, MSW

According to a new research study, couples who lose a premature baby and communicate their personal grief with each other fare better than couples who don’t. The researchers indicate that couples who don’t communicate with each other about their bereavement frequently believe that the other person cares less or not all. They point out that women are generally more communicative about their sadness than men. This may mean that the female partner believes her male partner doesn’t care or cares less than she does.

Surprising to the researchers, though, was that the male partners in the study were more often in a deeper state of grief than their female partners. The researchers also said that the couples who communicated their grief with each other, called concordant grief, experienced what is referred to as significant post-traumatic growth in their relationships; more intimacy and even better communication. Read the rest of this entry »

A GoodTherapy.org News Update

In the mental health care professions, there is a vast collection of specialties ranging from a focus on specific events or periods in life to different kinds of care. The great diversity of concentrations and applications within the field can achieve great things for clients and helps to propel the industry toward greater breakthroughs with collaboration and the benefits of a variety of perspectives. But when it comes to regulation surrounding mental health care, the distinctions between titles, degrees, and licensure can sometimes get caught up in misunderstandings or misapplications by legislators. One of the largest hubs of mental health care legislation in the United States is the Medicare program, which aims to provide services to many financially disadvantaged citizens, especially the elderly.

Until recently, America’s rural areas were faced with a piece of Medicare regulation that didn’t particularly make sense for their unique situations. The rules for the program stated that only psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, and clinical nurse specialists were able to bill Medicare for their services. While this may seem perfectly agreeable in many major metropolitan areas, a great deal of out-of-the-way places across the nation struggled to reconcile the rule with the fact that there simply weren’t any professionals with those specific credentials in their area. Rather, they relied on family and marriage therapists as well as licensed professional counselors to provide quality mental health care. Read the rest of this entry »

A GoodTherapy.org News Update

The pace and structure of modern life are undeniably different from the picture of daily living experienced hundreds of thousands of years ago. While we’ve accomplished many spectacular and meaningful things as we’ve progressed as a civilization (as well as some not-so-positive bits and pieces), we’ve also dramatically changed the way we live, from the most overarching principles of dwelling and working to details such as diet and sleep. When you take into account the fact that depression has exponentially multiplied in many moder populations, with rates sometimes doubling within the space of a single decade, it’s not too much of a stretch to wonder if these two major changes in mankind’s way of life have any telling relationship.

The investigation of what this relationship might look like has been the focus of a few academic inquiries into modern therapy and related topics lately, and a project at the University of Kansas has recently been exploring how re-creating some conditions of the hunter-gatherer lifestyle could potentially improve clients’ lives. The project encompasses a range of habits and practices, encouraging participants to spend more time outside in the sunlight and to eat Omega-3 fatty acids, substances commonly found in fish which have significantly decreased in many world populations. Participants are also involved in a regular exercise program, and make sure they receive a healthy amount of sleep. Through engaging activities, they achieve a higher level of social interaction than previously experienced, as well. Read the rest of this entry »

A GoodTherapy.org News Update

One of the most influential mental health texts used by modern professionals is the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, blessedly shortened by most to “DSM.” The last addition of the text, the so-called “DSM-IV,” has served as a basis for diagnosing, understanding, and treating the full scope of psychological syndromes for over fourteen years, and authorities have decided that it’s time to give the old book a new life. The need for fresh, relevant material is clear; if therapists and other mental health professionals are to deliver the quality of care their clients need, there must be a reliable and up-to-date foundation for describing common issues.

The DSM-V will be in production over the next eighteen months, involving a massive and widespread operation aimed at giving careful consideration to the modern body of knowledge surrounding psychological and medical issues. Many industry workers and academics are excited about the re-vamping, noting that the new edition is rumored to be more scientifically rigorous and far-reaching than the current text. New knowledge ideas that touch upon a wide range of syndromes, development, and treatment will be included when the DSM-V is released, allowing the psychotherapy community to offer their services and perform their research with invigoration and a cutting-edge angle on progress in the field.

Organizers have declared that the new edition will allow for more accessible information, discussing problems experienced at all levels of illness, rather than being limited to the most outstanding or severe instances. This shift to a more authoritative and applicable collection of data will allow professionals to make informed decisions and expand their understanding of mental health. The hope is also present that a classification system which recognizes how people can experience a particular diagnostic syndrome anywhere along a wide spectrum, from less extreme to more, will pave the way for changes in insurance reimbursement policies allowing for more diagnostic codes to be covered by health insurance. The new DSM will not be released until 2012, let’s hope it’s well worth the wait.

©Copyright 2009 by http://www.GoodTherapy.org - All Rights Reserved.

A GoodTherapy.org News Update

Pretty much everyone loves a comfortable stint in the sun, and the pleasure of being in sunlight is especially poignant after a long winter or rainy season. But the benefits of sunlight aren’t so fleeting; exposure to the sun allows the body to produce vitamin D, an important substance that’s essential for healthy functioning of the brain and the body. The benefits of vitamin D have been known for quite a while, but its dramatic impact on mental health has been extensively studied and exposed in a recent research project carried out by scientists at the University of Manchester. And as this substance plays such an important role in mind and mood, the study’s findings may help change the way therapy sessions are conducted. Published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, the study focused on the ability of vitamin D and its associated life choices –such as healthy exposure to sunlight– to boost everything from mood to memory.

The study has gained reliability through its use of a relatively large test group. Over three thousand men from various areas in Europe participated in the study, answering basic questions about their lifestyle, diet, and medical background. The participants were given a series of tests that focused on the many components of mental agility, and important component of which is mood. Results showed that those with higher levels of vitamin D were consistently more agile and emotionally stable than their lower-leveled counterparts. Interestingly enough, those participants over sixty years of age showed a marked improvement when exhibiting healthy levels of vitamin D, suggesting that proper intake becomes especially important later in life. Read the rest of this entry »

By Anne Ream ATR-BC, LPC

Click here to contact Anne and/or see her GoodTherapy.org Profile

Some years ago psychologists were pointing out the unrealistic expectation that some people have that their partners “should” be able to know what they want or “read their mind”. Indeed that is an unrealistic expectation and gradually we are learning the importance of speaking up and telling our partners what we need, want, feel or think. Being attuned to another person, however, is a vital skill for a good enough relationship.

Researchers report that nonverbal communication makes up between 80 to 93% of our communication process. Because nonverbal messages express emotions more genuinely, being attuned to others and ourselves results in more effective communication and better relationships. As relationships mature, we become more attuned to the nonverbal communication of our partner.

The ability to be attuned to others begins to develop when we are infants. If our caregivers are well attuned to us, understanding and responding appropriately to our nonverbal communications, we will learn how to be attuned to others, gradually, as we grow up. Attunement is a social skill that we learn best during early childhood. Unfortunately, that does not always happen. For instance, a mentally ill, depressed or alcoholic mother or father will not be able to be well attuned to her or his children. Their children will often grow up without being appropriately heard, understood or empathized with. Because of this, the children’s ability to recognize and understand their own emotions (self-awareness) will not develop well enough for them to recognize, understand and empathize with other’s emotions. Read the rest of this entry »

By Joanna Poppink, LMFT

Click here to contact Joanna and/or see her GoodTherapy.org Profile

Recovery is a noun that describes a continuing process. To start eating disorder recovery is to start a journey.

To be on that journey is to be on your path to health and emotional and intellectual development. Your path leads to your true self, to your inner resources of courage, creativity, self respect, strength and ability to be committed and dedicated.

Recovery from bulimia or anorexia or binge eating or compulsive eating is not just about making peace with food and developing healthy eating habits. Recovery is not just about developing or forcing yourself into living with a realistic sense of your body.

Recovery involves living a balanced life. It means feeling all you can feel and digesting your feelings so they inform and enrich your entire personhood. They don’t spill out for others to take care of. They don’t create such distress that you need to use food or drugs or sex or shopping or high drama or manipulations or dissociation to get relief.

Recovery is about being real in the real world. It is about having the ability to live, cope, adapt, work, love, play in freedom. It means being responsible for yourself and your actions. It means respecting and honoring boundaries so you can truly take care of yourself while respecting and being in relationship with others. Read the rest of this entry »

A GoodTherapy.org News Update

The vast majority of people who suffer from depression, anxiety, and related disorders are most likely able to find the source of their difficulties looming in patterns of thinking, stemming from unresolved trauma, or methods of coping with past events. Yet for some depression sufferers, a very physical problem may be present; a new study released by researchers with the University of Chicago has shown that the presence of breast tumors in laboratory mice was a significantly strong indicator of depressed or anxious behavior.

While the idea that a looming medical problem will likely have an adverse effect on overall mental health is certainly a valid one, the study suggests that the particular relationship between breast tumors and depression is especially powerful. After careful analysis of cytokines in the brain, the researchers concluded that the presence of tumors was enough to induce depressed and anxious symptoms in the animals. Of course, the results have little to no bearing on the idea that those with depression –a fair percentage of the national and global populations– are especially prone to breast or other cancers. But as the inverse appears to be true in the majority of cases, proponents of therapy and specialized care for patients with cancer may take the research as an important ally for advocacy and change. Read the rest of this entry »

A GoodTherapy.org News Update

Thanks to concerted efforts to raise awareness and understanding about eating disorders by special interest groups and medical practitioners around the country and across the planet, issues such as anorexia and bulimia are fairly well-known disorders whose grave effects on both emotional and physical health are widely acknowledged. Impacting the lives of scores of young women and other demographic groups with high instances of the disorders, anorexia and bulimia are generally looked upon as extremely debilitating and harmful. But there are some whose perspectives are in stark contrast to the norm; a growing community of “pro-ana” and “pro-bulimia” groups want professionals and the international community at large to regard the disorders as “lifestyle choices,” and are challenging the goals of mental health professionals who aim to improve the lives of the afflicted.

Websites championing anorexia and bulimia as “beautiful” and positive conditions have been gaining momentum over the past few years, primarily in the west but also as distant and seemingly unlikely as Malta, as a national news outlet reports. Such sites are dedicated to providing emotional and social havens for those with eating disorders, encouraging them to become as thin as possible through a variety of means. Some sites reportedly hold contests between members to see who can lose the most weight fastest; others offer “meal plans” containing dangerously low calories and nutrients. Read the rest of this entry »

A GoodTherapy.org News Update Presented by Jolyn Wells-Moran, PhD, MSW

Teenagers who are overweight, or believe they are, appear to be at higher risk of suicide, according to a new study published online in the Journal of Adolescent Health. This was found to be the same for girls and boys.

While the research results certainly can’t be said to be reliably predictive of any one teenager’s suicide risk, the study does help to support the view that teenagers with real or perceived weight problems should be particularly assessed for depression and suicidal thoughts – and that all teens should ideally be screened. Teenagers with depression and/or suicidal thoughts should then be referred for psychotherapy geared to these issues, and medically evaluated for possibly discernible physiological causes and treatments. The study included 14,000 US high school students, their body mass indexes (BMI) and beliefs concerning whether of not they are overweight, along with the rate of suicide attempts within the group. The analyses controlled for demographics and possible confounding variables.

Monica Swahn, an associate dean for research at the College of Health and Human Sciences and an associate professor in the Institute of Public Health at Georgia State University was the lead researcher. “We cannot only focus prevention strategies on those who are overweight and who are concerned about their weight, but we also need to include youth who feel that they are overweight even though they may not be,” Swahn said in a news release. Read the rest of this entry »

A GoodTherapy.org News Update

In the eyes of many people, the days spent in college are decidedly iconic; from carefree parties and trips to enlightening conversations and the opening up of new doors of experience and knowledge, the college years are often considered some of the best that modern life has to offer. Yet for a growing number of American college students, the period is marked with extreme stress, depression, and emotional difficulty. While some aspects of college life may contribute to negative emotions and experiences, recent accelerations of competition within schools and the extremely difficult job market, along with general financial woes, may be increasing the number of students whose occasional upsets are becoming fully-fledged and debilitating issues.

A poll conducted by the Associated Press in collaboration with MTV was recently administered to students at forty US colleges, asking participants to describe their thoughts and feelings on a range of topics, and to answer basic batteries of questions regarding their mental and emotional well-being. The results are significant; forty-two percent of participants reported feeling depressed, hopeless, or “down” several times within the two weeks prior to responding, and thirteen percent were shown to be at risk for some form of clinical depression. An alarming eleven percent of students reported having thoughts about self-harming or the idea that they’d be “better off dead.” Read the rest of this entry »

A GoodTherapy.org Featured Column written by Mary Ellen Barnes, Ph.D. & Ed Wilson, Ph.D., MAC

Click here to contact Mary Ellen and/or see her Profile
Click here to contact Ed and/or see his Profile

Last month we wrote about the first two of the “6 Secrets Ex-Drinkers Know That You Don’t, And 12 Step Programs Don’t Want You To Find Out.” We started with the notation that AA/12-Step based programs, 98% of US treatment programs, are based on premises that both research and experience indicate are not only unfounded, but actually prevent you from getting over your problems and leave you with less than a 5% chance of recovery over five years.

Here are Myths 3 and 4:

Myth #3 - An Adddict Must Hit Bottom

“Hitting Bottom” is a very destructive myth. Why would you wait until after you’ve lost you’ve everything to seek help? At that point, why would you bother to sober up?

Suppose for a moment that alcohol abuse actually were a disease. Then we’d be interested in prevention, then regular checkups, then early detection, then. Wait a minute…early detection? What happened to “hitting bottom?”

That’s the problem. With actual illnesses, we don’t wait until the patient is nearly dead before beginning treatment. Treatment is begun, good follow-up maintains progress, and changes in the patient’s life are instituted that will sustain the recovery. That’s an effective model.

It shouldn’t be surprising that this same process works well for diverting a client from alcohol abuse and dependence. The trouble is people have been discouraged - by mythology, stigma, and “lifelong recovery” - from getting help in the early stages when complete remission is not possible, likely, and relatively straightforward,.

How did that happen? Read the rest of this entry »

A GoodTherapy.org News Update

In the clutches of international financial difficulties and an economy that is proving to be difficult to manage at all levels, may states are grappling with tough decisions in terms of putting together a sound, reasonable, and acceptable budget. California is a prime example; with a massive debt and levels of unemployment hitting record highs, the state is looking at a series of difficult choices in deciding which services are most critical, and mental health is not exempt. Recently, state government proposed several measures aimed at allowing the Governor to achieve a balanced budget, one of which threatened to create significant problems for state mental health professionals, their clients, and California’s children in need of therapy.

The proposition, which was resoundingly voted down on Tuesday, would have amended the Mental Health Services Act, passed in 2004 and credited with making great strides for needy children and state psychotherapy programs at large. If the proposition had passed, approximately two hundred thirty million dollars per year, for a period of two years, would have been kept from the state’s mental health industry and related social programs, going instead towards facilitating a more attractive budget. The proposition would have had the greatest effect on programs for children and young adults. Read the rest of this entry »

A GoodTherapy.org News Update

Aversion therapies can be successful in helping people with addictions, who also wish to free themselves from the related behaviors, overcome their difficulties. Such therapies are commonly administered after a more psychodynamic approach is taken; the exploration of the causes of the addiction itself and its role within a person’s life is often able to facilitate positive change, but is sometimes ceased in favor of the more invasive and direct approach of aversion. Such therapy is, for the most part, handled with extreme care and is carried out by seasoned experts, as the potential for psychological harm is a concern.

All the more concerning, then, is the news recently developing in China in regards to a pediatric “internet addiction” clinic which claims to use aversion therapy to help kids kick the online habit. A growing complaint among the country’s parents is the time and energy children spend surfing the web, playing video games, and communicating with friends online, and some parents are apparently desperate for help. The Center for Curing Internet Addiction, located at a hospital in the eastern province of Shangdong, claims to be able to rid children and teens of undesirable internet-related behavior, but its staff as well as its methods are highly suspect. The clinic administers electro-convulsive therapy, or ECT, to children over a course of four and a half months, charging parents extra for early withdrawal from the program. Read the rest of this entry »

A GoodTherapy.org News Update

The prevalence of post-partum depression, or PPD, may seem out of place in a society that seems to unabashedly celebrate the processes of giving birth and becoming a mother. Yet many women experience PPD, which is widely recognized as having an adverse effect on infants as well as the relationship between a mother and her child. With this potential for long-term consequences in family relations in mind, a team of researchers with the Boston University School of Social Work set out to examine the efficacy and methodological details of modern therapies in the field. The study found that overwhelmingly, the integration of the infants themselves in therapy sessions was hailed as resulting in higher success rates and more deeply reaching change.

The researchers based their work on interviews with a panel of mental health professionals, comprised of an educator, psychologists, psychiatrists, and social workers, all of whom had twenty or more years’ worth of experience working with PPD patients. The interviewees described the ability of integrative therapies to help anchor the client in the present and create avenues of communication and understanding between a mother and her baby. Read the rest of this entry »

A GoodTherapy.org Featured Column written by Sarah Jenkins, MC, LPC

Click here to contact Sarah and/or see her GoodTherapy.org Profile

For as long as I could remember, they were my siblings. Faithful. Loving. Supportive. With me when I played, laughed, and cried, they were beside me all of the time. Showing me unconditional love and compassion, the dogs I cherished were a part of my family, just as I was a part of theirs. I even tried to blame them for things at times. “But, it wasn’t me, Mum, it was the dog.” Of course, that never worked. It still doesn’t.

Now, I am sure that a pet being a “family member” is not an unusual concept for many of you who would read this. In fact, I would imagine that, right now, you could even bring up an image of your first pet, and sense some kind of emotional, physical, or spiritual reaction. And, perhaps like me, you have known the powerful connection between your pet, and the love that they give you in return.

Perhaps you would wonder why I would chose to write about the power of the relationship between dogs and me, or your animals and you. But, I did so, not only because I love my “fur-kids,” but also because many of my clients have pets and consider them to be some of their best supports, their family. And let’s face it, for many, it may be all the family they have.

Maybe they were there when you learned to love, or had to bear the pain of losing it. Perhaps they sat by you as you experienced joy, happiness, and peace. But, no matter what your encounters with your animals, you know that, already, this article connects to your understanding of their love for you.
Read the rest of this entry »

By Gary Seeman, Ph.D.

Click here to contact Gary and/or see his GoodTherapy.org Profile

Awareness is Ever-Present

To be aware is to witness. And our witnessing selves are always there when we dream, [1] in daily activities, when feeling emotions, and in states of excitement or distress. We are constantly aware, though our focus may be clear or muddled. Without awareness, there is no consciousness. But awareness is hard to see. It is ever-present, like the air we breathe.

Although always present, awareness may not be remembered. For example, we may walk around a table while moving from one room to another. But we let our perception of the table recede from consciousness without storing memories that are easily retrieved. The encoding of memory depends in part on the intensity of experience, whether this intensity is influenced by the strength of a sensory perception or an emotional response.

We are self-aware when we attend to representations of experience - whether drawn from memory or visualizing a possible scenario. In psychotherapy, we train awareness on our lived experience to realize our hopes and goals and live more satisfying lives.

Every form of psychotherapy has methods to enhance awareness. This reflects the central role of improving the quality of awareness in the process of mental healing. Read the rest of this entry »