A GoodTherapy.org News Update Presented by Daniel Brezenoff, LCSW

February 22-29 has been declared “National Eating Disorder Awareness Week.” Major media outlets including MSNBC, USA Today and the Washington Post have provided coverage of related events and offer important information for people with eating disorders, their families and friends, and the general public.

Eating disorders are sometimes considered among the deadliest of mental health issues, accounting for about half-a-million deaths each year – a mortality rate of 20%, higher than any other disorder. Eating disorders affect mostly women; 9 of ten people diagnosed are female.

Despite an apparent rise in eating disorders nationally and internationally, primary care physicians often fail to spot their presence in patients, according to the most recent research. Eating disorders are best treated when caught early, so better identification of these conditions by doctors is extremely important.

NEDAW events include educational fairs in many major cities and on college campuses, as well as several televised segments on the subject. Interested persons can contact the National Eating Disorders Association at www.nationaleatingdisorders.org or by calling 800 931 2237.

©Copyright 2009 by GoodTherapy.org All Rights Reserved. Questions or concerns about the following article can be directed to the author or posted as a comment to this blog entry. Click here to contact Daniel and/or see his GoodTherapy.org Profile

A GoodTherapy.org News Update Presented by Daniel Brezenoff, LCSW

A new British study – with results that may mimic American trends to a significant degree, if past, similar research if any indication – found mental illness to be a stronger taboo than any of the other qualities studied, including homosexuality, bankruptcy, and alcoholism (in itself a mental illness, but considered as a separate condition by this survey and in much of the popular culture).

The survey of 2,000 people was commissioned by the charity coalition “Time to Change” in collaboration with the British Institute of Psychiatry. Just under one third of respondents reported they would find it difficult to admit publicly to being mentally ill. About one fifth said they would have trouble admitting to being gay, a difference of about 190 people, or ten percent. Read the rest of this entry

By Anne Ream ATR-BC, LPC

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

For many years, I felt uncomfortable when someone started talking about another person’s “attitude.” It always seemed as if the speaker was simply angry and wanted to make the other person change, often using their own negative attitude. When the angry party exploded with “I don’t like your attitude,” it was as if they fully expected the other person to magically manifest a better one. This did not make sense to me. As a result, I’ve done a lot of thinking about what an attitude really is.

In the course of cognitive behavioral studies I’ve learned that when it comes to the concept of an “attitude,” there are a number of factors involved. The first is a situation, the second is a collection of thoughts a person has about that situation, the third is a collection of feelings surrounding the situation, and the fourth is comprised of behaviors that result from these thoughts and feelings. Based on these factors, I asked the question “what part of the equation is an attitude?”. It’s not the situation, nor is it a thought or a feeling, so it must have something to do with behavior. Indeed, an attitude is a set of small behaviors. An attitude is comprised of facial expressions, tone of voice, and body language, all of which express an individual’s thoughts and feelings. Read the rest of this entry

A GoodTherapy.org Featured Column written by Judith Barr, MA, LMHC

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

When I was a little girl,
A grown up told me that if you would dig
all the way through the earth to the other side,
you would come out … and be in China.
I don’t know generally about the wisdom of telling that to a child.
What I do know …
it was an inspiration to me.
It taught me that no matter how hard the ground.
no matter how deep you have to go.
if you keep digging …
you will come out on the other side.
Metaphorically, transformationally,
that person gave me a great gift…
one I carry in my own heart and cells and hold
as I work with people individually and in groups.

Descending through the earth to the other side;
Climbing the mountain and going over the top;
Taking a biiiiig step up;
Swimming up a waterfall;
Diving deep into the ocean of life;
Coming through the birth canal;
Taking a leap of faith off the edge of all you have known…
Whatever your picture of this experience…
as many times as you and we have done this before,
we are preparing to do it once again
at a crucial point in life,
in the life of each of you,
and in the life of our world.

Voting is not enough . . . It is only the beginning.
Whether the outcome of the vote is what you wanted or not what you wanted, it is not enough. It is only the beginning.

We need to go deeper still. Read the rest of this entry

By Jason Wasser, LMFT

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

In the midst of a world economic crisis, millions of families will be challenged in ways that can cause significant negative effects to their lives. As a Marriage and Family Therapist here in South Florida, economic stress is one of the main reasons why a couple or family will initiate therapy with me. In fact, Viktor Gecas, professor of sociology and head of the Department of Sociology at Purdue University notes that “research shows that this kind of stress can lead to changes in family members and in family dynamics, such as husbands becoming irritable and wives becoming depressed, as well as more extreme problems such as mental health issues, alcoholism, drug abuse and family violence.”

How we learn to cope with this present situation is based on the resources that we have access to. Families that were already struggling before the present crisis may be hit the hardest. The friends and family members that they usually can count of in times of need may also be affected by their own economic woes. Read the rest of this entry

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

Address your stress reactions to the recession now, especially if you feel very stressed and have for days on end. That’s basically the advice of an article in the Chicago Tribune by reporter, Barbara Mahany. Psychotherapy and medications can help. The reporter interviewed a neuroscientist, a clinical psychologist, a clinical social worker, a rabbi-psychotherapist and an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences concerning the science of, and antidotes for, our recession stress. Also interviewed were a corporate communications executive and a scriptwriter-corporate freelance writer to discover how stress is effecting some people and how to successfully cope with it.

Neuroscience tells us that prolonged stress can cause changes in the brain and especially effect the cardiovascular and immune systems. It also tells us that the plasticity of the brain allows for some stress and there are ways we can become resilient, even under great stress. Taking care of yourself and enjoying your social network are general pieces of advice, but there’s depth to these easy-sounding maxims too: Eating well, exercising and getting enough sleep aren’t just casual recommendations, especially when under stress. Whether the stress results from something that has already happened, such as a lay-off or loss of a home, anticipation or uncertainty about such loss, or even losses of people you care about or your concern for the effects of the economic crisis on the broader population, stress can be damaging to mental and physical health. Read the rest of this entry

Though violence in Iraq has greatly diminished since the peak of the recent war, greatly traumatic events still take place on a regular basis and many Iraqis are left with not only physical, but emotional scars and remain in need of assistance. Unfortunately, the difficulty in securing modern medicine and health care is separated by a magnitude of ease in comparison to locating a properly trained psychotherapist. Yet with the efforts of a team from Switzerland’s Zurich University, and the power of the Internet, many suffering Iraqis are finding that therapy is not entirely out of reach. Read the rest of this entry

© Copyright 2009 by http://www.GoodTherapy.org Therapist Rolling Hills Estates Bureau - All Rights Reserved.

The recent passage of the Obama administration’s stimulus bill, or, if you prefer, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, holds a significant amount of promise in the quest to invigorate the national economy and to help people more comfortably wade through the fallout of the financial crisis. But thanks to the work of a few legislators as well as the historical importance of the issue and those who have fought for their rights in the past, the bill is also set to invigorate a topic close to the heart of meaningful psychotherapy: privacy. A small yet important victory for mental health care providers as well as their clients, this measure has been met with enthusiastic cheer by the American Psychoanalytic Association as well as professionals associated with the New England Journal of Medicine. Read the rest of this entry

© Copyright 2009 by http://www.GoodTherapy.org Therapist Culver City Bureau - All Rights Reserved.

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

Stephen Hinshaw, professor and chair of psychology at UC Berkeley says our teenage girls are paying the price of societal pressures to be busier, grow up faster, be thinner and more chic, competitive and caring than ever before. He points to the epidemic of mental health issues among this group that includes eating disorders, depression, problem aggression, suicide attempts and self-mutilation. A new book by Hinshaw and Rachel Kranz called, “The Triple Bind: Saving our Teenage Girls from Today’s Pressures” (Ballantine Books, 2009) explains.

The “triple bind” in the title of the book refers to conflicting messages about what girls can and should be, particularly from the media. Hinshaw recounts that one in four teenage girls will suffer a serious mental health issue before the age of 20. He’s convinced this is a result of many girls reaching for perfection as its unrealistically and often, unhealthily, depicted in pop culture, while trying to meet high expectation of their schools and parents. Many who try, invariably fail, and mental health suffers. He gives a nod to genetic vulnerability, but says the rate that the mental health disorders among teen girls has risen indicates environmental factors at play. Read the rest of this entry

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

“We never have sex anymore.” “He wants it all the time.” “I think my wife is seeing someone.” These are some of the common opening lines I hear from couples who have landed in my consultation office. Certainly, sex is not the most important component of a happy and healthy marriage. Yet it remains one of the primary signs of an unhappy or failing marriage. Some of the most common problems in the bedroom include infrequent or absent sex, extramarital affairs and addictive cybersex. The presence of any of these will, over time erode the foundation of even the strongest marriage.

A recent study indicates that 15% to 20% of marriages are “loveless” meaning that the couples have sexual intercourse less than 10 times per year. This occurs in recently wed couples nearly as often as in long-term partners. Many of these couples are anxious and reluctant to address the lack of sexual activity or to explore ways to build greater interest and excitement into their sex life. They are likely to rely on vague clichés such as “there’s no chemistry between us” or “we’re both just too tired.” These couples often make tremendous and rapid changes in therapy as they uncover ways to Read the rest of this entry