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

A GoodTherapy.org Featured Column written by Greg Madison, PhD

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

At times I can be didactic and preachy with clients. I fall into believing that I have some special knowledge about life. I believe that I’m expected to pass along little gems of wisdom in sessions as if I know what life is really about. My client and I collude in forgetting that this is my first life too, what do I know? Outside the consulting room I am not always so wise. I can lose my soft-spoken reflective stance and be as reactive and unreasonable as the next person. I would say it’s worse for therapists when this happens - we have the extra layer of shame that comes from feeling we should know better. What if a client saw me arguing with the bank teller, pushing my way onto a crowded train…

Who do you have to be to be a therapist?

I am coming to the realisation that some of the most significant and poignant moments in therapy are not really about the content of the discussion. Not really about behaviour change or unravelling the past. In fact, in a sense, not really about the client’s trouble at all. In the deepest moments of therapy I am freed by my client and my client is freed by me. Read the rest of this entry

A GoodTherapy.org News Summary

Whether it’s a bad back, achy knees, or a site of previous physical trauma, chronic pain is a problem endured by scores of people, many of whom find themselves debilitated or unable to enjoy a previous lifestyle as a result. While prescription painkillers and other medications are often given to those who suffer from chronic pain, serious addictions as well as significant expense lead some to feel trapped between being in pain and being chained to a drug. But as Robert Kerns of Yale University has recently revealed, chronic pain sufferers can take advantage of a different kind of treatment with none of the side-effects of painkillers and with benefits that can last a lifetime. Psychotherapy can be an excellent way to help people overcome their personal battles with chronic pain. Read the rest of this entry

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

A GoodTherapy.org News Summary

The benefits of animal companionship are well-studied and certainly well-known; pet owners and those who work with animals professionally tend to have lower rates of depression, and may even live longer than their solitary counterparts. But can they actually be a specific part of treatment for problems such as post traumatic stress? If Suze Maze and her team of five horses have anything to say about it, yes, they can. A practitioner of EAP or Equine Assisted Psychotherapy, Maze operates a practice that helps those with PTSD find personal methods of effectively coping with the disorder. Maze’s patients –military personnel in Fort Aiken, Kentucky, many of whom have recently returned from tours in Iraq– are also quick to verify the benefits of undergoing their treatment in the company of equines.
Read the rest of this entry

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

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

I have been paying attention to the power paradox phenomenon since I was introduced to it by Dacher Keltner (www.greatergood.org). Having researched and studied who gets power and how they use it when they get it, Keltner learned that “the skills most important to obtaining power and leading effectively are the very skills that deteriorate once we have power.” These are qualities of modesty, empathy, engagement with the needs of others, skill in negotiating conflicts, enforcing norms, and allocating resources fairly. Given that years of social and brain research support the understanding that empathy and altruism are human birthrights, it is surprising (and clarifying) to me to discover that “once people assume positions of power, they’re likely to act more selfishly, impulsively, and aggressively, and they have a harder time seeing the world from other people’s points of view.” (Keltner) You can read more about these studies at www.greatergood.org (Greater Good Magazine, Vol. IV, Issue 3) and on pages 244-247 of my book: Right Use of Power: The Heart of Ethics available at www.rightuseofpower.com.

For those in power differential roles of trust and authority, and all of us are in positions of enhanced power in some areas of our lives, it is extremely important to understand this tendency for inborn empathy and the most effective leadership qualities and skills to deteriorate when we are in positions of power. We have good intentions. We earn power by the socially intelligent use of it. Yet when we get more power, we tend to become more vulnerable to misusing power. When we understand this tendency, we are at great advantage as leaders because we can be extra alert for changes in ourselves and self-correct around them.

Now, why does “power corrupt”? Read the rest of this entry

A GoodTherapy.org News Update:

Anyone with even an amateur interest in psychology will quickly be able to impart that the brain is a fascinating organ. The prefrontal cortex, a part of the brain that allows us to consider past memories and ponder what the future holds, as well as to perform complex reasoning, is also responsible for enabling us to over-analyze and to hold onto emotional responses well past the point at which they’re actually useful. Paradoxically, the same part of the brain that has bestowed us with the means to think more has also given us the opportunity to blunder, worry, and fear — and this affects not only our thought processes themselves, but our overall happiness in general.

Enter Madison University Communications Psychology professor Richard Davidson, whose journey to helping develop new tools for greater mental control and happiness began with a visit to the Dalai Lama. The famed exiled spiritual leader of Tibet, the Dalai Lama exemplifies the Buddhist values of peace, compassion, collectedness, and, despite his separation from his homeland and his people, of happiness as well. Davidson wanted to investigate how monks’ mental exercises and daily practices physically effected their brains, and was assisted with the help of several Tibetan Buddhist masters hand-picked by the Dalai Lama, all of whom had spent tens of thousands of hours meditating. Read the rest of this entry

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

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

Pain is a trickster. It can occur when the brain has been hyper-sensitized by a long-term injury, even one that has healed. Pain can also be a result of adjusting the body against the original pain. Further, it may be a warning sign that certain lifestyle tendencies or habits need to change. Robert Kerns, a professor in the Department of Psychiatry, Neurology, and Psychology at Yale University looked at 22 studies on the effects of psychotherapy on low back pain, a condition of the majority of adults at some times in their lives. He concluded that cognitive-behavioral therapy, meditation, guided imagery, hypnosis, biofeedback and other forms of therapy can rid many people of pain or help them manage it.

David Bresler, president of the Academy for Guided Imagery and founder of the UCLA Pain Control Unit, agrees. He says an advantage of these therapies for pain is that they are not addictive as are many pain medications. The effects usually last beyond therapy too and some of the therapies are quite short-term. Stress, poor exercise habits, certain thoughts about the pain, sleep issues and sometimes, accompanying depression, can all cause or worsen low back pain.

Ongoing pain appears to disrupt brain activity in the frontal cortex and there is some speculation among research scientists that it may cause permanent damage there. Some of the therapies may actually increase the brain’s endorphin activity, thereby relieving pain. Read the rest of this entry

By Jennifer Lehr, MA, MFT

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

We sometimes believe that if we are “good” people, good things will happen to us. This is not entirely true. While some people are intrinsically better at certain skills such as making money, having relationships that work, or making art than others, it has nothing to do with their inherent worth. Instead, it has to do with innate ability, effort, intent and which talents we chose to develop.

Let’s look at making money first. I know a wonderful social worker. He is a kind person and helps many children. He may never make more than his social worker salary, which although adequate, is not a lot of money. The money he makes is dictated by his career choice. Perhaps he will someday write a book or lecture and increase his ability to make money, but this is not predicated by his being a good person, but by the skills he chooses to develop that are moneymaking skills.

The same is true for psychological health. Most people I know who are now psychologically healthy, were at some point in their lives in a compromised emotional and psychological position. They chose to take responsibility for their self-limiting behaviors and beliefs or past damage (even if it was not their fault) and develop new ways of being. They chose to seek help and do the work of altering how they engaged with the world. They were “good” people before they did this, but they were not healthy. They had old wounds that had not fully healed. They may have been overly reactive, or let people mistreat them. They may have mistreated their loved ones, or have been anxious or depressed. 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

I, like you, am witnessing the events in our country and our world. I see the crises we are facing, among them the financial crisis. And like you, I have seen in clients the effects of ancient feelings and wounds on their attitudes, emotional states, and behaviors in relation to the present economic situation.

I know people are afraid. I know some of the fear is here and now, and some of it is from long ago. To help you tease the two apart so you can respond better to today’s needs – both your own and those of your clients – I feel called to share with you the following article, which will be published in The NAPFA Advisor* November/December issue, to help you gain awareness and insight into how our relationship with money affects not only our inner and outer life, but also the life of our world.

It is good to know that financial planners will be reading the article and taking what they learn to the people with whom they work. It is good to know you, as therapists, will be reading the article, using it to help yourself and your clients in this time of financial challenge.

This time of crisis is also a time of great opportunity . . . as all crises are at heart. Opportunity to go deeper into the roots of the crisis . . . to heal and transform at the very core, to create something new from the inside out - individually, nationally, and globally. Read the rest of this entry

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

Just another diet book? It seems unlikely that the book, “The Complete Beck Diet for Life: The Five-Stage Program for Weight Loss” (Oxmoor House, 2008) can be dismissed so easily. After all, the author is Judith Beck, Clinical Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania and Director of the Beck Institute for Cognitive Therapy and Research in Bala Cynwyd, PA. Her father, Dr. Aaron Beck, developed what is now a well-researched psychotherapy for depression, cognitive therapy, commonly referred to as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). CBT has been used successfully for a wide range of behavioral and psychological issues. Judith Beck, released her new book in December of 2008 and follows one she wrote the year before, “The Beck Diet Solution: Train Your Brain to Think Like a Thin Person” (Oxmoor House, 2007), but this one focuses more on development of behavioral habits or skills. The 2007 book primarily used cognitive principles to help people think like thin people. Read the rest of this entry

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

We sometimes hear about children with Asperger Syndrome, one of the autism spectrum disorders, but don’t hear much about Asperger in adults. Yet, its prevalence among adults is the same as for children, 0.02% to 0.03%. Roy and colleagues recently published a review of the literature, their own experiences and treatment approaches in a German outpatient clinic specializing in adult Asperger Syndrome, in Deutches Arzteblatt International. They conclude that providing direction concerning problematic behaviors, and for some people, medication that addresses certain symptoms, appear to be helpful. They further suggest that psychodynamic therapy may be useful, particularly for the low self worth experienced by many people with this disorder. Read the rest of this entry