Category: Drug & Alcohol Addiction
The Good Therapy Blog
November 13th, 2010 |
Providing adequate mental health care to veterans involves both understanding their needs and providing access to therapy, substance abuse programs, and other support. A new study of veterans aged 20-39 finds that males are far more likely than females to engage in binge drinking, use illicit drugs, and smoke cigarettes. These behaviors can be responses to trauma experienced while on active duty and the stress of reintegrating with the civilian world. It’s important for counselors who work with veterans to be cognizant... Read More
© Copyright 2010 by http://www.GoodTherapy.org Therapist Mountain View Bureau - All Rights Reserved.
November 8th, 2010 |
A GoodTherapy.org News Summary
Perceptions of therapy and counseling are not without stereotype, and one of the most common misconceptions is that therapists will always blame an issue on the patients’ parents. While this is certainly an over-reach, it’s well documented that things we experience in our childhood do impact how we experience the world from there forward. This includes positive influences such as hobbies and values, but also includes psychological baggage from particularly traumatic experiences. Understanding the connections between childhood trauma and adult mental health... Read More
© Copyright 2010 by http://www.GoodTherapy.org Therapist San Antonio Bureau - All Rights Reserved.
November 2nd, 2010 |
A GoodTherapy.org News Summary
It is well-documented that sexual abuse, especially during childhood, is one of the traumatic life experiences that make a person far more likely to suffer symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder later down the line. Psychotherapists and counselors regularly work with people who have spent their whole lives responding, both psychologically and emotionally, to the abuse they suffered years and decades earlier. In addition to treating abuse survivors for their current conditions, therapists and mental health professionals can also learn from abuse survivors to... Read More
© Copyright 2010 by http://www.GoodTherapy.org Therapist Nashville Bureau - All Rights Reserved.
October 30th, 2010 |
Swedish researchers have found a correlation between poor grades in elementary/middle school (defined as ages 9-16) and risk of suicide before the age of 35. The lower the grades, the higher the risk. Whether depressive thoughts caused low grades or low grades caused depressive thoughts wasn’t identified, but the researchers did control for history of mental health problems, drug use, and family factors including parents’ mental health. So while the cause of this correlation is unknown, it does help leaders identify which... Read More
© Copyright 2010 by http://www.GoodTherapy.org Therapist San Jose Bureau - All Rights Reserved.
October 22nd, 2010 |
Seth Walsh, 13, Asher Brown, 13, Billy Lucas, 15, Tyler Clementi, 18, Raymond Chase, 19, all died within the last three weeks as a result of suicide. All of them were bullied or harassed for being perceived as gay. And these are just the names that we know. There are many others out there suffering and struggling through the discovery of their sexuality.
Every day gay teens or teens who are perceived as being "outside the box" are bullied and harassed for simply being who they are. This bullying can come from fellow students but there are also negative messages from families, teachers, television,... Read More
October 22nd, 2010 |
John, our favorite Australian correspondent, wrote to note that a lot of people don't really want to hear that their alcohol abuse is a choice - and so is fixing it. That came as no surprise to us. After all, what better excuse for continuing drinking than having a "disease" over which you are "powerless"? And for parents wanting to avoid dealing with their adult children's behavior, well, why not decide that it's a "disease" rather than a choice? All in all it's no surprise that many people prefer this option but it doesn't come without costs.
First, since it isn't true, there is always... Read More
October 19th, 2010 |
Since my last blog post several of you (all female) have logged onto my website and then called to express relief that I’m writing about something – women and pornography addiction – that many people and the popular media don’t recognize as a real problem. The Washington Times recently published results from a 2006 Internet Filter Review poll which found that 9.4 women access adult websites each month, and 13 percent of them admit to accessing pornography at work. And remember folks, this was 4 years ago!
Another sobering fact has surfaced as I continue to help women who have been... Read More
October 19th, 2010 |
Okay, so now you understand co-dependency, where it comes from and how it affects you. You want to heal and recover. So where do you start? It can feel so overwhelming that you may feel paralyzed. Remember, you don’t have to do it perfectly. (Or anything else for that matter).
Ideally, I recommend that you start by finding a therapist who understands co-dependency. If you or an immediate family member works for an employer that has an employee assistance program, that is an ideal place to start. It won’t cost you anything, at least for the first few sessions. If you don’t have... Read More
October 19th, 2010 |
* This blog is a follow-to Richard's previous article, "Who's in Charge - Understanding Men Today"
Why do so many men sabotage relationships and careers? Current cultural stereotypes of men range from bumbling incompetence to aggressive, macho insensitivity. I’ve worked with men in therapy and personal growth workshops for over 25 years, and I’ve identified a type of adult man I call the LATE Men, Lost, Angry Teens, and they are often stuck in an adolescent level of development – literally,... Read More
October 13th, 2010 |
One might imagine that youth being treated for an eating issues are more often referred to therapy and counseling for additional harmful behaviors than those teens not being seen by a doctor. But a startling report from Stanford University Medical Center indicates that most youth seen by physicians for eating issues are not asked about self-injury behavior. Intake questionnaires include questions about cigarettes and alcohol, but fewer than half of the patients in the study were asked about harmful behaviors like cutting... Read More
© Copyright 2010 by http://www.GoodTherapy.org Therapist St. Louis Bureau - All Rights Reserved.
October 9th, 2010 |
The U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is inviting therapists, counselors, other mental health professionals, and members of the public to comment on SAMHSA’s proposed action plan. Currently, the plan contains eight strategic initiatives: Prevention of Substance Abuse and Mental Illness; Trauma and Justice; Military Families – Active, Guard, Reserve, and Veteran; Health Reform; Housing and Homelessness; Health Information Technology for Behavioral Health Providers; Data, Outcomes,... Read More
© Copyright 2010 by http://www.GoodTherapy.org Therapist San Jose Bureau - All Rights Reserved.
October 7th, 2010 |
For people who deal with the most serious and life-altering mental health issues, being sent to prison for crimes committed typically results in little to no improvement once the prison sentence is over. Often, people are re-arrested and re-incarcerated shortly after their release. A new study shows that mental health courts, increasingly implemented in the past decade, have proven to shorten jail time and reduce the likeliness of re-arrest. The idea is that getting afflicted individuals into community treatment programs,... Read More
© Copyright 2010 by http://www.GoodTherapy.org Therapist Berkeley Bureau - All Rights Reserved.
October 7th, 2010 |
Experiencing a traumatic life event is, by definition, horrific and terrifying; however this experience does not need to become your defining moment. Growing through such an event(s) is plausible and such growth follows a semi-structured pattern of healing. For a moment stop and reflect on the fact that experts have identified a semi-structured pattern of healing; the existence of such a pattern means that just as you are not alone in having been victimized, you are also not alone in the healing journey.
The healing journey that you have chosen to embark on follows three quasi-linear stages... Read More
September 28th, 2010 |
A GoodTherapy.org News Summary
Statistics show that people with serious mental health issues are more likely to be unemployed, homeless, unmarried and poorer than the average population. But do these factors increase one’s likelihood of developing mental illness, or does mental illness increase one’s likelihood of decreased socioeconomic status? Researchers in Norway looked specifically at people diagnosed with bipolar disorder, a population with a unique statistic: people diagnosed... Read More
© Copyright 2010 by http://www.GoodTherapy.org Therapist Coral Gables Bureau - All Rights Reserved.
