A GoodTherapy.org News Summary

Efforts to help people understand the nature of mental health difficulties and of the services available to assist them are crucial aspects of modern efforts within the professional community. Though increasing numbers of people are beginning to accept mental issues as health difficulties and are relying less on social prejudice and stigma, such blocks to understanding are still prevalent in much of the world, and may contribute to the prolonged suffering of clients and their families. A great number of efforts have been made to illustrate mental health and related issues to the public, but on Wednesday, an illustration of a much more straightforward sort was announced. The launch of “the road to god knows…,” a graphic novel by Von Allan, is taking place both on and offline to provide a range of formats and accessibility for those interested in the subject.

Raised by a mother who suffered from schizophrenia and often finding himself without context or reason with which to understand his mother’s behavior, Von Allen has incorporated his life experience into the graphic novel, which seeks to help explain mental health difficulties to readers. The comic-like format is likely to interest a younger crowd, and may perhaps appeal to those uninterested in learning about mental illness from traditional non-fiction manuals or textbooks. “the road to god knows…” will be carried in a number of comic shops, and can also be purchased online, though readers can download and share freely-distributed copies of the work in PDF format, a measure Von Allen hopes will help his graphic novel reach a wider audience. Read the rest of this entry

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

A GoodTherapy.org News Summary

The understanding of intelligence has been a pursuit adopted by many fields in the arts and sciences throughout time, with great effort and diligence poured into investigating what being smart really means, and how this attribute might best be measured. A great number of theories and methods have been developed over the years, some of which have been used in society to establish who is smart, or how smart they are, while others wait dormant in the laboratory or classroom to be more deeply explored. The desire to be smart is strong among the modern population, as such an attribute is widely associated with being happier, more productive, and, perhaps most attractively, better paid. In the face of such preoccupation with being or becoming smart, a book recently written by Harvey Deustchendorf suggests that the traditional conception of intelligence may leave out an important component of modern life: emotional intelligence.

The book explores the ways in which emotional intelligence has gained understanding in recent years as ideas about intelligence itself become more fragmented. A popular theory about the state of being smart suggests that there is not one but several ways in which people may be intelligent. This can extend to kinetic intelligence, social intelligence, analytical intelligence, and several other types. Emotional intelligence, while it may not have too much of a helping hand to lend in the presence of complex mathematical problems, may nevertheless be an attractive type of intelligence for its ability to propel people towards personal prosperity.

The book aims to bring knowledge about the importance of being emotionally intelligent to a wider audience, using ideas and examples that stretch from personal life to the working environment. Those who retain a high level of emotional intelligence, suggests the text, are in a much greater position to realize successful, happy relationships and to experience greater achievements and recognition in the workplace. The book may go a long way towards helping professionals and clients alike understand their intelligence in a whole new light

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

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 Therapist Nashville Bureau - All Rights Reserved.

A GoodTherapy.org News Update

Obsessive-compulsive disorder is a condition fairly well known among mental health professionals and the psychologically-minded public at large. Yet as with so many things, there exist extreme departures from what we’d normally envision of a person afflicted with OCD –and the co-author of a recently released book on the subject is an excellent example. The man, who suffered from the disorder for most of his life, had developed extreme rituals that kept him from leaving his house or carrying out the vast majority of daily tasks; he became unable to bathe himself and spent hours each day carrying out elaborate counting and organizing rituals. That is, until he met the man who would help him triumph over his condition: his psychotherapist.

The two met after the afflicted man’s family called for help, and the psychotherapist, a renowned expert on OCD at the Harvard Medical School, drove three hours to meet and assess the man –and the mind– that would occupy his professional efforts for years to come. That initial meeting was difficult; the young man had developed strict rules for what actions could be taken in his home or around his person, yet psychologist and client were eventually able to find common ground. Read the rest of this entry

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

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

by Van Wiesner, Ph.D.

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

Patricia Love, Ed.D. and Steven Stosny, Ph.D. are contrarians in the book How to Improve Your Marriage Without Talking About It (2007). Instead of endorsing traditional talk therapy methods for improving relationships such as, well, “talking”, they offer a more behavioral approach based largely on psychological differences in the genders as gleaned from research and their vast clinical experience. Early on the authors assert that couples “are not disconnected because they have poor communication; they have poor communication because they are disconnected” (p. 5). I have reread that sentence dozens of times sensing the paradigm shift this statement represents. Read the rest of this entry