A GoodTherapy.org News Headline

The search for effective tools to help people quit smoking has been underway for many decades, with scores of mental health professionals devoting some or all of their careers to assisting clients curb the habit. A study aiming at addressing smoking with the help of virtual reality has recently concluded, with positive findings that may make the technological technique popular for cessation programs. Participants who crushed virtual cigarettes as part of a smoking cessation program showed significantly greater rates of abstinence and lowered nicotine addiction at the end of the treatment and at a six-month follow up than participants who squeezed a virtual ball. As virtual reality technology advances, so too may addiction treatment programs.

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

A GoodTherapy.org News Headline

Substance abuse disorders, including difficulties with the regulation of alcohol intake and retaled behaviors, affect many people at different stages of life, though a significant portion of those who grapple with these issues are in their mid to late years. It may seem inconsistent, then, that a study supported by the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine has searched for signs of substance abuse risks in children, but the gathered data may serve the primary purpose of helping to identify children who may benefit from additional education and training to prevent substance abuse issues later in life. Risk factors considering both environment and neurobiological factors were studied.

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

A GoodTherapy.org News Summary

Smoking cessation programs are frequently cited for the difficulties involved in getting smokers to volunteer, as well as to help those with addiction problems overcome the urge to start smoking again. These issues are especially prevalent when working with teenage smokers, so the industry has suggested –and reason would seem to support–. But this may not actually be the case, says a new trial cessation program targeted at high school students.

With an admirably large recruitment group at over two thousand teenagers, the trial set out to test the efficacy of a structured smoking cessation support program, using a number of special checks and a control group to ensure that collected data was as reliable as possible. The trial involved the administration of up to nine personalized and confidential telephone counseling sessions aimed at providing moral and emotional support during the process of quitting. The high school students were recruited during their junior year and were given the telephone treatment over the course of their final year in high school. Read the rest of this entry

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

A GoodTherapy.org News Headline

Efforts to advocate smoking cessation nation-wide and around the world have been accelerating in recent years as the understanding of the negative aspects of smoking improves. One program, called CHOICES, has won a Silver Achievement Award for its work with smoking cessation among those with mental health difficulties. As a significant number of smokers are faced with mental health issues, the program, which provides community support and logistics for people hoping to quite smoking, has delivered a valuable service to global efforts to ease addiction, and to serve as a source of caring and resources for people struggling to improve their mental health.

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

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

The “Bucket of Crabs” is one of our favorite analogies. Pulling crabs out of traps on Kodiak Island, we’d just toss them into a big bucket – no need to put a lid on the bucket.

Why not?

Because as soon as one crab would start to climb out, the other crabs would drag him, or her, right back down into the bottom of the bucket. There’s no escape to life back in the ocean. And that keeps happening until all of the crabs end up in the steamer.

The point? Read the rest of this entry

A GoodTherapy.org News Headline

A large percentage of those who commit suicide each year do so while experiencing the effects of alcohol dependence, a mental health and behavioral concern which can engender great feelings of powerlessness and have a negative impact on many areas of life. Recently, a study conducted by the Prevention Research Center and Texas A & M University has sought to investigate any links between the density of bars and other alcohol “outlets” and suicide rates. While there was some correlation between these factors, researchers found that rural areas had higher rates of alcohol-related suicide. The study may prove useful in efforts to combat alcohol dependence and suicide.

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

By Arthur Becker-Weidman, Ph.D., Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy Topic Expert Contributor

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

In this first article here I will describe what Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy is. Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy began as a family-therapy approach, grounded in attachment theory, for the treatment of children with disorders of attachment. It has developed over the past decade into a broader approach for treatment and has been found to be an evidence-based, effective, and empirically validated treatment.

Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy has as its central therapeutic mechanism the maintenance of a contingent, collaborative, sensitive, reflective and affectively attuned relationship between therapist and child, between caregiver and child, and between therapist and caregiver. Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy focuses on and relies upon the intersubjective sharing and joint development and organization of emotional experience. Intersubjectivity refers to shared emotion (also called attunement), shared attention, and shared intention. Read the rest of this entry

By Sherry Gaba, LCSW and Life Coach

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

Viewers cannot turn on the television today without a story depicting pop icon Michael Jackson and his un-timely death. It has brought to the forefront of everyone’s mind a reminder of the dangers of abusing prescription drugs. What parents may not realize is although overall teen drug use is down nationwide; prescription drug abuse is on the rise, as one of the fastest growing addictions amongst teenagers today. Since 1992, the number of teenager’s ages 12 to 17 years old abusing controlled prescription drugs has tripled and nearly one in five teens reported that they are able to get prescription drugs such as Vicodin or OxyContin in one hour. In fact, nearly all poison deaths in the country are attributed to prescription drugs. In the last ten years, the number of teens going into treatment for addiction to prescription pain relievers has increased by more than 300 percent. In fact, most of the clients I see today are struggling with prescription drug abuse, specifically pain medications. Although it is understood heroin is dangerous and that overdoses are common, what parents don’t understand is that narcotic painkillers mimic the same effects of heroin on their bodies and can be just as lethal. Teens turning away from street drugs and moving towards prescription drugs is rampant and the myth that these drugs are safe because they are legal must be squashed or this trend will continue to grow. Read the rest of this entry

A GoodTherapy.org News Summary

Though a growing number of people are making the choice to quit smoking for a variety of reasons, physical health complications from the habit continue to be a problem of serious concern both for those who smoke and their loved ones as well as for taxpayers left with large bills to foot for associated medical issues. Most general practice doctors advise their clients to cease or significantly reduce their tobacco use, but one smoking cessation advocate notes that when it comes to those who exhibit signs of mental health concerns, many doctors shy away from suggesting that their clients should quit. Brian Hitsman of Northwestern University argues that while thirty eight percent of people visiting their medical physician receive treatment to quit smoking, a mere twelve percent of those with mental health difficulties receive the same treatment.

The discrepancy, suggests Hitsman, is the result of a false belief that tobacco use is somehow necessary or helpful for those with feelings of depression, anxiety, or any other mental health concerns. Unfortunately, this reluctance to persuade clients to quit smoking may have profound effects; on average, a far greater number of those with mental health issues smoke than those without symptoms. Read the rest of this entry

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

A GoodTherapy.org News Headline

Often, an inability to access or receive meaningful mental health services can lead those experiencing debilitating symptoms to rely on pharmaceuticals and other substances in an effort to self-medicate. Such instances carry great risks, not only for physical and mental health, but for the development of deep addictions, engendering further negative consequences. This situation has been clearly observed recently in Kashmir, where long-term violence and social disorder have led to a growing number of women developing symptoms of mental health difficulties. The creation of accessible mental health care as well as treatment for addiction and substance abuse is needed to help the region recover from its deep-rooted turmoil.

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