A new study performed in Iceland has suggested that co-habiting couples with instances of poor physical health are more prone to encountering many different types of abuse over the course of their relationship. The new information is leading many agencies and scholars to call for a greater attention to mental health services and the availability of therapy for people who are seriously or frequently sick. While psychological health showed a much greater susceptibility to abuse, physical health was shown to decline in the presence of such relationship issues.

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

Philip Zimbardo, who gained fame for his Stanford Prison Experiment which pitted student “guards” against student “prisoners” with chilling results several decades ago, gave a talk in Philadelphia at the First World Congress on Positive Psychology late last month. In his talk, he outlined the ways in which the mental health profession has traditionally focused its view on the cause behind things going wrong, rather than things going right. Zimbardo’s talk was a convincing precursor to a series of lectures from noted professionals on various topics within the Congress’ scope.

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

Having the proverbial place to yourself can be a peaceful, thrilling, and sometimes even therapeutic experience; the ability to sit with oneself and achieve a comfortable level of calm and quiet can be great, especially for people who are typically surrounded by large groups or stressful conditions. But living on one’s own, and in an emptied building or area, can lead to a social isolation that is ultimately damaging, a new project has purported.

Relying on the basic and preliminary idea that people are happier and enjoy a greater quality of life when they retain a diverse social network, the project, supported by Dr. Venus Nicolino of Los Angeles and co-founded by Dr. P.M. Forni of Johns Hopkins University, picked up on the growing trend of foreclosures and relocations with the question of how these new conditions were affecting those left behind. While it may be a comforting experience to stay in one’s home or rented space despite the course of the global economic downturn, Nicolino posits that the absence of daily social interactions close to the home is responsible for creating the figure of the “urban hermit,” which will ultimately have negative implications for those living in sparsely populated buildings.

Nicolino suggests that underlying propensities for emotional and mental difficulties, manifested in any number of ways, may be brought to the fore when not exposed to the levels of social interaction and support that people are used to. Compounding this issue, the development of such difficulties may become harder to spot and address so long as the person is isolated. While living in busy areas certainly isn’t for everyone, the adoption of a quality therapy schedule or establishment of a reliable social network may be crucial for some people who are weathering the financial, but not the emotional, fallout of the economic slump.

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

Feelings of depression can be disruptive for many people in various areas of their lives, but it can also have a serious impact on those with whom they’re especially close, including their family. The National Research Council and Institute of Medicine has released a report identifying the need to address feelings of depression within the context of entire families rather than limiting perspective to the individual, with special urgency afforded in cases involving children. source: http://www.mentalhelp.net/poc/view_doc.php?type=news&id=119782&cn=5

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An increased awareness about the benefits of psychotherapy and mental health and attention to a positive well-being is extraordinarily beneficial in the international effort to bring more competent services to those in need of professional assistance and care. Also important is fostering understanding of the ways in which minorities in the US interact with the mental health care system, which is the goal of the Bebe Moore Campbell National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month. source: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156333.php

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

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

We are going through a transformation . . . individually and globally. Many people are scared . . . they haven’t been taught about transformation. They haven’t been taught how to go through it.

Many people are afraid . . . so many things that are part of transformation
trigger feelings from long, long ago, trigger fear from long ago.
The triggering is a guide to the healing.
The feelings from earlier times are the guides to our healing and transforming –
if we learn how to discern them from here and now feelings;
if we learn how to utilize them safely and draw a boundary so we feel them
but don’t act out on them;
if we learn to build our capacity to feel them;
if we follow through and allow ourselves to go through the feelings at the heart
of the wound and out the other side.

Many people are afraid of change . . .
are afraid of the unknown . . .

But we have examples in nature that show us how.

For example . . . the snake.
In regular cycles, the snake sheds its skin.
About a week before the shedding begins,
the old skin starts to lift away from the new skin.
At this point the snake’s eyes begin to become cloudy,
and for the time of the shedding, the snake is unable to see.
The snake is temporarily blind.
And the new skin underneath
that remains after the shedding
is tender.

When we are in this stage of transformation -
of shedding whatever in ourselves and our lives
needs to be let go - it is scary.
We are not used to being blind,
especially without knowing if we will ever see again.
We do everything we can not to be tender, or raw.

But if we can breathe through the blindness,
Breathe through the unknown,
Breathe through any discomfort during the shedding or right after,
Breathe through and allow the process of the transformation
to occur . . .
instead of interfering with the shedding,
we can be a help in our own transformation.

Many blessings as you shed!
Judith

©Copyright 2009 by Judith Barr, MA, LMHC. All Rights Reserved. Permission to publish granted to GoodTherapy.org. The following article was solely written and edited by the author named above. The views and opinions expressed are not necessarily shared by GoodTherapy.org. 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 Judith and/or see her GoodTherapy.org Profile

In the Nordic countries, it’s uncommon for the elderly to report feelings of loneliness. But a new study has found that how we normally perceive loneliness in older people is a poor representation of reality. Examining feedback from widows and widowers, the study reveals that stereotypes about lonely seniors have little to do with how we experience such feelings later on in life. source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090703065456.htm

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

A new study performed at Brigham Young University has found that the wives of men who immigrate to the United States for work tend to experience greater emotional difficulty than those whose husbands stay behind, and that the reversal of gender roles in such situations are also major sources of potential stress. Long distance therapies may prove effective. Source: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156184.php

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

The idea of the mystery shopper is fairly prevalent within the world of retail; paid professionals wander stores, seek employee assistance, and go through the motions of making a purchase, all with the intent of scoring the performance of the store involved and filing a report which can help the store to find new ways to improve. Those who are “tested” by mystery shoppers tend to be of mixed in their reaction to the idea; some see it as an honest opportunity to find potential problems, while others feel that it is an infringement on their trust and is a poor way to assess performance. Whether you’re for or against this method, if you’re a mental health professional, you may be hearing about it a lot more often.

The idea of the mystery shopper is being transferred to the platform of mental health treatments, wherein “fake” clients would be staged in care facilities and other treatment settings for the purpose of investigating the quality of care and the professionalism of those involved. The idea, strongly supported by Arthur Lazarus, an important figure within the psychiatry community, has been discussed in the journal Psychiatric Services, and may gain momentum in coming months as more and more therapists and mental health clinics seek to improve their offerings, both on the basis of integrity and under the increasing competition for clients.

Those who oppose the idea have suggested that the practice could present ethical problems within the sphere of psychotherapy and mental health treatment, including the possible issue of mystery clients using resources that those genuinely seeking help could otherwise use. As the debate heats up, it’s clear that the motion to start incorporating mystery clients isn’t final quite yet, but either way, this discussion may yield valuable insight into the ethics of sessions as well as the quest for strengthening professional skill.

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

For many mental health professionals, it may have seemed simply a matter of time before the iPod was able to absorb some component of positive psychology and offer its customers a way to quickly pick up a brighter outlook. Well, the day has come; there isn’t an iTherapist quite yet, but a new application developed specifically for the platform focuses on positive psychology proponent Sonja Lyubomirsky’s steps to bring a better perspective into everyday activities. The application, which is less of a commercial effort than it is a creative way for Lyubomirsky to collect research data from an impressively large sample, allows users to keep track of their feelings of happiness based on different thoughts and activities recommended on the screen.

Lyubomirsky’s work focuses on the potential of positive emotions to act as catalysts for prolonged feelings of happiness, based on the idea that even in agreeable life conditions, people sometimes need easily identifiable emotional experiences in order to maintain a sense of being happy. To that end, she has written a text describing various ways to achieve instances of positive emotions, usually with fairly fast results. These methods have been transcribed to the digital world of the iPod, allowing clients who use the application to find activities that they’d like to perform, such as calling a friend or sending a nice note to someone, and to make a note of how the activity has made them feel afterward.

While the application may indeed prove helpful to some people, its utility from a mental health perspective may be most remarkable when considered from a research angle; as technology progresses, new ways to gather meaningful information aren’t only on the couch or under the microscope, but might be found in the daily activities of scores of people interested in furthering the cause of psychotherapy and cognitive science.

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

It’s a familiar scenario for therapy clients the world over: after a particularly intense session in which it seems that a lot of positive work has been done, it emerges that some lie has been told (or that an important piece of information has been withheld), and the course of treatment, as a result, is less effective. In general therapists and other mental health professionals are aware that complete and total honesty, while certainly ideal, is not really the norm, nor can it be reasonably demanded from each and every client. In the past couple of years, the buzz about lying in therapy has been picking up, with publications from major journals and reviews to individual blogs and other online mediums sounding off about the phenomenon. The verdict? It’s best to encourage an honest exchange, accept any moments of coming clean with grace, and to ask adequate questions to ensure treatment is as personalized as possible.

Not all therapy clients lie, of course, but of those who do, many are unaware of why they do it. As with most lies we tell in the course of our social interactions, lying in therapy tends to “just slip out” or to slip the mind. Indeed, a great deal of lying in therapy is not a deliberate cover-up or creation of some event or fact that isn’t true, but rather a departure from telling the whole story. It may be the recounting of a particularly difficult emotional period while leaving out the fact that a close family member has recently died, or it could be the omission of a certain habit or compulsion experienced during a certain period being described. But whether the lie is composed of a falsehood or an incomplete picture, the quality and personalization of therapy can suffer as a result. The answer doesn’t lie in more demanding therapists or some kind of penalty for fibbing, god forbid but in the opening up of a therapy session and atmosphere for more accurate and inclusive briefing.

©Copyright 2009 by Daniel Winger, Ph.D.. All Rights Reserved. Permission to publish granted to GoodTherapy.org. The following article was solely written and edited by the author named above. The views and opinions expressed are not necessarily shared by GoodTherapy.org. Questions or concerns about the following article can be directed to the author or posted as a comment to this blog entry.

“I became a lawyer 20 years ago to represent children’s rights. I became a mediator to assist partners restructure their lives in the face of a divorce, and in doing so minimize the deleterious effects of separation.”

More and more couples are participating in divorce mediation to effectively communicate about their financial and parenting matters. Particularly where families are involved, all other dispute resolution processes are dwarfed by the advantages and benefits of the mediation process. The legal fees, costs and emotional strain entailed in starting a court action against a life partner can be daunting. Although, mediation has been in existence for decades, in the past 10 years it has progressively gained recognition as a preferred alternative dispute process to litigation and attorney negotiated settlements. Among the reasons for its growth, is the fundamental objective of the mediation process: to assist both parties in effectively communicating and negotiating solutions which are best for them, their family and their situation. Mediation seeks to empower both parties by providing information in a neutral manner, respecting and supporting each individual’s rights and feelings, acting as a resource for professional referrals, and ultimately facilitating what often can be a difficult-and at times, tumultuous situation.

What is Mediation?

Mediation is a dispute resolution process which assist parties’ communications for agreement. (See: mediate.com/articles/what.cfm). It is voluntary and confidential, and is conditioned on the informed consent of parties to actively participate in the process. It is a dispute resolution process which honors and is predicated on the self -determination of the participants involved. The parties have control over how they want the process to proceed and they have total control over what agreements are reached as a result of their participation in the process. Mediation is an all-inclusive process. The active involvement of the parties’ attorneys, third party professionals such as financial advisors or therapists, is always available to the parties and at the parties’ discretion.

There are three main models/styles of mediation used by practitioners: facilitative, transformative and evaluative. The facilitative model focuses on sharing skills and information with the parties to help them negotiate for themselves while cultivating and encouraging a platform for creative solutions that best suit the parties and their circumstances. It is a model that focuses the parties on their interests and needs rather than sanctioning their positions. The transformative model focuses on empowering and recognizing the parties’ emotions and promoting unstructured dialogue between the parties. The main objective of the transformative model is to achieve a “transformation” of the parties’ relationship or perception of each other and therefore situation which led to the conflict. Finally, the evaluative model focuses on gathering information from the parties, identifying issues in dispute and providing the parties with the mediator’s expert opinion, based on her experience and knowledge. In evaluative mediations, prior to the mediation process beginning, parties typically request and consent in writing to abide by the mediator’s decision should negotiations fail to bring about agreement.

What Mediation is Not.

Unlike arbitration or a court action, the professional mediator has no power to decide the issues in disagreement between the parties and to obligate the parties to her decision (unless it is an evaluative mediation and the parties have agreed as state above). Rather in mediation, the parties are in total control of their decisions and their commitment to abide by those decisions. Unlike the collaborative divorce process, mediation offers a third party professional who is there to assist both parties. In the collaborative divorce process, there is no third party neutral. Rather each party is represented by their own attorney who has agreed to assist him/her in negotiations for resolution and has agreed not to proceed to court should those negotiations fail. In mediation, the involvement and degree of the participation of a party’s attorney is determined by each party at every stage of the process. Attorneys can be active before, during and especially after the completion of the mediation process -prior to signing a legal agreement. Ultimately it is the parties who are directly involved in the resolution of their matter. Their attorneys provide advice, counsel and information.

Mediation is not therapy, but can be therapeutic. It affords spouses in conflict the opportunity to engage with each other in constructive dialogue. Moreover, where children are involved it affords parents the opportunity to effectively restructure what was at one time a single-family household into a two-family household. Spouses are able to express their goals and intentions. This in turn paves the road for them to focus on what is important to both of them as well as what it most important to their children. Although they may decide to end their marriage their future communications are more likely to be constructive and promote healing of their past relationship.

Mediators: What they do, training and selection

Mediators are trained to be skillful negotiators, and many have knowledge and experience in the area of Family Law. They are expert listeners of feelings and facts. Without previously knowing either of the parties nor having a stake in the matters to be resolve, mediators can readily delineate between the emotions being conveyed, and identify the information needed to assist the parties to reach agreement. As an objective, trained and knowledgeable neutral, the mediator will acknowledge and recognize the emotions expressed by each participant, identify areas of commonality, facilitate the negotiations between the parties, and explore options for resolution with the parties. This process encourages spouses to think creatively and come up with options they can customize or use as a springboard for other solutions that might best meet their needs and those of their family. The more experience the mediator possesses in the art of negotiation, the mediation process, and family and divorce matters, the more valuable she will be to the parties in assisting them to reach agreement.

Mediation as a Collaborative Process

Mediation is a collaborative process. In order for mediation to be successful every participant must be willing to collaborate with the process. Here it is important to distinguish between the process and substance of making decisions. The potential of agreement in mediation is wholly dependent on the parties’ collaboration in and to the process. For example, how the mediator is selected, what type of mediation philosophy the participants are most comfortable with, identifying the issues for discussions, setting an agenda with the parties’ priorities, exploring options, evaluating those options-all are procedural in nature and necessitate the parties’ collaboration. On the other hand, negotiating actual issues such as division of financial assets or child custody, and making decisions with regard to those issues-is the substance of the mediation.

In Substance

In negotiating the substantive issues the parties’ collaboration is critical as well. Parties might have concerns about what each is entitled to under the law, and what outcome is likely on a specific issues should the parties decide to go to court. Often each party consults with their independent attorney prior to signing an agreement resolving child custody, support and all the financial issues. However in many circumstances, it is valuable for each party to obtain the advice of an attorney prior to the mediation in order to prepare for the negotiations within the mediation process as well as to consult with that attorney throughout the mediation process. Moreover, the mediation process also invites and encourages the participation of financial advisors, therapists and any other expert whose input would prove helpful in assisting the parties’ ultimate resolution on substantive matters. The singular benefit of mediation is that it is within the parties’ discretion as to which experts they wish to retain, when they retain them, and the extent of each expert’s role in the mediation process. This advantage gives parties the opportunity to realize significant cost-savings in the legal dissolution of their marriage while having the option at all times to retain third-party professionals for input and advice.

Long Term Benefits of Collaboration

The mediation process promotes, teaches and coaches the parties’ collaboration throughout the negotiations between the parties. Parties facing divorce are often in an emotionally charge conflict and have stopped communicating or only experience destructive communications. The information and skills learned at the mediation table to assist parties to resolve issues surrounding their divorce are the same skills that will help them have constructive dialogue beyond the mediation process. It is the triumphs experienced in reaching agreement that become the foundation for parties to re-create their family’s conversations and infrastructure.

Mediation: Little to Lose and Much to Gain.

The promise of mediation is hope. When spouses decide on obtaining a divorce, their expectations of what their lives could have been, fears of what their lives will be post -divorce, and heightened emotions about the uncertainties of their lives while undergoing divorce, often are overwhelming to each partner and result in paralysis of decision-making. Mediation has the potential to effectively address each spouse’s concerns, help them set out goals and more importantly, assist them in taking steps to achieve those goals. All situations are not appropriate for the mediation process. Where physical or emotional abuse has taken place or is feared, a party should obtain the advice of her/his own independent attorney and decide if participation in mediation would be advisable. The key for all partners, spouses and families alike is to know that there is an alternative to the judicial process. In many situations it is the better alternative.

Marti Granizo-O’Hare is an attorney-mediator in New York City. She has practiced in the area of Family and Matrimonial Law for 20 years and has been mediating family matters since 1993. She is a former Associate Adjunct Professor of Fordham Law School where she taught client-counseling and negotiation for 10 years. She has trained law students and volunteer attorneys in the mediation process. She is a member of the Association of Conflict Resolution of Greater NY and various bar and dispute resolution organizations. Ms. O’Hare has offices in Manhattan and Forest Hills, Queens. She offers a no-cost, no obligation consultation for anyone considering the mediation process. She can be reached at: 917-375-7955 or at: mohare@mediateandmovefoward.com.

©Copyright 2009 Marti Granizo-O’Hare. All Rights Reserved. Permission to publish granted to GoodTherapy.org. The following article was solely written and edited by the author named above. The views and opinions expressed are not necessarily shared by GoodTherapy.org. 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 Cedar and/or see her GoodTherapy.org Profile

A comment from Todd in response my most recent GoodTherapy.org Ethics Column, touched me. How brave and sincere. And what an important question! I tend to focus on right use of power as any use of personal and professional power to heal harm, repair harm, reduce harm, and facilitate the common good. Inspiring, yes. But given our personal history with power and our dominant cultural frame for power (force), how do we get there? How really do we change historic and embedded habits, beliefs, and patterns?

Here’s what Todd says: “I grew up in a forceful household and that caused me to be the same way in my own home. I do not like it but that was how I was trained and even why I try to do things differently I always find myself back in that forceful position and way of handling things. It is the only way that I know. My kids I know hate me for that. How do I make that change to be a more collaborative person instead of what I am?”

Again, thanks for asking this question. As a psychotherapist and teacher, here’s my take on the process of changing at the level you are seeking. Notice which one or ones appeal to you and experiment with them as tools to help you shift into a more effective and satisfying set of responses.

Notice Something Isn’t the Way You’d Like it to Be
You’ve already taken the first and biggest step. Using your situation, Todd, as an example: You can see how you want to use your power with your kids (and, I assume in other areas of your life); and you can see the negative impact of the way you have been using your power. (Your kids hate you for it.) How painful that must be. Trying is important, but as you notice, not quite sufficient for change.

Use Imaging Power (Image what you want without denying the current situation.)
There is an image that has stuck with me from Robert Fritz’s The Path of Least Resistence. I image clearly, visually and as a felt sense, how I want things to be. Then I notice how things are…”current reality”. I then imagine an elastic band holding these two stretched apart. Then I “let go” and trust that these two organically want to come together and integrate (as an elastic band seeks to reduce the tension). I’m understanding and appreciating that my old patterns have some wisdom (protection, direction, control, expression of caring) even if this is now misguided or over-used and that integration will increase my range and discernment in expression.

Engage Your Cusiosity
Curiosity is a powerful attitude to use in making changes. Be curious to understand exactly how you are doing what you are doing. Moshe Feldenkrais is quoted as saying, “You can’t do what you want until you know exactly how you are doing what you are doing.” Here’s where curiosity is more potent than negative self-judgment. Try putting your curiosity generated information into a visual spiral map. First this happens, then this happens, then this happens, then this, and then the cycle starts over again. For example, again using Todd’s experience as an example: “I see my daughter doing something I don’t like, I try to force her not to do this, she resists, I get more forceful, she hates me, I feel unsuccessful and mad, I see my daughter acting in a way I don’t like….and the whole cycle repeats. Sooo familiar.”

Old Story /New Story
Bring to mind and a felt sense, a typical event that triggers the familiar repeating cycle that you want to change. Notice what happens in your body—posture, feeling, breath… Discover what story you are making up about yourself.

For example: Event—someone tells me they didn’t like how I did something. Body—I look down and tighten up. Story I make up–I am incompetent and can’t do anything right.

Now see what new story you would like to grow into. New Story—I am competent and can increase my skill. Body—When I am in this new story, I stand tall, feel my core strength, and can stay in contact. I know that I can make good use of feedback from others.

Let Yourself Be Nourished
When you stop efforting, let yourself be nourished by small shifts in your attitude or responses. Change sometimes happens spontaneously, and sometimes in little increments over time. Generally a change in an organizing belief moves from 1) always or never, 2) sometimes, 3) even if, 4) resiliency. It also tends to move from external reference to internal reference.
An example not related to Todd: 1) I always give away my power, 2) okay, now I see that sometimes I do stand up for myself, 3) even when things don’t go well, it doesn’t mean I’m weak and inadequate, 4) I am confident that I can handle situations with resilience.

Address Concerns
Ask yourself what parts of you have concerns about the change you want to make. (I.e. Maybe some part of you is worried that if you start being more collaborative, you will seem weak or lose control or be humiliated…. whatever.) The information from this question is often surprising and understandable from a historic or cultural point of view. Then ask what does this concerned part of you need to be able to stop interfering with the change. (I.e. Maybe the concerned part needs to know and learn to trust that a new way will be more effective and satisfying and doesn’t involve becoming weak; or that you will still be able to use directive power when appropriate…. Maybe the needs are even simpler.) What appears to be resistence usually responds and softens with acknowledgment.
(Thank you to the Hakomi Method, Internal Family Systems and Western Qabalah for this.)

Do it Over
Look for moments and situations in which it is possible to “do it over.” Again, using Todd’s situation, see what happens if you tell your children, you didn’t like the way that went down. Ask if you could do it over again differently. Even when people feel hurt, I find that they generally feel remarkably generous when they know you are trying to change an attitude or behavior. They will try to support.

Get Support
Talk with your family (or your colleagues) about the change you are trying to make and get their support. Support can be emotional or in the form of feedback or willingness to do it over. Perhaps you can link this with offering them support for a change they are wanting to make.
Change is a constant. Change is evolution. Change is a process. A change in a belief and habit is something happening that wasn’t possible before.

©Copyright 2009 Cedar Barstow, M.Ed., C.H.T. All Rights Reserved. Permission to publish granted to GoodTherapy.org. The following article was solely written and edited by the author named above. The views and opinions expressed are not necessarily shared by GoodTherapy.org. 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 Cedar and/or see her GoodTherapy.org Profile

It’s no secret that a good night’s rest is a key ingredient of a happy and healthy waking life. In modern societies where time is often seen as a commodity and stress prevails among much of the population, getting a night of quality, undisturbed sleep is often seen as a luxury. But the need for adequate rest is clear, as it affects everything from mood to productivity to physical health. Recently, a study was performed to understand the impact of sleep on romantic relationships, and as you might have guessed, there is a clear correlation between the quality of sleep a couple receives and the perceived quality of their interactions.

The study followed twenty nine couples over the course of a week; each individual was asked to record their thoughts on the quality of interactions during the day, as well as information about their sleep during the night. While the information recorded about interactions was necessarily subjective to a certain degree, the trend was clear: those couples who received a poor night of sleep experienced a decrease in the quality of interactions the following day. To make matters more difficult, women who recorded poor experiences during the day subsequently received a lower quality in sleep that night, as did their partners.

This “vicious cycle” of sleep and social interaction may have important implications for therapists and counselors, especially those who work with couples. While there are a range of methods involved in working out differences and creating a positive, rewarding relationship, the benefits of working out any differences before heading off to bed can be included as a valuable tool in the arsenal of healthy relationships. And getting quality sleep may become a more pressing prescription.

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

Over the past several decades, the emergence of powerful new drugs has made recovery possible for many people who had previously struggled with other methods. While there are advocates of medication for use in mental health treatments as well as fervent opponents, however, the prevalence of these drugs tends to be collectively understood as inordinately high, especially in wealthy Western societies. Stressing the need for quality, comprehensive therapy for clients intent on resolving their issues, many professionals have jumped on the bandwagon of educating the public about their range of choices when it comes to seeking mental health treatment. Recently, famed writer/psychologist Richard Bentall, who has previously published award-winning books on the mental health fields, has released a tome which underscores the need for a collective makeover of the psychiatric landscape, a book which has firmly ensconced itself in the effort to bring about more therapy and less drug dependency.

Bentall’s new book, Doctoring the Mind, does its fair share to expose the modern professional preferences for medication, but also works toward the encouragement of healthier and more accessible alternatives. One of the writer’s key points is that mental health clients in search of professional support are often seeking just that –support–, rather than a write-off with a pathologizing diagnosis and a trip to the pharmacy. As a result, Bentall notes, people suffering in countries with poor medical care and widespread poverty are often actually more likely to achieve a greater standard of mental well-being; as their concerns are met with the support of extended family or community or religious leaders rather than impersonal treatment and pills, their likelihood to experience a lasting, meaningful improvement is increased. While mental health medications are not outright condemned in every instance, their prevalence in treatments is likely to take a hit from the new text, adding to the success of professionals rallying for a different kind of “care” in mental health.

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

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

I am writing this article as the plane I’m on rises to join a sky that clamors to support and embrace it. And as I struggle to wrestle my unruly, petulant judgments about air travel, I find myself reflecting on the actual journey that I have taken. Not a vacation, but my return to from where I lived most of my years as a young adult. I had returned to Virginia to help my mother, and all of her memories packed in unassuming boxes, as they travel to their new home in Arizona.

The process of moving my mother, and our history in Virginia also comes on the heels of a dear friend’s request to write a letter for his parents as part of a scrapbook in celebration of their anniversary. And as both of these experiences ask for my reflection upon “the past,” I find that they also make me consider the idea of “attachment” and “impermanence.” Maybe you can relate.

The classic saying about change is that change is the only thing that is truly predictable; nevertheless, and as my trip to Virginia serves to remind me, no matter what one is attached to, it is not “permanent.” Thought it may be uncomfortable, and illicit strong reactions as you consider it, impermanence is what is permanent. Everything, and anything in life, is temporary, even this very moment. For while we may seek to get attached to things, people, events, substances, emotions, money, objects, beliefs, perceptions of others, even memories of the past, and ourselves, it is predictable that things do end. We just do all that we can to avoid it.

The Attachment

You see, it is our attachment to having that experience, that relationship, that purchase “we just can’t live without” that causes pain, because we are constantly seeking something. Then, as if in a karmic house of cards tumbling down, someone or something else becomes that next thing we want. It is never-ending, for the something just changes form, all to maintain the idea that we are not enough, in and of ourselves, without it, whatever it is.

But we can live without it, for our relationship with what we seek will have to change for us to reduce our pain. It is, ironically, when we release the want for something that we remember how to live, and enjoy knowing that we already have enough. By not hoarding and accumulating that which, truly, does not serve our highest good and that which is our true nature, we obtain freedom.

Furthermore, even our attachment to things “staying as they are” causes us great pain, for it is in the attachment, the desire, the focus on that which we seek to possess, that creates the struggle. Our true self is not found in that item, relationship, next experience, substance, nor were they found in the boxes of memories at my mother’s house.

Memories

As I went through the boxes, I noticed a subtle but overt reaction in me, some kind of yearning, a pang of something that sought my attention, that wanted me to explore and dive into it, feet first and without reservation. And what I found was somewhat disquieting. For it wasn’t the memories themselves tugging at my heartstrings, like a mad puppeteer, it was my attachment to their meaning.

As I allowed myself to dive into the experience, I became conscious of my attachment to the idea of how many of those relationships reflected in those boxes of memories, used to be. Of course, also forgetting the impermanence of the relationships and the transitory nature of every one we have. And, by attaching to the images of those relationships, back then, I missed the value of accepting those relationships, in the now. My true self wanted me to look at those relationships today. See them in the purest form, and be accepting of their appearance in the present.

From those boxes of childhood photographs and memorabilia I also could revisit the relationships and their reminder that now, is not then. In my life, for example, the dear friend whose relationship was that of the brother I never had, I can learn to let go of how it “used to be,” and meet his struggle with addiction and anxiety with compassion. For it is in any attachment to “back then” that we can be seduced to ignore the present. Instead, I have to consciously witness his behavior from the now, as opposed to denying it, just to maintain an attachment to the idea of who he “used to be.”

Not only did my true self ask me to drop my attachment to solely seeing many of my relationships as they used be, I was also reminded to cherish their evolution. For example, even staying in contact with a first love, cherishing his friendship, but from a place of acknowledging the man he has become, and his life now, rather than identifying solely with memories of “back then.”

For it is in the avoidance of impermanence that we reaffirm an attachment to the past. Instead, we must see the cast of characters in our memories, and ourselves, as they are now, not just as they were. Reminding us that impermanence is the only permanent thing.

©Copyright 2009 by Sarah Jenkins, MC, LPC. All Rights Reserved. Permission to publish granted to GoodTherapy.org. The following article was solely written and edited by the author named above. The views and opinions expressed are not necessarily shared by GoodTherapy.org. Questions or concerns about the following article can be directed to the author or posted as a comment to this blog entry.
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For many therapists and other mental health professionals, the symptoms of obsessive compulsive disorder, or OCD, are fairly clear. But for parents of children who suffer from related difficulties, it’s not always a straightforward matter to distinguish between positive and unhelpful behaviors, and sometimes parents’ efforts to help their children can have the opposite effect. Validating the behaviors associated with OCD is a common, and often unintentional, result of parents’ reactions to their children’s symptoms. But through consultation with a mental health professional and a better understanding of how OCD tends to work, parents can provide the care they seek to bestow upon their children without worsening symptoms.

A study recently published in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology has revealed that a large number of families engage in what the study terms as “accommodations,” which typically take place when parents wish to soothe upset over a particular worry or concern experienced by a child. Such accommodations can include assistance in carrying out obsessive rituals, or the verbal assurance of certain conditions about which the child is worried.

The study, conducted at the University of Florida, aimed to discover if therapy delivered to both young clients and their families could achieve more positive results, and to determine whether such therapies impacted the families as well as the children involved. Significantly, families who participated in the study showed a decrease in the occurrences of accommodating behaviors, in a direct relationship with the improvement of the child’s symptoms. The study may have important implications for the fields of child and family therapy, as the message that including family members in treatment is continuing to gain momentum throughout these fields.

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Though there have been many positive trends in the worlds of therapy and mental health treatments over the past few years, not all areas have been improving. Amidst a chaotic and stressful society with increasingly tight demands on youth, eating disorders have become a more prominent issue in the United States and around the world than many had imagined, touching the lives of children –especially adolescent girls– with alarming frequency. A great deal of treatments and programs have been developed in an effort to help curb the development and pervasiveness of anorexia, bulimia, and other sufferances, but one approach proposed by Houston psychotherapist Mary Jo Rapini takes an angle that’s close to home.

Specifically, Rapini’s focus is on the relationship between girls and their fathers. While it’s well known that healthy relationships between children and their parents are essential for positive childhoods and the creation of many proactive behaviors, the specific interactions of fathers and daughters as they relate to issues of body image are less often discussed. Rapini notes that fathers can help their daughters achieve a more positive body image by participating in healthy family activities and being open about the paternal love a father feels for his child.

Though the intention is rarely present, Rapini contends, fathers sometimes contribute to their daughters’ difficulties with self-image and self-esteem by focusing on their appearance –or by ignoring it altogether. Advocating balance and the inclusion of behaviors that support healthy eating and exercise habits, all while maintaining a meaningful relationship, is key to the Houston specialist’s tactics for curbing eating disorders before they develop. Through the power of the family, eating disorders may find their match and give in to the positive trends enjoyed elsewhere in the realm of mental health.

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

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Chances are good that someone you know suffered or will suffer from a major depressive episode (MDE), according to a nationwide study by the US government’s Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA’s 2007 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH)). An estimated 16.5 million people in the US, one in 13 adults aged 18 or over (7.5 percent), experienced major depression during the study’s one-year time-frame. While their May, 2009 news release reports that approximately two-thirds of people suffering from a major depressive episode sought help initially, less than half followed up with the recommended mental health professional counseling, took medication for the disorder or both. The research reveals why one-third did not seek even initial help, the rate of people who followed up with counseling or medication, the rates of depression among certain age groups and a significant general health association with the occurrence of a major depressive episode (MDE).

“The most frequently reported reasons for not receiving mental health services among these adults was not being able to afford the cost (43.2 percent), feeling they could handle the problem on their own (29.3 percent), not knowing where to go for services (18.1 percent), not having the time (16.7 percent), having health insurance that did not cover enough treatment (11.3 percent), and concerns about confidentiality (11.1 percent),” according to the SAMHSA news release.

Almost 45,000 civilian, non-institutionalized adults participated in the study. The research found that young people, aged 18 to 25, were slightly more likely to experience a major depressive episode (8.9 percent) as compared to people in the age group of 26 to 49 years (8.5), and that people aged 50 or over were less likely to experience it than both groups (5.8 percent). Almost a quarter (24 percent) of the people who experienced major depression and saw a doctor or mental health professional did not use a prescription medication for the disorder. The rate of MDE among people who reported poor or fair health was greater than three times as many as those who reported excellent health.

As the release reports, “MDE is defined as a period of two weeks or longer during which there is either depressed mood or loss of interest or pleasure and at least four other symptoms that reflect a change in functioning, including problems with sleep, eating, energy, concentration, and self-image.” Such episodes can last for weeks, months and even longer. Major depression can be severely debilitating, affecting employment, housing, relationships, legal status, health and safety. Seeking help and following through with mental health counseling, often called psychotherapy, that is shown to help with depression and/or medication prescribed by a doctor or nurse practitioner (ARNP) is highly recommended if you or someone you know is experiencing depression.

Needless suffering can usually be avoided with psychotherapy or counseling and/or medication.

References

SAMHSA Nationwide report reveals that 1 in 13 adults experienced major depressive episode in the past year, SAMHSA News Release. Press Office, May 19, 2009, Internet source at http://www.samhsa.gov/newsroom/advisories/0905184956.aspx

SAMHSA 2007 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). Internet source at http://oasbeta.samhsa.gov/2k9/149/MDEamongAdults.cfm

©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 Jolyn and/or see her GoodTherapy.org Profile.