Counseling and Psychotherapy
Manipulation Tactics: 2 Triangulating Tactics Controllers Use
Have you ever heard of the term “triangulate” or “triangulation?” It’s a term that refers to the act of confusing a situation in such a way that 3 or more people are fighting against each other. A classic example of this is when your son or daughter runs to dad to ask for something that the mother has already told the child she/he could not have. It’s a phenomenon that keeps many of us struck.
Should Clients Be Touched By Therapists? Some Say No, I Say, Develop A Balanced View
Some therapists completely shy away from touching/hugging their clients for fear of sexual assault lawsuits or being manipulated. I was once this therapist until I recognized that this wasn’t me, but a common fear in my field that had almost controlled my style. Now that I have freed myself from the chains of fear caused by repeated discussions of this topic by fearful therapists, I believe developing a balanced view of touch with clients is more healthy and beneficial to everyone involved.
Mental Health Care: Can You Visibly Identify Someone Who Might Need Your Help?
What personality characteristics, physical appearances, lifestyles, or career titles might prevent you from recognizing desperate search for help from others? For many of us, it can be very difficult to visibly spot someone who is struggling with depression, anxiety, or other difficulties that involve mental health. There are plusses and minuses to this. It is great if your boss cannot see that you are exhausted and depressed, but very bad if you own mother or spouse does not recognize it. Let’s talk a bit about recognizing mental fatigue and emotional need.
The Psychology of Group Influence: 4 ways to stay true to yourself
Are you easily influenced by a group of people or a group decision? Are you aware of how much of a follower many of us can be? Or…do you think you are quite independent, often straying away from the narrow-minded thinking of groups in society? Find out how to remain true to yourself in a world that favors “groupthink.”
How Families Can Cope With A Loved One With Borderline Personality Disorder
Borderline personality disorder affects a great deal of our population but research is still lacking on the subject. Sadly, there is very little research about specific populations suffering from BPD such as adolescents and males. So sometimes the only hope is that you learn about it yourself. Become your own advocate.
Special Needs Book Review Website for Parents & Families
Special Needs Book Review is a wonderful website for parents, families, and caregivers who are caring for a child with special needs. You can find resources, support, and books that are useful for everyday life. The most popular portion of the site is the Author Interview Series where professionals and parents are interviewed about their upcoming books on the topic of special needs.
What’s the hardest thing about family therapy? Myths and challenges
Family therapy is not as simple as it may appear. There are tons of techniques, approaches, and “schools” of thought that influence the flow of a single session. A therapist’s style will also influence the flow of family therapy. What most people struggle to realize is that family therapy is not just an opportunity to attend therapy together as a family, but rather a chance to challenge each other, discuss very uncomfortable subjects that affect the family unit, and make real changes.
Checking the background of your doctor
When you first look at a doctor what are your preconceived notions? Does he look intelligent, harmless, and well put together? Does he look innocent? Do you find yourself thinking “he/she is a doctor, they want to help people not hurt them.” If so, you’re …
How Burn-Out Affects Mental Health Professionals
Have you ever heard of the terms “burnout,” “compassion fatigue,” or “secondary traumatic stress?” If not, you’ll soon find out what these terms mean in this article. Each week we discuss issues specific to parents, families, caregivers, and individuals who are living with or helping someone with a mental health condition. But this week, we’ll talk a bit about the mental health professional and the challenges many helpers face. The challenges that mental health professionals face can ultimately affect the type of service you receive. This doesn’t mean that the professional is incapable of helping you, but it does mean that skill level can be affected. You should be aware of how compassion fatigue affects someone you are working closely with.
Psychosis: Symptoms, disorders, and ways to cope
Families, friends, and caregivers are often uninformed about the type of psychotic symptoms their loved one may be experiencing. For many therapists, including myself, observing and correctly identifying symptoms can be extremely complex and require months if not years of psychological evaluation.Psychotic disorders include a profound disturbance in perception and thought. They can entail a host of symptoms.
Discussing the Controversy of Borderline Personality Disorder Traits in Adolescents
Over the past two weeks I have enjoyed writing about and sharing with you the diagnostic issues and parental fears surrounding Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) and the possibility of adolescents being diagnosed with the disorder. Last week we discussed treatment options for adolescents exhibiting borderline …
Can Teens Be Diagnosed With Borderline Personality Disorder?
Are you the parent, grandparent, or family member of a teen or pre-teen who exhibits an inability to control their impulses, emotional reactions, behaviors, aggression, suicidal thoughts, self-injurious behaviors, and anger? Is the behavior so extreme that you are afraid to discuss minor issues for …
Effective problem-solving in a crisis
Crisis. What comes to mind when you hear this term? Do you think of natural disasters such as hurricanes, national health concerns like the Ebola virus, personal struggles such as a divorce or failed relationship, or perhaps something less dramatic but still emotionally draining such …
When your child is 302’d: What Should You Know?
Involuntary commitment. What comes to mind when you hear this word? Chaos and confusion? Fear and pandemonium? Loss and grief? For many parents, having to commit your child to a hospital against their will is something that doesn’t fit into the schema of adults. The …
Eating Disorders: When Eating Becomes A Prison
Do you know someone with an eating disorder? Do you know what it is? Trying to support a loved one or friend who sticks her finger down her throat to purge the food she just ate, strips you of your ability to reason and make …
6 Subtle characteristics of the pathological liar
Have you ever communicated with a person who seemed to live in a fantasy world where everything said “felt” false? What about having an experience with a person who always seems mysterious and nothing they say ever comes to fusion? Well…if so, you might have …
Characteristics of the stalker: Know what to look for
When you think of the word stalker what comes to mind? Do you think violence and vengefulness? Do you think fear on the part of the stalker? Do you think about the stalker’s lack of communication skills or even mental health problem(s)? Many people would agree that …
Speaking out about mental health changes lives
A few months ago I discussed making Personal Stories Week a yearly endeavor with a former colleague and one thing she said stood out to me: “people enjoy hearing and sharing good stories.” While I didn’t agree with her nonchalant stance on true stories of …
Personal Stories Week – August 18-24
It’s that time of year again when I collaborate with a group of readers, writers, parents, twitter followers, friends, and colleagues to discuss, during 1 entire week on blogs.psychcentral.com/caregivers (PsychCentral), their experiences with mental illness or other mental health challenges. Their experiences could be personal or …
Change Is The Hardest Thing Ever
Change. It’s a simple word but it can mean so many things to the person experiencing the change. I’ve had many changes in my personal life, changes that were both good and bad. Some change is on time and other changes come at the wrong …
Fear, Uncertainty, and Discouragement: A normal condition of human existence
How many of you rely on your faith for strength and courage as a caregiver, as an individual living in this stressful world, or as someone suffering from a mental health condition? For many people, their faith is the only thing they have to hold …
National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month
Did you know that July is National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month? If not, you’re not alone. Sadly this month is often overlooked by the majority of Americans. It is a time when summer has bloomed, fireworks have entered the scene, and multiple summer parties …
Can you spot a pathological liar?
Think back to an age at which you told the most lies or “fibs?” Were you 4, 5, 8, or 10? Why did you tell the lie? Were you trying to get something in return, manipulate a situation in your favor, or avoid hurting someone’s …
Alex Hribal: A puzzle for professionals everywhere
Do you remember my article published on Alex Hribal, a 16-year old who stabbed 20 high school students and an adult in the Franklin Regional High School of a quiet suburb in Pennsylvania? The article was titled: Parental Responsibility in Tragedy through my sister-site Psychcentral/caregivers. The …
The Overworked Mental Health Professional
Each week I see myself mentally, physically, and emotionally deteriorating (in inches) every time I encounter a new client, a new situation, a new challenge, a new mystery. It’s part for the course as a helping professional. No one will escape the fatigue. The field …
A long string of violent acts – A cry for help or criminal behavior?
What do you think of this paragraph? She had reason to worry. When her son showed up at her Queens home in May 2009, he beat her, striking her in her face multiple times, and then wrapped an electrical cord around her neck. “Mom, I …
Mental Health In A Failed American System
Available April 22! Is the mental health system making you feel all alone, lost, confused, and angry? If so, you are not alone. A therapist shares her experiences and insights about the system with multiple stories and resources for parents, families, and caregivers. She also …
10 Cognitive Distortions That Keep Us Bound
Today I spoke with a good friend from graduate school about recent changes in her life. No matter how positive some parts of the change was, she found some way to think of the negative. We began to review what we had learned in school …
Shopping Around in the Mental Health System
When I go grocery shopping, I rarely stop at one store to buy all of my items. I often “cherry pick” by getting all meat from one store, my fresh produce at another, and then my dry goods at another. By the end of the …
The history of medicine – have we progressed?
William Halsted and Sigmund Freud were two “scientists” who went down trying to crack the mystery of substance abuse use (Freud) and searching for the strongest numbing agent for surgical procedures (Halsted). Their nightmare was characterized by strong addictions, medical complications, and extreme health problems. …
Would you know what to expect in a mental health evaluation?
Would you know what to expect in a mental health evaluation? A mental health assessment is often the very first step toward seeking mental health services. For youngsters, mental health assessments are more involved because parents, schools, and other people of importance are often included such …
Youths in crisis: what are we doing wrong? (Video)
This is something I deal with daily in my work with youngsters. Many days it feels like we’re all doing everything wrong. Other days, are quite different. But where are we going to intervene and how? This is something we rarely discuss for fear of …
5 Benefits of Group Therapy
5 Benefits of Group Therapy Group therapy is often disapproved of and shunned as a nuisance. But I believe, although I am not a big fan of it, that group therapy has 5 important benefits for both teens and adults. Find out what those benefits …
Need help getting psychologically prepared for the New Year?
Need help getting psychologically prepared for the New Year? The New Year is always met with resistance because it means change. Some change is good, some is bad. For many of us, we will enter the new year with debt, new worries, insurance woes, reduced …
Failing to Bring Awareness to Mental Health in the Workplace
This presentation was presented at the Pittsburgh Carnegie Library, Business and Technology Series event December 19. This presentation discusses the problems associated with corporations, organizations, and other businesses in failing to bring awareness to the existence of mental health. This presentation also touches upon the …
A Reminder: True Meaning During Christmas Time
Hello there! I wanted to personally send my best wishes for a wonderful holiday season. This time of year is a wonderful time because it allows us to think over the accomplishments of the year, remember people we love, give gifts from the heart, and …
A Balanced View: Having a baby with severe mental illness
An article was published a few weeks ago and circulated by www.rethinkmentalillness.org. The question that was posed was “am I crazy for wanting a baby with schizophrenia?” Many responded with both positive and negative replies, but many were imbalanced. Imbalanced information in the field of …
Book: Mental Health In A Failed American System
Get the e-Nook book on Barnesandnoble.com now! Looking for the paperback version? Released April 22, 2014! Book Description Families of an individual with a mental health diagnosis or special need are often the most frustrated and powerless among us. These individuals experience a host of …
