Archive for Mental Health
Helping challenged kids during back-to-school time | Need to Know | PBS
Posted by: | CommentsEvery child faces challenges when heading back to school. But back-to-school time can be exceptionally difficult for the 20 percent of children who suffer from a psychiatric or learning disorder. The school environment can feel toxic to these children, for it demands so many things that summer activities don’t — the ability to sit still, get organized, stay on task, and adapt to a new, highly structured daily schedule. School also requires kids to separate from their parents and interact with peers — enormously challenging tasks for any child with anxiety.
via Helping challenged kids during back-to-school time | Need to Know | PBS.
Anda Jines MS LCPC offers mental health counseling services in the southwest suburbs of Chicago, in Tinley Park, IL (60477); near Orland Park, Oak Forest, Orland Hills, Palos Heights, Mokena, and Frankfort. Click here for more about Anda Jines MS LCPC.
Giving psychology away, one podcast at a time
Posted by: | CommentsThe Monitor had an interesting article in February, complete with links to ten psychology podcast sources. If you prefer to hear about psychology rather than reading, you might find them pretty interesting.
By Sadie F. Dingfelder
Monitor on Psychology
February 2010, Vol 41, No. 2
What has television networks and radio executives running scared? Podcasting, the relatively new way to broadcast audio and video through iPods and other portable music players.
Since 2006, when Apple incorporated podcasts into iTunes, these easy-to-download audio and music files have grown rapidly in popularity, leading many media experts to predict they will eventually eclipse cable television and radio waves.
Part of podcasts’ allure is their portability — people can watch television programs while commuting or play their favorite National Public Radio program on a walk. “You can listen or watch when it’s convenient for you,” says Dani McKinney, PhD, a psychology professor at SUNY Fredonia, who studies podcasts and other forms of educational technology.
While people are mostly downloading music and television shows, educational podcasts are also gaining popularity, McKinney says. By recording their talks as podcasts, professors are lecturing to broader audiences than they ever imagined. Taking it a step further, some psychologists are producing shows with interviews, transition music and even advertising. One such program,
Anda Jines MS LCPC offers mental health counseling services in the southwest suburbs of Chicago, in Tinley Park, IL (60477); near Orland Park, Oak Forest, Orland Hills, Palos Heights, Mokena, and Frankfort. Click here for more about Anda Jines MS LCPC.
Benefits of Support Groups
Posted by: | CommentsWhat is a Support Group?
Support groups are groups of people who share a common condition or difficulty, such as medical conditions, grief, or substance abuse. Members of a support group share their personal journey, comfort, support and advice based on their own experiences. Such groups are often run by nonprofit organizations, hospitals, clinics or other established organizations.
Support groups are different from therapy groups in that they are not necessarily run by a licensed mental health professional. They are often member run and organized, but some do invite a mental health professional to facilitate the group or to consult about how to make it most helpful.
Support groups do not focus on “group process” and therefore are not meant to uncover or treat the psychological or pathological dynamics of the members. They are simply an opportunity to meat with a supportive and understanding group of people who have had similar experiences.
When Should I Consider a Support Group?
Support groups are especially helpful in the first few months of an illness or disability, as the reality of the situation begins to set in. This is when people tend to feel alone, overwhelmed, and may not know where to turn for information.
Support groups can also be very important to people with long lasting or chronic illness, because the ongoing difficulties can otherwise wear on a person’s emotions, motivation and relationships.
What Are Some Benefits of Participating in a Support Group?
Support groups offer a variety of benefits, from the emotional to the practical. Some benefits of support groups include:
- Emotional connection and support: Sharing your honest feelings with a group of people with similar concerns can help you to feel more emotionally connected and less alone, especially if you’re feeling isolated from friends and family. A safe and welcoming environment, filled with compassion, reassurance and understanding, can also reduce any stigma you may feel over your condition. Support group members often realize how their experiences in the group have created a special bond and identity between group members. By sharing feelings, accomplishments, losses, and humor, members can develop strong emotional ties to one another. Participants sometimes form friendships that can continue beyond the support group.
- Understanding and shared experiences: It helps to know you’re not alone and to talk to others who have been through similar experiences. Hearing others’ stories can be very validating and can help you to see that your reactions, struggles or feelings are not “crazy.” A support group can offer acceptance, and can appreciate you for who you are. It is often a relief and reassuring to find others with the same illness and understand what you are going through.
- Exchange of useful information: A group can provide and share information about the issue that the group focuses on, whether it is community resources, medical information, treatment developments, or related community events. People involved often say this exchange of information is one of the most valuable elements of participating in a support group.
- Coping skills: Group members share ideas for coping. Support groups offer the chance to draw on collective experiences. Others who have “been there” may have tips or advice about coping with your condition that hasn’t occurred to you. Brainstorming with others may inspire even more ideas. For instance, swapping information about medications can help you see how others handle side effects. By learning how others have coped with similar problems, and witnessing the coping styles of others, members can improve their own problem-solving abilities. Furthermore, groups can offer members realistic feedback as they consider or try out new coping strategies.
- Emotional release: Support groups offer people the opportunity to appropriately release powerful emotions you may otherwise keep to yourself. It is an opportunity for you to share your feelings, fears, and concerns. Members who already have a highly supportive network of family and friends can find that a group provides a place to continue to share feelings without overburdening their loved ones. A safe, non-judgmental environment enables participants to acknowledge and verbalize their feelings.
- Emotional and psychological boost: Support groups can improve your mood and decrease anxiety and stress. Sharing experiences and making connections can make you feel better about life in general. Seeing others making progress in coping with their illness may give you hope and optimism about your own future. Also, your self-esteem will increase as you improve your coping abilities and as you get a sense of perspective that comes from facing difficult life challenges. Facing your challenges together as a group can make it easier to achieve personal growth through your struggles.
- Motivation: An environment of positive reinforcement, emotional support and hopefulness can encourage you to take good care of yourself. Meeting with a group of understanding individuals on a regular basis can help you to feel motivated to follow through on goals. With encouragement from a support group, you may find it easier to take a more active role in your treatment, to seek out more information, or to follow through on your doctor’s recommendations.
- Contributing: A support group is also a place to contribute, so that you might reach out to help others, and in so doing you might lift yourself up as well. Contributing is a good way to increase your sense of meaning and purpose in life, and to make use of all that you have learned on your journey through a difficult experience. At support groups you can hear about opportunities to participate in events that educate the larger community about your condition, or that support research efforts.
You may be nervous about sharing personal issues with people you don’t know. So at first, you may benefit from a support group simply by listening. Over time, though, contributing your own ideas and experiences can help you get more out of a support group.
Anda Jines MS LCPC offers mental health counseling services in the southwest suburbs of Chicago, in Tinley Park, IL (60477); near Orland Park, Oak Forest, Orland Hills, Palos Heights, Mokena, and Frankfort. Click here for more about Anda Jines MS LCPC.
Emotion Logs – A Staple of Cognitive Therapy
Posted by: | CommentsEmotion logs are frequently used in cognitive behavioral therapy, to help people identify and challenge distorted thinking patterns. They often come in chart form or in the form of questions, as I included below.
If you fill out an emotion log daily, it helps you to be mindful of your reactions to various situations. It helps you to examine your automatic thinking, and to look for any distortions, exaggerations or irrational thinking habits. It also helps you to practice disputing distorted thoughts, so as to decrease any unnecessary or exaggerated negative emotions.
We Feel the Way We Think
It is not usually the event itself that causes you to feel certain emotions, but rather your thoughts about the event. In other words, emotions depend on how you interpret a situation, and what the event or situation means to you.
My Favorite Version
There are many versions of emotion logs, some very simple, and some very complex. I like this one because it is self-explanatory and because it offers an opportunity for disputing the irrational thoughts.
1. TRIGGER: What was the trigger or activating event?
2. AUTOMATIC THOUGHTS: List the first few thoughts that popped into your mind in response to this trigger. Underline any irrational, distorted or exaggerated thoughts.
3. EMOTIONS: What emotions did you feel? Underline any emotions you felt in response to your irrational or distorted thoughts.
4. DISPUTING: Dispute one of your irrational or distorted thoughts using the following steps:
a) Select one irrational or distorted thought to dispute:
b) Is there any rational support or evidence for this thought?
c) What are some reasons or evidence against this thought?
d) What is the worst thing that could happen to you?
e) What good things might occur?
5. ALTERNATIVE THOUGHTS: List some thoughts you could use to replace your automatic distorted thoughts.
6. ALTERNATIVE EMOTIONS: What emotions would you feel in response to these alternative thoughts?
Anda Jines MS LCPC offers mental health counseling services in the southwest suburbs of Chicago, in Tinley Park, IL (60477); near Orland Park, Oak Forest, Orland Hills, Palos Heights, Mokena, and Frankfort. Click here for more about Anda Jines MS LCPC.
Fish Oil for Mental Health
Posted by: | CommentsWe often think of medication and therapy as the two main approaches to treating mental health symptoms, but I’m a strong believer in the wellness approach that also recognizes the influence of lifestyle factors such as diet, supplements, social support, spirituality and other factors.
I’ve happened across more information about the benefits of fish oil recently, this time not just about mood benefits, but also its effects of psychotic disorders. It appears that Omega 3 Fatty Acids are important for neuron cell structure and are highly concentrated in the brain. Here are a few of interesting articles on the topic.
Fish Oil to Treat Depression?
Omega-3′s may have an affect on serotonin levels.WebMD FeatureDave thinks a lot about fish these days. Study after study has suggested benefits for omega-3 fatty acids, which are plentiful in certain fish oils. But what intrigues Dave isn’t that omega-3′s might reduce his risk of heart attack, or ease the pain of arthritis. He’s hoping to lubricate his mind.
A handful of small studies have suggested that omega-3 fatty acids can help smooth out the mood swings of bipolar disorder. There are few effective treatments against the disease, so the news is a hot topic now at support groups for manic-depressives, like the Berkeley, CA, group in which Dave participates.
Continue reading on Web MD – Fish Oil to Treat Depression
Fish Oil for Psychotic Disorders
This report says that fish oil can help with psychotic disorders as well.
Taking a daily fish oil capsule can stave off mental illness in those at highest risk, trial findings suggest. A three-month course of the supplement appeared to be as effective as drugs, cutting the rate of psychotic illness like schizophrenia by a quarter.The researchers believe it is the omega-3 in fish oil – already hailed for promoting healthy hearts – that has beneficial effects in the brain. A “natural” remedy would be welcomed, Archives of General Psychiatry says. “The finding that treatment with a natural substance may prevent, or at least delay, the onset of psychotic disorder gives hope that there may be alternatives to antipsychotic drugs,” the study authors said.
Continue reading on BBC News – Fish oil supplements ‘beat psychotic mental illness’.
More Links
Here are a few more links you might like to check out to read more about the mental health benefits of fish oil.
Fish Oil Helps Treat Depression – ABC News
Fish Oil Depression — Omega-3 Fatty acids – Real Depression Help
Omega-3 Fatty Acids -PsychEducation.org
Why Not?
And all this is in addition to the multiple physical benefits of fish oil… heart health, skin, joints. So why not take it? I personally take and recommend Nature Made odorless liquid softgels (1200mg per day).
Anda Jines MS LCPC offers mental health counseling services in the southwest suburbs of Chicago, in Tinley Park, IL (60477); near Orland Park, Oak Forest, Orland Hills, Palos Heights, Mokena, and Frankfort. Click here for more about Anda Jines MS LCPC.
Carl Jung’s Red Book Revealed
Posted by: | CommentsCarl Jung
Carl Jung is a well known and influential thinker in the fields of psychiatry and psychology. I tend to think of him especially in relation to his notion of archetypes. Archetypes are a kind of psychological prototype. A collective unconscious idea, pattern of thought, or image, present accross cultures, in individual psyches.
Carl Jung’s Red Book
One of the ways that this Swiss psychologist explored his unconscious, is by making entries in his “red book” over the course of 16 years. These entries included writing as well as intricate symbolic drawings. This book, which was only recently made public, is considered by some as a great scientific work, and by others as rather controversial and unscientific.
First showing for Jung’s Red Book
Psychologist Carl Jung’s Red Book, regarded as the science’s most important unpublished work, has gone on public display for the first time.
The mammoth volume, illustrated by Jung, is being shown at the Rubin Museum in New York until 25 January. (click here for more about the First showing of Jung’s Red Book)
Myths of the Mind
What would you give to see inside the mind of one of the last century’s great psychological thinkers?
As World War I raged through Europe, Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung embarked on a somewhat psychedelic journey of self-exploration.
The sometimes disturbing voyage into his own unconscious laid the foundations for theories which came to rival those of his teacher, Sigmund Freud. (click here for more about the controversial aspects of Jung’s Book)
In pictures: Carl Jung’s Red Book
Take a closer look at the illustrations in Carl Jung’s Red Book. Fascinating! They appear to me more mystical than scientific, but they certainly do make me wonder about the symbolism and meaning behind them.
Carl Jung Video
See also my previous post with a video on Carl Jung.
Anda Jines MS LCPC offers mental health counseling services in the southwest suburbs of Chicago, in Tinley Park, IL (60477); near Orland Park, Oak Forest, Orland Hills, Palos Heights, Mokena, and Frankfort.
Coming Soon: Better Medicare Support for Mental Health
Posted by: | CommentsPlans to Improve Reimbursement for Mental Health Services
Amidst all the debate about health care reform, psychologists have been striving for parity. Although mental health care has in many was been accepted as legitimate and important, Medicare as well as many other insurance programs, have thus far often reimbursed mental health services at a much lower percentage than other health services.
On Jan. 1, Medicare will gradually begin reimbursing for mental health treatment the same way it reimburses for care of cancer or kidney disease.
The current policy, as old as Medicare itself, treats mental illness differently from physical illness, a discrepancy that discourages elderly patients from seeking help for psychiatric problems.
Medicare generally pays participating physicians 80 percent of its allowed charge per visit or procedure, with the beneficiary responsible for the remaining 20 percent. The exception? If that participating professional is a psychiatrist, psychologist or psychotherapist, Medicare reimburses only… (click here to read entire article)
Anda Jines MS LCPC offers mental health counseling services in the southwest suburbs of Chicago, in Tinley Park (60477); near Orland Park, Oak Forest, Palos Heights, Mokena, and Frankfort.
If You’ve Never Failed, You’ve Never Lived
Posted by: | CommentsMistakes and Failures Happen
“The worst mistake you can make in life, is to be continually fearing that you will make one.” This was one of the sayings in a little flip-book of quotes that I got from a teacher in junior high. I can’t remember who said it, but I find myself repeatedly reminded of it. It says volumes about the necessity of risk in life, and hints at the normalcy and usefulness of mistakes and failures.
Growth Through Error, Growth Through Risk
I’ve since come across many similar quotes, about mistakes and failures, that all carry the same core messages: failure is part of life, it is a learning opportunity and a stepping stone. We all must learn how to accept this reality, and learn from our failures. We must see it as an integral part of the fabric of life, and when life knocks us down, we’ve got to get right back up.
Here are a few examples:
- “A man’s errors are his portals of discovery.” – James Joyce
- “A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable but more useful than a life spent in doing nothing.” – George Bernard Shaw
- “It is on our failures that we base a new and different and better success.” – Havelock Ellis
- “Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.” – Robert F. Kennedy
- “When life knocks you down, you have two choices – stay down or get up.” – Tom Karuse
Some people have an idealistic view of those who have succeeded in life… as if they had never made mistakes or failed. This video shows that failure does not have to be the end of the story. Life goes on and success may be down the road after all.
Southwest Community Services Make Fundraising Fun
Posted by: | CommentsLocal Community Services Center Holds their First Eye 4 Style Fundraiser
Sandy Sorrentino-Bookhout, SCS Director of Development, and Anda Jines MS LCPC, at Eye 4 Style Fundraiser
I spent an enjoyable evening last night, with the folks from Southwest Community Services (SCS), of Tinley Park. The fundraiser, called “Ladies Night Out,” was held at Eye 4 Style in Burr Ridge, which was packed with jewelry, handbags and accessories of various sorts. It was fun, and it was great to know that all our purchases helped support the important services that SCS offers. If you are a nonprofit looking for fundraising ideas, you might want to consider Eye 4 Style.
The Cause
Southwest Community Services offers vocational rehabilitation training for adults with developmental disabilities, psychological serices and employment skills training for adults, as well as individualized occupational, speech and physical therapy/rehabilitation services for children and adults.
As you can imagine, with so many programs and services, and with the recent cuts in funding, they could use volunteers to get involved and help out, even if it’s just for a couple of hours per week. To volunteer, please call Marcia Kennedy at 708-429-1260.
Thank You
SCS accepts Medicaid, which I do not. So I occasionally send referrals their way. I’m thankful to have a great group of caring people nearby, who offer such a variety of services.
I want to say thank you to everyone involved at Southwest Community Services. You are very important members of the Tinley Park Community. And thank you to Sandy Sorrentino-Bookhout for inviting me to this event.
Video: Carl Jung – Matter of Heart
Posted by: | Comments
Carl Jung
Matter of Heart: Documentary About the Life and Work of Carl Gustav Jung
Carl Jung, a Swiss psychiatrist born in 1875, started out as one of Sigmund Freud‘s students. He went on to become a very influential thinker in psychiatry and psychology.
He was a major contributor to the field of depth psychology, which built on Freud’s ideas about the unconscious, ultimately disagreeing with Freud on people’s core needs and motivations.
He contributed and refined many ideas which continue to influence our understanding of the human psyche:
- complex
- archetype
- persona
- shadow
- anima and animus
- personality typology
- dream interpretation
- individuation, and many other ideas.
The Jung Page writes: “He had a deep appreciation of our creative life and considered spirituality a central part of the human journey. His method of interpretation of symbolic expression not only deepens our understanding of personal material, opening the psychodynamics of our personal biographies and dreams, but the deeper, collective patterns which develop within culture as well. In his memoir, Memories, Dreams, Reflections, Jung wrote that meaning comes ‘when people feel they are living the symbolic life, that they are actors in the divine drama. That gives the only meaning to human life; everything else is banal and you can dismiss it. A career, producing of children, are all maya (illusion) compared to that one thing, that your life is meaningful.’”
“Mistakes are, after all, the foundations of truth, and if a man does not know what a thing is, it is at least an increase in knowledge if he knows what it is not.”
Carl Jung
Documentary on the famous Swiss psychoanalyst, Carl Gustav Jung 1:45:16
