Due to requests from listeners, the eighth podcast will be focusing on the myriad of Anxiety Disorders (i.e., GAD, PTSD, OCD, phobias, panic attacks). Included in the discussion will be causes, biological precursors, common co-morbid conditions, assessment issues, and treatment options. Ways to pick a good professional who understands these disorders will also be commented upon, along with some holistic and layperson methods to combat them.
Posted in Podcasts | Tagged Acute Stress Disorder, Agoraphobia, anxiety disorders, CBT, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, compulsions, defining trauma, depression, GAD, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, histrionic episode, holistic approaches, medical treatment, obsessions, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, OCD, Panic Disorder, phobia, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD, Rational-Emotive Behavior Therapy, REBT, rumination | Comments Off on Eighth Podcast
In this podcast, the concept of individual responsibility as applies to the supposed influence of various forms of media (e.g., TV, movies, music, video games, books) will be discussed and examined. Why media is not considered responsible for the miscellaneous miscreant and irrational actions of persons is stated, along with some suggestions given for parents to help “media proof” their underaged children from the potential undue influence of material that their level of cognitive development may be too “underdeveloped” to ward off and/or make sense of in a rational sense. The author’s position is that media can only really “cause” or strongly influence others to act inappropriately when those persons are psychologically damaged and/or severely disordered from the outset. So-called “normal” adults and adolescents (particularly those who have been properly parented) have the cognitive and emotional abilities to realize that whatever “messages” are being seen, read, or heard are merely “vicarious” and “fantasy based” forms of entertainment and mostly not to be replicated or imitated in “real time”.
Posted in Podcasts | Tagged acting-out behaviors, back-masking, Bible, books, censorship, Elvis, heavy metal, Judas Priest, Mark Twain, media, movies, Music, Ozzy, Parenting, PMRC, printed media, rap, rock, rock and roll, teenagers, TV, video games, violence | Comments Off on Seventh Podcast
The sixth podcast (which is the last one in this series about substance use disorders) continues to elaborate on various issues related to the topic of substance-based disorders. Persons who haven’t listened to the previous three podcasts on this topic are strongly encouraged to do so prior to listening to this podcast. Intake and assessment aspects are considered in detail in this podcast, along with delineating frequently occurring co-morbid conditions and various treatment methods to deal with them. The theme of personal power will be continued, along with suggestions as to how to enact treatment protocols without the use of more traditional “disease model” constructs.
Posted in Podcasts | Tagged 12 Steps, addictions, Adlerian Psychology, adolescents, adults, assessment, co-morbid disorders, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, cognitive testing, Cognitive Therapy, confidentiality, disease concepts, existential issues, families, identity, intake interview, MMPI-A, MMPI-II, parents, personal power, personal responsibility, psychological testing, Rational Thinking, Rational-Emotive Therapy, self-efficacy, self-esteem, spirituality, Teens, treatment | Comments Off on 6th Podcast
The fifth podcast (which is the 3rd in this series of podcasts dealing with substance abuse and dependency) continues to elaborate on various issues related to the topic of substance-based disorders. Persons who haven’t listened to the previous 2 podcasts on this topic are highly encouraged to do so prior to listening to this podcast. Various concepts about substance abuse and dependency, as well as common co-morbid conditions, will be discussed. How to change one’s life and begin to reclaim the power given away through the abuse of substances will also be introduced and outlined, along with suggestions as to how to enact them. In the last podcast in this series that is up and coming soon, a more in-depth treatment model will be outlined, as well as some concluding comments for persons who might know others who need assistance in reclaiming their lives from substances.
Posted in Podcasts | Tagged abstinence, ADHD, anxiety disorders, choice model, classical conditioning, co-morbid conditions, conduct disorder, depressive disorders, disease model, disruptive behavior disorders, environmental cues, LD, learning, personal power, personality disorders, recovery, responsibility, self-control, self-efficacy, setting events, substance abuse, substance dependency, substances | Comments Off on 5th Podcast
The fourth podcast continues to elaborate on various issues related to the topic of substance-based disorders. This particular podcast will continue to define terms as needed, as well as introduce some new concepts about substance abuse and dependency. The constructs of “choice”, “responsibility”, and “personal power” will be brought up, along with the demystification of common misconceptions (i.e., the so-called “disease model”). Various assessment and treatment models will also be introduced and discussed more completely in the next podcast, as will common co-morbid conditions.
Posted in Podcasts | Tagged 12 Steps, addiction, belief systems, choice model, disease model, personal power, responsibility, substance abuse, substance dependency, SUD, teenagers, young adults | Comments Off on 4th Podcast
In this third podcast (and in several future ones to come), the topic of substance-related disorders is going to be introduced. This particular podcast will focus on the basics of defining terms for the listener (e.g., “abuse” versus “dependence”), along with certain drugs and their classes. It is seen as crucial for the listening audience who intend on following the upcoming podcasts to listen carefully to this initial introductory one concerning substances, in order to use and apply the concepts introduced in this podcast to the later ones (which will look at various “causal factors” and treatment issues, as well as typical accompanying co-accompanying disorders with teens and adults).
Posted in Podcasts | Tagged abuse, addiction, dependency, drugs, substances | Comments Off on 3rd Podcast
This second podcast discusses the possibility of children and adolescents being identified as “antisocial”, which is not officially allowed in the current edition of the DSM. In addition, what to do when and if this situation presents itself is discussed, along with commonly accompanying phenomena. Historical perspectives of various terms, such as “psychopath” and “sociopath”, are also presented, as is being able to differentiate them from the term “antisocial”.
Posted in Podcasts | Tagged adolescents, antisocial, children, diagnosis, DSM, psychopath, sociopath, teenagers | Comments Off on Second Podcast
This first podcast deals with music and its role in the lives of those for whom it is important. Suggestions to parents as to how to help monitor the types of media their offspring see, listen to, and visit (online) are made, along with ideas as to how to connect with them more effectively using the music (as opposed to trying to restrict or condemn that with which they often identify). Also, how to potentially locate and screen for a potential therapist for yourself and/or your offspring is introduced, should the scenario come to that.
Posted in Podcasts | Tagged Communication Skills, Music, Parenting, Teens, Therapy | Comments Off on First Podcast
This article is intended as a guideline and introduction for anyone who wishes to relate to youth in a more personal and nonthreatening manner by engaging them “on their own turf”. Particularly if the reader is an educator, parent, or mental health individual, this paper might awaken you to an alternative “therapeutic” tool that can reach your young charges in a nonthreatening, fun, and rewarding manner.
Click here to read “Music: A Common Denominator with Youth.”
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If you or your loved ones find the holiday seasons to be times that engender added stress in your life, this article may assist you in realizing you’re not alone. Several types of commonly encountered stressors (as well as stressors that appear with persons who are already in a “one down” position for one reason or another) that exist during holiday times (particularly the major holidays) are briefly introduced, along with some strategies designed to minimize their negative impact so that the holidays can be enjoyed more fully.
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