Who are we talking about?  You know. Those people. The ones who aren’t as (fill in the blank yourself, if you like): intelligent, open-minded, generous, kind, intellectual, deep-thinking, politically astute, as we are. Read more.

Recent research shows that marijuana may relieve some of the symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The debate rages on, but many people, both kids and adults, are reporting the alleviation of their symptoms with marijuana usage. It helps slow down the progression of rapidly firing thoughts—something that plagues those with ADHD and makes it hard for them to focus.

Still, I take a firm stand against the use of marijuana for the treatment of ADHD and I’ll explain why. ADHD is believed to be caused by five different factors or combinations of these factors:

• genetics
• brain injuries
• environmental factors
• food additives
• sugar

Because we don’t yet really understand what causes ADHD and only have a partial understanding of its effects, we may be missing the boat in terms of treatment.

Currently the most popular treatments include Adderall XR, Concerta, Daytrana, Desoxyn, Dexedrine, Dextrostat, Focalin XR, Metadate ER, Metadate CD, Methylin, Ritalin, Ritalin SR, Ritalin LA, Strattera, and Vyvanse. Dexedrine and Ritalin, probably among the most name recognizable of these treatments, seem to have a paradoxical effect in those with attention deficit disorder. Rather than cause the brain processes to speed up and out of control, when given to those with ADHD these amphetamines may cause enhanced focus. But these and other medications come at a cost.

Some of the possible side effects include decreased appetite, sleep problems, nervous tics, and sometimes personality changes. Other treatments such as behavioral therapy have actually helped children change their behavior. Anger management, reflecting, and impulse control can be taught but therapy may not help alleviate many of the uncomfortable symptoms.

So if marijuana appears to be working, what’s the problem? Marijuana is known as a gateway drug among chemical dependency counselors. This old-fashioned term actually has quite a bit of merit. Statistics show that those who use marijuana, are far more likely to try harder drugs such as cocaine and heroin than those who don’t. Though this may be related to social rather than chemical reasons, is it a risk worth taking?

It is a myth that marijuana isn’t addictive. That has been categorically proven to be untrue. There are even withdrawal symptoms from giving it up.

Another prevailing myth is that marijuana is safe. It is considered in the popular imagination to be less harmful than cigarettes or alcohol. But that simply isn’t true. Whether it is inhaled, smoked or baked into brownies it is highly toxic. There are many poisonous chemicals in marijuana and they are dangerous to your health.

Another problem with marijuana is that it is proven to cause short-term memory loss and inattention — which are the same symptoms that many people with ADHD need to eliminate. Even if a paradoxical effect occurs and memory and attention are temporarily enhanced, the longer-term effects are proven. Marijuana “burns out the brain,” hence the term for regular marijuana users, “burnouts.”

Marijuana is classified as a hallucinogenic depressant. Depending on the individual, marijuana can cause visual and auditory hallucinations and possibly those of taste, touch and smell — that is, sensing things that simply aren’t there or sensing in a distorted fashion things that are indeed there.

The depressant piece also can be a big problem, especially for those with ADHD. Anxiety and depression often co-exist with attention deficit disorder, whether they are caused by chemical changes in the brain or by the pressure of coping with the disorder and others’ response to it. Marijuana is proven to cause both anxiety and depression over the long term as well as sleep disturbances. It also can cause kids to take dangerous risks, including risks while driving and with promiscuous sexual activity.

Another problem with taking marijuana for ADHD is that it can effectively mask other conditions that might co-exist with ADHD. Learning disabilities, conduct disorders, bipolar disorder, Tourette’s syndrome and oppositional defiant disorder are just a few. If they are masked, they cannot be differentially diagnosed or treated.

So, knowing the potential problems of marijuana use in those with ADHD, what is the illicit (not prescribed) drug of choice of those with ADHD? Marijuana! An extremely high percentage of teens who smoke marijuana have ADHD. This does support the belief of those who say that marijuana medicates ADHD symptoms. But as someone who has worked in the field of mental health and addictions for over two decades I say it isn’t worth the risk. I have seen kids and families accrue far more losses than gains due to the use of pot.

Bald Eagle photo by Mike Lockart 

As we reflect on this sunny Independence Day morning, we realize this country is amazing. Nowhere else on our planet do people enjoy the freedoms (and lifestyle), we do. We have the freedom to participate in the creation of our reality.

 Our system was conceived by deeply spiritual men, who though like all of us had flaws, devoted their lives to creating a nation where the dignity of humankind would be preeminent. People like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, James Madison, Benjamin Franklin and others thought deeply about morality and virtue and the responsibility and privileges of freedom and how these must be cultivated and understood in order to lead a meaningful life.

 We have revolutionary (at the time and still today), founding documents that state: “Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion”, ( preventing the government from forcing one religion on us), and also state “or prevents the free exercise thereof”  (preventing government from restricting our right to religious expression).

 We have elected officials who are public servants—they are explicitly elected not to rule us but to serve us!

 We have a system of checks and balances built to prevent monarchs, or those who would like to rule us as monarchs, from taking away our individual freedoms.

 We are the most charitable nation on earth—billions of our tax dollars have been spent by our elected officials to help people hit by famine, flood, earthquakes, and war in nations around the world and right here at home. But even more amazing is that as individuals, Americans give more charity both proportionately and in actual dollar amounts per capita than any other citizenry on earth.

 We are, most important, a nation of individuals and this is the preeminent idea one comes away with from reading the founding documents such as the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. This country’s model is dedicated to protecting the rights, freedoms and privileges of the individual and that is what makes the founders vision so compassionate and farsighted. The individual has precedence, not the politicians, not the government, and not the country.

 Perhaps it isn’t fashionable to study the writings of the founders but if you do, you’ll probably be struck by how sincere, thoughtful, ethical, and frankly, incredibly brilliant their words are. They also seem surprisingly modern in content, if not in style.

 Though doers and intellectuals, the founders were not prophets and could not have foretold where we’d be today, poised on the cusp of seismic shifts as our country grows, shrinks, falls, rises, rolls, rocks, leans, heaves, and occasionally soars towards the future. We are a nation, yes. But perhaps nation is also a verb. We continue to nation.

But recently, with the grassroots efforts at de-stigmatization of mental illness, documentary films about mental illness have been gaining ground. A couple months ago we interviewed Katie Cadigan, producer of When Medicine Got It Wrong which explored the founding of NAMI, the National Alliance of Mental Illness. (We recommend it if you haven’t seen it—it offers a glimpse into the American cultural history of mental illness and activism).

Prior to that, Katie and her brother John (and Academy award winner Ira Wohl), made the incredible award-winning film People Say I’m Crazy, which offers a very intimate look into the story of John’s schizophrenia, his art, and his life.

The Released is a 2009 documentary that explored the difficulties faced by prisoners with mental illness as they cycled in and out of prison. And the NKM2 (No Kidding Me Too) documentary is a hopeful look at mental illness with a mission—de-stigmatization. The past few years have been fertile years for respectful, new looks at the topic.

Recently we were talking with filmmaker Paula Eiselt about her upcoming documentary called “Following Boruch,” made with executive producer, internationally acclaimed filmmaker Marco Williams. Paula has been filming her uncle (and a dear friend of ours), who has bipolar disorder as he goes about living his truly amazing life. Boruch shares insights into spirituality, creativity and living with bipolar disorder.

We can hardly wait until it’s finished and we’ll let you all know when it will be airing. Go Boruch and Paula!

The expression “busy as a bee” may actually need rethinking. Sure, bees work hard, flying many miles, collecting pollen, building hives and taking care of other bees. But a recent study shows that they know when to call it quits.

Even when constant daylight is available, bees still take an overnight break.

We humans, however, aren’t so smart. Research shows that bright lights in the hours before bedtime interfere with sleep patterns (especially lights from computers, some say). We are more inclined to stay up late and when light is available. Also, simply having access to work 24 hours a day means many of us can’t find the “off” switch—we simply don’t know how to shut down.  (We’re guilty of this self-abuse ourselves.)

Recreation, relaxation and sleep are all extremely important to our physical and mental well being. Let’s not forget this!

The bee hasn’t.

Welcome, Julie. We think most Americans are familiar only with a stereotype of Mormons and Mormonism. It’s possible that many of us are rather limited only because we don’t know any Mormons.  We may be slightly familiar with figures like the Osmonds and Mitt Romney on the one hand and sensational reports of some extremists, on the other.

We’re the first to say our own view may be somewhat limited due to lack of exposure and we don’t want to fall guilty of stereotyping, so can you reflect a bit on Mormon culture in general?  

Unfortunately, much of the media coverage on “Mormon” extremists, like Warren Jeffs for example, aren’t actually even Mormon and in no way represent Mormon culture or lifestyle.

Most practicing Mormon’s are fiercely dedicated to taking care of their families. They also generously donate time and resources, are conscientious community members, and genuinely trying to make the world better.

What does being a Mormon bring to your practice as a psychotherapist?

Being Mormon helps me to understand how a client’s spiritual beliefs and their emotional health are intertwined. I understand the importance for many clients of going to a therapist who will respect their religious beliefs and practices and not undermine them during the psychotherapeutic process.

Because of my spiritual beliefs I have a frame around the therapeutic relationship that allows me to view every person I work with as a valuable child of God, and as my spiritual brother or sister. It adds to the sacredness of the therapeutic relationship and the honor of helping my clients to navigate the deepest parts of their soul.

Where did you study? Were there any conflicts between your curriculum and your religion?

I received my MSW at the University of Utah. Yes, there were definitely things that were taught that I personally didn’t agree with. It was ironic that in my program the values of tolerance and acceptance of all faiths, cultures, and lifestyles were professed and yet there was some bashing of the religious majority. I found that odd.

Actually, we have heard instances of intolerance. And, we’re sorry to say, have even heard, from students, about the “bashing” you mention. Apparently this does occur in some academic programs, which when you think about it is rather shocking. In our opinion, an absolute prerequisite of being in the field is having a healthy respect for people’s sincere spiritual and religious beliefs.

I have and continue to work successfully with clients of all backgrounds and lifestyles. While I have strong religious convictions for my own life I don’t have an agenda for my clients in terms religious or spiritual participation.  Client’s self-determination is of utmost value to me and I meet each client where they are in their life.

Does talk about God tend to be frequent when you work with religious patients?

God is frequently a topic with religious clients, but only to the extent that God impacts their life, their emotional state, and their relationships.

Clients who have unresolved issue with authority figures, particularly with father figures, tend to transfer those issues onto their relationship with deity. If their father was critical and aloof they may experience God in a similar way. One of the most healing parts of therapy is when clients begin to experience God as a separate being from their flawed father figures which opens up new possibilities for spiritual connections.

That is a very valuable insight and one which we strongly agree with. Do you consider prayer an appropriate topic to explore or participate in during therapy sessions? Why or why not?

Prayer is an appropriate topic to discuss in therapy sessions if it part of a client’s practice and belief system. Often, religious clients who’ve previously connected to God through prayer stop praying as they work through shame, guilt, or worthlessness. I have suggested to religious clients that they challenge their feelings of worthlessness by continuing to talk to God even though they believe God doesn’t wants to hear from them.

I have participated in prayer during a therapy session once in 18 years of practice, at a client’s request.

Thank you sharing your insights about your faith and therapy, Julie. You really gave us food for thought. To see more entries in the God in Therapy series, click here!

Julie de Azevedo Hanks, LCSW, BCD is a psychotherapist specializing in women’s mental health, couples counseling, and is the owner and Clinical Director of Wasatch Family Therapy, LLC in Salt Lake City, UT. Utahns also know Julie as a favorite media contributor on NBC affiliate KSL TV’s morning show Studio 5, a relationship columnist for Wasatch Woman Magazine, and a former host of KJZZ TV’s Home Team. In addition to her therapy practice, Julie is an award-winning inspirational singer/songwriter recording recorded hundreds of songs and represent her process of integrating her faith into life’s challenges. Most notably, Gladys Knight recorded Julie’s song “Mercy’s Arms” on her Grammy nominated CD Many Different Roads. You can find her on Facebook and Twitter.

To us personally, the pinnacle of general spiritual development is belief in a God who wants something from us and one of the most important pieces of what He wants from us is to help others. (A parent loves those who love his children).  Even though this belief motivates us in our work, this motivation has mostly been internal—we don’t usually advertise it.  These blog posts in the God in Therapy series are a chance to talk with readers, professionals, and others about how this all fits into therapy, if it does at all.

For some, belief changes and morphs and moves up and down, forward and back. When people are in pain, especially from with mental illness or addiction, it is easy to vacillate in spirituality. The trials of suffering, especially emotional suffering, cause one to be overwhelmed, forgetting the revealed good in their lives. Sometimes, though not always, as people weather emotional storms or other dramatic happenings in their lives, the spirituality goes from level to level to level. Emotions can overwhelm the intellect or vice versa.

Is truth evidenced by a faith that rides the waves of stormy emotions yet remains strong? Perhaps. One thing that most of the people we have spoken with about this series agree on, including many Therapy Soup readers (and a couple of the interviewees in the series): To believe or not to believe? That is the ultimate question.

Look for more God in Therapy (the whole series is here at Therapy Soup on PsychCentral.com where this post originally appeared–see the comments!)

 Honest (warts and all), interviews, coming soon.

I am briefly blogging about SAMHSA because I want to share this important resource with you.  I get emails and calls several times a week from people seeking information that can be found on the pages of SAMHSA’s web site.

SAMHSA serves as a hub for essential information and vital programs. Some of their offerings include parenting programs, excellent drug prevention programs , a homelessness resource center, local mental health services locators, trauma information, information on evidence-based practices, recovery programs, programs for the elderly and veterans, and so much more. In general, the quality of their offerings is tremendous.

If you are a patient, family member, or professional that needs information, head over to SAMHSA’s programs page.

Mental Health Education & Awareness at Valley National Bank

By Richard Zwolinski, LMHC, CASAC

How do we know when mental illness has truly become less stigmatized? When a bastion of corporate respectability hosts an event that encourages open discussion of mental illness and related issues!

Although we speak and do workshops for a variety of organizations, usually sponsors are either in the mental health and addiction fields or corporations looking to learn about mental and emotional well being and addiction prevention in the workplace. Last week, that all changed. In honor of the end of National Mental Health Month, 2010, Valley National Bank, the largest bank headquartered in New Jersey (with many branches in the NY metro area), broke charitable ground and hosted a community mental health awareness and education event at one of its Brooklyn branches on 13^th Avenue.

VP and assistant branch manager Anna Gelardo came up with the idea to host the free event which took place during regular banking hours. She and her team opened their doors to all who passed by, sent out dozens of news releases and personal invitations, handed out fliers, and set up a free, lavish dessert buffet. There was a table in the lobby where free educational materials were available including the Therapy Patient Bill of Rights developed with the help of PsychCentral readers on this blog. The bank also raffled off several copies of our book, Therapy Revolution: Find Help, Get Better, and Move On Without Wasting Time or Money.

Most of the bank’s customers joined us when they were done with their banking business. Also, many people stopped in just to schmooze with us about mental health issues and enter the raffle. They stayed for the warm atmosphere and the buffet—not a typical day at the bank! A large number of guests had family members with mental illness or were mentally ill themselves, but many were simply curious. The entire bank staff, including the tellers, was genuinely welcoming.

We hope to do many more stigma-busting, awareness and education events—the more that people feel that the topic of mental illness (and addiction, too), can be discussed openly and brought into the public consciousness, the less they have to struggle with the additional burdens of shame and blame.

Many thanks to Valley National Bank and their wonderful team including Reetu Chokshi; Jr. Graphic Designer; Anna Gelardo, VP and Assistant Branch Manager; Inderia Ram, District Manager; Vincent Demeo, Regional Manager; Marc Piro ,Vice President, Marketing/Public Relations;  Maureen Zegler, Senior First VP; and Gerald Lipkin, Chairman, President, and CEO. (Please accept our apologies if we overlooked anyone).

Are there any benefits to just doing medication visits? For example, it is less expensive for the patient to see a psychologist or other psychotherapist for regular therapy appointments.

If a psychiatrist and a psychologist (or social worker or MFCC) work closely together, in the same office or same clinic, and have regularly scheduled meetings to discuss the cases they have in common, they could, theoretically provide good treatment to a patient, with less overall cost. However, in the real world, this doesn’t happen as diligently as it should. Regularly scheduled weekly meetings to discuss cases become five-minute telephone calls every six weeks, if that. Continute reading…