The next section of the mental health treatment plan is often referred to as “Recommendations”. Recommendations are closely related to our previous post in the Mental Health Treatment Plan series, the section about Partners in Therapy. Recommendations, which may require serious thought , fine-tuned perception, as well as practical research by your therapist, may actually refer to some of your partners in therapy. For example your therapist may recommend that you see another type of professional while you are in therapy, such as a psychiatrist, a medical doctor, a social worker, and so on who might also be described as a partner in therapy. He might be specific—for example, he may recommend you get a complete physical in order to determine that your symptoms don’t have a physiological basis. Or he might suggest that you do a particular activity with a supportive friend or family member. Read more, here.
Richard's Blog and Videos
Your Therapist’s Recommendations: Upclose and Personal
Posted in Addiction Treatment, General, Mental Health Treatment Plan, Psychotherapy.
– March 10, 2010
Skills for Psychotherapy Patients: Part 4
Posted in General.
– March 9, 2010
Victim or Positive Thinker?
Rarely do opposing viewpoints divide people so dramatically, or influence people’s lives in so many areas than the two main opposing outlooks on the subject of victimhood. The question of one’s status as victim—specifically as it pertains to emotional problems and psychotherapy—is something we write about in Therapy Revolution. On the one hand some people might need to affirm that they were at one point innocent victims in order to get rid of crippling shame/blame/guilt. On the other, some may have to give up their status as victims, in order to learn to take responsibility for their thoughts, speech, and actions.
This divide also plays out culturally, and can profoundly impact our views on society, and the roles of and government. For those who hold that we are totally responsible for our conditions in life, whatever they might be (except perhaps in specific circumstances such as the occurrence of natural disaster or genetic disabilities or illnesses), then when we aren’t successful, well, it’s simply our own fault. For those who never met a weakness or failure that they couldn’t pathologize or otherwise explain away (think Tiger Woods), those they choose to align with, are permanent victims of those they don’t.
Read more, here: http://blogs.psychcentral.com/therapy-soup/2010/03/positive-thinking-vs-victim-identity/
Posted in General.
– March 9, 2010
Stress & Addiction: What You Need to Know
Author Steven Diamond’s web site, www.StopStressingNow.com is host to a fascinating array of bloggers on the subject of stress. See my latest blog post, Can Stress Lead to Addiction: The Five (5) Warning Signs.
Posted in General.
– March 8, 2010
Schizophrenia, Crime, and Perception
Schizophrenia is among the most misunderstood and feared mental illnesses. Yet, today many people struggling with schizophrenia are helped tremendously by medication. Read more on our PsychCentral.com Blog, Therapy Soup.
Posted in General.
– March 8, 2010
Computer Gone Wild
Co-writer C.R. takes the reins with this saga of major computer angst and the lessons she learned.
Posted in General.
– March 7, 2010
Therapy Partners: The Treatment Plan Series
Relationship—to God, self, family, friends, coworkers, and others—is for many of us the most defining, challenging, and rewarding aspect of our lives. Broken hearts, misunderstood murmurings, deep and abiding love, retreat, annoyance, inspiration, even anger, are the messy colors with which relationships finger-paint our days. While work, sports, even spiritual service and other activities may excite or dismay us, when it comes to our relationships we can never quite pin down our feelings—they are always in flux due to the ever-changing dynamics of intention, emotions, and shifting meaning.
Read more, here.
Posted in Depression, Evaluation, General, Mental Health Treatment, Mental Health Treatment Plan, Psychotherapy, Therapy Patients.
– March 3, 2010
We Miss You!
Due to very annoying technical problems including a motherboard malfunction, loss of data due to a failed external hard drive, and other techie nightmares, we are behind schedule! Want something to read in the meantime? Thanks to Mike in New Mexico, you can read our newsletter online here:
Posted in Addiction Treatment, Anxiety, Depression, Evaluation, Find a Counselor, Find a therapist, General, Mental Health Professionals, Psychotherapy, Richard Zwolinski's Videos, Self Help Books, Therapy Patients.
– March 1, 2010
Find Your Inner Spartacus
It is a beloved Jewish teaching that when it comes to spiritual service and growth, one can learn lessons from every person. For example, the 18th century mystic Reb Zusha said that from a child, one can learn to never sit still and to keep striving for what he wants. From a thief, one can learn to keep trying to attain the “treasure” (that is, spiritual growth)—if a thief fails one night, he will try the next night, and so on.
The same holds true for the path of one’s psycho-emotional growth. When it comes to recovery, whether it is recovery from a mental illness or an addiction, one can learn a lot from all kinds of people. Even from a rather violent (though compelling), figure currently in the public’s eye, the ancient gladiator, Spartacus.
The character of a warrior (or gladiator), in general, and the freedom-fighting gladiator Spartacus in particular, offers many points of instruction for those struggling with emotional health.
Posted in General.
– February 23, 2010
Does Therapy Work? Text and Radio Interview
It’s unbelievable. Nearly one third of patients with depression reported that therapy was pretty much useless. Can you imagine if antibiotics or a particular surgery failed a third of the time? Would the FDA allow this to continue? What if your car’s brakes were little or no help a third of the time? Psychotherapy is a health and safety issue, too.
Read more at Therapy Soup on PsychCentral.com.
Posted in General.
– February 19, 2010
