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9.28.2015

If you need a dose of gratitude today, take a look at this!
Beautiful works of art, painted with the artists mouth or feet only. http://www.mfpa.uk/  

 

9.26.2015

Dual Relationships, Effective Therapists and Reasonable Patient Care

To take a line from Pope Francis's visit to the US this past week, good counselors will

"accompany you in your suffering."


Yes, just that itself is healing! To share your life experiences -maybe things that you have never shared with another living human being, can be therapeutic and healing.
But, there are other requirements to an effective and helpful relationship with your therapist.

After many decades of trial and error, the professional counseling field has developed a set of ethics and laws to protect the consumer. In the case of mental health, the consumer is often vulnerable and seeking, many times facing tragedy, mental, physical or emotional pain, great loss, or debilitating fear. For these reasons, professional boundaries have been established.

Here are some things that are never professionally sound practices from a licensed clinician (believe it or not, I still here stories like this)

1. Working for your counselor or "trading" services, i.e. therapy visits for office cleaning and bartering are strictly forbidden and constitute a "dual relationship."

2. An occasional anecdote is reasonable, but, if you know more about your counselor than he/she knows about you, something is wrong.
 
3. Any financial dealings beyond paying for your therapy service is clearly of concern and a huge red flag. Misconduct includes borrowing/lending/selling/buying/gift giving.

 4. If a therapist is unable to continue to see a client, it is a reasonable standard of care that three other clinicians be provided. If a client terminates therapy, this should be respected wholly by the therapist. A patient has the right to end therapy at any given point.

5. Physical relationships, out of office invitations, intimately socializing beyond the therapy hour are unethical and can result in loss of licensure for the therapist.

A patient/client must not feel an emotional "obligation" to their clinician. For this reason, ethical counselors will maintain clear and professional boundaries that keep the client's treatment goals as the singular goal of the relationship. 

These principles do not suggest that a counselor should not or will not care for his client. Caring is a necessary ingredient to helpful counseling! But, they provide limits to the relationship so that the client, and his/her mental and emotional well-being, is able to remain the primary focus of treatment services.

All Licensed Therapists in California can have their license verified online through the Board of Behavioral Sciences, Dept of Consumer Affairs.
 

9.10.2015




Mothers, please do not let your daughters here you say negative things about your own body, e.g. 
"I hate my body/legs/stomach." 
Or, "I'm fat...ugly..stupid..."

“Any woman who says, ‘I hate my bum, I hate my body,’ is essentially expressing a kind of misogyny,” said Thompson. “All women who come up with that need to think very carefully about what it is they’re saying. Including me!”

9.08.2015

Free Heart Screening For Teens - San Diego, Sept 27, 2015

My favorite group!
"Jacob's racing heart dominated his sports activities. Because he was a healthy, active youth, doctors didn't consider a heart condition when his symptoms were misdiagnosed as sports induced asthma, until our screening revealed Wolff-Parkinson-White."
Register now for a free youth heart screening on  
Hoover High School • September 27  
Francis Parker • November 8

Eric Paredes Save A Life Foundation

9.06.2015

people can recover from anything

when motivated.

it's inspiring to watch.

 

9.05.2015

UCSD CARE Program, Adolescent - Young Adult Psychosis Treatment

There are more resources than one can imagine, right here in San Diego County.
A good therapist will be able to point you in the right direction. information below for those age 12-35 
Have you or someone you know experienced recent troublesome changes in behavior or strange new emotions?
o Do you have trouble thinking clearly or concentrating?
o Have you been mistaking noises for voices?
o Do you have unusual or overly intense new ideas?
o Are you suspicious of or uneasy with others?
If you answered “yes” the CARE Program may benefit you.
Call 619-543-7816or email care@ucsd.edu for more information.


CARE (Cognitive Assessment and Recovery Enhancement) Early Psychosis Treatment program. Our highly specialized clinical program provides comprehensive, evidence-based treatment for individuals experiencing a recent onset of psychosis. We provide diagnostic and cognitive assessment, medication management, individual and group psychotherapy and psychoeducation. We also have an Intensive Outpatient Program that operates 3 days per week that incorporates state of the art psychosocial treatments.

Please view our website at www.ucsdcareprogram.com for more information. Additionally, we would be happy to conduct an in-service presentation about the services we offer at your facility in order to provide you with more information and answer any questions you may have.

9.04.2015

Your Teen and Parental Conflict

Best Thing to Say To Your Teen when she is angry, hurt, disappointed, hopeless, raging, confused.

Try: "You know me..." 
Hopefully, your years of love, support, and foundation will pay off here.
Sometimes repeating the same thing over and over again is helpful...just one line.
Maybe, "You have the ability to make great decisions." Or, "You know what we expect of you,"
even, "This is perplexing."

Stick to it, don't veer or follow your child down the rabbit hole of yelling, shaming, and lecturing - which only leads to him tuning you out and your feeling like you've been hit by a car.
Adolescent are stretching their negotiation muscles, learning how to push hard against the rules and the system that they are coming to question. 
Avoid whack a mole (you present an idea and they hop around to five other topics) - they will always win. 

Keep your discussion to one main point.

Repeat that sentence and keep your voice level, measured, and allow yourself a time out if you feel frustrated or angry. We've all been there.



9.03.2015

Support Groups for Family Members of Mentally Ill Loved Ones


NAMI


Support Groups – North County San Diego

1st Friday from 6:30 – 8:30 pm| Familia a Familia Grupo de Apoyo
Spanish Family Support Group (En EspaƱol)
Tri-City Medical Center|Assembly Room #7|| 4002 Vista Way. Oceanside|
(760) 722-3754
3rd Thursdays from 8:30 – 10 pm | NAMI North Coastal Family Support Group
St. Michael’s Episcopal Church | 2775 Carlsbad Blvd. • Carlsbad |
(760) 722-3754
Every Tuesdays from 4-6 pm | North Inland Family Support Group – Escondido
Josyln Senior Center • 210 E. Park / Escondido
1st Tuesday from 7 pm. – 8:30 pm | North Inland  Family Support Group – Ramona
Ramona United Methodist Church
3394 Chapel Lane Ramona, CA 92065

Support Groups – San Diego

Tuesday •  7-8:30PM | Emotions Anonymous
Poway Weigarten Senior Center | 1304 Civic Center • Poway | Annmarie (760) 207-2944
Second Wednesdays • 7 PM | Sibling and Adult Children’s Support Group
Scripps-Mende Well Being Center, Adjacent to UTC (Westfield) Mall.
Contact Michelle at (858) 756-3140

NAMI Connection Support Groups

Wednesdays from 1:00-2:30 pm | Mariposa Clubhouse
560 Greenbrier Rd. • Oceanside | (760) 439-2785

3rd Thursdays from 5:30 – 6:30 PM | Library at Parish Hall
St. Michael’s Episcopal Church | 2775 Carlsbad Blvd. • Carlsbad | (760) 722-3754

Dual Recovery Anonymous

Fridays from 1:00  – 2:00 PM |Mariposa Clubhouse
Contact Keith Reuter (760) 277-7660

Sibling & Adult Children’s Support Group

Second Wednesdays 7-9 pm |Scripps-Mende Well Being Center
Adjacent to the Westfield (UTC) Mall
Contact Michelle at (858)756-3140


"Adversity Introduces You To Yourself"