Cognitive Processing Therapy vs. Prolonged Exposure Therapy

Some power point slides/notes from Jennifer's and my presentation, last Thursday at CAMFT, Health and Human Services Agency in San Diego.

NEW DSM-5 Criteria for PTSD Diagnosis
Introduction to Prolonged Exposure Therapy
Introduction to Cognitive Processing Therapy
Telemedicine for PTSD treatment
Professional Development Opportunities

•PTSD is no longer identified as an Anxiety Disorder.
•New category, “Trauma- and Stressor-Related Disorders” encompasses PTSD, Acute Stress Disorder, Adjustment Disorders and childhood diagnoses of Reactive Attachment and Disinhibited Social Engagement Disorders.
•Now 4, rather than 3, symptom clusters.  However, these symptoms remain fairly similar to those in DSM-IV.
•3 new symptoms were added.
Both therapy's are exposure and both are empirically supported as successful modes to treat PTSD.
 
Prolonged Exposure:
•Breathing retraining
•Education about common reactions to trauma
•Imaginal Exposure
•In Vivo Exposure to trauma reminders
•10-12 weekly or twice weekly 90 minute sessions
•Symptom measurement at beginning of each session Q & A

Bondage Benefits: BDSM

BDSM: Healthier Than 'Vanilla' People?

Stephanie Pappas, LiveScience Senior Writer

Date: 29 May 2013 Time: 03:27 PM ET

inShare7

A pair of handcuffs. CREDIT: Norebbo, Shutterstock View full size image

Despite the fact that their sexual preferences are listed in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders as potentially problematic, people who play with whips and chains in the bedroom may actually be more psychologically healthy than those who don't.
A new study finds that practitioners of bondage, discipline, sadism and masochism, or BDSM, score better on a variety of personality and psychological measures than "vanilla" people who don't engage in unusual sex acts. BDSM is a sexual practice that revolves around those four fetishes.
BDSM is listed in the DSM-5, the newest edition of the definitive psychiatrist's manual, as a paraphilia, or unusual sexual fixation — a label that has caused controversy between kinky communities and psychiatrists, who themselves are mixed on whether sexual predilections belong in the catalog of mental disorders. As written, the DSM-5 does not label BDSM a disorder unless it causes harm to the practitioner or to others. [Hot Stuff? 10 Unusual Sexual Fixations]

Kinky controversy
Nevertheless, some psychiatrists see the inclusion of BDSM and other kinks in the manual as stigmatizing, particularly because studies have failed to show evidence that enjoying sex with a side of pain is linked to psychological problems. The new study, published May 16 in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, finds that, in fact, BDSM practitioners may be better off psychologically than the general public.

read the rest of the article here

Patrick Stewart and his early child abuse

Watch his Video Interview Here

Working From Home...Can You Say, Stress on A Marriage?

SCORE Small Business Blog

Planning to Work From Home? Do a Reality Check First

by Rieva Lesonsky / Jun 04, 2013 / Posted in: All, Life Balance, Managing

Are you planning to start a business from home (or move your business home to save on rent)? Before you do, consider the realities of working from home found in a new survey by Carbonite. Carbonite found that home-based small business owners struggle to balance work and home life, partly because working from home creates technological and personal challenges.
For example, nearly half (45 percent) of survey respondents have lost data or documents because a family member used their work computer. Four in 10 have told a “white lie” to a client to cover up for a technological breakdown. Small business owners miss out on an average of five personal commitments each month, whether it’s a child’s recital or dinner with friends, to get their work done. More than half (56 percent) say they regularly skip events to finish projects.
A whopping 78 percent admit they have to “hide out” at home to find enough peace to get their work done. The bedroom was the top hiding place, but 13 percent have finished work in the bathroom and 12 percent have camped out in the garage.
Last, but not least, home-based business owners often get into arguments with their spouses or significant others over work, with the three big points of contention being:

1. Work is cluttering other parts of the house (32 percent)
2. Working late is taking away from family time (31 percent)
3. The business owner can’t separate personal life from professional life (30 percent).

Do these facts mean you shouldn’t work from home? Not at all, but they do mean that you need to do a reality check. Before you start working from home:

• Make sure you have an adequate place to work. The dining room table probably won’t cut it. Assess how many hours you’ll be working, what type of work you’ll be doing, whether you’ll need to meet with customers in your home, and what your family’s needs are before you choose your setup.
• Get your family on board. Working from home can’t work without the support of everyone in your household. Make sure your loved ones understand what this lifestyle demands. Set regular work hours if possible so that everyone knows what to expect.
• Be prepared to juggle. I don’t believe in work-life balance, because the two things rarely balance. Sometimes you may be all about the personal stuff, and other times you’ll have to focus on business. Be prepared to sacrifice some personal time to make your business work, but by the same token, don’t feel guilty about grabbing personal time when you and your family need it.

Need help figuring it out? The experts at SCORE can help you put it all in perspective.

 

The Interpreter: "Vengeance is a lazy form of grief."

Do Women Like Therapy More Than Men?

Are Women More Willing to Seek Therapy Than Men?
I’m not aware of a research study that has been conducted on this issue, but I certainly sense that the general population believes that women like/seek/enjoy counseling more than men.
Even when a husband and wife are in active marital counseling, women will often say to me, “He doesn’t want to be here.”
So, here are some reasons why men may be less inclined to get counseling than their female counterparts:

• Men anticipate that the counselor will most likely be a female – (it’s true; there are more female counselors than male counselors). And, he may believe that a woman will not or cannot represent his views fairly.
• Men believe that they will be “bashed” in a counseling office, either by a counselor or his partner. It’s important to know that good therapy does not include a therapist “siding” with one partner or the other.
• Men often have effective coping skills that are not “language” or “word” oriented, putting them (males) at a verbal disadvantage to a quick-tongued female (it’s the way the female brain is wired). It’s true; talk therapy relies heavily on the spoken word, but a good clinician can find alternate ways of supporting and accessing couple's strengths and assisting in better communication between parties.
• Men often employ performance-based activities as a solution to anxiety or relationship distress. i.e. A wife seeks more “connectivity” with her husband; husband plans for a weekend hike for the pair of them. It’s not so far-fetched to imagine that some simple planning and small changes will satisfy his partner and improve the marriage. Meanwhile, female partner is advocating for counseling, to be better “heard” and find more engagement. Neither solution is perfect (or terrible) and my suggestion is that both can be great!  
• Men feel flooded by intense emotion faster than women (the female brain can tolerate more conflict) and generally revert to a fight or flight response much faster than his female partner (it’s elementary, Watson).
• Men sniff out threat much faster than women (it’s the hard wiring). A third party -counselor- can be assessed as a threat until counselor has earned his trust. It is the counselor’s duty to establish a warm and respectful setting for all members. 
•  Mainstream media minimizes men and discourages masculine behavior. Men on television are often portrayed as buffoon’s or blow-hards, with not much in between. Our current culture is often afraid of male energy; unless a man has an inherent strong foundation of personal esteem, he may simply choose to deny, even to himself,  his own power, strength,  ideas - or worse, take them underground. If one perceives that society, and the world at-large, is negating, it becomes second skin to anticipate rejection everywhere.

La Leche League Meetings, San Diego County, 2013

To find out the Leaders

on call this week:

 (858) 646-9779

Central San Diego    

1st Thursday                                                                       Megan C:  megisis@sbcglobal.net

10:30 - 11:30 am                                                                Megan D:  meghydra17@yahoo.com

Encinitas/North County Coastal        

2nd Tuesday                                                                      Christina:chrisnu7@roadrunner.com

10:00 am                                                                           Margi:  mgrant1@san.rr.com 
                                                                                         (SPANISH SPEAKER)

Escondido Evening                                         Michelle: (760)741-7268

2nd Tuesday                                                                          Amber:  (951)696-8342

7:00 pm                                                                                 Dana:  (760)471-9020

lllofescondido@yahoo.com                                                    Jennifer:  (858)433-7358

Poway/North San Diego

3nd Thursday                                                                       Sara:  sara.heckelll@cox.net

10:00 am                                                                              Patty:  pattyandpaul@cox.net

Central San Diego Toddlers Meeting

2nd Thursday                                                                       Megan C:  megisis@sbcglobal.net

10:30 - 11:30 am                                                                Megan D:  meghydra17@yahoo.com

East County/Back Country

2nd Saturday `                                                                     lllofeastcounty@gmail.com

10:00 am                                                                             Partners are welcome!

San Diego/South Bay Night Meeting

3^rd Friday                                                                           Partners are welcome!

6:00 pm – 7:45 pm

San Diego/South Bay Day Meeting

4th Monday                                                                  Michele:  mcall@mtwla.org10:00 am - 12:00 pm

Evidence Based Treatment for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, CAMFT

My next presentation and therapist training/event details

Evidence Based Treatment for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
During this one hour presentation, Jennifer Lundy-Aguerre, MFT and Christina Neumeyer, MFT will cover new DSM V diagnostic criteria for PTSD and an overview of two evidence based treatments for reducing and/or eliminating symptoms of PTSD. Participants will learn what happens during each session of Prolonged Exposure therapy and Cognitive Processing Therapy, including relaxation techniques, educational components of treatment, types of exposure and cognitive behavioral techniques. The effectiveness of both PE and CPT in a telemedicine setting will also be presented.
This course is provided by the San Diego Chapter of CAMFT, PCE #58. This course meets the qualifications for 1 hour of Continuing Education credit for MFTs and/or LCSWs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Science.

Policy on payment: Payment in the EXACT amount can be taken in CASH or CHECK at the door in addition to being paid through Eventbrite. Please note that the San Diego Chapter Membership is an ADDITIONAL membership to your CAMFT membership, if you are unsure of your membership with SD-CAMFT, email our membership chair at camftsd.membership@gmail.com. A refund will NOT be given if an attendee pays via Eventbrite and is unable to attend the event. A refund WILL be given if an attendee pays an erroneous amount for the event.

About the Presenters:
Jennifer Lundy-Aguerre, M.A. is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist practicing in La Mesa, CA. She received her graduate degree in 2002 from the University of San Diego. Upon graduation she worked with at-risk youth and families in a wraparound program, and mostly dual diagnosis adults in a short-term acute residential treatment program. She was licensed in 2005 and in 2006, she co-founded Positive Change Counseling Center – a private practice serving children, adolescents, adults, couples and families. Throughout her career Jennifer has facilitated and taught Human Relations Diversity workshops, Continuing Education courses at MHS, Inc., various health and wellness classes in corporate settings and volunteered as an Anxiety Support Group Facilitator for the San Diego Phobia Foundation.
From 2009-2012 Ms. Lundy-Aguerre worked part-time as a Research Study Therapy for the Veterans Medical Research Foundation providing Prolonged Exposure therapy to Veterans diagnosed with PTSD. Following training by Dr. Edna Foa, Jennifer provided Prolonged Exposure therapy both in-person and via telemedicine, where the client was in another city and therapy was conducted over a TV monitor. Immediately she was impressed with the incredible progress made by the Veterans during Prolonged Exposure treatment. Men and women who rarely left their homes or interacted with others were going grocery shopping, attending family functions and confronting numerous fears they hadn’t thought possible. Jennifer continues to administer Prolonged Exposure therapy in her private practice with Veterans, as well as many others affected by PTSD. In addition, Jennifer treats individuals with various anxiety and depressive disorders as well as new and expectant parents regarding the transition to parenthood and monitoring/treating postpartum depression and the “baby blues”. Jennifer recently began facilitating “Bringing Baby Home” workshops, teaching new and expectant parents relationship survival skills for the first year (and beyond!) of parenting.

Christina Neumeyer, M.A., Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist, serves her private practice in Carlsbad, CA. She is a Community Lecturer and a Clinical Member of the American Counseling Association (ACA), American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT)  and the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (CAMFT).

Christina was recently a Part-Time Adjunct Professor (Fall 2012) for the University of San Diego, Department of School, Family and Mental Health Professions, School of Leadership and Education Sciences, teaching Intro to Family Counseling.

She is a Trauma Specialist, with expertise in Combat and Military Sexual Trauma, as well as rape and childhood abuse. Christina trained with Dr. Edna Foa in January 2009.  From January 2009 to August 2012, Christina participated as a Research Study Therapist for Veteran’s Medical Research Foundation: UCSD/VA Research Study Grant for PTSD Vets using Prolonged Exposure Therapy & Cognitive Processing Therapy, Telemedicine for Improved Delivery of Psychosocial Treatments for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. These concurrent studies are set to be two of the largest studies done with PTSD to date.

Since 2008, Christina has taught a Meditation course at San Dieguito Adult Education, utilizing tenets of CBT and Mindfulness to manage depression, anxiety, insomnia, and chronic pain. Christina is Certified in Cognitive Processing Therapy, Domestic Violence Duluth Certification, Crisis Response, Chemical Dependency, and Sexual Assault Training. Additionally, she is a breastfeeding educator.

http://www.eventbrite.com/event/6761350381?ref=ecal#