Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Other People's Stuff

It has been some time since we linked over to other people's blogs and websites. We are totally overdue. Here are some goodies.

(1) EMDR  Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing.

Still one of my favorite techniques, although it requires a little upper-arm muscle, focus, and yes, intensive training.

That can be tough, that trip to San Diego in the winter. (There's a post on this blog about it somewhere, all about me, naturally.)

For many years we used EMDR primarily to treat PTSD, but now it is popping up in all kinds of other ways. Check out this link to Anastasia Pollak's Not just for trauma: EMDR and Performance Enhancement. She even explains how it works, the theoretical why, that is.

And of course, so does the founder, Francine Shapiro.






(2) TopCounselingSchools infographic is tops in my book. How we love a good visual, check it out. (Blessings, Brietta, thanks for your patience.)

(3) How to Give a Time Out: Give a Time In Instead  We used to use The Green Chair, and the very thought of it kept my kids in line. (Start them young, is the thing. If they need EMDR later for the trauma, by then it should be cheaper and everyone will be doing it).

Jenny Kepler does a lovely treatment on time-outs in this post. It's mostly about you, you know, not the kid. Surprise.

(4) You've heard it here for years, that when the therapist is talking, half the time nobody's listening. Which is why we really do have to listen and cut the blather. Justin Lioi: The Best Advice a Therapist Could Get? Stop Giving Advice.

(5) David D. Burns, MD has a blog, Feeling Good, with wonderful articles, well-written, for therapists and lay people interested in the therapeutic process. You can't go wrong reading anything by this man.

(6) I'm getting to know some people on Facebook's Therapy Blogger page (this is called social networking) Most are in private practice and they are from all over the world.

Laura Hollywood, along with her thoughts on perfectionism, even quotes Brene Brown: 
“Where perfectionism exists, shame is always lurking.”    
 Also love that British spelling, "s's" instead of "z's".  Coming to London soon, Laura. Will call.

(7) Then there's Psyched in San Francisco, an edgy group of young therapydocs writing their brains out. Thanks Traci Ruble for a few sample articles from Psyched.
Brett Penfil's New Year’s Resolutions for Psychologically Savvy Leaders
Brett is one of the "real deal" executive coaches. She is the Director of coaching for UCSF Medical Center so this is a direct piece that combines psychology, executive coaching and pragmaticism.
Marty Cooper's “Greedy Bastards!”: or, Why Paying for Missed Therapy Sessions is Good for You
Outcomes research shows knowing what to expect in therapy improves its effectiveness and Marty deftly describes why setting really tight boundaries helps clients make real change in therapy.
Abby Volk's Why the “Small” Things Matter: Stop Avoiding Yourself and Your Truth
Abby's work always appeals to the young urban professionals. She has a "tell-it-like-it-is" rawness that is provocative and motivating. In this article she beats the drum for authenticity.
Lily Sloane's Sidelining White Shame and Joining the Social Justice Conversation
How and the heck can regular old white people get involved in the social justice conversation after the court rulings in the last year that sparked riots. Lily covers this with smarts and grace.
(8) More writers from San Fran, must be the salt in the air. This time,The Couples Institute. You might start with Painful Interactions Are Defining Moments in Couples Therapy,. Ellyn Bader makes it look easy; but even she admits, this is cringe stuff.

You would have to be a masochist to enjoy it, but couples therapists do sign up for this, war in the office.

(9) And finally, Michael J. Formica  writes prolifically at Psychology Today. Take a peek at any of his many wonderful articles. .Awesome.

That's enough for now. If you have links you would like me to share for the next Other People's Stuff, comment below or shoot me an email.

What to expect anytime soon around here? Maybe an old favorite, the treatment of pervasive OCD, because it is one of those difficult to treat of psychological ills.

Or maybe we can talk about how to pitch the virtual 15-minute family poker game (because who has time for anything else) penny a chip, a pitch to my family, a game that marks the fourth anniversary of my father's death, which happens to have happened on the exact anniversary of my brother's death, 45 years ago next week.

Ante up.

therapydoc

9 comments:

Lis said...

On Marty Cooper's article about enforcing strict no exception missed session fees: Given the policy, I assume that when the therapist has a death in the family or comes down with the flu or has his flight cancelled and has to cancel the session with less then 48 hours notice, s/he of course reimburses the patient for his/her session time, missed work and travel time.... It's a two way street, pal. Treat people as people and don't use psych-talk as an excuse.

therapydoc said...

Lol. Don't think I've discussed this one, but we totally should. I'm thinking the article is a great conversation starter. I'll quote you, ok Lis?

Lis said...

Sure, go ahead! My therapist (MD who does therapy) actually has a totally reasonable 48 hour cancellation policy (ie, if you get appendicitis or your mom dies, she won't charge you...and if she gets the flu and lets me know the morning of, I don't charge her). When she (once in 5 years) double-booked someone in my slot, she didn't charge me for that session (obviously) -- or for the next. I was used to a therapist with a "no-missed session fee" (ie you pay 52 weeks a year regardless), which I feel is unethical, and was bowled over, but after thinking it over, thought that was completely reasonable. We are both committed to a long term therapy, I treat her time respectfully, it's reasonable to expect her to treat mine the same.

Lis said...

And FYI - I posted a similar (slightly less sarcastic) response to his article...it was deleted. Guess it's not really an indefensible position!

therapydoc said...

Mine is like your doctor's, 48 hours and of course, go to the funeral, and PLEASE don't bring me your flu.

Laura Hollywood, Counsellor said...

Thanks for including me in this list, glad you enjoyed my post on perfectionism and definitely let me know when you're over in London I'd love to meet up.

Unknown said...

Hi Lis I never saw a reply on our blog. We love criticism so please comment....www.psychedinsanfrancisco.com. btw Marty is one of the most high integrity therapists I know. You would dig him. Thanks for posting our articles and reading them!!!

Anonymous said...

The R in EMDR stands for "and Reprocessing," and no one really knows how EMDR works, despite the reasonable-sounding explanations.

As for cancellation policies, therapists vary widely in their policies for an equally wide variety of reasons. Among other things, how clients respond to different aspects of the "frame"--or therapy boundaries--can be helpful in understanding how they respond to relationships and the world more generally.

therapydoc said...

So true. Thanks for the correction. I changed it. I've been doing this for many years. For some reason rapid sticks in my brain. This could be the turning point on that. Smiley Emoticon here.

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