Posts Tagged ‘What’

What is the Psychological Treatment of Cancer Patients

Saturday, March 13th, 2010

Psychological treatment of workers is the conscious use of psychological techniques to achieve the urgent need to change the character or conduct of the patients taken by medical means. Another explanation is: doctor according to principles of psychology, analysis and understanding of the past and the present psychological and pathological state, choose the right time, the use of targeted language or other appropriate means, with a senior role in the nerve center, With a view to improving the mental state and the state of the body, reaching for the purpose of a medical approach. This method in the world, more and more accepted by patients.

In fact, since ancient times have psychological treatment, psychological therapy is a long time. China is the world’s first use of psychological treatment, one of the countries, as early as 2000 before the Chinese classics, “Canon. Po-On the whole life,” pointed out: medical treatment, “said a rule of God, Eryueyangshen, 3 Said that poison is true, Si Yue-Bian-stone size, blood gas Wuyue know viscera of consultation. Five of legislation both, each has to. “Visible from the ancient Chinese medical treatment, mainly to Treating the spirit of the so-called” one said governance God, “the ancients also created a set of psychological treatment methods, emotional phase-treatment is the basis of the Five Elements-the constraints of such a mutual relationship, with a corresponding emotion to overcome the win by another emotion, constraints Sheng from the latter produced by the disease, so as to achieve the purposes of treatment and rehabilitation. For example: fear-Hi, Hi-sad, sad-anger, anger-Si, Si-fear, and so on.

Clinical practice in the medical, psychological treatment at present understood as a theoretical system of medical psychology as a guide to good doctor-patient relationship as a bridge between the application of psychology in technology, including through medical language, facial expressions, or by some Instruments and a training program, patients in the mobilization of the compensatory function and enhance patients with the disease-resistant ability to improve or eliminate the pathological state, and thus the various physical and psychological symptoms, the body re-establish the balance between the environment. Psychological impact on patients of a variety of ways, the psychological treatment in the form and content is also very rich. In recent decades, psychological treatment by rapid development, in addition to some old psychological treatment methods such as: hypnosis, hinted that the support of therapy, but also the many new methods, such as behavior in accordance with the theory developed for various acts Therapy, biofeedback law. Modern psychological treatment, from the form, a focus on individual treatment and the treatment of two, from the way, the individual can use a psychological therapy, can also be combined with other physical, such as drug therapy, as a comprehensive treatment of a Part of the content and type of perspective, it includes support for therapy, the spirit of analysis, hypnosis, behavior modification, biofeedback therapy, as well as music, art, sports and so on.

What Ever Happened to Golf Psychologist Jos Vanstiphout

Thursday, February 25th, 2010

Back in the late 90s and early in the twenty-first century, when I started getting really interested in golf psychology, it seemed that the question everyone was asking was, “Who is Jos Vanstiphout?” At the 2002 Open at Muirfield, he was sharing his talents with both players in the play-off, Ernie Els and Thomas Levet. He was reported as having other irons in the fire that week, with clients including Retief Goosen, Soren Hansen, Sergio Garcia, Michael Campbell and Darren Clarke and quite a few others. As a betting man, he had good odds of backing a winner.

So, what exactly did Jos do for his clients? Well, they gave him lots of credit for their success – Retief Goosen handing him much of the credit for his US Open Win at Southern Hills in 2001. But what was he actually doing with his clients to help them? I’m scouring the web for answers to that question and finding absolutely nothing, apart from his having no apparent training or qualification as a golf psychologist. Neither are there any clues in his background and despite his 50+ years, his career history only seems to mention his leaving school at 14, becoming a Belgian pop singer and working as an advertising salesman.

I have found references to his being inspired by Edward de Bono, best known for his ideas on Lateral Thinking, and Timothy Gallwey, the man behind the Inner Game books. Jos seems to have had a very direct approach to life and apparently spent a lot of money getting to spend time with Gallwey. He continued this approach by following the European Tour for 3 years touting for business before becoming an overnight sensation.

Although I’m finding very few examples demonstrating his methods, he does appear to have based his approach on the Inner Game idea of changing your thinking to change your golf performance. The only quote I’ve found from hours of searching suggests that he may be a fan of visualisation and unconscious golf.

“Even if you don’t believe that you can change a particular feeling, pretend that you believe it. If you pretend, then you can fool your subconscious. The good thing is that your subconscious doesn’t know the difference between truth and pretending …”

Although he appeared to have a strong following among the top professionals for a few years, he dropped off the radar almost instantly and I’m finding nothing to say what happened to him.

So where am I going with all this? Well, for a short time each of these professionals seemed eager to attribute some of their success to Jos Vanstiphout and clearly believed in him. However, I’m finding nothing to say what he actually did for them or the golf psychology techniques he was teaching them. Maybe that’s why the effect wore off so quickly.

The lesson for me is that before you commit to working with a golf psychologist, you should know as much as possible about what techniques they are likely to use to help you and how qualified they are to use those techniques.

By the way, if anyone out there knows what happened to Jos, please let us all know.

What is Your Career Future With an Online Psychology Degree?

Tuesday, December 29th, 2009

Career opportunities in psychology continue to grow rapidly to meet the demand of today’s stressful living environment. Specialties in psychology fields such as organizational psychology, forensic psychology and sports psychology will bring you greater future than ever. If you are interested to start a professional career that related to cognitive, emotional & developmental potential and pathologies of the human experience, than getting yourself a bachelor or graduate degree in psychology is required to help you enter this challenging and financially rewarding career.

The traditional campus-based psychology degree program is not the only option for you to earn a psychology degree; you can choose to pursue a psychology degree online. The advantages of online psychology degree in term of flexibility of study at any time and from any place can benefit you if you prefer to follow your own pace of study progress and have a learning environment at your preference location such as your comfort home. Many highly reputable universities have made their psychology degree program available for online students. You can choose one that best inline with your career goal. With the available of internet communication, getting the online degree information is easy, you could even request free but details information regarding the degree from the universities.

With a psychology degree, you have choices to enter many psychology professions. Among the popular psychology careers that aimed by most students are:

1. Clinical & Counseling Psychology

Clinical & Counseling psychology is one of the largest and most popular fields in psychology. A psychologist in this field deals with the causes, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of individuals with psychological problems. You could work on individual practices or be employed in schools, colleges, universities, hospitals, and other mental health facilities.

2. Forensic Psychology

A psychologist specialized in forensic uses the knowledge of psychology in various form such as consulting with attorneys, treating mentally ill offenders and analyzing a criminal’s intent mindset. A degree holder in forensic psychology can also choose to focus on his/her career in research of human mind and behavior, ranging anywhere from examination of eyewitness testimony to learning how to improve interrogation methods.

3. Sport Psychology

If you like to analyze how the psychological and mental factors influence the performance in sport, exercise and physical activity, choosing sport psychology career is a right choice for you. As a sport psychologist, you may also need to involve in assisting coaches to work with athletes to improve their motivation.

4. Careers That Out of Psychology Fields

However, with a psychology degree, your career is not limited to only psychology professions. In fact, many psychology graduates started their employment in related to health and social welfare such as health service management, human resource management, health education, teaching and public relations.

Summary

The career opportunities for a psychology degree holder are huge as the market demand for psychology expertise keeps increasing. With a psychology degree, you could find yourself a challenging and financial reward career in your area of interest. If you are interest in psychology field, don’t worry about your future career, you just need to focus on completing your degree program.

Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy: What it is and Isn’t

Saturday, November 21st, 2009

Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy is an effective form of treatment for trauma-attachment disordered children. It is an “evidence-based” treatment, meaning that there has been research published in peer-reviewed journals (Becker-Weidman, A., (2006) “Treatment for Children with Trauma-Attachment Disorders: Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy,” Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal. Vol. 23 #2, April 2006, 147-171. Becker-Weidman, A., (2006). “Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy: A multi-year Follow-up,” in, New Developments In Child Abuse Research, Stanley M. Sturt, Ph.D. (Ed.) Nova Science Publishers, NY, pp. 43 — 61. Becker-Weidman, A., (2006) “Treatment For Children with Reactive Attachment Disorder: Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy,” Child and Adolescent Mental Health. Published article online: 21-Nov-2006 doi: 10.1111/j.1475-3588.2006.00428.x). One empirical study from a professional peer-reviewed journal found that 1.1 years after treatment ended, there were statistically and clinically significant reductions in aggressive, delinquent, avoidant, and other symptoms( Becker-Weidman, A., (2006) “Treatment for Children with Trauma-Attachment Disorders: Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy,” Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal. Vol. 23 #2, April 2006, 147-171. All children in the study who had RADQ scores above 65 had scores reduced below the cut-off for Reactive Attachment Disorder. Average score before treatment was 65 average post treatment score was 20. Scores on the Child Behavior Checklist on the Withdrawn, Anxious/Depressed, Social Problems, Thought Disorder, Attention Problems, Rule-breaking, and Aggressive subscales were reduced from the “clinical level” to the “normal level.” These reductions were clinically and statistically significant.). It is important to note that over 80% of the children in the study had had over three prior episodes of treatment, but without any improvement in their symptoms and behavior. Episodes of treatment means a course of therapy with other mental health providers at other clinics, consisting of at least five sessions. Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy is primarily an experiential-based treatment, designed to facilitate experiences of safety and security so that a secure attachment may grow. Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy, as with any specialized treatment, must be provided by a competent, well-trained, licensed professional. Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy is a family-focused treatment.

Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy is the name for an approach and a set of principals that have proven to be effective in helping trauma-attachment disordered children heal; that is, develop healthy, trusting, and secure relationships with caregivers. Treatment is based on five central principals. These principals are based on the causes and courses of disorders of attachment.

At the core of Reactive Attachment Disorder is trauma caused by significant and substantial experiences of neglect, abuse, or prolonged and unresolved pain in the first two years to three years of life. These experiences disrupt the normal attachment process so that the child’s capacity to form a secure attachment with a caregiver is distorted or absent. The child lacks trust, safety, and security. The child develops a negative working model of the world in which:

Ø Adults are experienced as inconsistent or hurtful.

Ø The world is viewed as chaotic.

Ø The child experiences no effective influence on the world.

Ø The child attempts to rely only on him/her self.

Ø The child feels an overwhelming sense of shame, the child feels defective, bad, unlovable, and evil.

FIRST PRINCIPAL. Therapy must be experiential. Since the roots of disorders of attachment occur pre-verbally, therapy must create experiences that are healing. Experiences, not words, are the “active ingredient” in the healing process. Traumatized children who are unable to trust do not respond to traditional forms of treatment such as play therapy, residential treatment, or talk therapies, since these therapies require and work through a relationship between the therapist and client.

For example, one eight year old boy who had Reactive Attachment Disorder, Bipolar Disorder, and a variety of sensory-integration disorders wrote about his past therapy and attachment therapy this way:

My first therapy was with Dr.Steve. The therapy was FUN!!!! We ate lots of snacks. I had a bottle. We played lots of cool games like thumb wrestling, pillow rides, giant walk, Superman rides, guess the goodies, eye blinking contests, hide and go seek goodies. I had to follow the rules and play the games just like Dr. Steve said.

Dr. Steve taught me how to play and have fun with my Mom. But I still didn’t know how to love. I would still get real mad and try to hurt Mom and break things. Inside I still thought I was a bad boy. I was still afraid Mom and Dad would get rid of me. I had lots of tantrums at home. Sometimes I would still get out of control and break things and try to hurt Mom. I was getting even worse when I got mad.

Stuff Dr. Art Taught Me

I learned about my feeling well. Sometimes I stuff too many feelings like mad, scared and sad into my feeling well. Then the well will overflow and I could explode with behaviors. But I can stop that by expressing my feelings. Then the well can’t overflow because I let some of the feelings out.

I also made pictures of my heart. I was born with a nice heart but then when I went into the orphanage I got cracks in my heart. My heart cracked because they couldn’t take good care of me. I was a baby and I needed someone to hold me and rock me. But they couldn’t because there were too many babies. Then I put 16 bricks around my heart. I was protecting my heart so it wouldn’t get hurt anymore. But the bricks kept the love out too. I wouldn’t let Mom’s love in. I had lots of mad in my heart.

My hard work in therapy got rid of all the bricks. Then Mom’s love got in. The love made the cracks heal. Now I have a bright red heart with no cracks.

I really liked Dr. Art now and am proud that I am strong. I still don’t need therapy. I still let Mom’s love into my heart!!!!!! Sometimes I send e-mail’s to Dr. Art. I tell him how good I’m doing.

I started missing Dr. Art and told Mom. Mom was confused and thought I wanted more therapy. I told Mom “I don’t need therapy. I just want to have lunch with Dr. Art.” So I sent Dr. Art an email to let him know that I wanted to have lunch with him. Then one day we had lunch together.

Sometimes it’s still hard. I still get mad and sometimes I don’t express my feelings well. Sometimes when Mom helps me ? I can express my feelings and say “I don’t want to pick up my toys. It makes me mad that I have to ? but I will”. When I say that it doesn’t make me feel mad anymore. It helps me to listen to Mom. But sometimes when I get mad I pout and stomp my feet and run to my room if I forget to express my feelings. But now I let Mom help me so that I can talk about my feelings and do what she says

It’s been a really longtime since I tried to hurt Mom or break things when I’m mad. I feel good about love now. I know that my Mom and Dad love me. I know that I love Mom and Dad. I don’t feel like I’m a bad boy anymore.

Effective therapy uses experiences to help a child experience safety, security, acceptance, empathy, and emotional attunement. A number of techniques and methods are used including psychodrama, interventions congruent with Theraplay, and other exercises.

SECOND PRINCIPAL. Therapy must be family-focused. Therapy helps the child address the underlying trauma in a supportive, safe, secure environment in “titrated” and manageable doses so that what the parents have to offer can get in and heal the child. It is the parents’ capacity to create a safe and nurturing home that provides a healing environment. Being able to have empathy for the child, accept the child, love the child, be curious about the child, and be playful are all part of the “attitude  (Hughes, D., (2007) Building the Bonds of Attachment, 2nd. Edition, NY: Guilford Press.)” that heals. Parents are actively involved in treatment.

THIRD PRINCIPAL. The trauma must be directly addressed. Therapy helps healing by providing the safety and security so that the child can re-experience the painful and shameful emotions that surround the child’s trauma. Revisiting the trauma is essential if the child is to begin to revise the child’s personal narrative and world-view. It is by revisiting the trauma and sharing the anger and shame with an accepting, empathetic person that the child can integrate the trauma into a coherent self.

FOURTH PRINCIPAL. A comprehensive milieu of safety and security must be created. Traumatized children are often hyper-vigilant, insecure, and deeply distrusting. A consistent environment that is safe and secure is essential to creating the experiences necessary for the child to heal. This milieu must be present at home and in therapy. Good communication and coordination among home, school, and therapy is another important element of effective treatment. “Compression-wraps,” invasive and intrusive stimulation designed to evoke rage, “re-birthing,” and other provocative techniques are not part of Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy. These intrusive and invasive techniques are not therapy, not therapeutic, and have no place in a reputable treatment program.

Fifth Principal. Therapy is consensual and not coercive. At our center we are very clear that physical restraint is not treatment.

The therapist must be well trained, licensed, and have significant experience in treating trauma-attachment disordered children. A good resource to locate such therapists is the Association for the Treatment and Training in the Attachment of Children, ATTACh.  In selecting a therapist you should look for the following:

Ø Significant training from a recognized training program. Ask where the therapist was trained, how long ago, and for how long.

Ø Ongoing training. Ask when was the last training event the therapist attended and how long was the event.

Ø Licensure in the state in a recognized mental health discipline.

Ø Membership in ATTACh.

Ø A comprehensive informed consent document and appropriate releases.

Ø An initial assessment to develop a differential diagnosis and treatment plan.

In summary, therapy for traumatized children who have disordered attachments must be experiential, consensual, and provide an environment of security, acceptance, safety, empathy, and playfulness. Only an experienced and trained therapist can provide attachment therapy.

What is the Difference Between Christian Counseling and Psychotherapy?

Sunday, October 25th, 2009

In a report published in the January 1994 issue of Psychological Science a review of 42 different studies comparing professionally licensed and paraprofessional therapists determined that professional psychotherapy is no more helpful than paraprofessional counseling. In fact, 12 studies found that paraprofessionals such as pastors are more successful than psychologists and psychiatrists in meeting the counseling needs of distressed individuals. Studies since that time have not dispelled these findings and a June 2005 article in Psychology Today confirms that individuals are abandoning psychotherapy and flocking to Christian counseling.

But, what is the difference between Christian counseling and psychotherapy? More importantly, is the Bible and Christian counseling sufficient for the counseling needs of individuals in today’s complex, modern society?

At their core, the difference between Christian counseling and psychotherapy is simple. Psychotherapy is based on scientific studies and therapies formed to address the findings of such studies. Christian counseling is based on the teachings of the Bible and, specifically, faith in Jesus Christ as described in the Bible. This raises the question: Is the Bible, a 2000 year old text, sufficient for counseling in today’s complex, modern society?

Is the Bible Sufficient for Counseling?

One good place to examine this question is the Bible. [You may question whether the Bible is the proper authority to reference to determine if it is sufficient for counseling, but referencing the Bible to determine if it is sufficient for counseling is no different than referencing a particular book on psychology to determine if it states it is sufficient for psychotherapy.] Does the Bible teach that it is sufficient for counseling?

Second Timothy 3:16-17 provides guidance as follows:

All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work. (New Living Translation)

This Bible passage provides us with the following insights:

·   All Scripture is inspired (or breathed) by God;

·   All Scripture (not just parts of it) is useful to teach us what is true;

·   All Scripture is useful to make us realize what is wrong in our lives (which is the reason most individuals seek counseling);

·   All Scripture is useful to correct us when we are wrong;

·   All Scripture is useful to teach us to do what is right; and

·   All Scripture prepares and equips us to do every good work.

Similarly, Christ in the Sermon on the Mount, provides a parable that illustrates how individuals can survive the storms and turbulence of life:

Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash. Matthew 7:24-27

Jesus makes it clear in this parable that those who apply God’s Word to life will be able to withstand its storms. Those individuals who do not follow the teaching contained in God’s Word do not have a solid foundation and will find life collapsing around them when they suffer the storms of life.

The Bible teaches that man is a moral being with the ability to know and choose between right and wrong (Joshua 24:15; Deuteronomy 30:19). God is the One who determines right and wrong (Genesis 2:16-17; John 12:48; Romans 2:16). As a moral being with the ability to choose between right and wrong, man is responsible for his choices and behavior (Ezekiel 18:4; Romans 14:12).

Additionally, the Bible explains how being without sin is man’s “normal” state of intended existence (Genesis 1:27, 31). Man lost his normality when he sinned (Genesis 3:6-19) and the image of God in all people has been marred by the curse of sin (Jeremiah 17:9; Romans 3:10-19). In fact, all humanity is sin cursed and, as a result, all people are abnormal (Romans 3:23).

The only normal person who lived his entire life free of sin is Jesus Christ (Hebrews 4:15). Normality is learned through studying Jesus Christ, not through the research of sin cursed people studying other sin cursed people.

The way to become more normal is to become more like Jesus Christ, which is the goal for every Christian (2 Corinthians 3:18; 5:9; Romans 8:28-29). The manner of change from abnormal to normal is also described by the Bible (Ephesians 4:22-24; Colossians 3:9-10).

Thus, from God’s Word pastoral counselors have specific time tested facts instead of a theory of psychotherapy. The Bible is filled with actual instances of abnormal behavior and God’s specific response to such abnormal behavior. The Bible is also filled with instruction on how to change from abnormal to normal and live a normal life.

In other words, the Bible provides solutions to the issues and problems man faces every day (Romans 10:9-10; Romans 6:17; Luke 10:27). In addition to providing solutions and a process for change (Ephesians 4:22-24), Scriptures describe life resulting from applying the solutions it provides.

So, What is the Difference between Christian Counseling and Psychotherapy?

The answer is simple: Psychotherapy is based on scientific theory and Christian counseling is based on Biblical fact. Biblical counseling is the oldest and most reliable form of counseling in the world dating back thousands of years. Christian counseling has been consistently proven to work – psychotherapy has not. Moreover, Biblical counseling is less expensive than psychotherapy, usually requires only two to six months of weekly sessions, and seldom involves prescribing expensive pharmaceutical drugs.

For more about Christian counseling go to www.lifepointecounseling.com.

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