A.J. Mahari talks about punishment and revenge in BPD for those with BPD and their loved ones. Mahari, who recovered from BPD herself 14 years ago, shares her own mastering of her previously unmastered talionic impulse when she had BPD.

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If you are suffering from BPD (Borderline Personality Disorder) and have a committed partner who is willing to work with you “Closeness” therapy looks promising.

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By Andrea Dilea

There has been controversy for some time about whether psychotherapy can be conducted effectively remotely by phone or internet technology. Science Alert reports a study from the University Of New South Wales and St. Vincent’s Hospital that argue that online treatments are as effective as traditional face to face treatment for a variety of mental health conditions.

They report that “Anxiety, social phobias and depression are all conditions that respond well to clinician-supported internet-based treatments, the researchers found, with program participants recording recovery rates comparable to those in face-to-face therapy.”

These results are based on trials conducted targeting depression (the Sadness program), generalized anxiety disorder (Worry program) and social phobias (Shyness program). The studies were undertaken by Professor Gavin Andrews and Dr Nick Titov, from UNSW’s School of Psychiatry and The Virtual Clinic at Sydney’s St Vincent’s Hospital.

A paper outlining the results of the latest generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) trial appears in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry.

They are currently recruiting for larger trials for further analysis. The results achieved by all three programs – which involved simple online lessons, regular emails and online discussion forums – reportedly surprised everyone involved.

The programs were described as highly structured and and involve people working systematically through a series of lessons and homework assignments, guided by the therapist.

While such interventions will likely never replace traditional psychotherapy completely, there is the possibility that online therapy may present a cost effective approach for many clients. Some people are likely to prefer this mode of treatment and others likely will find it too impersonal for their liking.

They are accepting new participants, but you must live in Australia to participate. You can check out more information at their Virtual Clinic website. The laws and ethics of providing such services vary from one country and profession to another so you will have to find out for yourself if this treatment option is available for you.

About the Author: Get the latest mental health and mental illness news at Mental Health News Today, News and information for consumers and professionals.

Courtesy: www.articlerich.com

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In this medical health video, Dr. Thomas Insel, Director of the National Institute of Mental Health, shares his recommendations for coping with and recovering from mental illness.

Courtesy: Health Central Network

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AJ Mahari talks to a BPD Group about the pain at the heart of Borderline Personality Disorder. It is a profound pain that is both central to what it means to have BPD and an obstacle to recovery from BPD until and unless it is faced, felt, and resolved.

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Tami Green answers the question of how most effectively to communicate with your loved one with BPD.

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People affected by Borderline Personality Disorder are often hyper-sensitive and prone to conflict and excessive anger. Learn how to communicate to sensitive people using “SET,” a tool conceived by Jerold Kreissmen, MD. Also learn how to break the Cycle of Conflict using a Dialectical Behavior Therapy tool conceived by Alan Fruzzetti, PhD. Take the first step to reduce conflict with a loved one affected by Borderline Personality Disorder.

Courtesy: BPD Family.com

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Worldwide, mental illness represents more than 15 percent of the disease burden in established market economies such as the U.S. According to the National Institute for Mental Health (NIMH) this “is more than the disease burden caused by all cancers.”

Approximately 26 percent of adults suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year. Factor in the families of the ill and the irregular methods by which these problems are reported and the impact of this statistic is far-reaching beyond what is measured.

How many people with mild disorders do not seek treatment and instead laugh it off in a “join the club” culture that recommends numbing the pain with alcohol and drugs. No one should be blamed for not wanting to seek treatment. We have become conditioned to accept the methods of therapy which span years, and notoriously do not deliver verifiable results or only offer subjective improvements which quickly fade after therapy ends.

To make matters worse, a diagnosis from a professional is likely to amplify existing mental problems by labeling behaviors as a disease, where only a behavior disorder exists.

In some cases, drugs designed to alter the chemical make-up of the brain are prescribed. This is despite recently published evidence, which says 68% of the positive effects are placebo related. Another study, conducted a year earlier, suggests Prozac, Effexor and Paxil “offer no clinically significant benefit over placebos.” (Why Antidepressants Don’t Live Up to the Hype – Time Online)

The physical risk these pills represent, however, is very real. Such changes in the brain operate in cascading ways, which have yet to be fully understood by anyone, including the doctors writing the prescription. Is it acceptable to be effectively experimenting with the very core function of their patient’s lives, especially when these drugs are presented to them as a solid solution?

These problems are compounded by hard science, which suggests the mind can be changed, physically, by our own thoughts. In other words, it is a software problem, not a hardware problem.

This notion was inadvertently discovered and showcased in a PBS documentary titled “Depression: Out of the Shadows.” Dr. Helen Mayberg, who was featured in the special, discovered a region of the brain known as “Area-25,” a critical intersection of the brain responsible for mood, sleep, motivation and drive. Depression would wreak havoc on this area of the brain while patients who were recovering from depression would consistently show this area “cooling off.” Every form of successful treatment would have the same effect.

Dr. Mayberg then asked healthy volunteers to ponder sad thoughts. Area 25 became overactive while the frontal cortex, responsible for personality, quieted down. When volunteers discontinued sad thoughts, Area 25 returned to normal.

As Dr. Mayberg states at the end of the experiment, “And I always say, the machinery is in a state, the software is in a– is in a bad loop.”

The software, however, continues to be largely ignored.

In 2007, CDMRP dispersed 277 million dollars in an attempt to resolve PTSD. There was not one evidence-based program process for changing depression, the primary symptom of PTSD. In the end, despite enormous amounts of money and professional resources, NIMH and the mental health industry remain an observational enterprise, without delivering clinical results. The industry, it seems, continues to mire itself down in theories and experiments, while attacking only the hardware to fix a software problem.

In 2007, CDMRP dispersed 277 million dollars in an attempt to resolve PTSD. There was not one evidence-based program process for changing depression, the primary symptom of PTSD.

In the end, NIMH and the mental health industry remain an observational enterprise, without delivering clinical results.

About the author: Kelly Burris, PhD is a behavioral scientist, the developer of Subconscious Restructuring (SR) the only evidence-based program process in coaching and mental health and author of 9 books. Kelly offers a 2 day Life Coach Certification program based on the SR process.

Courtesy: ArticleRich

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According to its description, “Borderline Personality Disorder in Adolescents offers parents, caregivers, and adolescents themselves a complete understanding of this complex and tough-to-treat disorder. It thoroughly explains what it is and what a patient’s treatment options are.

“Dr. Blaise A. Aguirre… describes recent advancements in treatments and brings into focus what we do and don’t know about this condition. He explains the most advanced techniques available, including the revolutionary new treatment called dialectic behavior therapy.

“Readers will learn the differences between BPD and other adolescent psychiatric diagnoses; treatment options (e.g., medication and therapy); how to choose the right therapist; how to determine when inpatient treatment is necessary; how to enforce boundaries; how to take care of and protect yourself; and practical techniques for effective communication with those who have BPD.”

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My view is that it is best to have a counselor who can emotionally and verbally empathize with your inner suffering and turmoil. If you are considering harming yourself, you are probably experiencing an acute state of anxiety or a depression which is unbearable.

You may be focusing on the notion that ending your very consciousness is the only permanent way to deal with your intolerable feelings. Suicide is usually an attempt to escape from yourself and your painful experiences and setbacks.

If you are depressed or suicidal, you probably make very unfavorable judgments about yourself, obsess on your feelings of self-blame, low self-esteem and guilt, and, finally, experience a storm of pessimistic, self-destructive and catastrophic assessments and predictions about your future.

If you have attempted suicide or gotten close to it, you may have experienced your state of mind as having felt automatic, robot-like, trance-like or even numb to any pain or anxiety. These suicide-related experiences are often dissociative in nature.

Dissociation is a kind of out of body feeling triggered by a catastrophic experience. This is a coping mechanism which allows you to be detached from yourself in order to cope with the intolerable pain you are experiencing.

Psychologists think that this dissociation is triggered because your unbearable turmoil has not been integrated into your sense of self and memory- but rather, is viewed as alien. Flawed coping skills result in a disruption to your sense of identity even though they are used as defenses against your pain, distress and any humiliation you may have experienced.

Patients have often reported that being humiliated by an important other was a trigger to a suicide attempt. This type of humiliation often results in feelings of worthlessness, loss of self-respect, feelings of being emotionally abused, of feeling like an object and the sense of being devalued as a person.

Like others who have attempted suicide, you may also have a high tolerance for pain and feel a certain indifference to your body. Patients often report that at the moment of the suicidal act they do not feel pain. Others have described a trance-like state and feelings of numbness immediately prior to attempting to injure themselves.

But what kind of therapist should you choose if are severely depressed? Suicidal longings require empathy from a therapist.

A psychologist, psychiatrist or counselor must demonstrate a true empathy for your intense suffering, a suffering with which he or she has no way and no right to argue. It is from this empathic attitude that your counselor must approach your desires, longings, and decisions.

Expressing therapeutic empathy toward your self-destructive longings is, in fact, the best way a therapist can help you extricate yourself from the longings for suicide. Suicide is the result of an accumulation of your psychological pain and distress.

To prevent you from acting-out self destructively, many therapists will immediately try to help you solve your most distressing problems. Also, various means, such as electroshock or medication will be employed to immediately inhibit the forces pulling you toward self-destruction.

Your therapist may also strike a contract with you, whereby you commit not to attempt suicide while your treatment is ongoing. Every appropriate and available means should be used by you and your therapist to help you postpone or revoke your suicidal plan.

However, as strange as it may sound, the odds of these tactics working are greater if your therapist does not ignore the reality of your futility, but rather, expresses an authentic therapeutic empathy toward your desire to die. Your therapist should endeavor to place him or herself in your shoes and try to fully understand the distress emanating from your inner world.

I am referring to more than the normal empathy required of a therapist. Empathy that is akin to a process of regulated and controlled identification between therapist and patient is what is required.

For example, in my work, I ask the patient to show me how s/he got to the end of the road and how suicide became the only option available, and why it in fact seemed to be the only possible solution. As a therapist, I attempt to see and feel how the paths of the patients life and emotions lead to his or her justified feeling that suicide is the only solution.

I try to bring myself to that same point and try to persuade myself of the justification of this feeling of deadlock. This means that the best therapists who treat depressed or suicidal patients are those who will view the pain and choice of death with deep respect-not trivialize or dismiss it.

Even when tactical bargaining is employed by the therapist to postpone or revoke the suicidal plan, it should start from a special empathy and understanding of the patients death wishes. The first positive step this approach will generate for you, as a patient, is your therapists bonding with you in your loneliness.

Patients who are tormented by terrible psychic agony are also feeling profoundly alone while experiencing it. The therapists fear that is provoked by the patients suicide threats and the swift attempts he or she makes to prevent them from being acted-out, at times only serves to exacerbate the patients terrible loneliness.

The empathy-centered stance can help ease your loneliness, as the sufferer, merely by giving you the sense that there is another person who can understand your intolerable pain and all that is implied by it. I also sign my patients to contracts mandating that they refrain from attempting suicide.

However, most importantly, I also try to give them license to truly and extensively examine the option of suicide as one of a number of alternatives and I try to put these alternatives on the table for us to assess openly. This license to explore results in the relentless joint search for the patients difficult experiences and for the understanding of how they have developed into his or her craving for death.

This search is conducted without fear and alarm and without attempts to pressure the patient toward quick ill-considered solutions. In practice, your therapist should ask you to share your life events, your pain, your fantasies about death and your feelings of being trapped.

Your therapist should ask you to help him or her see how suicide became an option for you. Your counselor should attempt to understand how and why your thinking process took this direction, what led up to the final breakdown and at what point you decided on suicide as a realistic option.

Your counselor should try to understand what is happening that is so terrible and so intolerable for you. He or she should invite you to explore what has been irreparably destroyed for you, and why you are unable to wait any longer for a solution.

You want a therapist who responds to you with an empathic reflection that is guided by an optimistic belief and the genuine wish to understand you. You want a therapist who, when appropriate, asks about other options that could help solve your sources of distress.

This is done, however, not particularly to dissuade you from your suicidal convictions but, rather, to enhance the therapeutic process by helping to relieve your loneliness, thus facilitating your engagement in the therapeutic process. The reconstruction of the difficult experiences which led to your suicidal ideation and their exploration with an empathic therapist can immediately produce some meaningful reduction in your inner struggle between life and death.

This process itself can raise new hopes and trigger your exploration of new possibilities. I believe that the empathy and respect manifested by such an exemplary therapist can generate a new hope and facilitate your willingness to meaningfully resolve your problems.

If you have been severely depressed or suicidal, then you need treatment. However, it often fails because too many doctors pre-maturely throw meds at you. Get your life back by using a counselor or therapist who is exemplary and truly top-notch. This article tells you everything you need to know about how to identify such a distinguished doctor!

About the author: Dr. Michael Shery is in Cary, IL, near Algonquin, Crystal Lake, Marengo and Lake-in-the-Hills. He’s an expert psychologist. Call 1 847 516 0899 and make an appt or learn more about counseling Cary Psychology.com

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However, within these types there are also variations in the symptoms, their severity and duration. Major depression causes symptoms i.e. excessive fatigue, relentless pessimism, hopelessness etc. that interfere with your ability to work, study, sleep, eat, and enjoy activities that were once pleasurable.

This type of depression can be disabling and may occur once but more commonly occurs several times in a lifetime. A less severe type of depression, dysthymia, generates longer-term, chronic symptoms that do not disable, but prevent you from functioning optimally or feeling enthusiastic when you should.

Many also experience major depressive episodes sometime in their lives. Another form of depression is bipolar disorder.

This serious and often devastating disorder is characterized by mood changes that cycle in and out or on and off- severe highs (mania) and lows (depression). Occasionally, the mood switches are dramatic and rapid, but usually they are slower and gradual.

When in the depressed cycle, one can have any or all of the symptoms of depression. When in the manic cycle, however, you may be overactive, over-talkative and manifest too much energy.

Mania often affects your thinking, judgment, and social behavior in ways that cause serious problems, anger and embarrassment. For example, once in a manic phase you may feel elated and full of grand schemes that might range from unwise business decisions to romantic or promiscuous sprees.

Left untreated, this disorder can literally ruin your life and even cause a deterioration into psychosis. Medical treatments typically used, depending on the condition type and severity, include anti-depressant medications, anti-psychotics, psychotherapy and mood stabilizers.

The best psychotherapeutic treatment is cognitive-behavioral therapy which treats how your thinking processes affect your mood and behavior.

Unfortunately, sometimes patients inappropriately drop-out of medication therapy, rather than follow-through because of side effects which could have been ameliorated had they stayed in treatment.

Wonder if you are getting the correct treatment for your depression? The following recommendations are based on a review of the scientific literature regarding the use of psychotherapy, counseling and medication in treating depression.

Take heed:

1. The treatment of first choice for your depression should be cognitive behavioral or interpersonal psychotherapy. This is because of their superior long-term outcomes; they also pose fewer medical risks than using drugs or combined treatments. However, you should consider medications, combined treatment, or other types of psychotherapy if you do not respond appropriately.

2. You should not undergo insight-oriented psychotherapy by itself because studies suggest that it may produce poorer outcomes.

3. It is important that psychotherapy or counseling be included in your treatment program when anti-depressants are prescribed; you are at a higher risk for relapse if you use medication by itself. Generally, the best results are achieved by the combined use of cognitive-behavioral therapy and medication.

4. Everything else being equal, when starting medication, a single medication administered with psychotherapy should be used.

5. Everything else being equal, when using an anti-depressant, you should use the lowest, safest therapeutic dose for the shortest possible duration. This minimizes the risk that you may experience any possible side effects, cardio-toxicity, potential suicidality or even drop-out of treatment prematurely.

6. If you are hospitalized, antidepressants should be only very cautiously prescribed, especially if you have cardiac vulnerabilities, because of the risk of sudden death.

7. If you have been suicidal, you should take antidepressants only if there is a vigilant monitoring plan in place to prevent over-dose.

8. Everything else being equal, you should be very reluctant to have ant-depressants prescribed for your children because there is no compelling evidence that they are effective for them and little is known about the health risks they pose for this population.

9. Caution should be used in prescribing antidepressants to elderly people because of possible hypotensive and side effect risks.

10. You should avoid taking regular minor tranquilizers alone for your depression because they have resulted in worse outcomes than no treatment at all.

11. It is crucial to hire the right professional for the right task. Clinical psychologists receive most of their training in psychology, counseling and psychotherapy.

Psychiatrists receive most of their training in medicine. Choose a psychologist for counseling and therapy; go to a psychiatrist for medication.

About the author: Dr Michael Shery is in Cary, IL, near Algonquin, Crystal Lake, Marengo and Lake-in-the-Hills. He’s an expert psychologist. Call 1 847 516 0899 and make an appt or learn more about counseling at http://www.carypsychology.com

Courtesy: ArticleRich

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It might take a bit of searching on the internet, but there are professionals out there who will offer their therapy and counseling services for free so that people who can’t afford it can get some light help and advice. This is not to say that the free service is only available to people who are tight on cash, it is also available for people who are unsure of therapy but feel it might be something for them to seriously look at. Most people will bulk at the idea of spending a large sum of money for a therapy session they worry will not do them any real good. Free online therapy is available for people to try and see if they feel they will get what they need out of it. From there they can decide whether they will return to it for some advice on occasion or if they should set up a regular meeting with a therapist or counselor about something that is troubling them.

At this point, many might be thinking that there is a catch to the free online therapy being offered. While it has become the norm for people to expect a catch, most professionals who offer the free online therapy do not have one. They are allowing people the chance to get some of the help or guidance that they require because they care about their job and the people they are offering to help. There are too many people throughout North America and the world who don’t have the help available to them; these professionals are working to lower these numbers when they can.

Free online therapy and counseling is just that; free. It is a service that is there for people when they need it. It is another open door for people to walk through if they need to, or even if they feel they just need to talk to someone, without the worry of how much it is going to cost them. Free online therapy is also available at just about any time, either in the form of a chat room, a forum, or even by setting up an appointment to chat through instant messaging. It is a service that is not to be taken for granted, but one that is there for people who would normally find it difficult to talk to a therapist or counselor in person. The other benefit of the free online therapy is that it is accessible from just about anywhere that has a decent internet connection, so the person’s identity never has to be revealed and their confidentiality can be guaranteed.

About the Author: Jennifer B. Baxt, LMHC, LMFT was born and raised in south Florida. She went to the University of Florida for her undergraduate work and majored in communications. She then got her Master’s degree in marriage and family therapy. While she was getting her Master’s, she worked in a hospital Emergency Room as a patient advocate and family counselor.

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Many have heard that maintaining one’s physical health can go a long way in helping to maintain a person’s mental health, because they go hand in hand with each other. Others will tell you that eating well, getting enough sleep, having some confidence and respect for one’s self and having enough time set aside for one’s self are all things that a person can do in order to improve and maintain their good mental health.

There is, however, one other thing that appears to help with improving a person’s mental health, or at least their mood. Apparently, most people tend to feel better after giving their living space a thorough cleaning. Taking the time to clean the home from top to bottom is like cleaning one’s life. The dirt, dust and clutter are done away with and the house has a fresher, more comfortable atmosphere that the person can feel happier and more relaxed in. In fact, some therapists might even suggest cleaning the house as a good way to take one’s mind off of something they tend to fixate on and to improve the look and feel of the home.

The state of the house has a significant impact on a person’s mental health, as does cleaning; such an impact, in fact, that many people who are agitated, annoyed or frustrated can use cleaning as an outlet for their emotions and energy until they feel better. In most cases, this can be quite effective. Of course, if one finds that they are cleaning nearly everyday to vent frustrations or trying to improve their mood, it might also be a good idea to consult a therapist. Online therapists are always available for inquiries about how one can improve their mental health in other ways besides cleaning their home.

Anyone who finds that they are suffering from an overall decline in their mental health, such as a loss of confidence, a loss of concentration, depression and so on, should seriously consider contacting an online therapist. The online therapist can help work with the patient to find out why they might be feeling down, they can then suggest what the patient could do in order to improve their mental health. Life is meant to be enjoyed and someone who is not happy and has a bleak outlook on life can’t fully enjoy life. Seeking advice and help from an online therapist can go a long way in improving a person’s mental health.

Many have heard that maintaining one’s physical health can go a long way in helping to maintain a person’s mental health, because they go hand in hand with each other.

About the author: Jennifer B. Baxt, LMHC, LMFT offers online audio/video counseling as well as works with children, individuals, couples, geriatric patients, depression, bipolar, anxiety and substance abuse. Please contact Complete Counseling Solutions via email jennifer [at] completecounselingsolutions [dot] com or visit our website http://www.completecounselingsolutions.com for any further information.

Courtesy: ArticleRich
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There are many parents out there who believe that being critical of their kid is the way to inspire them to try harder the next time; unfortunately, this is not the usual outcome of children who receive a lot of criticism on their marks, their talents or their difficulties. There might be a selective few who will take the criticism in stride and work to better their selves, but the majority of children will react in a negative way. They start to have doubts in their abilities, they feel they are too stupid to achieve the decent marks in school and just feel that they can’t do anything right. This is not how a child should feel. A child should feel that their parents are there to help and support them when they need it. A child, especially a younger one, is very impressionable and they depend on their parents to teach them how to go about things in life, such as asking for help when something is not understood. One spouse being overly critical of the other is also extremely unhealthy. It has about the same impact on the other person as it does on the children; the result of the heavy criticism is only to bring the other person down and make them feel incompetent.

Whether the family is only two married people or the marriage includes children, the criticism should not be necessary. Being supportive and helpful will often yield more positive results that will only make everyone happy in the end. If a child just cant seem to understand that math, or they can’t seem to hit those notes, the parent should be encouraging the child to keep working on it and seek the help that they need. Each spouse in a relationship should also be supportive and helpful, because heavy criticism will only threaten to break down the person on the receiving end or permanently damage the relationship to the point where it just no longer exists. Criticism usually brings negative results and emotions including poor performance than before, low confidence and resentfulness toward the person who is dealing out the criticism.

A family therapist or counselor can help to change this kind of behavior, whether it is intentional or not, and teach the family to be more supportive instead. This can easily be done through online therapy, which is far more convenient because the family doesn’t have to take time out of their day to try and get down to the office; instead, the family can have online sessions with the online family therapist from the comfort of their own home.
 
About the Author: Jennifer B. Baxt, LMHC, LMFT offers online audio/video counseling and works with children, individuals, couples, geriatric patients, depression, bipolor, anxiety and substance abuse. Please contact Complete Counseling Solutions via email jennifer [at] completecounselingsolutions [dot] com or visit our website http://www.completecounselingsolutions.com for any further information.

Source: GoArticles.com
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