Early Recovery and Stable Relationships are often intertwined when it comes to dealing with addiction. "John has been through detoxification and rehab several times already. His family and friends are very frustrated and confused by his inability to stay sober. His relationships have become fragmented and almost non-existent due to the damage of his addiction. [...]
I recently saw a post on 15 things emotionally healthy people do, or don't do. But what is emotional health and why don't we teach it? I mean really teach it. We learn much in our families as we grow up. Parents want their children to be confident, have good self-esteem, get good grades and [...]
We have some excellent parenting advice for you. Do you ever wonder what kids Birthday parties are about? Is it a show? Who will do it better? Is it a social event for the parents or is it really about a group of 6 years old running around and eating pizza and cake? Make an [...]
Gestalt Therapy is a very useful tool in a therapist's arsenal. While most substance abuse treatment programs would agree that the support of others is most beneficial in helping one to stay sober, it is through one's personal journey that the change really starts to occur behaviorally, cognitively, and emotionally. I have found that there [...]
Alcoholics Anonymous, usually abbreviated as AA, is a 12-step recovery program that has helped many people stop the use of alcohol. Basically, it is a meeting where people go and talk about their alcohol use and get support from others. Participants are usually told to accept a sponsor from the group. This is a person [...]
Executive functions are those aspects of our mental functioning that enableuse to get things done. A seminal writer on ADHD, Russell Barkley, also has a book entirely devoted to executive functions. He defines executive functions "as self-regulation to achieve goals". In his book on childhood ADHD, Barkley states that there are six executive functions and [...]
Idle moments and relaxation are that brief span of time, lasting for a few minutes or longer when we stop doing everything we're doing and just let ourselves breathe slowly and focus, at least initially, on nothing in particular. These moments occur too infrequently in our fast-paced lives. They are a helpful antidote to the [...]
This blog post will introduce in detail simple mindfulness exercises for beginners. My previous post was an introduction to mindfulness practice for DBT clients. As mindfulness is an essential part of DBT, helping beginning clients develop their skills in performing daily simple mindfulness exercises is a priority one. In this blog, I will lead the reader [...]
The best explanation I have heard for DBT Mindfulness Practice is from DBT trainer, Randy Wolbert, who said "mindfulness is simply the state of being completely awake right now." Mindfulness has attracted significant attention in the media in the past few years. It has emphasized the benefits of mindfulness meditation. From mental health to medical benefits, to performance enhancement, [...]
Being shy and bashful seems to have some inherited basis. According to the Monitor on Psychology (November 2014), children can show evidence of shyness as young as 4 months old. While most shy children learn to overcome social reticence, about 30-40% are likely to develop social anxiety, a more intense and debilitating condition. Shyness impacts development [...]