Tuesday, August 29, 2006 9:06 AM
posted by Michael Mason Unexplained Symptoms May Have Mental Health Root The New York Times features an excellent article on the nagging persistence of aches, pains, and other physical complaints, and suggests that treatment may respond best to a mental health approach:
"Two new studies by researchers who specialize in the baffling condition called somatization syndrome, estimated to affect up to 3 percent of adults, suggest that the quest for a physical explanation may take on a destructive life of its own. Instead, those with the syndrome should focus on practical strategies to regain normal function and relieve symptoms, the researchers say."
In research studies, people demonstrated that they were likely to look for physical reasons for their complaints, often ignoring the strong possibility of psychological causes.
Click here to read "Doctors Give Hope to Patients With Long Histories of Unexplained Symptoms."
link to this post  Friday, August 11, 2006 3:57 PM
posted by Michael Mason Conference Season Winding Up In the next two months, Brookhaven representatives will attending numerous conferences to meet with professionals and individuals concerned about mental health treatment. If you're planning to attend any of the conferences below, make sure you stop by and say hello!
Oklahoma Dept. of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services - Edmond, OK 9/6
Attended by Sarah McGee
National Association of Head Injury Administrators NASHIA - Baltimore, MD Sept 6-9
Attended by Michael Mason
Case Management Society of St. Louis- St. Louis, MO 9/13-9/14
Attended by Aric Thorpe
North American Brain Injury Society NABIS- Miami, FL, Sept. 13, 14, 15
Attended by Michael Mason
Colorado Brain Injury Association-Vail CO Sept 27-30
Presentations by Dr. Rolf Gainer, CEO and Pamela Washbourne, Program Director
11th Annual Zarrow Mental Health Symposium - Tulsa, OK 9/28-9/29
Attended by Aric Thorpe and Sarah McGee
Southwest Conference on Disability-Albuquerque, NM Oct. 4-6
Presentations by Dr. Rolf Gainer and Michael Mason
Brain Injury Association of Missouri, Lake of the Ozarks, MO 10/4-10/7
Attended by Aric Thorpe
We look forward to meeting you!
link to this post Tuesday, August 08, 2006 10:18 AM
posted by R. Shock Mental Health and Law Enforcement On a Sunday morning in December, 2001, a 37 year-old man named Robert "Woody" Woodward, who was apparently suffering from a psychotic break, disrupted a church service in Brattleboro, Vermont. Woodward held a small knife to his eye and pleaded with the parishoners to grant him "political asylum". 911 was called while members of the congregation who were mental health professionals successfully calmed Woodward down.
When the police officers arrived, they demanded that Woodward drop the knife. When he did not, Woodward was shot by the police seven times and killed.
For the past five years, Brattleboro has struggled with this tragic incident. Woodward's parents brought and settled a wrongful death lawsuit against the town and the Brattleboro police department has invested in non-lethal means of subduing suspects, such as stun guns, pepper-sprays, and more intensive officer training for negotiation and dealing with people who are emotionally disturbed.
If there can be any bright spot to this episode, perhaps it's that it has caused police to come together with mental health advocates to devise better strategies on law enforcement and the mentally ill. This new collaboration is being felt far beyond the state of Vermont. Vermont State Police Academy co-ordinator Cindy Taylor-Patch says, "It's a national trend. It's hit every state at one level or another."
Click here to read the full article, courtesy of the Brattleboro Reformer.
link to this post Tuesday, August 01, 2006 9:07 AM
posted by R. Shock Dialectical Behavioral Therapy Originally conceived as a treatment for Borderline personality disorder, Dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) is now being used for a variety of diagnoses.
DBT consists of two essential components:
- Individual therapy in which the patient and therapist discuss issues of the previous week while adhering to an ordered list of things to be addressed. Issues of suicide or self injury are discussed first, followed by issues that might interefere with therapy, followed by quality of life issues and then, last but not least, issues of improving the patient's life in general.
- Group therapy, or "skills group", which meets typically once a week and lasts for 2-2½ hours in which patients concentrate on learning to use life skills that break down into four "modules",
- Mindfulness
- Emotion regulation
- Interpersonal effectiveness
- Distress tolerance
Of these four life skills, the greatest emphasis is given to mindfulness, a concept that comes from the Buddhist tradition. Simply put, mindfulness is the quality of being intentionally conscious and aware of one's thoughts and actions in a non-judgmental fashion.
When clinical studies found Dialectical behavioral therapy to be very effective against Borderline personality disorder, its use became expanded to include eating disorders and other emotional disorders.
link to this post |
Rolf B. Gainer, Ph.D., Diplomate ABDA, is the Chief Executive Office at Brookhaven Hospital and the Vice President of Rehabilitation Institutes of America. Dr. Gainer has been involved in the design and operation of treatment programs since 1977.
Stephen Harnish, MD is the Medical Director of Brookhaven Hospital. Dr. Harnish is a member of the American Psychiatric Association and is well known in Oklahoma for his informative radio and television appearances.
Aric Thorpe, MHR, is Brookhaven Hospital's Pastoral Liaison Representative. He conducts the quarterly Minister's Lifeline series and provides mental health information to pastors and clergy.
Sarah McGee serves as the Community Education Provider for Brookhaven Hospital. She provides information on mental health and drug and alcohol treatment to healthcare professionals in Oklahoma and surrounding states. |
