Category: Blog Posts

“Get a good night’s sleep. Things will look better in the morning.” It’s cliché advice, however according to recent studies, sleep therapy can help treat depression. The New York Times article, Sleep Therapy Seen as an Aid for Depression, reports on studies that are utilizing a type of talk therapy for insomnia.

The research team at Ryerson University in Toronto found, “87 percent of patients who resolved their insomnia in four biweekly talk therapy sessions also saw their depression symptoms dissolve after eight weeks of treatment, either with an antidepressant drug or a placebo pill — almost twice the rate of those who could not shake their insomnia”. This agrees with a pilot sleep study conducted at Sanford.

Does it matter which comes first – depression or insomnia? Not really. The important point is that they both be addressed and treated at the same time. In this recent study this duo-treatment routine produced a full recovery for about 40 percent of patients.

Sleep therapy or cognitive behavior therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) teaches people to establish and stick to a regular wake-up time, avoid daytime napping, and reserve bedtime only for sleeping, not watching TV snacking, reading and so on. Dr. Carney, lead author of the Ryerson report, said, “Curb this idea that sleeping requires effort, that it’s something you have to fix. That’s when people get in trouble, when they begin to think they have to do something to get to sleep.”

I’m thrilled that doctors are beginning to investigate the effects of treating sleep problems and mood disorders together. While this still isn’t a part of standard treatment, NET practitioners like myself have known for some time that the mind/body must be treated in a holistic manner. If you think insomnia is playing a role in your depression and you want to get to the root of your health problems, perhaps it’s time to look into cognitive behavior therapy. If you are looking for a holistic approach to your mental health issues and would like to see a NET Practitioner in Portland, Oregon or Vancouver, Washington, contact my office and set up an appointment.

Do you have questions about how therapy works? See my FAQ page for the answers.

When the news reports on sports concussions, often it discusses male football players. Seldom, if ever, are female athletes mentioned. Yet they suffer concussions as well. Katherine Snedaker, MSW of PinkConcussions.com and Dr. Jimmy Sanderson and Dr. Melinda Weathers, two researchers from Clemson University, are gathering applicants for a national study of female athletes 18 years and older to research the past and present affects of concussions. These can be sports or non-sports concussions. Also being researched is why these incidents are being underreported. This is important research and I encourage you to check it out to see if this research is appropriate for you or someone you know.

Brain trauma can cause dementia, headaches, light sensitivity, memory loss and encephalopathy. It can also be responsible for changed behavior, such as irritability, anger, depression, suicidal thoughts and actions, learning problems, poor decision-making skills and subsequent substance abuse. But you don’t have to accept that this is what you have to endure for the rest of your life.

Much of the damage caused to the brain can be rehabilitated. If you or someone you love is experiencing mental side effects after a concussion, speak to your doctor immediately. A holistic approach to the health of the mind and body can put you back in control of your life. You can learn how to use your own natural healing power to regain health. Couple this will good nutrition, regular exercise and changing negative lifestyle behaviors and you’ve begun your journey to optimal health and wellness.

The mind and body are in a state of constant communication. What the mind thinks and experiences is sent from the brain to the rest of the body and vice versa. If you want to improve your mind-body communication, consult a NET practitioner who can remove the blocks so your body can repair itself. If you live near Portland, OR/Vancouver, WA, contact my office and set up an appointment so your healing can begin.

Learn more about Mind and Body Health on my website – Holistic Health.

Couples fall in love and many times find that they work well together in their marriage. So for them the next logical step is to begin working together in a business endeavor. You would think that couples working toward a common goal together would draw them closer. Yet many couples have found this creates more challenges than they expected.

This was illustrated in a recent article in The New York Times, Together, at Home and at Work. The author, Bruce Feiler, spent an intensive six months working closely with his wife and many of his friends reacted by asking when they would divorce. No doubt it was asked jokingly, however it underlines the commonly held misconception that couples can’t work together for any length of time without breaking up.

After giving example of famous couples who have successfully worked together and others who have failed, he quoted a number of experts on couple working together. I was happy to talk to him about my research that appears in my book, Entrepreneurial Couples Making it Work at Work and at Home. I shared my insight that couples who work together should never compromise unless there really is no other option. When you’re working with your spouse, you’re going to be tempted to compromise, because that’s what you do at home. But that’s not good for business. Too much sensitivity to others is the primary reason family companies grow slower than non-family firms.

He also discussed the need to set boundaries – what happens at work stays at work, what happens at home stays at home, not to be afraid of conflict, and know when it’s time to quit if it’s not working.

Successful couples combine the wife’s and the husband’s strengths. Take what you know about each other and use it to the fullest to take your business and your life to a new height. If you could use some personal guidance on how to resolve a conflict in your family business, please contact my Portland Oregon/ Vancouver, Washington office and set up an appointment.

You can learn more about my book, Entrepreneurial Couples Making it Work at Work and at Home, and purchase a Kindle edition by clicking here.

SPECT imaging is a nuclear medicine study that looks at the blood flow and activity of the brain. It tells three things about the brain, the good activity, too little activity or too much activity. It’s an invaluable tool that helps psychiatrists help their patients. On a recent TEDx talk, Dr Daniel Amen spoke passionately about what he’s learned from the 83,000 brains that have been scanned, which has created the largest brain scan database on human behavior to date.

He spoke of the irony that every other doctor examines the part of the body that is their specialty, for example cardiologists examine the physical heart and so forth. Yet psychiatrists have for years been guessing based on symptoms, without ever looking at the brain. He likened it to throwing darts in the dark, which has had unintentionally hurtful consequences to patients.

SPECT Imaging is a treatment that is tailored to an individual brain, not to clusters of symptoms. And the exciting news is that they’ve discovered that troubled brains can be rehabilitated. The single most valuable lesson that they’ve learned is that you can change people’s brains. And when you do, you change people’s lives for generations to come. He gave an example of brain rehabilitation that is helping the severely injured brains of NFL players… an amazing 80% of them are showing improvement in blood flow, memory and mood.

In my own personal search for answers as to why my daughters have suffered from mental health problems, I turned to SPECT imaging. It was discovered that my older daughter suffers from Autism Spectrum Disorder. From her brain scan, I realized that she has a very “noisy” brain and can never get a break from the anxiety it causes her. The brain scans of my younger daughter show Post Concussion Syndrome, or diffuse brain damage due to soccer, snow boarding injuries and auto accidents which have caused her various health problems.

However, there is hope as Dr. Amens Tedx video shows. The use of medicines, whole foods, vitamins and supplements can heal the brain. This is the type of holistic health regimen that I often use with clients. Learn more about holistic healing on my website – Mind and Body: Holistic Health.

We often hear of people suffering from sleep deprivation – not getting enough sleep. They struggle through the day bleary-eyed and in a mental fog. Did you know, however, that these could also be the symptoms for those who sleep too much?

Is it really possible to sleep too much?

How much sleep you require depends a great deal on your general health and lifestyle habits. The common recommendation is to get on average seven to nine hours of sleep each night. If you’re recovering from an illness or surgery you will naturally require more sleep. What if you don’t have poor general health but you consistently sleep much more than nine hours every day? Should this be a cause for concern?

In a recent article on CNN, Are You Sleeping Too Much, Dr. Lisa Shives, director of Northshore Sleep Medicine in Evanston, Illinois, was quoted as saying that people who wake up groggy after sleeping a long time are suffering from “sleep drunkenness.” If you have slept an appropriate amount of time, you should wake up feeling refreshed not feeling disoriented, anxious, with memory problems, loss of appetite or diminished social skills.

If you or someone you love is experiencing a sleep problem, there may be a condition that needs to be treated by a physician or mental therapist. It may indicate any number of disorders such as hypersomnia, sleep apnea, thyroid disease, kidney disease, liver disease, or even depression. As a psychologist, one of my major concerns about sleep disorders is that they can easily escalate into more severe illnesses, so it’s important to identify the cause of your sleep disorder without delay and then learn how to deal with it.

Getting good sleep is vital to healthy living. It’s the body’s way of healing. One of my clients was experiencing psychosis and when he got help for his sleep apnea, he regained his normal healthy self. As a psychologist I always check the physical health issues of my clients to make sure I am treating the right problem. The mind and body are interconnected and in order to enjoy overall well-being, we must look at the both areas. If you are looking to improve your mental health, don’t delay in seeking assistance! Contact my Portland OR/Vancouver, WA office to set up an appointment.

For more information visit my webpage – Overcoming Depression.

A bully used to be the big kid on the playground who pushed the littler kids around, stole their milk money and bloodied their noses. Times have changed and bullying is not only much more prevalent but also more insidious. Nowadays bullying takes the form of insulting rumors and gossip. These vicious verbal attacks are happening via social media and text messaging.

Rumors boost social status and is an effective method that bullies use to climb the social ladder. Young people don’t control the impulse because they don’t stop to think of the consequences. They think it’s all harmless fun. But it isn’t. As we’ve all heard recently, online bullying has led to teens committing suicide because they felt there was no one to help them and they couldn’t handle the embarrassment.