Category: Blog Posts

For years those with mental health issues have struggled with getting adequate insurance coverage or have been denied insurance coverage when their mental illness is diagnosed. As a psychologist I’ve had a front row seat – watching people struggle to use their mental health benefits, if they were fortunate to even have mental health benefits. I’ve written articles exposing the sometimes life-threatening situations that have been created by a broken system.

So I was happy to see the recent CNN article, Feds Boosting Mental Health Access, Treatment. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced new rules that, “Finally put mental health and behavioral health on equal footing.” Of course this has been in the works for years. President George W. Bush began the move to greater equality with The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act, which has made mental health care more accessible, but it hasn’t been enforced up to now.

Insurance companies have often limited the coverage for mental illness, which makes it tough on those seeking help. If you had coverage often times you were limited to five or ten visits with a counselor. If the problem cannot be resolved in five or ten sessions, you had to pay out of pocket if you could afford to do so.

The new rules require insurers to cover co-payments, deductibles, doctor visits, outpatient services and residential treatment equally for physical and mental illnesses. This is very good news for those with chronic mental health issues.

There are so many changes going on in healthcare right now that it can be difficult to keep up. Here’s a word of advice, stop looking for someone to take care of your every health or emotional need. There will never be a perfect healthcare system. Instead utilize your good old common sense and decide for yourself, with the help of professional advisors such as your trusted doctors, just what is the best psychological or medical treatment for you, your loved ones and your employees.

If you interested in scheduling an appointment with my office please take a look at Therapy FAQ page for answers to questions regarding insurance. Read more about the benefits of psychotherapy on my website – Psychotherapy Treatment Options.

For most parents being away from your children, like sending them to school, is something that doesn’t normally cause undue fear. However, parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder live with an unimaginable, daily fear that their child will go missing.

Drawing awareness to this problem, executive director of the National Autism Association, Lori McIlwain, recently wrote in the New York Times about when her 7-year old son with ASD went missing. As more children are diagnosed with ASD, the spotlight needs to continue to shine on this problem so that there is more awareness.

What causes children with Autism Spectrum Disorder to wander away? Usually it’s one of two reasons: they are searching for a personal fascination (bodies of water and busy roads are at the top of the list) or they are bolting from a situation that caused fear. According to a recent article in Pediatrics, “49% of children with autism have attempted to elope at least once after the age of 4, 24% were in danger of drowning and 65% were in danger of traffic injury.”

Whether you call it wandering, bolting, eloping, or running away, the fear that your child will go missing is a very real and daily stress for parents of ASD children. Usually the children who are most severely affected by ASD are the ones that go missing. Since ASD causes impaired communication and social skills, they are also the ones least capable of coping with the situation. If your child can’t answer to his name and avoids strangers, the search becomes extremely difficult. The Pediatrics article concluded: “The results (of their study) highlight the urgent need to develop interventions to reduce the risk of elopement, to support families coping with this issue, and to train child care professionals, educators, and first responders who are often involved when elopements occur.”

Parents are quite literally lying awake at night, because they don’t know how to keep their children safe from wandering. There have been few resources for support or information on how to prevent this type of behavior. In addition, the common and uninformed misperception in the community is, “It’s your fault. If you were a better parent you’d keep an eye on your children.”

If you find yourself in this situation, you are not alone. Seek out a therapist who specializes in autism disorders. They will be able to help you find ways to develop your child’s cognitive skills as well as help you to cope with the stress caused by a constant state of vigilance. Contact my office for an appointment if you live in Portland, Oregon/Vancouver, Washington.

For more information on Autism Spectrum Disorder, visit Asperger Syndrome Frequently Asked Questions.

“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.