Book Review: Clinical Applications of the Polyvagal Theory
Clinical Applications of the Polyvagal Theory is another work in the Norton series on interpersonal neurobiology.
I have come to believe that at least three theories are indispensable in learning and understanding how and why we behave the way we do — attribution theory, attachment theory, and our underlying physiology of safety, called the polyvagal theory.
The polyvagal theory was developed by Stephen Porges and presented to the Society for Psychophysiological Research in 1994. The theory takes into account how our autonomic nervous system is constantly working to keep us safe. Very simply, the components are our ...
Source: Psych Central - February 4, 2019 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Stan Rockwell, PsyD Tags: Anxiety Book Reviews Disorders General Memory and Perception Mindfulness Neuroscience Panic Disorder Personal Stories Psychological Assessment Psychology Psychotherapy PTSD Relationships & Love Relaxation and Meditation Traum Source Type: news
Book Review: Understanding the Brain
Making a cup of coffee and remembering to turn off the coffeemaker. Driving to the grocery store and not getting lost. Remembering anniversaries, birthdays, and where you were supposed to meet your friend for lunch. All of these activities require the seamless workings of the brain, and while we often take them for granted, there are even more activities that go undetected within the brain every single day.
In his new book, Understanding the Brain: From Cells to Behavior to Cognition, which is an updated version of his earlier book, Dowling offers a comprehensive look at how the brain functions — from how vision occu...
Source: Psych Central - February 2, 2019 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Claire Nana Tags: Book Reviews Disorders General Genetics Habits Intelligence Memory and Perception Neuroscience Psychiatry Psychology Treatment Brain Function cortisol Dowling Emotions Long Term Memory neuromodulators Neurons Neurotrans Source Type: news
Book Review: Simply Human: Reflections on the Life We Share
In his new book, Simply Human: Reflections on the Life We Share, Alan Bodnar takes us inside the lives of people with mental illness, providing the keen insight and discernment of a clinical psychologist to show that their stories are all part of a much larger human experience.
Bodnar explains, “I wanted to convey some of the fear, confusion, and betrayal that these people were feeling, and, in some small way, give voice to the distress that policymakers seemed to be ignoring.”
Here, Bodnar is referring to the stigma that so often encompasses people who have mental illness, a stigma that perpetuates society’s...
Source: Psych Central - February 1, 2019 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Claire Nana Tags: Book Reviews Disorders Ethics & Morality General Happiness Memory and Perception Motivation and Inspiration Personal Stories Psychology Psychotherapy Stigma Treatment Bodnar Empathy Humanity Mental Illness Prejudice Simpl Source Type: news
Escape from Trauma: Dissociation and Development of Identity
Dissociation may be thought of simply as disconnection or disruption. In terms of posttraumatic stress disorder, we talk about dissociation as a disruption in four different areas of functioning: identity, memory, consciousness, self-awareness, and awareness of surroundings.
In understanding the human response to trauma, it is thought that dissociation is a central defense mechanism because it provides a method of escape 1. When physical escape is impossible, dissociation provides a type of mental escape.
Those who experience dissociation may notice lapses in memory of certain time periods or events. Personal information ...
Source: Psych Central - January 24, 2019 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Fabiana Franco, Ph.D. Tags: Dissociative disorders PTSD Trauma compartmentalization Depersonalization Dissociation Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Traumatic Experience Source Type: news
Benzos, Opioids and Z-Drugs: Deadly Combos
With all the news media accounts and reports from governmental health organizations about the opioid epidemic, including the 70,237 drug overdose deaths in 2017, a newly emerging threat is gaining attention: use and misuse of benzodiazepines, opioid drugs and Z-drugs. Specifically, combining these three drugs can create a deadly combination that snuffs out lives.
Benzodiazepine Overdose Deaths on the Rise
Benzodiazepines, a class of sedative narcotic drugs including Xanax and Valium used to treat anxiety, insomnia and other disorders and classified as Schedule IV under the Controlled Substances Act by the Drug Enforcement ...
Source: Psych Central - January 23, 2019 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Suzanne Kane Tags: Addictions Substance Abuse Suicide Source Type: news
OCD and Emetophobia
The fear of vomiting, or emetophobia, affects people of all ages. It is often seen in childhood and if left untreated, can become debilitating. It is also known to develop during adulthood, perhaps after an associated experience such as a severe stomach illness or episode of vomiting. The consequences of vomit phobia can be extreme, leading to such things as school refusal, social isolation, and job loss. Emetophobia can also take away any joy in life, hindering travel and leisure activities, romantic relationships, and even pregnancy (afraid of morning sickness).
To be clear, emetophobia is not just being afraid of throwi...
Source: Psych Central - January 15, 2019 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Janet Singer Tags: Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder emetophobia Nausea Ocd Vomiting Source Type: news
What Is a Covert Narcissist?
A covert narcissist is just as much a narcissist as your typical extroverted narcissist. Some narcissists emphasize one personality trait more than others. One person with outgoing personality might always show off and need to be the center of attention, while another narcissist might be a vindictive bully, an entitled playboy, an imperious authoritarian, or an exacting know-it-all, as articulated by Madonna, “Listen, everyone is entitled to my opinion.”
Some public figures and celebrities exemplify extroverted narcissists — people who are, grandiose and crave attention. Radio host and psychologist Dr. Wendy Wals...
Source: Psych Central - January 14, 2019 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Darlene Lancer, JD, MFT Tags: Bullying Narcissism Personality Source Type: news
Book Review: Dancing on the Tightrope
We all face challenges in life, and more often than not, we feel they are unique to our lives and unlike other peoples’ challenges. However, according to Beth Kurland, PhD, the challenges of being human are more common than we might believe.
She writes, “There are five core evolutionary challenges that we all face as human beings that can take us away from living our lives most fully.”
In her new book, Dancing on the Tightrope: Transcending the Habits of Your Mind & Awakening to Your Fullest Life, Kurland shows us that it is in understanding these challenges, and the habits they are characterized by, that we can ...
Source: Psych Central - January 6, 2019 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Claire Nana Tags: Anxiety Book Reviews Disorders General Happiness Memory and Perception Mindfulness Motivation and Inspiration Personality Psychology Self-Help Stress Acceptance And Commitment Therapy beth kurland Dancing on the Tightrope Source Type: news
Book Review: Struggle Well: Thriving in the Aftermath of Trauma
Like me, you’ve probably seen people crumble and fail to recover from trauma (big or small) and you’ve also probably seen others who come through their experiences with clearer eyes, stronger spirits, straighter backs, and deeper wells of empathy and compassion. Perhaps they are even able to use their experiences in profoundly creative ways.
The Japanese concept of kintsugi treats breakage and repair as part of the history of an object rather than something to disguise. People can be proud of their scars, and some even transform them into memoir or service, or embellish them literally with tattoos and other approaches...
Source: Psych Central - January 3, 2019 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Lori Handelman, PhD Tags: Book Reviews Disorders General Memory and Perception Personal Stories Psychology PTSD Self-Help Trauma Treatment combat Falke Goldberg Struggle Well Therapy veteran Source Type: news
ADHD and Work: 9 Tips for Thriving at the Office
Adults with ADHD are all-too aware of their shortcomings at work and regularly bash themselves for their inconsistent productivity and sinking motivation. But there are many things you can do to thrive at the office.
For starters, it’s important to recognize that all workers struggle.
“It would be a mistake to assume that non-ADHD or neurotypical workers do not struggle with some of the very same ebbs and flows of productivity, focus, and prioritization difficulties,” said Aaron D. Smith, MS, LMSW, ACC, a certified ADHD coach who helps individuals with ADHD and executive functioning challenges to bridge the gap betwe...
Source: Psych Central - January 1, 2019 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Margarita Tartakovsky, M.S. Tags: Attention Deficit Disorder Career Disorders General Motivation and Inspiration Self-Help Work Issues ADHD and productivity ADHD and work ADHD challenges ADHD self-help ADHD tips Source Type: news
Book Review: Somebody I Used to Know
Most adults are familiar with the topic of Alzheimer’s disease, but how many of us have had the opportunity to sit down with someone with Alzheimer’s and learn about their personal experience with the disease?
Wendy Mitchell set about changing the narrative around Alzheimer’s with her memoir, Somebody I Used to Know. At fifty-eight, she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. She was working full-time and mothering her two twenty-something daughters, and as soon as she got the diagnosis, she began documenting her experiences with the disease through a blog called “Which Me Am I Today?”
Her memoir is a summary ...
Source: Psych Central - December 28, 2018 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Caroline Comeaux Lee Tags: Alzheimer's Book Reviews Creativity Disorders Family General Grief and Loss Memory and Perception Motivation and Inspiration Personal Stories Treatment Alzheimer's disease Experience life-changing Memoir Somebody I Used to Kn Source Type: news
Book Review: The Disordered Mind
“Self-awareness leads us to question who we are and why we exist,” writes Eric R. Kandel.
Seeking answers to questions like this is what makes us human, but how do we explain how our consciousness arises from the physical matter that is our brain?
In his new groundbreaking book, The Disordered Mind: What Unusual Brains Tell Us About Ourselves, acclaimed neuroscientist Eric R. Kandel looks not at the brain in function, but rather conditions such as schizophrenia, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, Parkinson’s and addiction to help us uncover what it means to be human.
While disruptions of brain function can b...
Source: Psych Central - December 27, 2018 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Claire Nana Tags: Antipsychotics Autism / Asperger's Bipolar Book Reviews Creativity Disorders General Medications Neuroscience Psychology Schizophrenia Stigma Stress Treatment Amygdala Bipolar Disorder cortisol Hippocampus Kandel The Source Type: news
Book Review: Neurobiology for Clinical Social Work, 2nd Ed.
While social workers have long espoused the importance of relationships and their impact on our psychological functioning, truly understanding those relationships requires understanding the brain as a social organ.
As Louis Cozolino, one of the nation’s leading authorities on neuroscience, says, “Each generation of mental health practitioners needs to be taught that although we look like separate beings, we are connected in deep and profound ways we are still coming to understand.”
In their latest edition of Neurobiology for Clinical Social Work: Theory and Practice, Janet R. Shapiro and Jeffrey S. Applegate dive int...
Source: Psych Central - December 23, 2018 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Claire Nana Tags: Book Reviews Disorders General Neuroscience Personality Psychological Assessment Psychology Psychotherapy Trauma Treatment epigenetics Neurobiology Neurobiology For Clinical Social Work Physiology Source Type: news
Book Review: Let Go of Emotional Overeating & Love Your Food
It is not news that America is currently facing an unprecedented obesity epidemic, and one that would quickly have us learning to say no more often, resist the temptation to give in to our favorite foods and have better self-control over our eating patterns.
However, contends Arlene B. Englander, this approach is as much of a problem as the epidemic itself. Diets are restrictive and often allow no room for error or introspection.
And when people blame themselves for having a “bad” week, they create negative emotions which then often lead to compulsive overeating as a way to ease the pain.
Englander likens this situatio...
Source: Psych Central - December 18, 2018 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Claire Nana Tags: Addictions Binge Eating Book Reviews Diet & Nutrition Disorders Eating Disorders Exercise General Habits Happiness Healthy Living Mindfulness Motivation and Inspiration Psychology Self-Esteem Self-Help Stigma Treatment Source Type: news
Signs a Narcissist Is Playing Games and Why
To narcissists, relationships are transactional, like buying and selling. The goal is to get what you want at the lowest price. It’s a self-centered, business mindset. Emotions don’t intrude. In relationships, narcissists focus on their goal. For a male narcissist, that’s usually sex or to have a beautiful woman at his side. A female narcissist may be looking for material gifts, sex, acts of service, and/or an extravagant courtship.
It’s important to understand a narcissist’s mind. They see relationships as a means to get what they want, without concern for the feelings of the other person. Th...
Source: Psych Central - December 17, 2018 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Darlene Lancer, JD, MFT Tags: Abuse Divorce Narcissism Personality Source Type: news
