Continuing Education for Trauma Therapists

Sherry Cox will present Ethical Guidelines For Trauma Therapists: Helping Without Hurting at Southeast Community College on July 26, 2013.


For further information please visit the Psychotherapy Associates website at: Psychotherapyassoc.com 

To register, contact Nancy Holman, Southeast Community College, 402-437-2712 or 1-800-828-0072, ext. 2712, www. southeast.edu.

Services for Juveniles in Nebraska Changes?

An article in the Lincoln Journal Star on January 24, 2013 caught my eye. The title of the article was “Juvenile justice system overhaul is proposed”. Senators Brad Ashford and Bob Krist of Omaha and Kathy Campbell and Amanda McGill of Lincoln co-sponsored a bill (LB561) which would reorganize the juvenile justice system to focus on mental health treatment instead of punishment. They propose closing the centers at Kearney and Geneva and move to a treatment based system. Senator Ashford reported that 70% of the children in the juvenile justice system have a history of physical abuse and 40% of the girls have a history of sexual abuse. He also states that 70% of the juveniles in the juvenile justice system have a major mental illness which is undiagnosed, untreated or inappropriately treated. Senator Ashford is quoted as saying “Trauma in these children is not systematically screened or treated. We reap what we sow.” He also stated “Children who end up in the juvenile justice system were victims long before they became offenders.”  I think that it is great that the senators have realized that there are youth in Kearney and Geneva who are in need of mental health services. Perhaps if they had received the services they needed, they may not have ended up in the juvenile justice system. Many times children who have been traumatized demonstrate acting out behaviors (defiant to authority figures, anger outbursts and may have an excessive need for control). If they do not receive treatment, their behaviors may escalate to the point that they end up in the juvenile justice system. It will be interesting to follow this bill and see what, if anything, changes.

Laurie Patton

More About Validation

 

One of the factors contributing to the development of borderline personality is living in an invalidating environment during childhood.   Growing up in a home where you are told what you think and feel rather than being allowed to think and feel for yourself.  An all too common example is “stop crying or I’ll give you something to cry about.” You can probably think of other parental statements that communicate that what the child experiences is unacceptable.  These have the effect of undermining a child’s ability identify what they do think, feel, want, fear.   This can create big problems that last into adulthood. 

The alternative is a validating parenting approach in which the child is told “I know that you want that”, I understand that you don’t want to go to bed”, “I can see that you feel sad”, “that makes you angry”.  This does not mean that you agree with the child or allow the child to do harmful things.  It does not impair your ability to discipline or direct.  It does communicate to the child that she is heard and that she is a person who has feelings, wants and preferences.  This is essential learning for children.

Bill

Mindfulness and Marines

 

On Sunday I read an article in the local newspaper that described mindfullness experiments that are being conducted by the Marine Corps.  A goal is understanding the differences in stress responses between groups of Marines trained in mindfulness techniques and those of a control group not trained in the techniques.  The article also addressed the misunderstanding that mindfulness training includes a religious element.  This mistaken belief has kept some people from learning this valuable information.

I have been very impressed with the usefulness of mindfulness in psychotherapy since learning about Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) many years ago.  The work of Jon Kabat-Zinn in researching mindfulness at the University of Massachusetts Medical School has also been important.    I recommend his books, especially Coming To Our Senses.    

Bill