Kellevision

If You're Interested in the Human Brain

Here are some very good resources for understanding how it works:

Helping and Human Kindness on the City Bus

Riding public transportation to work can provide one with interesting observations of human behavior.  In watching people riding the city bus, I immediately become aware of a culture of helping behavior that I don't see in other places.  I experience a sense of camaraderie and community and feel more joined with humankind on the bus.  This is great contrast to the battle against my fellow citizens I engage in when I try to fight my way through traffic to drive to work.

Barriers vs. Behaviors and the Homeless Population

I sat in the meeting with case workers and social workers of homeless clients and desperately wanted to bang my head on the table.  The cause of my distress was the word "barriers".  Granted, many homeless clients face serious barriers.  But the way the word barriers was being used during the meeting was indicative of the inappropriate and ineffective ways the social services system approaches problems.

Stuck in a Rut

Some wise person once said that a rut is a grave not yet filled in.  I'm stuck in a rut, and I choose to stay there.  How does someone with psychological training get in a rut?  We're just like everyone else and we fumble and stumble our way through life like everyone else.  If we are healthy, though, we are doing our own work.  How does a therapist handle being in a rut?  Well, let's see...

DSM V and the Diagnosing of Human Behavior

http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/display/article/10168/1425378?pageNumber=4

A recent story in U.S. News and World Report states, "The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, as it is known, is hugely influential because it determines what is and is not a mental disorder. In turn, it is responsible for much of the sales growth in prescription drugs."  In a recent article in Psychiatric Times Dr. Allen Frances discusses his concerns about the way the next version of the DSM is being formulated and the possibility that formerly normal human behaviors will be become "medicalized".   

How do we define "abnormal" behavior?

Years ago (we won't discuss how many), I sat in my first abnormal psychology class.  The professor described the medical model for diagnosing mental illness, explained that mental illness was viewed as behavior that is abnormal, then raised a question for thought,  "But how do we determine what is "normal" and "abnormal" human behavior? 

The Meaning of Life in America

I recently listened to the video-taped lecture on the American financial situation by economics professor Richard Wolff.  In addition to brilliantly describing the causes behind the current economic crisis in America he also makes the point that "success" in the American culture is defined by consumption.  We are what we are able to buy. 

A Case Comparison of Antidepressant Administration to Two Grieving Clients

A few years ago I was simultaneously working with two middle aged men whose wives had left them.  Both of them were completely devastated by the loss of their marriage and family.  Both of them showed serious signs of grieving.  Both of them went to their doctors, were diagnosed with "depression" and placed on medication.  It was interesting to see side by side two different ways this could play out.  For one client this was a major factor in his process of healing while for the other it significally complicated the grieving process.  What was the difference?

"The Patient is Noncompliant"

There are two terms in the medical model for treatment which really bother me.  One is "orders" and the other is "noncompliant".  Why?    

"To Hell and Back"

From the University Daily Kansan:

"Thor Nystrom was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder his sophomore year of high school in Minnesota and prescribed the drug Adderall. When he developed anxiety, a side effect of Adderall, he was prescribed Paxil. The two drugs, mixed with the beer he consumed as a KU freshman, led to behavior that culminated in a fight in a Lawrence parking lot, his arrest and his entry into the mental health system. Using his own medical records, police records, his own diaries, interviews with family and his own recollections, he wrote this account of what he calls his descent into the 'depths of hell,' a journey with an ending that neither he nor his parents saw coming. This is his graduation story."