Kellevision

When Childhood Bipolar Disorder - Isn't

I really have a problem with the recent surge in diagnosing children with Bipolar Disorder.  The children I see with this diagnosis are often the victims of serious issues at home, issues which may even include abuse.  Some struggle with PTSD and the mood swings which are inherent in a traumatized individual are attributed to "Bipolar Disorder" and medicated. 

Therapy is Not to Make you Happy

I think a lot of clients (and some therapists unfortunately) have a misconception that therapy should make you feeling nothing but good.  This is simply not true. 

How Therapy Works

I write a lot about the importance of feeling your feelings and being in touch with the messages thay are sending you.  Perhaps this is because I rely so heavily on them in my everyday work.  I cannot imagine being without them. 

The Therapist is Having a Panic Attack!

Yes, therapists have issues too.  Anxiety was never mine until a few years ago.  Prior to that I could intellectuallly understand that people said they were experiencing anxiety and panic, but I couldn't fully appreciate how bad it felt, until I had my own.

Vicks Inhalers and Olfactory Flashbacks

Therapists sometimes develop effective therapeutic interventions in very unusual ways.  I discovered a powerful intervention for olfactory flashbacks by mere coincidence.

Sexual Abuse is about Abuse, not Sex

A lot of people assume that rape, molestation and incest are about sex and seduction, but they aren't.

She's not Bipolar, She Has PTSD

She's crying uncontrollably.  "They say I'm Bipolar, but I just don't think I am." 

The "Problem Child", Scapegoating and the Family System

Another family brings by the "problem child" and drops them off for me to fix.  She* is the oldest child of five and has been exposed to severe domestic violence, physical abuse and substance abuse.  And she is responding to it as any teenager would - by acting it out. 

Healing the Healer

The Jung at Heart blog has a wonderful article on therapists getting therapy, "Therapist Heal Thyself".  I couldn't agree more that therapists taking responsibility for their own issues and doing their own work is absolutely essential.  This is the first question I recommend asking a potential therapist, "How do you work through your own issues?"  (See the full article, "10 Questions to Ask Your Next Therapist".)  

10 Questions to Ask Your Next Therapist (or Your Current Therapist)

Choosing a therapist is a very tricky business.  Personalities must mesh and there must be some agreement on the purpose of the process and how to proceed.