Trust your spidey senses. Phone -> cancel -> refer. Speak directly to them, don't leave it on voice-mail (so they can't say later they never got the message). Be prepared with #'s to provide and counter arguments (hopefully not needed but still). Does your office have an alarm? Or offices within ear shot? This alarm is something that made me feel safer.
Because it can cause significant harm to clients’ lives to push them to unpack traumatic memories when they do not first have some coping skills to handle the inevitable hard stuff that will come out of the process. This client appears to have the self-confidence to say “I’m not ready for that” but many do not. You are the professional. They trust you to lead them. Not being aware of this can lead to therapists doing more harm that healing.
In this book Judith Herman does a great job of talking about how important it is to do this coping skills work before exploring the trauma. Trauma and Recovery: The Aftermath of Violence--from Domestic Abuse to Political Terror https://www.amazon.com/dp/0465087302/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_VcLXAbDY9NECB
> "The Boy Who was Raised as a Dog."
Excellent book! Another fantastic book on trauma is Trauma and Human Existence. It's only 50-odd pages but a crucial read for anyone in the field, imo.
I mean, yes because no one here can predict the future or how you'll turn out. Dr. Kay Jamison wrote a best selling book, An Unquiet Mind, about being a clinical psychologist with Bipolar I Disorder, so obviously it can be done. However, your mental health and experience is different from hers and I'd recommend stabilizing the condition first, especially given the treatment resistance and its effect on your previous graduate studies. Are you engaged in CBT, ACT, or some other evidence-based practice for depression? It sounds like your doc is a psychiatrist or prescriber primarily. While a mood stabilizer is the first line treatment to stabilize mania, a Bipolar I depressive episode usually requires talk therapy as the primary treatment due to the risk of many SSRIs inducing a manic episode.
Edit: she's a clinical psychologist, not psychiatrist. My bad.
I'm confused by what you're asking:
>I’m open to hearing any that they have found to be helpful with BPD clients that is not just textbook BPD.
Did you mean to say "not just textbook DBT", meaning some other approach to BPD? Or did you really mean that the BPD is "not just textbook BPD", in which case I'd want to know more about how the presentation differs from typical to venture a recommendation.
But if the former, Pamela Butler's Self-Assertion for Women (Amazon) from the 1970s is like "Interpersonal Efficacy 201". Really excellent paradigms for thinking about what self-assertion is and how it works, and has my favorite approach to distinguishing assertion and aggression. Self-help. Very much from the Cognitive Therapy philosophy, but not insulting to the client's intelligence and not about thought policing; psycho ed and skills instead.
You could start looking into couples counseling methods like Gottman or Emotionally Focused Therapy. There are frequent online or in person workshops for those approaches if you have the time and money, or they have books available that talk about the models. Of course this will depend on your theoretical Orientation and whether it will be compatible with the various types of couples and family therapy.
This book was helpful for me when I was in my grad program as I was gravitating towards EFT.
The Practice of Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy: Creating Connection (Basic Principles into Practice Series) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0415945682/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_IxuCDbESD0BD2
However your supervisor should be your best resource for learning how to do couples and family therapy. Hopefully if your worksite makes you do that type of therapy they will have someone to teach you. Honestly your grad school classes probably won't do much to teach you how, you will learn best through advanced training through workshops or certifications or with a supervisor
This book has been tremendously helpful and is an easy read.
This is a great "intro" type book to alternative sexualities. It is written by practicing professionals and gives the perspectives of the provider and the patient. I think it is really essential to help eliminate any potential bias or judgement (not saying that is your case, but it's definitely a bonus).
If nothing else, I would have discussions regarding safety, consent, harm reduction, and sexual identity.
There are some helpful indexes and links to readings on this site
If you find a specific EBP training on Providing Kink Aware Therapy in the United States, PLEASE let me know and do check in and let me know how this is going. I too a populations with atypical and/or problematic interests in paraphilia.
I have previously served juvenile sex offenders, but I have never worked with juveniles who were not in the legal system.
The leading researcher in what works in psychotherapy is Bruce Wampold. He believes CBT has been greatly oversold and that the "common factors" are the important part oc what makes psychotherapy work. You might like his book.
https://www.amazon.com/Great-Psychotherapy-Debate-Counseling-Investigating/dp/0805832025
Transference Focused Psychotherapy is evidenced based for BPD. And they are working on the NPD version. I think IDSTP is also evidenced based for other disorders. There is a great youtube channel called "Borderliner Notes" that has all the leaders of the evidenced based treatment for BPD, Linehan, Fonagy, Kernberg. It's full of great content. Several different psychotherapists talk about their work and it is mostly from a psychodynamic perspective.
This is the book for TFP.
https://www.amazon.com/Transference-Focused-Psychotherapy-Borderline-Personality-Disorder/dp/1585624373
Have you read this book: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1421420783/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Committed: the battle over involuntary psychiatric care ; Miller , Hanson & Early (2016)
When I do parenting groups, I typically am loosely organized around the Everyday Parenting curriculum, with a fair amount of tailoring to individual parents' issues: https://www.amazon.com/Everyday-Parenting-Professionals-Building-Management/dp/0878226583/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=everyday+parenting+stormshak&qid=1611094148&s=books&sr=1-3 (Note that I do not like the handouts in the book and I have re-made everything to be more appealing to me, haha.)
If the kiddos are all younger, the Incredible Years is a similar option, as well -- https://www.amazon.com/Incredible-Years-Trouble-Shooting-Parents-Children/dp/1892222043/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=incredible+years&qid=1611094239&s=books&sr=1-2
I see no reason you couldn't structure a group to involve both parenting skills and general support, as well.
I am happy to answer specific questions about leading parenting groups, as well.
I'd suggest you read some Kernberg on tranference focused psychotherapy. Also, the book Psychodynamic Psychotherapy (Kernberg contributed to it) have some really interesting things on countertransference use in this context.
Edit: this book: Psychodynamic Therapy for Personality Pathology: Treating Self and Interpersonal Functioning https://www.amazon.ca/dp/1585624594/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_SaGNDbPJRRB4T
I recommend some of the strategies from the SPACE program developed by Eli lebowitz (it’s explained in https://www.amazon.ca/Treating-Childhood-Adolescent-Anxiety-Caregivers/dp/1118121015). It’s basically about how to treat childhood anxiety through parent work only when kids are not treatment ready. I’ve found the strategies about unilateral parent decisions very helpful for coaching parents on how to reduce accommodation and to increase boundaries and limits with kids. There are also strategies for doing this when kids are at risk for extreme behaviours (violence or threatening suicide).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man's_Search_for_Meaning. Victor Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning.
More recently, "Attached" by Amir Levine. https://www.amazon.com/Attached-Science-Adult-Attachment-YouFind/dp/1585429139.
I'm only an undergrad however "The Gift of Therapy" by Yalom is a fantastic read. Also, "The Examined Life" by Stephen Grosz, "Man's Search for Meaning" by Viktor Frankl (not psychotherapy based per se, but he does talk about logotherapy which I also found valuable), and "Relational psychotherapy" by Patricia A. DeYoung.
Edit: I forgot to mention Gabor Mate's "In the Realm if Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction". It also doesn't explicitly focus on psychotherapy, but I feel that it reveals a lot of insight into the therapeutic relationship and some of the motives behind clients with self-destructive and codependent tendencies.
And last one, "Healing Developmental Trauma" by Lauren Heller and Aline Lapierre. This one focuses extensively on psychotherapy and addresses the NeuroAffective Relational Model. The book may not be as pleasant to read as the others I suggested but it is chalk full of information from a variety of perspectives.
mad dragon.mad dragon
Bubbles because they're super fun! And you have to concentrate on breathing to make a good bubble.
3 B's (easy to remember when you're upset) Back up Be quiet Breathe
Anger Iceberg. Anger has some other emotions below the surface. Draw them, color and talk about them.
"Man's Search for Meaning" by Frankl would be a great read for them. If I remember correctly it was the origin of logotherapy. I believe he makes the case that everyone has a purpose and responsibility in the relationships and roles they play (father, daughter, friend, student, etc.).
A tool that I like to use that falls into the logotherapy/existentialism camp is escalating their anxiety by having them visualize their very last day on Earth. You may need to get really into this and make it feel tangible. Once you have done that, have them recount what they would do for their last day.
Where would you go? Who would you talk to? What would you say? Their answers can then be generalized to form their own reason, purpose, and responsibility. Does anything really matter in the macro? Maybe, maybe not. But what you say and do to your loved ones-the ones you care the most for-does that matter? Certainly.
There’s a set called Totika that sells cards to go with their blocks. They also have green as a color so the card won’t work directly with yours but you can get an idea of what they use by looking at the pictures on their Amazon listing: Totika - Self Esteem and Social Emotional Card Decks https://www.amazon.com/dp/B088KSF9N1/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_1QCVSEE0JQGG1JPHGT59
The first two off the top of my head:
Attachment in Group Psychotherapy: https://www.amazon.com/dp/036753584X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_imm_t1_6.UUFbBDYTWPQ
The Interpersonal Neurobiology of Group Psychotherapy and Group Process (The New International Library of Group Analysis) https://www.amazon.com/dp/1780491778/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_fabt1_0aVUFbD6C9KYQ
I would explore the philosophical existentialists first. They explore the ideas of authenticity, freedom, and responsibility more thoroughly than most psychologists.
If you are more for techniques and instruction The Gift of Therapy by Yalom is pretty good at explaining techniques, though they are good for all therapies, not necessarily just existential
Therapist here. Following many of the recommendations by users here, I recommend Yalom's Existential Psychotherapy hands down, then Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning but also his lesser-known but much deeper The Doctor and the Soul, then Yalom's Gift of Therapy. Unfortunately (or fortunately), because existentialism applied to a therapy field translates into few usable techniques (though Yalom does have some very useful ones in the books mentioned, as well as his book on death anxiety also recommended: Staring At The Sun), its therapeutic utility is more lens-like: you see the world through existentialism as one of your major bedrocks for therapy (another being Rogers' Person-Centered Therapy) rather than (as with CBT or other approaches) both a lens and a set of techniques.
If you had to go with one author here, go with Yalom and add Frankl's Meaning if possible.
Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl. I absolutely approach therapy from that perspective. As soon as I read it, I thought that Mr. Frankl described what I had been trying to communicate to my patients.
NCE Secrets Study Guide: NCE Exam Review for the National Counselor Examination https://www.amazon.com/dp/1610722310/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_ALDWxb31CVGX0
I looked through my amazon purchase history and found it. Thus was what I got. There may be a newer version now. Im not sure.
Though probably not representative of what therapy looks like today, Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl is sometimes on the reading list of low level intro psych courses. You may be interested in it as it's (one) example of an intersection between philosophy and psychology.
I still think personal therapy is probably one of the best ways to learn to work with transference. I can understand the desire to read about it, but it really is one of those things that I think is difficult to fully grasp without experiencing it first-hand, and personal therapy is a very powerful way to do that - if you can become aware of your own transference responses to the therapist based on your own background, you will be much better placed to understand transference as it relates to your own clients.
That said, when it comes to reading about it I would probably be looking at any of the major psychodynamic thinkers as a starting point: Freud, Jung, Klein, Bion, or more recently Nancy McWilliams, Neville Symington and others.
There are also quite a few books written exclusively on the topic, such as: http://www.bookdepository.com/Transference-Countertransference-Non-Analytic-Therapy-Judith-Schaeffer/9780761836315 that you might find useful.
Not a game but our therapists who specialize in children all have small figures from the movie Inside Out they’ve been able to use with telehealth and say kids are responding really well to them.
Oh how exciting! My absolute staples include: The Gift of Therapy, Irvin Yalom Man's Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl On Being a Therapist, Kottler Psychodynamic Therapy Memories, Dreams, and Reflections, Carl Jung
I'm an existential and Jungian psychotherapist, and these keep me grounded in being an effective and transformational clinician. Hope you have a great time in grad school! :)
I recommend "Man's Search for Meaning" sometimes, but I think the first half of the book (about Frankl's experiences in Auschwitz) is a lot more compelling than the second half (which talks about logotherapy).
The ideal way is to see them with their partner. In the absence of that, encourage them to do things like meetup.com, where they can come into session with specific anecdotes about their interactions with people. It's a very nuanced dynamic; you need the 'I said, he/she said' details to fully explore how they handle those moments.
I'm about finished with my MSW - but much of the training still seems to fail. Of course some therapists are more adept at this than others - naming power and complicity within it is a difficult, unnerving thing for anyone. I am wary of programs that brand themselves as able to bestow cultural "competency" (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/260976042_Culture_as_deficit_a_critical_discourse_analysis_of_the_concept_of_culture_in_contemporary_Social_work_discourse)
“Commitment issues” sounds to me like attachment wounds. I would look up attachment-based therapies and interventions. An easy strategy is to discuss a book together. This is a common attachment book therapists use with clients, although I’m not sure what languages it comes in. https://www.amazon.com/dp/1585429139/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_imm_VZH4C6NNGV3NVBBVPDGQ?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
Also, there’s nothing quite like couples therapy for working on attachment! They can see a couples therapist while also seeing you for individual therapy.
Shit, I may have put waaaay too much thought into planning my office but I have a lot of "essentials."
Objects to fidget with. A friend actually gave me some of these and I even use them myself: Mr. Pen- Spiky Sensory Rings,
I have a lot of therapy art from Etsy, all artsy looking images of the theories and techniques I am into: Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, images breaking down the parts in IFS, CBT diagram. I can easily refer to these images if I am using the concepts
Mini fridge for myself but I keep bottled water in there for clients. I have a printer, too.
Plants-- bunch of plants. Totally my aesthetic and I think chills out the office. I think it helps the space feel homey, instead of sterile.
On top of fidget stuff, I have some items for grounding: play-doh, smooth stones, a weighted blanket, pillows on the couch.
Of course a sound machine.
I have tons of books that can be lent to clients.
I was really deliberate in choosing my office furniture, too. I have a pillow that says "It's okay to see a therapist" and my couch has a chaise attached. My own chair is massive--the saleswoman told me it's the best kind of chair to fit a parents and their kid for snuggling.
I am starting to see clients in person again, so need to get my office together again, or else I would show you pictures!
That and - You're learning a new language and how to talk to people in a different way. As a newbie, it can be tempting to have cookie cutter "therapist" responses from text books that can come off as disingenuous. Watching interviews as a newbie helped me remember how to talk like a human AND a therapist without it turning into too much of a friendship. I had a hard time navigating that and so did some of my prac students. After awhile you'll find your groove and it will become second nature.
If you're buying books and resources (tax deductible!) - I also highly recommend clinicians Thesarus . It contains useful interview questions and phrases for treatment notes/reports (if applicable). 6 years in, I still use it on a regular basis.
McWilliams is exceptional
Also try this one for personality disorder work and conceptualization
Anything from Kernberg and his peers is indispensable for understanding borderline organization (inc. bpd, npd)
Handbook of Dynamic Psychotherapy for Higher Level Personality Pathology https://www.amazon.com/dp/1585622125/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_76PRSBGJHSC523FEZS2C
Came across this on Amazon today and thought of this thread. Seems like it would be pretty helpful for students just starting out developing their orientation.
We use this one in the office: https://www.amazon.com/Marpac-Classic-White-Noise-Machine/dp/B00HD0ELFK/ref=sr_1_6_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1536091504&sr=8-6&keywords=white+noise+machine
I also have one at home for my kiddo. It can get loud enough that you can't hear the shower running from the bathroom adjacent to his room.
Elsevier’s Dictionary of Psychological Theories might be up your alley.
Use statements instead of questions. This is a fantastic book. I think there is an E-version. Sorry this is an Amazon link, but it was the first one that came up. If you want to avoid Amazon please search a different platform. https://www.amazon.com/Skills-Direct-Practice-Social-Work/dp/0231055099
I try to turn the group material into games/challenges. Are you working on thinking errors or Cognitive distortions? I challenge the guys to respectfully point out each other and my thinking errors, then we do a short version of triple column. They do the same with boundary violations. Doing it respectfully is difficult at first. And when I introduce it they look at me like I'm dumb, but once we start keeping score they really get into it. I also have "treatment jenga" which is a diy version of totika . Years ago, I made it with one group of kids and have been adding cards to it with groups as time has gone on.
Here is a link to the one I have been using during telehealth appointments from home. I've had it for over 2 years now and I would definitely recommend it.
so, I really love this camera bag I got on amazon years back, its pretty inexpensive, super well made, and I can customize the layout of all the pockets on the fly to divide things based off of the size of what I'm carrying, records, laptop, power supply, mouse, headset etc.
Best bag I've ever owned.
Internal family systems therapy by Richard Shwartz was a very interesting read. Its available on lib.gen.
Here is the amazon link :
https://www.amazon.com/Internal-Family-Systems-Therapy-Guilford/dp/1572302720
Great question, unfortunately we don’t allow posts or comments outside the megathread that are from people who haven’t yet had their feet wet with doing therapy in a licensed capacity (eg practica hours under a licensed clinician). That said, I strongly recommend this book: Getting the Most Out of Clinical Training and Supervision: A Guide for Practicum Students and Interns https://www.amazon.com/dp/1433810492/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_Kc7fFbGX94V13
I echo everyone's recommendations for any books written by Yalom.
Also, I frequently encourage my clients and my interns to read Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl. It has greatly shaped who I am as a therapist-- I have an existentialist spin on my work.
Look for an undergraduate program that requires an internship. Mine did but I was shocked how, while in grad school, many of my classmates had no field experience yet. I also know too many horror stories of student teachers, spending 3.5 years studying education and then once they get into student teaching, learning that they hate it. My undergrad internship was amazing and horrifying.
I have also said this elsewhere on reddit received some unhappy reactions-- Therapy is a field where you often must do some rougher jobs earlier in your career. This sends some people running for the hills entirely from the field. Others love the rougher jobs or wait patiently to gain the needed experience to pursue positions that is more synonymous with what they want. I had a professor say to undergrad students, "Get your master's degree unless you want to wipe asses for a living." I framed it like this: Who wants an inexperienced 24 year old therapist? Treasure the rougher jobs because the opportunity to grow as a therapist is huge the more struggles your clientele have and the less supportive/sophisticated/resourceful your place of work.
I'm reading Man's Search for Ultimate Meaning by Frankl which is a greater discussion of Logostherapy from a very spiritual perspective. Man's Search for Meaning is a primer, Ultimate Meaning is the Meat and Potatoes of how he translated his experiences into a psychotherapeutic perspective. I didn't realize it before starting Ultimate Meaning but Frankl has written over 20 different books, articles, etc. on psychotherapy and spirituality. I'm going to be delving into his work as I really like the spiritual aspects of his philosophy that seem to apply across the human spectrum regardless of religious or atheistic background.
Here are a couple other books on the subject; they're on my reading list but I haven't completed them... yet. :)
-> The Sacred Cauldron: Psychotherapy as a Spiritual Practice by Lionel Corbett
-> Buddha's Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love, and Wisdom by Rick Hanson
-> Spiritual Practices in Psychotherapy by Thomas G. Plante
-> Religion and the Clinical Practice of Psychology by John W. Jacobson
-> The Miracle of Mindfulness: An Introduction to the Practice of Meditation by Thich Nhat Hanh
-> Counseling and Psychotherapy With Religious Persons: An REBT Approach by Stevan L. Nielsen
-> A Spiritual Strategy for Counseling and Psychotherapy by Allen Bergin
I'm in the same space as you are and making time to read original works. I'd suggest Irvin Yalom's 'Love's Executioner and Other Tales of Psychotherapy' for its therapeutic insights (and glimpses into the mind of the therapist) and 'Man's Search for Meaning' by Carl Jung and his collaborators for the way the book introduces the reader to the latter's theories in a reader-friendly manner.
I think that, like with any app, there are ways to make them more or less specific, or change the emphasis. I'm not really big on a lot of boxes to check, because I don't know if that encourages a lot of reflection. In looking at other available apps (I haven't had clients actually use any) they seem more interested in simplifying or narrowing down choices. Using a model like Dr. David Burns Mood Logs from "The Feeling Good Handbook" that would encourage clients to have a basic conceptual framework, but encourage clients to do the bulk of the (writing/idea generating) work rather than checking boxes might be useful. Of course, as has been mentioned many times, security would be very important. I also see somebody mentioned sending alerts if clients mentioned SI or HI, and I think there has to be some kind of way to protect clinicians against clients using the online app in a way where clinicians might have liability concerns if the therapists "should have been" logging in more often to see what their clients were entering, rather than encouraging more direct contact by clients if they are in a crisis situation.
The Schopenhauer Cure- Irvin Yalom (great if doing group work)
Tuesdays With Morrie- Mitch Albom (Read it while in a group. Great for personal growth/meaning work)
Man's Search for Meaning- Viktor Frankl (Also good for meaning work)
Dibs in Search of Self- Virginia Axline (Great for those working with children. Spectacular illustration of the power of play therapy.)
Also, I believe once a month would be best.
Wherever You Go and Peace is Every Step are both great. Thanks for your response! Best of luck with your masters. Hopefully you know what you'll want to do with it when you graduate (unlike me, who wasn't sure which direction to go in).
Audible has a wonderful lecture series on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. It's really accessible and each section has examples of therapy work.
Linked In has a great group for those interested in Telemedicine. Good resource for all of the ethical/legal issues, as well as reviews and philosophical questions.
While we are psychologists/therapists, it is sometimes helpful to share possible medications for our patients to discuss with their providers. Minipress is the only medication I know to help with nightmares. I probably didn't read your post as thoroughly as I should have, but I was just throwing out an idea. Best of luck. And yes, the med does have a strange name. https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/prazosin-for-ptsd
What are you doing for self care?
I think this would be a good place to share ideas on how to continue self care during the chaos and while practicing social distancing.
When looking up some ideas, I saw that Headspace is offering free accounts for healthcare professionals through 2020. It does require an NPI to sign up, which unfortunately excludes certain healthcare professionals (like students, behavioral techs, some case managers, etc.).
When my mother-in-law was dying, we got her on reddit and she helped people with sewing and quilting all day long. Encourage them to find activities and social groups.... meetup.com is great. Road Scholar is great if they have money.
This isn't an educational training but Headspace is offering a free premium for all therapists. Just enter your NPI and email.
I'm not sure if you're looking specifically for movies/tv but there are also a lot of clips of therapy groups (Yalom, Corey&Corey, others) on youtube.
A very good article on this subject: Psychotherapy, counseling, and career counseling
I am an SSW student, so I am not sure if my comment will be very helpful.
I would try to gather information about different life perspectives from around the world, and use that to help identify what the client's "meaning of life" is.
Here is a like for a course for a that might be helpful with identifying the client's meaning of life.
"Meaning of Life: Perspectives from the World's Great Intellectual Traditions"
I would research the topics from the lectures and use that as a foundation for trying to understand what the meaning of life is for different communities around the world. Have you considered exploring what the meaning of life is to you?
I agree multiple solutions are needed to run a practice. TigerConnect is a very reputable platform, but it is not geared towards private practice. They charge $100 a month, and there primary focus seems to be large health organizations.
I have been using a texting solution that also offers a one-way email and fax called BloomText.  https://www.bloomtext.com/#/
It’s $10 a month. What stands out in BloomText is that patients do not have to download an app. Text messages are delivered as normal but with a link to a HIPAA complaint chat. My patients have been receptive to using this instead of traditional text communication.
TrueConf Server might be a good choice if you are concerned about privacy. It’s a HIPAA-compliant video conferencing tool that allows you to keep all the communications on premises. The data will be additionally encrypted according to AES-256 , so it will be impossible for any unauthorized party to access either video or audio streams. Plus, this solution supports conferences with up to 250 participants which means that you can hold sessions with multiple patients at the same time. They can connect to a conference either from client applications or via browsers, depending on what is more convenient for them.
​
They have a free version for up to 12 users: https://trueconf.com/products/tcsf/trueconf-server-free.html
Don't know anything about psychotherapy, but know a little about computer security, if "HIPAA compliant" is keyword for "secure" an application for notetaking with encryption is bluenote https://bluenote.io/
Reason I mention bluenote over other methods - encrypted HD, etc - is its usablity features and very clear what is / isn't encrypted etc.
Back up regularly, because if you forget the master password, being encryption it's as good as gone (in fact to "securely delete" a hard drive, a good way is to encrypt it & forget the password).
This app is good for the sort of scenario where your computer is powered off & gets copied by border police, or where in the case forensic investigators subpoena you, you will have to be physically present - although they could still get a warrant for a keylogger to remotely exploit, I guess.
Here is a potential starting point. Also try googling each specific title and pdf (sometimes things turn up). Also, see if your school library has a copy in stock you can check out.
Same here. Or the old fashioned pen & paper during sessions, and then transferring everything to any note taking app (I use Coda because I can keep track of number of sessions, bills and make a table for each client)
You haven't really given enough detail to understand if you are getting enough out of supervision but the fact that you're asking the question means that you want more than what you ARE getting. I would recommend having that conversation with your supervisor - one they should be able to help identify the ways in which you have been growing (sometimes we don't notice our own growth) but they also can help you determine together how to get more.
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I also recommend this book: Getting the most out of clinical training and supervision.
I use this one and personally think it's the most comprehensive if you're just looking at ARFID. For my ARFID clients, I use a combination of CBT-E and RO-DBT. I find Christopher Fairburn's book is also helpful though that is more oriented toward anorexia/bulimia/binge eating.
This book gave me life in the beginning of my career: https://www.amazon.com/Letters-to-a-Young-Therapist/dp/B08C1J5VQR/ref=sr\_1\_1?crid=3TGFRDWTL50SF&dchild=1&keywords=letters+to+a+young+therapist&qid=1634048095&sr=8-1
>I think that the DSM is heavily flawed- there is a relationship between diagnoses and medications and constant changes as well (homosexuality/ADD is now ADHD, aspergers is now Autism) I feel that more research indicates that person in the environment plays a key role and that there is more individualization than people fitting into neat “diagnosis” boxes.
Very much agree.
If you haven't read it yet,I'd highly recommend this book.
An interesting critique of the DSM; written by a psychotherapist.
It gets better.
For me, working on my own issues of self-worth in my personal therapy was very helpful for me. As was addressing my issues around money.
I found this book to be helpful as well.
Good luck!
Great question!
As an aside, poor Gabby. My heart breaks for her and her family, as well as all of the other missing people that media barely recognizes.
Now, on to your questions.
Dinosaur here.
This has been a problem for at least two decades.
In the US, I think 9/11 showed one of the major problems with the 24-hour news media. The media was playing the planes hitting the buildings over and over and over and over.
We therapists had to shout, "TURN IT OFF" because we saw adults and children being traumatized the the repetitive showing of that horrific day.
To the best of my knowledge, we therapists are still shouting, "TURN IT OFF" after any crisis / catastrophe -- like Gabby's disappearance (and death, as I'm presuming her body will be identified shortly) -- that the media plays relentlessly.
And I was a therapist before the before the 24-hour news media completely took over. I have little down that this has made an appreciable impact on my patients.
I believe it is important to remember (again, speaking from a US perspective) that media is a for-profit enterprise. We have nothing in our American culture to compare with something like, say, the BBC in the UK.
While he is not a therapist, I found Matt Taibbi's book Hate, Inc to be very insightful in understanding the role of the for-profit media in creating / contributing to these mental health issues we are all facing in our consulting room.
I'll honestly admit that I was big fan of Rachel Maddow's. After reading Mr. Taibbi's analysis, I have stopped watching her as I don't want to support systems that are contributing to this cultural mental health.
i linked this last week- the first one is all I need, the second is a much larger lap top bag. If you want to argue over $40 or your license, just spend the $40 and not worry about your license. I do not understand why some people choose to be careless with clients info, would you want your info floating around the world? I hope the answer is NO.
I have something similar to the first one
this workbook is geared towards children but I've used it with all ages
What kind of a bag are you looking for? There is such a wide array of styles and types.
I bought this one a few years back and it's held up really well.
I love rolling laptop bags. The one I have can be found here for $60. If that's still a bit pricey for you, there are other rolling bags that cost less.
Effective Treatments for PTSD (now in it's third edition) by the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS) may be what your looking for.
Honestly, take a look at the ISTSS website, they have some good, comprehensive material and summaries of trauma and trauma therapy.
I purchased this bag during grad school - it has about 700 pockets (it feels like) including a pocket for a laptop and a zip-able pocket for file folders. Love it and it is my 'daily driver' for the office now!
If you don't have this book buy it. clinician's thesaurus
It helps so much with report writing.
>I know the student- they're not at all like this.
I've had to write similar things on evaluations and their classmates probably wouldn't have believed it either. Take it with a grain of salt.
It is exhausting not to have any feedback - that's what practicum is for! I would talk to the prof in charge to ask for guidance.
>I just need to become more resilient
Practicum is stressful and You're in practicum at a particular shitty time. It would be weird if you weren't stressed. But now is a good time to develop strong self-care habits. I wish I had... as far as imposter syndrome - it sounds like you know you're a student and aren't presenting yourself as anything else? One way I would reframe it is - you're a student who is learning. You're not supposed to know everything yet and it would be concerning if you thought you did. Ask your professor for support. That will hopefully take some of the edge off.
Let me start by saying I am not an expert, but I am working on it. Without knowing how much background in Objects Relations you have, I would start with this book, that I am linking below. It is focused more on Borderline PD, but because of how Kernberg (and Object Relations) theorize all PD's, there is lots of overlap and goes in depth with his technique for beginning therapy and the contract.
However, without some basic understanding of OR, start with the videos that I am also linking below. Borderlinernotes is a Youtube channel that is very well done and has interviews with all the major researcher/theorists that have validated treatments for personality disorders. Fonagy, Kernberg, Linehan. But more so Kernberg.
I will say in the most boiled-down way possible, all narcissists have a sort of addiction to feeling special (that defends against deep and agonizing shame). Vulnerable narcissists derive that feeling of specialness from perceiving themselves as victims and an inability to see how they set themselves up for disappointments. We tend to think of narcissists as just being grandiose, but vulnerable narcs don't have so much of the grandiosity. They have a much more deflated/defeated sense about them.
Youtube Channel Borderlinernotes https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_L7KEOxOeQ8fZe8Co9LDArHCmdOmK_Kf
I took a continuing education course by David Kessler and I loved it. He worked a lot with Elizabeth Kübler-Ross and added a six stage of grief called “Meaning”. I really recommend his training (I did it with PESI).
There is some talk from others in the field to move away from the stages model but I find them very, very helpful
I run a grief group for adults and have been using this grief workbook by Zamora. The exercises in it, for the most part, can be adapted to individual work as well.
Trauma therapy takes a very long time, 2 yrs is just the beginning for many clients. Understanding what SA is, what safety looks like, how that involves their own life etc. At 19 no one wants to tell a friend where they are 100% of the time, at 19 they want to be free to do what they want, on their terms. Understanding safety as 'having a buddy' is really difficult to educate. This is hard to educate to 40 yr old clients.
My type of education is ; no its not your fault that something horrible happened to you BUT- what do you think we can do to prevent something horrible from happening again. Because I care about you (as a therapist and a human) and I don't ever want you to experience horrible things if we can prevent them. (add in something like I'm sure your friends care about you, your academic advisor cares about you graduating and keeping scholarships, your employment cares about you- whatever connections they have, whoever they have- stress those contacts)
Seeing the world as 'rainbows and butterflies'- is it possible the client is in denial about what she experienced and isn't ready to process yet? Dealing with SA is difficult at best and impossible many times. There are levels of shame, blame, embarrassment, words that are challenging to say, emotions are confusing and continually changing. Its really something that takes a very long time to sort out.
There is a workbook- geared toward younger children- but I use it with my clients called "finding sunshine after the storm" and its simple terms and short activities frame the discussions.
I personally found this book helpful with my own family/upbringing (household with lots of trauma hx, un-diagnosed bipolar II, depression, anxiety, the works).
I want to say there is a free PDF somewhere online, at least of the checklists, but I couldn't find it anywhere.
Liana Lowenstein has a play therapy workbook just for this!
Here is the link for the workbook
This book I think is invaluable in understanding our client’s struggles with addiction, no matter what their drug of choice is.
https://www.amazon.com/Realm-Hungry-Ghosts-Encounters-Addiction/dp/155643880X/ref=nodl_
I have found this book to be really helpful. It helps with layout, but also gives example statements to actually use in your notes which is often where I get hung up on
Group therapy is its own beast, and you have to grapple with that. There's a reason trainings in it (the psychodynamic training for group therapy/analysis) are more reminiscent of master's degrees than a few weekends' seminars.
That said, there are different ways to lead groups. Alcoholics anonymous take pride in their groups being led by untrained recovering alcoholics (then again there's a reason AA doens't have such a great track record, and the stories you hear from some of those groups are haunting).
DBT has as a part of their therapy groups that are very directive and education-oriented, and it's undeniable that they're effective as well (even if, again, the group dynamics are inevitable and emergent leading to some "fun" situations).
If you think you might want to start getting into group therapy, perhaps pick up one of the bare basic texts on them, and see if they're up your alley.; and if so, find a program near you to get into it.
Groups are fantastic (and truly powerful) therapeutic delivery mediums, and I only wish more people did them with the proper training in them.
I work at a private practice that specializes in OCD and this is a standard text around our office:
https://www.amazon.com/Exposure-Response-Prevention-Obsessive-Compulsive-Disorder/dp/0195335287
Good luck!
It’s been defined, but not researched. Bear in mind that trauma is a relatively new field of study.
This is a very good book on trauma, that offers a lot of information about the fawn response: https://www.amazon.com/Complex-PTSD-Surviving-RECOVERING-CHILDHOOD/dp/1492871842/ref=nodl_
In Oklahoma we get cards emailed to us. I laminated 2, and keep one in my wallet and one in the office. We are also snail mailed a certificate.
In my office, I have a frame to display my 3 diplomas and the certificate.
Prolonged Exposure Therapy for PTSD: Emotional Processing of Traumatic Experiences - Therapist Guide (Treatments That Work) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0190926937/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glc_fabc_Y8N6FbHW7PWZ4
Not sure if this is what you were talking about, but it is for sure one of the best!
These books should help out. The DSM made easy has case studies and the other walks you through them. The thesaurus has excellent questions for interviewing client about sx's.
I found this helpful when I was learning although now it’s outdated and I don’t see a dsm 5 edition: Interview Guide for Evaluating Dsm-IV Psychiatric Disorders and the Mental Status Examination https://www.amazon.com/dp/0963382136/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glc_fabc_9i33FbNKT99TA
It’s this book, right? Prolonged Exposure Therapy for PTSD: Emotional Processing of Traumatic Experiences - Therapist Guide (Treatments That Work) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0190926937/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glc_fabc_UMy0FbDDRXJJB
I will buy it right now :)
I have been treating PTSD with aspects of DBT as well as by taking a psychodynamic approach to explore the influence of past family and relational dynamics as well as defense mechanisms. It’s done pretty well. However this client I chose to try exposure therapy with really has not responded too much to my usual interventions so that’s why I decided to try this route. They’ve also got a somewhat obsessional thought process and are also a neurotic individual so I figured best to push myself as a clinician and try to change up my approach.
That's a tough case. I've never run into it but have a family member who was a play therapist and ran into similar situations. I put a link below that may help for them and other parents. It's the How to Talk so Kids will Listen, How to Listen so Kids will Talk series. Not specific to grief but helpful supplements for working with parents on communication.
Definitely sounds really tough. Marge Heegaard created some art books to help kids with grief, I’ve utilized her resources with varying degrees of success. Might be especially helpful with younger clients who struggle with the abstraction of death, or who find it too confrontational to talk about it directly (especially early on). Kids are very creative and often love art, and it might be helpful to capture that strength.
For the parents, be prepared repeat your psychoeducation over and over and over, I can’t imagine what the whole family is going through and how much will stick in the early weeks/months. I’ve also recommended books to parents who were able/willing to learn about their child’s grief.
Good luck, sounds like you have a good plan to start with. Also, easy to say but sometimes hard to do, is trying to give yourself a little extra time post-session. That way if you need it to get yourself grounded or call a colleague and talk something out or just shake it out, great because you scheduled the gap, if you don’t need it, fine too.
For other clinicians deeply interested and invested in the question of why any therapy works (EMDR or otherwise), I strongly recommend The Great Psychotherapy Debate by Bruce Wampold. It is an exceptionally thorough whitepaper reviewing the extensive body of evidence for how therapy works, why, and how we know.
If you want to learn about the treatment the I would highly recommend this book:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1684032865/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabc_3hNYFbZYFEMR7
I did my training under him and he was trained by Albert Ellis. The newer version includes some modernization and research updates.
As someone that has a nurse for a sister, I think it’s very similar to that. Where we hear trauma and pretty significant disorders day in and day out so may minimize those around us (at least for me this has been the case). I never say some of the comparisons out loud but definitely resonate with what Laura mentioned in her book.