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Applied Behavior Analysis as a Treatment for Survivors of Trauma
Understanding trauma has become a major focus for many different fields of mental health, with each proposing a different strategy for addressing traumatic symptoms and core issues. This has not been an easy feat for several reasons. First, the current reports of trauma are only as accurate as the...
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Ask Dr. Max: Family Life Cycle and Mental Illness Challenges
It is important to start with the understanding that everyone thinking about and desiring to have a family is not only with great expectations but with many hopes and aspirations. Unexpected events result in shocks and traumas impacting everyone and each family system based on many factors...
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From the Shadow of COVID, a Bright Emergent Resource: Crisis Stabilization Center
One enduring effect of the COVID-19 pandemic is its intense illumination of the need for more accessible mental health and substance-use services in our community (a patchwork of towns east of New York City). During the pandemic, CN Guidance & Counseling Services—born in 1972 to fill a gap in...
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Federation of Organizations: A Family Affair
Families have been and continue to be instrumental in the development and implementation of treatment and support options for people with mental illness. Founded by family advocates, for the last 50 years Federation of Organizations (Federation) has been developing an array of community-based,...
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The Integral Role of Families in Promoting Mental Health and Managing Mental Illness
When you think about those at the forefront of managing mental health concerns – psychiatrists, psychologists, therapists, counselors, and other professionals may come to mind. However, former Surgeon General Dr. David Satcher released a mental health report in 2000 that declared “families are...
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Exploring the Use of Virtual Reality in Alleviating Loneliness Among Older Adults
Social isolation is a reality for many older adults, and in response, technology is proving a viable avenue worth serious exploration. Virtual reality (VR) may be a solution, as it can transport us to distant lands, expose individuals to novel experiences, and connect to others within a virtual...
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Mental Health and Families: Working Together to Strengthen and Support Loved Ones
Having a family member diagnosed with a mental illness can cause great stress and a deep sense of isolation. Mental health challenges are difficult to open up about because of the fear of judgment, believing that no one will understand. Relationships with family and friends can be difficult to...
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More Than an Acronym: How LGBTQ+ Health is Transforming Industry
It’s a typical scenario: you walk into the doctor’s office, possibly after several postponements, afraid of what they might find. Will your blood pressure be up? Or maybe your cholesterol, you think. A myriad of possible underlying conditions flash suddenly through your head. But what if,...
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Ketamine for Mental Health Treatment: How Promising Is It?
For centuries, we have sought cures for depression. Some discoveries, such as psychotherapy and medication treatment, are now widely accepted. But they don’t work for everyone. More recently, an unorthodox drug has garnered attention as a new, possible intervention: ketamine. Classified as...
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The Lens of Loss: Perspectives of Family Members Following Suicide Loss
When we think about the suicide of a loved one, we think of profound loss, of grief, of finding a way to endure amid unyielding pain. But we gain something in the aftermath, one nearly as burdensome. It is a new perspective: Loss becomes a lens through which life is lived. And it can be difficult...
