How to Help Your ADHD Child with Homework

Every parent wants their children to succeed in life. If your child has ADHD, he or she may require a little bit (or a lot) of extra help from you to achieve their aspirations. You should be intrinsically involved in all aspects of your child's education, be proactive, and assist when needed. Please have a look at my new article "Helping Your ADHD Child with Homework" published by HealthPlace.com. I hope you will find it useful.

Recognizing the Symptoms of Bipolar and Psychotic Disorder

My article on Bipolar and Psychotic Disorder published at the Royal Society for Public Health blog:

 
Just like physical illness, mental illness has many different symptoms.  Proper diagnosis requires a qualified professional who will analyze all aspects of the symptoms to determine the most suitable course of treatment.
Mental illness requires a thorough investigative process for proper diagnosis.   Bipolar and psychotic disorders cannot be self-diagnosed, as many of the symptoms occur in other mental health problems.  However, there are some common indicators of psychotic and bipolar Disorder that should prompt a person to seek professional help.
Key Indicators of a Psychotic Disorder

• Hallucinations:  The most well known symptom of a psychotic disorder is hallucinations.Hallucinations are  perceptions in the absence of real-world stimuli.  The brain will evoke a physical sensation of something that does not exist. Those suffering from Psychotic Disorder may hear voices, see visions, smell odours or experience unusual tastes in the mouth.  In some cases, they may even feel the physical sensation of being touched.Because the brain is interpreting internal thoughts as physical reality, the person suffering hallucinations cannot distinguish what is real from what is imagined.  They may not even be aware of the hallucination.

• Delusions:  Similar to a hallucination, a delusion infiltrates a person’s way of thinking, rather than their physical perception. While a delusion may have some grains of truth, the person may have thoughts or ideas that have expanded into something that cannot possibly be real.  As with hallucinations, the person is likely unaware they are experiencing delusions.  They will convey peculiar, bizarre and eccentric ideas with absolute sincerity and a sense of unfounded logic.

• Unusual Speech and Behaviour:  A psychotic disorder usually causes changes in a person’s speech patterns, such as rambling or incoherency.  It may be difficult for the person to stay on track when trying to relate an idea or thought.  Behavioural changes are also noticeable, such as a disregard for appearance or hygiene. It will be difficult, if not impossible for the person to engage in social functions, go to work, or handle routine daily tasks.

• Lack of Emotion:  The person is noticeably detached from others emotionally.  They appear cold and uncaring to others, and have difficulty maintaining relationships.  Lacking empathy and understanding in their responses and interactions, they are emotionally isolated.

Read the rest of my article here.

Healing Power of Music for ADHD Children

My parents wanted me to become a professional musician, so I spent many years playing piano and ended up graduating college with BA in Music. I worked for a few years as a piano teacher and choir conductor when I met Dr. Michael Lazarev, a pediatrician who used music therapy to treat children with asthma. I quit my job as a musician and started working (as a volunteer) with asthmatic children. I decided to study music therapy but gradually got diverted to psychology. This was over 20 years ago... Since then I completed my BA, MA, and PhD in Psychology and now work as a clinical child psychologist for over 10 years. Yet, I still have a soft spot for music therapy, so I decided to write an article on benefits of music therapy for children with ADHD. Please have a look at my article "Healing Power of Music for ADHD Children" published at KidsGoals.com: http://kidsgoals.com/adhd-in-children/healing-power-of-music-for-adhd-children/.

How to Detect Asperger’s Syndrome?

Image credit: helpingting

Asperger’s Syndrome is on the rise and we see more and more patients with Asperger's symptoms in our center. I am often asked by parents whether they can spot the signs early on. I'd like to present my article "How to Detect Asperger’s Syndrome?" published in Mental Health section of MDLI - please read it here.

New blog post on Cyberbullying

Image Credit: Dean Torpe

HealthyPlace.com (America's Mental Health Channel) published my blog post "Cyber Bullying is Dangerous: What Parents Need to Know".
Cyberbullying has long lasting effects that can cause serious mental health issues for your child and affect his adult life. Banning technology doesn't work, parents need to know how to prepare and protect their children, how to recognize the signs that your child is cyber bullied and how to take proper actions to handle the situation. Read the blog post on cyberbullying here.

Published new article on Cyberbullying

Image Credit: Marcos Vasconcelos

HealthyPlace.com (America's Mental Health Channel) published my two-part article on cyberbullying. The article talks about 
- the types of cyberbullying, 
- how to prevent your chilld from cyberbullying
- how to discuss cyberbullying with your child
- the signs that your chilld is cyberbullied, 
- how to approach your child if he or she is cyberbullied
- where to get help
You can read the article here. I deal with victims of cyberbullying on a weekly basis, so please let me know if you have any thoughts or suggestions.

Article by Abraham Nehmad: On Couples Therapy or Vicissitudes of Being a Couple

Introducing a new article by Abraham Nehmad. Abraham is very experienced psychotherapist who works at Richmond Hill Psychology Center. His article gives you a good overview of couples therapy and why it is essential to meet with therapist when you run into troubles with your significant one. If you wait for too long, the window of opportunity may close. Please read his article here.

Published new article on relaxation tecniques to fight anxiety

Image Credit: Brittney Bush Bollay @ Flickr.com

My new article "Four Relaxation Techniques to Fight Anxiety" has been published by GetHolisticHealth.com. Relaxation really helps to deal with anxiety and mild depression. These four relaxation techniques have been found very effective by multiple studies on relaxation and anxiety. You can read the article here.

Published new article on dealing with negative thoughts

My article "Handling Negative Thoughts by Repetition" has been published by KwikMed blog. Negative thoughts are natural for everyone but persistent anxious thoughts can cause serious mental health issues. How to break the cycle and get rid of these thoughts? You can read this article here.

On Positive Psychology

I am often asked by my patients about the term Positive Psychology. Many confuse it with the concept of Positive Thinking. I certainly appreciate Positive Thinking, in fact one of my favorite books is "A Thousand Names for Joy" by Katie Byron and Stephen Mitchell. Yet, it has little to do with Positive Psychology. I was about to write a blog post about Positive Psychology, when I recalled reading an excellent article by Dr. Christopher Peterson, who was a professor of psychology at the University of Michigan. Christopher Peterson is one of the most respected psychologists of our time and I was shocked to learn about his untimely death last October. The article I want to present here was published in Psychology Today in 2008, I still haven't seen better review of Positive Psychology. Below, I quote my favorite part of the article:

...
Positive psychology is psychology--psychology is science--and science require checking theories against evidence. Accordingly, positive psychology is not to be confused with untested self-help, footless affirmation, or secular religion-no matter how good these may make us feel. Positive psychology is neither a recycled version of the power of positive thinking nor a sequel to the secret.

Positive psychology will rise or fall on the science on which it is based. So far, the science is impressive. Consider what has been learned in recent years about the psychological good life, none of which was mentioned in any of the psychology courses I took a few decades ago:

•  Most people are happy.
•  Happiness is a cause of good things in life and not simply along for the happy ride. People who are satisfied with life eventually have even more reason to be satisfied, because happiness leads to desirable outcomes at school and work, to fulfilling social relationships, and even to good health and long life.
•  Most people are resilient.
•  Happiness, strengths of character, and good social relationships are buffers against the damaging effects of disappointments and setbacks.
•  Crisis reveals character.
•  Other people matter mightily if we want to understand what makes like most worth living.
•  Religion matters.
•  And work matters as well if it engages the worker and provides meaning and purpose.
•  Money makes an ever-diminishing contribution to well-being, but money can buy happiness if it is spent on other people.
•  As a route to a satisfying life, eudaimonia trumps hedonism.
•  The "heart" matters more than the "head." Schools explicitly teach critical thinking; they should also teach unconditional caring.
•  Good days have common features: feeling autonomous, competent, and connected to others.
•  The good life can be taught.

This latter point is especially important because it means that happiness is not simply the result of a fortunate spin of the genetic roulette wheel. There are things that people can do to lead better lives, although I hasten to say that all require that we live (behave) differently ... permanently. The good life is hard work, and there are no shortcuts to sustained happiness...

If you liked this extract I suggest reading entire article at Psychology Today.