Blogs

Reuniting With Self Identity and Overcoming Mental Inertia Begins by Stepping Forward

The “normal” child has usually established a sense of self identity by about age five. They are “trusting” and have a unique set of personality traits. They will often follow guidance without debating it, operationalizing, and intellectualizing the situation. This is in a way helpful in that they learn resilience and coping skills as there are some things that are more “hard wired” like their gene pool and other situations into which they are born that they cannot change. The sense of self matures over time and is a guiding life compass. However, there are life issues that can challenge this process.

This Blog has several layers of important implications: What could happen if you are basing your decisions on cognitive distortions? If a common theme underlies many if not all psychiatric disorders what could the considerations be for treatment?

The Dynamic Flux of Co-Occurring Disorders

Quantum Psychology studies in Wave/Particle Theory have examined the day-to-day impact of changes in mood on recorded waveforms. Interventional Psychiatry techniques focus on resistant depression and extending their reach to other conditions using various vectors to alleviate patients’ symptoms, such as Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) and other things such as dissociative agents like ketamine. Although the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) stands as a testament to the enduring need to classify and subclassify conditions, it may be somewhat counterintuitive to the true nature of psychiatric phenomena.

Considerations in Assessing Co-Occurring Disorders Part 1

As mentioned in previous narratives regarding Co-Occurring Disorders, the term itself simply means the coexistence of multiple disorders existing simultaneously, but it is mostly used when there are psychiatric diagnoses in combination with substance use disorders, or even more than one type of each. When treating clients that have concurrent disorders especially in more acute settings or later in the progression of their mental health issues it is not necessary to delineate a primary disorder as over time the Axis One Psychiatric Disorder(s) and substance use disorders may predominate equally, although in different patterns of exacerbation and without considering this a clinician could miss this connection.

Considerations in Assessing Co-Occurring Disorders Part 2

While it is important to learn as much as possible about a client’s history this is not always possible. If they present much later in life without collateral information and require intensive inpatient treatment sometimes you need to start with where they are and treat the symptoms as they have completed the detox and some of the PAW’S period (post-acute withdrawal) then treat the “Clusters” of disorders represented as they emerge.

Comorbidities in Psychiatry: Prescribing Pearls

This article is really also about the value of utilizing consultations which is also spoken about in more detail in the Consultation Services.  In fact this video is connected to the concept of sharing expert services in undeserved areas.