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Articles from ACT Professional Counseling

Suicide as a Means of Communication? 2007-07-06 10:59:00 Why do People Consider Suicide?Suicide is not random; it is not done without purpose. It is a way out of a problem, or a crisis, or an unbearable situation. Suicide is both a movement away from pain and a movement towards the ending of consciousness. Thus people consider suicide for a number of reasons.Suicide as a means of communication A person who actively considers suicide may be trying to communicate an intense, deeply-felt ’message’ to another person, to their family, their peer group or to society in general. The message may be simply ’I am suffering, I cannot cope, I cannot go on.’ Suicide also may be a way of striking back at others (’I hate you’), or of persuading them not to take an unwanted action (’Don’t do it’), or of expressing feelings without using words (even ’I love you’).Suicide because life is no longer worth living Feeling troubled, isolated, inadequate, or alienated from family, friends or from society, may result over time in ’depression ...

The Balance Sheet of Life 2007-07-04 10:35:00 BALANCE SHEET OF LIFE Our Birth is our Opening Balance ! Our Death is our Closing Balance! Our Prejudiced Views are our Liabilities Our Creative Ideas are our Assets Heart is our Current Asset Soul is our Fixed Asset Brain is our Fixed Deposit Thinking is our Current Account Achievements are our Capital Character & Morals, our Stock-in-Trade Friends are our General Reserves Values & Behavior are our Goodwill ...

Does ADHD Exist? 2007-07-03 11:37:00 Does ADHD Exist?But, hold on, here’s Gregory K. Fritz, MD, Bradley Hospital medical director and Hasbro Children’s Hospital child and family psychiatry director, making an equally emphatic statement to the contrary in his article ‘ADHD Is No Myth’.“Myth: ADHD does not exist as a real psychiatric disorder; rather, it is an unfortunate labeling of normal childhood behavior promulgated by ineffectual parents, incompetent teachers and the pharmaceutical industry.ADHD has received more scientific scrutiny than any other childhood psychiatric disorder since Charles Bradley’s initial 1937 report of effective treatment with stimulants of children at the Emma Pendleton Bradley Hospital in East Providence. ADHD has met the same standards as other major psychiatric disorders included in the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition. Studies have shown that experts can reliably agree on the diagnosis of individual patients w ...

Stress in Relationships 2007-07-02 11:55:00 Stress in RelationshipsThe following chapter is an excerpt from The 14 Day Stress Cure and is approximately 21 printed pages long. You may print it out if you like and remember to return to http://www.stresscure.com often, as we add more materials to help you cope with stress.Copyright © 1991, M.C. Orman, MD, FLP. All Rights Reserved.vine graphicRelationship problems are another type of "stress" we all experience from time to time. Conflicts can arise with our spouse, parents, children, friends, co-workers, employees, bosses, or even with total strangers.As common as our relationship problems are, we often misunderstand what causes them to occur. Much of the time they come from hidden conversations and action patterns within us, not from the behavior or attitudes of others. The problem is we often don't notice the role that we play.In addition, most people are confused about what it takes to create happy, successful, long-term interpersonal relationships. This is another hidden cause ...

Communication 2007-06-28 16:19:00 Marital First Aid KitBy Bryce KayeEmotional Starvation SyndromeExplanationEmotional starvation is probably the most common malady to afflict couples today. It seems to be a scourge of the new millenium. There are a number of economic and sociological factors contributing to this but we'll save that discussion for another time. "Emotional starvation" is really a metaphor for not getting your dependency needs met. In this context, we are not referring to relying on others to make your decisions. Instead, we are referring to the basic need that we have to perceive that we are important to others. We all need emotional support (except perhaps a few psychopaths). Emotional support from others helps us to feel that our life has meaning beyond our jobs and tangible accomplishments. On a subtle but profound psychological level, we are hungry for love and are emotionally dependent in that way.When we form a couple with another partner, we want to feel loved by them. Unfortunately, this is not ...

Conflict with Others 2007-06-26 19:26:00 University of Cambridge Counselling ServiceCONFLICT WITH OTHERSConflict is normalAll of us have interactions with other people which do not go as well as we would like. At one level we may simply feel misunderstood and are often able to shrug this off without much difficulty. But sometimes we can feel personally attacked and our first thought may be to lash out in anger or fear. In these circumstances the strong feelings we experience may make it difficult to hear what someone is trying to say to us. In extreme situations, such confrontation can feel threatening to our overall wellbeing and functioning.Some common situations where students find themselves at risk of conflict with others are: * differences with room mates over house rules * disagreements with parents' wishes or advice * miscommunications with boyfriends / girlfriends / partners * challenges from tutors, directors of studies, supervisors or department heads * clashes of opinion in discussions with peers o ...

How to Communicate Anything to Anyone 2007-06-26 19:00:00 How to CommunicateAnything to AnyoneFrom Essential Communications Skills Lab training course"A child repeats his communication to you several times. A man, obviously distracted and worried, refuses to share his uncertainties with his wife. A manager, clearly unhappy with an employee's performance, hesitates to broach the subject. Your teenager remains silent about her insecurities at school, until she brings home a D in algebra."In these and countless other events every day, our failures to relate boil down to our failure to communicate. Well-publicized studies tell us that certain communication situations elicit our most paralyzing fears, while our common sense tells us that this suffering is unnecessary. While "good communication" becomes a buzz phrase as accepted as "good motherhood," the wherewithal often remains a mystery.Why? Is it that we as a species are simply new at it? Are we saddled with insurmountable personality conflict in our individualistic society? Is some of the pro ...

Communication-Awareness practice 2007-06-26 11:27:00 Exercise: Awareness PracticeLearn to Notice What's Happening!By Peter K. Gerlach, M * This is one of over 150 articles focused on building high-nurturance family relationships and preventing divorce. This introduction describes the Web site's purpose and the best ways to use its resources. Each article is part of a mosaic of ideas, so the more you read, the more sense they'll all make. These articles augment, vs. replace, other qualified professional help. The "/" in re/marriage and re/divorce notes that it may be a stepparent's first union. "Co-parents" means both bioparents, or any of the three or more related stepparents and bioparents co-managing a multi-home nuclear stepfamily. Clicking links below will open an informational pop-up or a full window, so please turn off your browser's popup blocker, or allow popups from this site. Before continuing, reflect: why are you reading this - what do you need? + + + ...

The Truth About Child Molestation 2007-06-24 12:59:00 The Truth About Child MolestationSexual AbuseThe Child Protection ProgramIn 2005, there were 189 confirmed cases of child sexual abuse in Rhode Island. Carole Jenny, MD, a specialist in pediatrics and child abuse at Hasbro Children’s Hospital, says this number is only “the tip of the iceberg” as most cases of sexual abuse go unreported and undocumented.Jenny offers tips on how to help protect your children from possible victimization. She also gives advice on how to support victims of abuse and start the healing process.Choose Caretakers Carefully.Jenny says the most important consideration when working to protect your children is to “be very careful about who watches your kids.” Make sure that your children’s caretakers are people you completely trust. Jenny says she is “amazed when families leave their children with neighbors, casual friends and people they barely know.”Jenny also suggests that parents be wary of “a male friend who insists on babysitting your kids o ...

INDEPTH: MARRIAGE 2007-06-23 11:52:00 INDEPTH: MARRIAGEMarriage by the numbersCBC News Online | March 9, 2005CBC/ENVIRONICS POLL RESULTS:April 10, 2005: What do Canadians think of same-sex marriage?April 8, 2005: Should Prince Charles become king after his marriage to Camilla Parker Bowles?» moreDespite recent increases in common-law unions, marriage continues to form the foundation for most Canadian families. Statistics Canada researchers say that in 2002, about 84 per cent of Canadian families were headed by married couples.Average age for first marriage:The average age for first marriages is rising steadily for both brides and grooms. In 2000, first-time brides were 31.7 years old, while grooms proclaimed their first marriage vows at an average age of 34.3.Only two decades earlier, women and men were 25.9 and 28.5 years old, respectively, when they got married. Statistics Canada attributes the change to greater economic opportunities for women and the growing popularity of common-law unions.Common-law relationships:The ...