Psychologists and Psychotherapists in Los Angeles Area
HOW EFFECTIVE ARE COVID-19 VACCINES, REALLY?
The most basic measure of the effectiveness of the COVID 19 vaccines is simple: thus far, only two people have died after being vaccinated, according to reports available. One death in Florida was due to a rare blood disorder, not COVID. One death in California is of still undetermined causes.
A recent Gallup poll reveals that Americans rate their mental health at the lowest level in the prior 20 years. Seventy-six percent rate their mental health as good or excellent, compared to 85% in 2019. Since 2001, ratings of excellent or good ranged from 81% to 89%, as compared to this year’s 76%.
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ADHD presents special challenges with school efforts and homework, all the more in the current remote learning programs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Being able to sit still and sustain focused effort is all the more difficult when learning is limited to screen time. Please see previous blogs and articles for some of the basic issues involved. Here are some specific strategies to help
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“Measure it.” Evaluate your starting point, or “baseline”, and identify where you need to improve. “Read history.” History, especially of bleak periods, provides context and substance. We can see how people survived the Spanish Flu pandemic, the Civil War,
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Maintaining hope during the recent COVID surge in California and around the country is helpful, even essential, in many ways. Hope reduces anxiety, despair, and of course depression. We have more effective coping skills and recover from disappointments more quickly when we have hope. We are more skilled at problem solving, communicate better, and are more trusting of others.
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CAN WE THRIVE WHEN LIFE FEELS SO TERRIBLE? By Alan M. Solomon, Ph.D. A community website, The Mighty, provides information
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IS THERE SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT the PRACTICE OF PRAYER? In dealing with the COVID 19 pandemic, many people are turning to prayer. In the first stages of the pandemic, Google searches for prayer worldwide increased significantly
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In basic biochemical terms, laughter releases nitric oxide, which reduces blood pressure, decreases clotting, and relaxes blood vessels. A study of older men and women in Japan associated laughter with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease. A Norwegian study found an association between humor and a longer life, especially for women. Dr. Miller “prescribes” a “deep psychological laugh that elicits tears of joy and relaxation” each day.
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As the COVID 19 pandemic stretches on and on, maintaining your motivation to exercise may be more and more difficult. Even though recent blogs have cited the benefits of exercise for our immune system, as well as it being an antidote to depression, anxiety, and sleep difficulties, losing interest and energy for exercise is understandable, even predictable perhaps
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A new study reveals greater risks for infection from cold and influenza viruses for people with “psychosocial vulnerabilities”, which can be applied to risks with COVID 19. This expands on a recent blog about strengthening our immune system.
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Sacks explores a variety of unusual, and mostly very rare, ways in which music comes to dominate a person’s brain, and life. But he also describes how powerfully therapeutic music can be for patients with Parkinson’s Disease or Dementia
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The last few months of blogs have focused on the COVID 19 pandemic: how to cope; how to help our kids cope; dealing with grief; dealing with psychological issues such as anxiety, depression, sleep difficulties, substance abuse, child abuse, domestic violence; risks of losing insurance coverage for telehealth; strengthening our immune system; maintaining exercise.
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What ARE the CARDIAC RISKS of COVID 19? By Alan M. Solomon, Ph.D. Recent blogs have identified a variety of
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ONE MORE IMPACT of the COVID 19 CRISIS: DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
In addition to anxiety, depression, sleep disturbances, and substance abuse discussed in previous blogs, domestic violence is one more aspect of the COVID 19 pandemic that “lurks in the shadows”.
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Insurance companies are moving towards reducing the benefits for telehealth services. They may be lowering reimbursement levels to pre-COVID 19 levels so that reimbursement to providers will be lower and out-of-pocket co-pays will be higher for patients. They may also re-institute prior authorizations for services, which is a time-consuming process for providers that often discourages them from even providing service.
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Nationwide, child abuse experts are observing a worrisome landscape during the COVID 19 pandemic and lockdown: a likely increase of more severe child abuse and neglect.
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STRENGTHEN YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM TO DEAL WITH COVID 19 By Alan M. Solomon, Ph.D. Recent blogs have focused on helping
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COVID 19 is a MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS TOO. Two-plus months into sheltering at home due to the COVID 19 crisis, and beginning to re-open our economy, we are in the midst of another kind of health crisis. This one has to do with psychological health and well-being.
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IN the MIDDLE of the NIGHT I CONTEMPLATED LOSS. i was laying there. trying to shut off my brain. but it just wouldn’t. i had past that point. that magical moment when sleep is possible.
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Covid 19 Prompts Grief in Subtle Ways. When we think of grief, we usually think of mourning the death of a loved one, family member, close friend, or perhaps charismatic and important leader (JFK, Martin Luther King, FDR, Nelson Mandela)
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The previous blog about coping with the COVID 19 pandemic was focused on us adults. How about helping our children?
First, we need to consider how staying at home is impacting kids. As we know our own kids, are they responding as they usually do at times of higher stress? Are their responses the same as usual, but perhaps more intense (as often the case with us adults)?
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HOW DO YOU COPE WITH COVID 19? By Alan M. Solomon, Ph.D. How do you usually cope with stress? Do
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Kaiser Permanente in Northern California continues to restrict access to counseling services for its subscribers. In 2013, Kaiser was penalized $4 million for denying services by the California State Department of Managed Care, as discussed in a previous blog on this website.
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By Alan M. Solomon, Ph.D.
How do you usually cope with stress? Do you quickly take action to deal with a challenge, seek relief and resolution? Do you pause, reflect, perhaps check-in with trusted friends, family members, work colleagues, formulate a plan of action and begin to take steps? Do you try some online research to understand the problem more deeply?
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A recently released survey by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) has revealed that teenagers are vaping marijuana and nicotine with much greater frequency, in contrast to reduced alcohol use, cigarette smoking, and use of hard drugs
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Drug overdoses, suicides, and also diseases involving internal organs have caused an increase in middle-aged deaths. So much so that the life expectancy in the US has actually declined since 2014 after increasing for the previous 60 years. The largest increase in deaths was in New England and the Ohio Valley. (Ken Pope: US Life Expectancy Down in Recent Years After Increasing for Decades).
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A recent class action lawsuit against the country’s largest mental health insurer (United Behavioral Health) has produced a ruling with clear cut principles of care that make mental health coverage on par with medical health coverage (known as “parity
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A recent class action lawsuit featured two instances of suffering that proved to be unnecessary, and in one instance tragic. To mental health care professionals, this is an all-too-familiar scenario.
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In the US, 22% of adults report “…they often or always feel lonely, feel that they lack companionship, feel left out, or feel isolated from others, and many of them say their loneliness has had a negative impact on various aspects of their life.”
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A recent blog, “How Dangerous is Bullying?” is further emphasized by a recent article from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation: “Bullying isn’t just a problem, it should be considered a national emergency based on the stunning statistics.”
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“Fifty percent of the patients seeing me for cardiac care are really dealing with psychological issues.” So said a cardiac physician in an informal conversation recently. “So, I quiet myself, listen quite a bit, and then watch for an opportunity to counsel the patient about his anxiety, depression, etc.” This comment was made about patients receiving care after a procedure had been completed.
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Does reading to children provide more than entertainment? More than stimulation for language development? More even than the cozy comfort of “cuddling” with nurturing adults? Yes, according to a recent “Fixes Column” in the New York Times.
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A more in-depth view of ADHD considers “executive functions”, in addition to issues of attention/concentration, hyperactivity, and impulsive behavior. Executive functions “organize thoughts and activities, prioritizes tasks, manages time efficiently, and makes decisions”.
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The previous two blogs presented two letters from the NY Times editorial pages about the limitations of managed care, as well as the benefits of psychotherapy. The same page had a third letter extolling the benefits of a self-care program
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The previous blog about the impact of managed care on psychotherapy and medication is further enhanced by the following letter also in the New York Times
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The implication for clients and subscribers to insurance plans is clear: be careful and attentive to what you sign up for. If your plan is a managed care plan, your access to genuine therapy may well be seriously limited.
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Is quality psychotherapy affordable? Our members at the Independent Psychotherapy Network are committed to quality care and affordability.
We are all very experienced therapists, practicing throughout Los Angeles County. Our regular meetings are one way we remain committed to maintain and enhance our skills, as well as renew our commitment to quality, caring psychotherapy that is crafted for each individual client. Much of our time together in monthly meetings is devoted to our own professional training and development, as well as supporting each other’s focus on caring for our clients
Individualized psychotherapy, carefully attuned to each individual and their own issues, family history, and struggles is an effective way to identify these deeper issues. More genuine and ongoing relief – more constructive ways of coping – can develop through the support of an experienced and caring therapist.
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In fact, if the adults had four or more instances of childhood exposure to stress, they had a greater risk of alcoholism, drug abuse, depression or suicide attempts at a rate of 4 to 12 times greater than adults who had experienced no ACE’s.
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What Explains Rebound Weight Gains After Dieting? By Alan M. Solomon, Ph.D. A previous blog on the frequent lack of
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