Posts Tagged ‘ACT’

Facebook Face Offs

Friday, June 25th, 2010

A couple of days ago I was lambasted on Facebook.  While I went with it posting candidly, it got rather insulting.  Still, I kept my comments honest.  Sadly, they were not appreciated.  Moreover, my expertise and credibility were challenged.

Part of that challenge was because I was employing or had “invented” “new terms”  that “had not been accepted,” yet.  Actually, I have been inventive.  I use the term “Positive Projective Psychology” and the terms “Negative Projective Process” and “Negative Projective Psychology” to differentiate my perspective from the common clinical practises of the day–which I consider sub-par treatment!  So, I am guilty as charged.  Those are new concepts and they are mine.

Also, I use advanced concepts which have not been heard much.  In part, this is because I am ahead of the curve.  An example of this is Bipolar Disorder Type III.  While this is not is use yet, you’ll hear about it if it makes it past the hurdles in committee formulating the new DSM-V.  I heard about Bipolar Disorder Type III three years ago.  It is a significant development in that it is a bold-faced admission that psychiatric medications cause permanent mental illness!

It bothers me that I was attacked but then those who attacked me, don’t know me.  In fact, they don’t know anything!  I was called a “narcissistic.”  I guess everyone thinks they are a psychologist or they can practise psychology.  I wish I had a little more narcissism in me but I am the way I am, as God intended me.

My middle initial should be “G” because I have been gullible.  It took me years believing in what I was taught in school to realize what a farce my field was (and is) and how much damage clinical psychology (as practised today) is doing to our society.  I owe the people of Mississippi a lot but that debt has been discharged fully in my service to those wonderful folks at low pay for several years and that was time well spent. 

It was inside the walls of Arizona’s maximum security prisons that I honed my craft and developed quick and concise skills of intervention with those who needed my services most.  They may not have been deserving but I was saving lives–the lives of those on the outside as my murderers, rapists and thieves were released back to society. 

Had I been more narcissistic, I might have not worked there and gone into private practise and still have a license and a practise today.  Maybe I would have published and become better known but I would never have developed the razor sharp skills of intervention and the insights in psychology I have.

I regard my contributions to the field of psychology and the body of scientific knowledge as minor, but I know the best psychology and psychologists.  The most significant contributor of our time is Steven Hayes, Ph.D. and his “Acceptance & Commitment Therapy,” the most advanced form of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), also known as ACT.  Dr. Hayes has answered most of the questions B.F. Skinner asked in 1952.  I am proud to have had Steven as a guest on my Talk Radio Show “Giving Psychology Away.”

These days I am struggling.  When you get to the level of consciousness I have, you see clearly what is going on and the trends are alarming.  However, there is solace for me in knowing that I am in the latter half of my life.  I have seen some incredible inventions.  I remember the invention of the ball point pen.  What a breakthrough that was!  The computer had already been invented but transistors came on the scene shortly after I was born.

But I have also seen the rise of the audacity of man.  A puny little man who challenges God!  And the foolishness grows.

I was born into a private family that was going military.  Because of the shelter that provided, I saw our country as it was during its Golden Days and the Golden Age of the United States of America has passed so long ago that few remain alive to tell of it and no one wants to hear about it. 

Still, what we saw, witnessed and lived were not our best days.  We were not at out best.  A simple reading of the newspapers of colonial times reveals a far more educated population.  The average colonial citizen was a genius compared to those our institutions of higher learning of today produce with doctorates.  I have seen “inflation” and “degradation” in our educational system. 

It is all corrupt, controlled by an elite we do not see.  We do not know.  And we are complacent to let the status quo go on unimpeded while it slowly destroys US and plans our further enslavement.  They already have our minds but this captivity is not that different from the exiles of the Jews to Babylon. 

Moreover, we are beholden to the same group of repugnant worshippers of power.  Power given from the following of Lucifer and making deals with the devil.  The fight between Good & evil (sic).

Panic Disorder—Behavioral Treatment

Thursday, January 29th, 2009

 

This is generic advice and may not be suitable for you individually.  Please see your health care provider to determine what is best for you.

 

The basic behavioral approach to treat panic disorder from a behaviorist point of view is quite simple and very effective.  In general, having the client “self-monitor” reduces the incidence of panic attacks by approximately 50%.  Here’s how I do it:

 

We start out with having the client keep a “panic log.”  We want to achieve a “baseline” number of panic attacks so that we have a yard stick against which we can measure our progress.  This is observable and enumerable (one can count the number of panic attacks.) and from this initial data, we can compare the results of our interventions. 

 

However, just having the client keep such a log and observe themselves is an intervention in & of itself.  Just from this homework assignment we often see a reduction in the occurrence of panic attacks and the development of insight into managing one’s self in order to diminish the occurrence and severity of panic attacks.

 

The client’s assignment includes keeping specific data about the date and time of each panic attack, logging the antecedents (what occurred just before the onset) and the consequences (what was the resolution), the quality (symptoms) and quantity (duration).  The more details we assign the client to track and write down, the better the results.

 

From this we obtain a baseline, that is, the initial rate of panic attacks prior to beginning treatment.  Remember, exercises in self-observation tend to become interventions in & of themselves.  Therefore, we often see an improvement in the first week; however, sometimes, especially when fueled by personality traits & features, there may be an exacerbation in panic attacks.

 

Furthermore, I also do an intake assessment of what the client has done to do to resolve his or her panic attacks that has not worked and how much caffeine the client ingests.  I have seen a correlation in clinical practice as almost half of my clients who complained of panic attacks had comorbid problems with caffeine. 

 

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) has much to offer those who suffer from Panic Disorder.  See my earlier blog postings and archived shows.

 

 

The Dr. Kent Show November 29, 2008 with Guest Kelly Wilson, Ph.D.

Monday, December 29th, 2008

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The Dr. Kent Show December 6, 2008With Guest Steven Hayes, Ph.D. Founder of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

Monday, December 29th, 2008

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