Whenever I draw a circle, I immediately want to step out of it.

--R. Buckminster Fuller

The May 2005 issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology published a study regarding the social role of prejudice. Researchers Steven Neuberg and Catherine Cottrell questioned 235 American students of European ethnic backgrounds about specific types of groups, threats they potentially imposed, and their emotional reaction to these groups. The findings show that prejudice takes a specific form to "protect" against the threat perceived to be associated with a particular group. For example, groups seen as posing threats elicit fear and self protective actions, groups seen as choosing to take more than they give elicit anger and inclinations toward aggression, and so on. The researchers stated that one implication of the study is that society may need to create different interventions for different types of inappropriate prejudice.

Unlike traditional psychotherapy and coaching, which focus on individual psychology, emotion, and motivation, it is important to take into consideration family and societal dynamics, which can greatly affect the well being of the individual and the individual's ability to develop a healthy sense of themselves (self esteem). My training as a clinical social worker—as well as my experience in applying systems theories to my coaching techniques—addresses this need. Contact me for more information about this aspect of my practice.

The December 2004 issue of the Harvard Mental Health Letter outlines a report from the national Swedish baby-care program, providing some insight into the early development of children of schizophrenic mothers. From birth to age four, researchers tracked 47 children of schizophrenic mothers, 27 children of women with major mood disorders, and 100 children of women without a diagnosed mental illness (for the "control group"). The children of women with mood disorders resembled the control group; the children of schizophrenic women—although having normal physical development and health, and lacking aggression, hyperactivity, and emotional instability—showed more anxiety, more social ineptitude, and had more problems with vision. (The authors note that adult schizophrenics, their relatives, and people with schizophrenia related disorders often have difficulty tracking a moving object smoothly with their eyes.)

A recent edition of the New England Journal of Medicine reported findings gathered from surveys with 6,000 soldiers who've fought in the current Iraq war and in Afghanistan. Although soldiers from both wars experienced Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), the soldiers who fought in Iraq were generally worse off (17% meeting criteria for PTSD versus 15.6%). The study found a strong correlation between being engaged in firefights, having been wounded or injured, handling the dead, killing someone, or knowing someone who was killed and developing PTSD symptoms.

Being trained and experienced in working with people with PTSD, I have found it important to have several research-tested methods of alleviating symptoms. Not all people who experience horrific events develop PTSD symptoms, so it is important not to "install" symptoms that were not put there by the traumatic event; contact me to talk further about this condition and its treatment.

Write kindness in marble and write injuries in the dust.

--Iranian Proverb

The January/February issue of the Psychotherapy Networker reported on several recent studies backing the effectiveness of multi-family groups (MFGs). Ohio State University psychologist Mary Fristad reported that MFGs for the families of children with bipolar and severe depressive disorders resulted in more positive family interactions and children reporting that they felt more supported. Also, William Quinn's Family Solutions program serviced more than 1,200 first-time offenders and their families using a 10-week program focusing on communication, conflict resolution, and parenting skills. Children who graduated from this program had just under a 20% repeat-offense rate compared with 54.7% for children who did not go through the program.

My social work background has taught me that working with a person surroundings (such as with their family members) can produce results as profound as treating only the individual. In addition, this study is more proof as to how well people respond to a teaching/coaching model, which instills more control and hope. Contact me, for more information about the difference between my therapuetic coaching and more traditional models of psychotherapy.

A new book by Harvard psychiatrist Joseph Glenmullen indicates that doctors—especially primary-care doctors—mistake antidepressant withdrawal for a return of the patient's depression. His book indicates that 66% of Paxil users and 60% of Zoloft users developed withdrawal symptoms within a few days of stopping their medications. 40% of Luvox users reported withdrawal symptoms so strong that it kept them out of work. Finally, 70% of family doctors—the health professionals who write the majority of antidepressant prescriptions—were not aware that their patients were going through antidepressant withdrawal.

The book points out that symptoms that appear within a few days of stopping the antidepressant and symptoms that cease almost immediately after resuming the medication are highly likely to be due to withdrawal. The book recommends working with a doctor to taper your use of these medications.

There is a perception in the general public—helped along greatly by the medical community and by phramaceutical corporations—that antidepressants are benign and should be the primary response to a number of emotional reactions in clients. This study clearly shows that these medications have powerful side effects. If you can use coaching to treat depression effectively, which is shown to be effective when the coach uses cognitive-behavioral techniques, then why wouldn't you take the path that is least disruptive to your body? Contact me to discuss coaching techniques that have been shown to be effective in treating depression, which may make it possible to avoid using antidepressants altogether.