•  

  June 2009

  M	T	W	T	F	S	S
  				Jul »
  1	2	3	4	5	6	7
  8	9	10	11	12	13	14
  15	16	17	18	19	20	21
  22	23	24	25	26	27	28
  29	30

• Categories

  • Deconstruction (2)
  • Externalizing (1)
  • Group Therapy (1)
  • Privacy (1)
  • Therapy (4)
  • Uncategorized (6)

• Recent Posts

  • Language and Becoming Stuck
  • Performance Anxiety
  • Repositioning our Problems
  • I get Knocked Down but I Get Up Again
  • Maybe

• Links

  • A Storied Career
  • Practical Narrative Therapy
  • www.addictionsearch.com

• Disclaimer:

  Disclaiming creation/existence of psychotherapist-client relationship (psychotherapy blog): “I provide this blog for general informational purposes only. I do not create an psychotherapist-client relationship with you when you use the blog. By using the blog, you agree that the information on this blog does not constitute legal or other professional advice, and no privileged or confidential psychotherapist-client or other relationship is thereby created between you and I. This blog is not a substitute for obtaining mental health advice from a qualified psychotherapist licensed in your state.”

• External links:

  Links to external sources are provided solely as a courtesy to my blog visitors. I am not responsible for and do not endorse or warrant in any way any materials, information, goods or services available through such linked sites or any privacy or other practices of such sites.

The Alliance for Human Research Protection has written an article about the gene theory for depression.  The article can be read here, http://www.ahrp.org/cms/content/view/610/9/, titled” Gene Theory for Depression is Now Discredited”.  It is an interesting article because one of the main reasons given for taking psychotropic medications for depression is due to the serotonin gene that one is born with.  This article debunks the myth that one is born with a gene that causes an “imbalance” in their serotonin levels.  Consequently, there has never been to my knowledge, a study that proves that depression is caused by an imbalance in serotonin levels.  What the debunkers claim is that if there is an imbalance then one must prove the right balance, but at this time there is no known test for this.   Is it all guess work?  The article goes on to say that depression is caused not by biological factors but by situations in life, personal, interpersonal, and I would argue community and society wide also. 

I am not for or against psychotropic medications.  I realize that they have been very beneficial for some people, but I am advocating for more information on the risk of side effects before taking the medications. This is where psychotherapy can be useful to someone experiencing depression.   In my opinion, psychotherapy should be the first line of defense against depression.  I would bet there are fewer side effects.  If therapy is not working then please go see a psychiatrist.

What in the world does that title mean?  This has to do with the basic philosophy of narrative therapy. The backbone philosophy of narrative therapy is the social construction of reality.  At this point you have probably already stopped reading this or you might be scratching your head and thinking “what on earth does that mean”? 

A basic definition of social construction of reality, according to Wikipedia, “The central concept of The Social Construction of Reality is that persons and groups interacting together in a social system form, over time, concepts or mental representations of each other’s actions, and that these concepts eventually become habituated into reciprocal roles played by the actors in relation to each other.”  After reading this definition I would guess you are probably even more confused and I cannot say I blame you.  This theme will run throughout many of the blog postings and it will become easier to understand as I explain it in non-jargon language.

But this still does not answer, “the person is not the problem, the problem is the problem.”  And what does this mean for therapy?  When someone is struggling with, for example schizophrenia, the language that is typically used in US culture is to call someone a “schizophrenic”.  That somehow they are not perfect and that they are now a label.  This is a derogatory way of relating.  When someone has been diagnosed with, for example cancer, we do  not relate to this person as a cancer, but instead we give our full sympathy and state that this person is struggling with cancer.  A dramatic difference in the way we relate to another human being just by the language we use.

And how is this used in therapy?  Externalizing language is incorporated.  When someone states they have depression, or struggling with its effects, it could be harmful to say they “have” depression.  Instead it is much more useful to talk about the depression as if it is not in them but outside of them.  And to ask questions about how the depression has a hold on the client.  A typical question then might be, “if the depression was sitting on that chair how does it have a grip on you and how does it make you feel?”  This can be stress releasing and it opens up new territory for the therapist and client to talk about this depression and its effects. 

Final words.  No client “is” a mental health illness, but instead clients are surviving while the mental illness is in their lives.

Final words part two.  If you have any clarifying questions please just leave a comment.  This post was not meant to be so philosophical.

Welcome to the first ever entry on the Rewriting Life blog.  The blog about one psychotherapist’s musings on theory, news, application, and just general thoughts on different topics within the mental health field in general and on Narrative Therapy and Existential Psychotherapy inparticular. 

I want to make it clear from the beginning that I will never discuss real clients, living or deceased.  I believe in the full confidentiality of all clients.  I will not use synonyms or any other camouflage language.  I simply will never discuss any client unless I have the full permission from that client.  All HIPPA laws will be observed and respected. 

With that stated lets move on.   I am constantly staying up to date on what is going on in the mental health field and so I thought lets just share this knowledge with the general public.  While at the same time this lets clients know what kind of mental health therapist I am.  Which I am always looking for what works and what does not.

My practice is called Phoenix Mental Health (located in the Ivy Building of the Arts in Minneapolis, Minnesota) and the website is at http://www.phoenix-mental-health.com After reading a few entries on this here blog and if you are still interested in setting up an appointment for an intake please do not hesitate by sending an email to:  jeffjones@phoenix-mental-health.com or call 612-501-6807.