CoreBrain Journal

Opiate & Alcohol Recovery, Stimulants & Executive Function

I serve as medical director for an outdoor therapeutic program which has been in operation for thirty years. This ability to watch these young people grow into productive adults and help them achieve their goals has been a great satisfaction of my life.

~ George Bright

George Bright, MD – is Medical Director of a private multispecialty practice in Midlothian, Virginia, a suburb of Richmond. His practice focuses on the commonplace but often misunderstood and mistreated challenges of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and stimulants, combined with multiple recovery problems in Addiction Medicine.  Fasten your seat belts; you already know this conversation will prove seriously controversial.

Recovery dogma about psychiatric medications runs deep, as traditional recovery models disdain psychiatric drugs, especially stimulant medications. Two significant reasons: 1. most recovery treatment professionals don’t understand the necessity and detailed work for specific monitoring and dosage strategies, 2. new medications, as Dr. Bright discussed in this episode, aren’t as abusable.

Ed Note: And I’ll confess right up front, I completely agree with Dr. Bright, his excellent work, his use of stimulant medications, and his exemplary, well-managed recovery programs. He shows the recovery accomplishments that occur if you don’t live in the land of cookie-cutter medicine and lockstep, dogmatic recovery. This process can – work if you work it – as in Dr. Bright’s highly structured programs.

For the traditional recovery folk’s record, The Caron Foundation endorses and refers to his clinical experience and expertise at Blackwater Outdoor Experiences, also based in Richmond. Caron is an acclaimed recovery program with a well respected, international reputation for comprehensive recovery work, from substance abuse to dependent relationships.

His Comprehensive Practice

He treats children as young as 5, and patients all the way to adulthood.  His mission: provide educational support, counseling, psychological testing, and medical management. Also, he serves as medical director for an outdoor therapeutic program [linked above] now in operation for thirty years. Dr. Bright shares his experience mastering the structural complexity of that controversial interface between potentially addictive substances and addiction recovery.

Dr. Bright’s Perspective At His Adolescent And Family Health Center

“For more than 30 years, the mission of the Adolescent & Family Health Center has been to help people live brighter lives while simultaneously addressing the challenges they face.  Led by George M. Bright, MD, one of the leading authorities on ADHD and addiction, AFHC’s treatment team includes a licensed clinical psychologist, a licensed clinical social worker, a licensed professional counselor, an educational consultant, and an academic specialist. Also, we make direct referrals to an art specialist and an English/writing specialist, all of whom can bring a broad range of expertise and perspective to each patient’s diagnosis and treatment.”

Dr. Bright Reports From His Edge Here at CBJ/102

* I started as a pediatrician & wound up in Adolescent Medical training at MIT & Harvard, then in substance abuse in the late 60’s

* Concerning 300 Opiate Addicts with comorbidity, we see a very high percentage with ADHD

* Chronic Pain patients also reveal 60-70% with comorbid ADHD

* When assessing anyone in this population, it’s important to look at them as a whole person

* That first evaluation is necessary for a variety of co-occurring issues fro...

Bipolar, Racing and Recovery – From the Desert to Self-Management

Justin Peck – Salt Lake City, Utah, is a professional off-road race car driver for the Lucas Oil Series, owner of RaceProTech racing team and Gear 49 Motorsports Nutrition, and author of his memoir, Bulletproof. In this CBJ/101 interview, he reports on challenges with self-management and bipolar recovery.

He is a back to back series champion in off-road motorcycles, four-time USRA series champion, and a national winner and third overall winner in The Challenge of America’s series. He has a long and extensive racing career spanning 27 years and takes the competitive nature of his career very seriously.

Bipolar and Racing

“Living with a mental health disorder like bipolar and battling addiction, I find ways to keep my mind in the game of life. I attempted suicide and lived to tell about it, and am glad I’m here. Racing is my drug. I need to balance my enemies with what I love. Nutrition and eating right are part of my fuel, just as staying on top of my medications and noticing mind changes has led to the success of my every day.”

Justin tells us at CBJ/101 exactly how it is living on the receiving end of mind challenges, and how he approaches the reality of returning to his own form of self-management, racing in the desert of Baja.

Details on Justin’s Perspective

Justin Peck gives insight to a life full of pain, struggle and the perseverance required to overcome it all. He an inspiration for those suffering from the pain of suicidal thinking, the constant waves of bipolar disorder, and the depression that comes from any state of mental illness. His story has the power to inspire anyone looking for the light at the end of the dark tunnel that everyday life can become with tangles of moods and mind.  

Pulling from his experiences as an entrepreneur and off-road motorsports superstar, Peck draws parallels between the fears and struggles of guiding his 4,000 pound, 800 horsepower truck around competitors in the desert and simultaneously guiding his life between phases of mania and depression.

Fear And Evolution

When asked how he was able to turn fear into fearlessness Peck replied, “It took me until I was 22 or 23 before I realized that my opinion matters and that I had the power over myself vs. others over me. I learned that once I had the control over my emotions and feelings, the constant ‘being picked on’ moments started to vanish.”

Peck believes that, as a mental health advocate who thrives on giving the bipolar community a new voice, he has a responsibility to share his struggles, successes, and healing with the teen and young adult communities who may be suffering from depression and waves of emotions and feelings that they can’t explain.

As he shares experiences of learning to deal with the challenge of bipolar disorder, you may find the strength and courage to live and enjoy life a little more each day.

Justin Reports From Edge Here at CBJ/101

* Growing up I knew that I was kind of a goofy kid, and bullied 

* One morning I put the gun to my head and pulled the trigger

* You don’t like the term illness, and neither do I

* I’ve been auto racing for about 27 years now 

* Details on the Baja run and bipolar

* After the race, even two weeks after, you can drop hard

* I take my recovery message to speak at university campuses

* I tell audiences about overcoming bullying

————-

Register For Justin’s Book Drawing: Bulletproof – Closed April 7, ’17

http://corebrainjournal.

Women’s Trauma: Safe and Comprehensive Care

Susanne S. Drury, Ph.D., is a consulting psychologist for Sovereign Health of Arizona at the Chandler women’s facility.  Susanne received her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Chicago. She has over 35 years of clinical experience, including EMDR, traumatic incident reduction and other specialized trauma treatment techniques.

Ed Note: It’s quite fitting with this our 100th CoreBrain Journal Episode that we address this profoundly underserved yet far too commonplace challenge at the complex interface with women, trauma, and the latest tools for evolved recovery. No matter your perspective on the evolution of CoreBrain evolution, you will appreciate Susanne’s contributory comments.

Susanne is a certified trauma specialist with the Association of Traumatic Stress Specialists and a certified clinical trauma professional with the International Association of Trauma Professionals. Susanne is the professor in charge of the specialty program at Ottawa University in treating trauma, abuse, and deprivation. Listen up as she talks about comprehensive, actionable treatment strategies specifically for women’s trauma.

Details on Susanne’s Perspective

“I was a Midwestern girl who was sure I wanted to be a scientist. I was a chemistry/biology major in college and intended to be a cell physiologist.

My senior year in college I got into therapy and decided I wanted to work with people rather than red blood cells. I started graduate school in psychology with no psychology courses and completed a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Chicago. I’ve taught graduate school and provided clinical work and organizational consulting.

Over the last 25 years working with trauma and training others to work with trauma has become my life mission. For 12 years I led a five-course specialty program in treating trauma, abuse, and deprivation at Ottawa University. Two years ago I had the opportunity to move to Sovereign Health of Chandler, AZ – a new residential treatment program for women addressing trauma, substance abuse, and mental health issues. For the first time, I was able to bring all my knowledge of best practices in trauma treatment into a comprehensive, multifaceted program to help clients heal.”

Susanne Reports Her Trauma Intervention Experiences at CBJ/100

* I had no idea how much I would love residential treatment

* Trauma is frightening because your brain & body are so dysregulated

* The brain changes as a result of trauma

* Trauma treatment rests on three stage model

* Meditation, Yoga and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy programming

* We give them a specific set of stress tolerance tools

* EMDR explained in helpful detail

* When they finish we see measurable improvements

* We encourage people to develop a vision of who they can become

———

Download Bonus PDF: Safety & Stabilization – A Presentation From Dr. Drury

http://corebrainjournal.com/100download 

———

Easily Forward This Audio Message Link To a Friend

http://corebrainjournal.com/100

———-

Susanne’s Recommended References:

Trauma and Recovery: The Aftermath of Violence–from Domestic Abuse to Political Terror by Judith Herman – Global Amazon Link

Trauma Recovery and Empowerment: A Clinician’s Guide for Working with Women in Groups – Free Press...

First Responder Trauma Is Real – Preparation Makes A Difference

Melven Mathias, Virginia Beach, Va., First Responder: Melven is a buddy of mine with whom I’ve worked out for years at Wareing’s Gym in Va. Beach. I invited him here on CBJ as a guest because we’ve discussed some of his remarkable, heartfelt stories about his personal experience with First Responder Trauma.

He’s a retired Deputy Fire Chief, retired Va. Task Force II, Urban Search & Rescue Team Leader, Retired FEMA Disaster Safety Officer and Vietnam Vet. Melven responded to and assisted with the Oklahoma City Bombing, Sept. 11 terrorist attack on the Pentagon, Haiti Earthquake, Hurricane Katrina and the 07 and 09 California wildfires – and these are just a few of his many disaster moments. Listen up to his straight talk from the reality he experienced as a First Responder to understand more about what they go through, both before and after those tragic realities.

Details on Melven’s Experience

Although disasters are often a collective event (meaning experienced my many) they are in reality, a singularity experience resulting in an array of emotions, feelings, and consequences.  As a team leader, one must recognize this fact, as the post-traumatic symptoms will manifest differently in each of the members. Team members may seem alike; however, I have come to realize they often have slight differences requiring individual management.

Melven’s Reports His Experiences at CBJ/098

* The first thing most first responders do – they think they’re tough

* We start each mission by sorting out who will go 

* Our 9-11 mission at the Pentagon in DC

* As a team leader, your #1 priority is your team members

* Your team may not be up to that capability

* On the bus going home

* The emotional burden for first responders

* You’re in no mood to be special or thanked

* What we learned from Oklahoma

* You may need professional help

* The difference between ‘debrief’ and ‘decompress’

* Differences in the stages: Pre, During & Aftermath 

————-

Melven’s Experiences Documented In This ‘Transcript’ Document

————–

Easily Forward This Audio Message Link To a Friend

http://corebrainjournal.com/099

———-

First Responder References

* Suicide Prevention Resource Toolkit – PDF Download Targets First Responders

* First Responder Resources – PDF Download

* EMDR and Early Mental Health Intervention – PDF Download

————

Thanks

Until next time, thanks so much for joining us here at CBJ again. Have some feedback you’d like to share? Leave a note in the comment section below. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of the post.

Also, please leave an honest review for the CoreBrain Journal Podcast on iTunes. Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated. Reviews do matter in the rankings of the show, and I read every one of them. If this post is helpful, please pass it on.

Questions

In closing,

Ayurveda, Healing Connections For Balanced Living

Acharya Shunya, Emeryville, CA, is one of the esteemed teachers of the living, embodied wisdom of Ayurveda. Shunya, the descendant of a long line of Ayurveda sacred teachers and masters going back centuries, is the founder of Vedika Global, a spiritual foundation dedicated to elevating consciousness, building community, and serving humanity by illuminating India’s Vedic spiritual traditions of Ayurveda, Yoga, and Vedanta. Named among the 100 Ayurveda and Yoga Trailblazers by Spirituality and Health magazine she’s a master teacher. In this CBJ Episode, she reviews how healing and spiritual practice come together in practical ways with accessible applications.

Details on Her Awakening Course At Vedika Global:

A well-lived day is medicine unto itself.

Acharya Shunya

“For thousands of years, Acharya Shunya’s family has shown humanity a joy-filled path to abiding health of body, mind, and spirit. Every day can become a health-protecting and health-reclaiming day simply by the art with which it is lived.           

Learning Ayurveda’s lifestyle wisdom in a patient manner, by allowing it to soak into your soul over time, acts as a weed destroyer. The knowledge contained in this wisdom has the power to recondition your consciousness and take you beyond your negative habits so that you can slowly and steadily transcend your outdated, default coping strategies that no longer serve you, and learn new ways of self-care.

As you learn Ayurveda’s vast lifestyle wisdom, you will have the opportunity to open the door to a lifetime of masterful living. You will emerge from this course with a solid foundational understanding of how to carve out a new way of living in greater harmony with yourself, nature, and all other beings.”

Ayurveda Detailed at CBJ/098

* Acharya is my title and means Master Teacher

* My training in a traditional family school in India

* Our two goals: awakening consciousness and awakening health

* Parker: My experience as a child discovering Paramahansa Yogananda

* The science: from a mind lost in the world – to self – to universal consciousness

* Shunya on her book Ayurveda Lifestyle Wisdom 

* Dr. Sidney Baker’s book on Circadian Rhythms – below –

* Recommendations for meditation 

* Our Learning  Mind

—————

Acharya Shunya’s Website, Book, & References:

* http://www.acharyashunya.com

* The Three Pillars of Life  – Details from Shunya on PDF Download

* Ayurveda Lifestyle Wisdom – Shunya’s Book – Global Amazon Link

* Vedic Global  Shunya’s Training Site

* Her Awakening Course at Vedic Global

* The Circadian Prescription – Sidney Baker MD – Global Amazon Link

* Autobiography of a Yogi – Paramahansa Yogananda – 1998 Repub – Global Amazon Link

* http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2225411016000250 Journal of Traditional and Complementary Medicine Volume 7, Issue 1, January 2017, Pages 50–53

Biofilm and Candida Create Treatment Failure

Dr. Rachel Fresco, L. Ac. Ph. D. is the founder and chief formulator for Bio-Botanical Research. In 1989 Dr. Fresco began looking for ways to improve GI health and address systemic infections. One of the results of this research is her development of Biocidin®, a broad spectrum botanical formulation. This formula is recognized by many major diagnostic labs, clinicians, and authors as one of the most useful products for addressing difficult and resistant biofilm-relevant clinical presentations, such as candida.  Women know candida as that vaginal yeast infection, and knowledgeable practitioners know it as the overlooked fungus that creates brain fog, depression, exhaustion, and “ADHD.”

Dr. Fresco presents lectures internationally at medical conferences and shares her research on the topics of biofilms, the link between GI dysbiosis and systemic inflammation, and the use of plant-based medicines in clinical practice. Her remarks on the clinical challenges with biofilm will change your perspective on several clinical mysteries.

Ed Note: Biocidin isn’t the only candida product out there. However, many who dig deeper for clinical answers for treatment failure repeatedly praise it – for the reasons we discuss in this CBJ/097 interview.

My Favorite Clinical Question: #2

If you follow our discussions with guests here at CBJ you’ve heard me address this issue repeatedly – “How many times a day do you go #2?”  No, I’m not trying to become a gastroenterologist. My end target is the mind, not the gut. Sorry to sound so defensive, but I can assure you there is a reason – many reasons – as other territorial docs don’t consider the significance of these medically relevant connections – and, in fact, deride them.

It is necessary to remind folks: I’m a brain function professional looking for answers that cripple brain function, feelings and thinking. Cognition and affect just don’t work right with destructive #2 problems1 – brain functions do become unpredictable in spite of psychotherapy and meds. And, even more importantly, medication treatments become almost impossible when bowel and downstream liver compromises pollute the traditional psychiatric medical care process. Meds must first pass through the body to arrive in the brain. [Transit Time Tool for cost-effective home evaluation of bowel function – Mayo Clinic and Pub Med Reference – cost ~ $0.69 – PDF Here]

Candida and its protective biofilm change gut function, contribute to malabsorption and directly affect brain function.

Biofilm Downstream From Candida Creates Treatment Failure

Candida is one of the most prominent challenges that traditional medical folk think is quackery.  They believe that it’s quackery for one simple reason: they limit their targets to only bowel function, life-and-death acuity, not chronic brain function associated with psychiatric treatment failure.

The FDA assures us that candida laboratory testing is valid, so what’s the point with the candida naysayers? Lack of experience and denial of hard data based on inside gossip creates a limited view of these pervasive, coalescent mind problems. To overlook the cognitive problems of candida and associated biofilm is both short-sighted and small-minded. This, my friends, is a classic recurring case of acuity focus and denial of chronicity. 

This fascinating interview with Dr. Fresco added many additional helpful perspectives for anyone trying to understand what to do about refractory mind i...

Parenting ADHD & Autistic Children

Penny Williams, Asheville, NC. Penny, an acclaimed author, guides and mentors parents raising kids with ADHD and autism. She’s the mother of a son with combined ADHD and autism, the author of three award-winning books on parenting ADHD children, founder and instructor at The Parenting ADHD & Autism Academy, and a frequent contributor on parenting and children with ADHD for ADDitude Magazine and other parenting and special needs publications.

A veteran parent of a son with ADHD, Penny Williams is the creator of the award-winning website that provides coursework with details: The Complete Parenting ADHD Course – See the course outline and bonuses at this link [not an affiliate].

Her Bestselling Books: 

* What to Expect When Parenting Children with ADHD: A 9-step plan to master the struggles and triumphs of parenting a child with ADHD – Global Amazon Link

* Boy Without Instructions: Surviving the Learning Curve of Parenting a Child with ADHD – Global Amazon Link – “The #1 Book on ADHD Children:” ADDitude Magazine

* The Insider’s Guide to ADHD: Adults with ADHD Reveal the Secret to Parenting Kids with ADHD – Global Amazon Link

* 2015 International Book Awards Winner: Psychology & Mental Health

* 2014 USA Best Book Awards: Parenting & Family, Finalist Award

Her report during this Episode at CBJ/096 addresses how:

* parents must move forward away from labels,

* to differentiate problems from normal behaviors,

* to work with peer relationships,

* parents can address the complexity issues of high intelligence.

———-

 Parenting ADHD & Autistic Children Detailed at CBJ/096

* At first, I thought my son’s only problem was ADHD

* Understanding him as a child started with Ross Greene’s book

* Our biggest red flag: he didn’s understand someone’s intention towards him

* We didn’t know as much as we should about meds

* “Complexity” is a defining word for our son

* He used games to eventually develop friendships

* How I differentiate “typical” from “problems” without using labels 

* Schools, labels and Dr. Zak Stein

—————–

Penny’s Download In PDF ↓

Homework Tips: Parenting Strategies for ADHD/Autism

http://corebrainjournal.com/096download

—————

Penny’s Websites & References:

* http://parentingadhdandautism.com – Calendar for Webinars

* Complete Parenting ADHD Course – Triggers, schools, boundary management for parents.

* The Explosive Child: A New Approach for Understanding and Parenting Easily Frustrated, Chronically Inflexible Children: Ross W. Greene, Ph.D. – Global Amazon Link

————–

Easily Forward This Audio Message Link To a Friend

http://corebrainjournal.com/096

————

Thanks

Until next time, thanks so much for joining us here at CBJ again. Have some feedback you’d like to share?

Trauma, Resilience, And Recovery

Dr. Monica Powers – is a California native and resilience expert who recently relocated to Orange County to continue her work with Sovereign Health. Monica is the Director of Clinical Development and Training and is responsible for many aspects of the clinical programming across all Sovereign Health locations.

Monica earned her doctorate at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology, where she focused her interests on the survivors of natural disasters and investigated then wrote about Hurricane Katrina survivors. She also works in a private practice on weekends, where she collaborates with a variety of patients in personal psychotherapy.

Resilience Reconsidered As An Essential Recovery Variable

Her report during this Episode at CBJ/095 addresses:

* how and why resilience is an important aspect of survival from trauma

* the differences between victims and survivors

* the connection between resilience and brain function

* how she teaches resilience to trauma survivors

* the developmental origins of resilience in childhood

———-

Dr. Monica Powers: Rethinking Resilience and Trauma Recovery CBJ/095

* I initially became interested in trauma for my doctoral thesis

* An example of a person who lived through the trauma of Katrina 

* Secondary trauma: therapists, first responders, and family

* Resilience origins: from learned to a deeper bio-ecological process

* Community & Cultural resilience: Katrina, the Dust Bowl, Oklahoma

* Survivors differentiated from victims 

* Therapy to encourage more resilience

* Jocko Willink on the CBJ/vets page – video on “Good”

* The Victim Syndrome

* Moving through, instead of around, trauma and loss  

————-

Dr. Power’s Websites & References:

* Sovereign Health

* Brinkley, D. (2006). The great deluge: Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast. New York, NY: Harper Collins E-books.

* Celinski, M., J., & Pilowski, J. (2008). Measuring resilience to psychological outcomes of natural disasters: More questions than answers. In K. Gow & D. Paton (Eds.), The Phoenix of natural disasters: Community resilience (pp. 73-86). New York, NY: Nova Science Publishers.

* Lahad, M. (2008). Post-traumatic responses in disasters: A community perspective. In K. Gow & D. Paton (Eds.), The Phoenix of natural disasters: Community resilience (pp. 33-45). New York, NY: Nova Science Publishers.

* Paton, D., & Gow, K. (2008). Rising from the ashes: Empowering the Phoenix. In K. Gow & D. Paton (Eds.), The Phoenix of natural disasters: Community resilience (pp. 1-9). New York, NY: Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

————–

Easily Forward This Audio Message Link To a Friend

http://corebrainjournal.com/095

————

Thanks

Until next time, thanks so much for joining us here at CBJ again. Have some feedback you’d like to share? Leave a note in the comment section below. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of the post.

Also, please leave an honest review for the CoreBrain Journal Podcast on iTunes. Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated. Reviews do matter in the rankings of the show,

Hospital Care Evolves – Deep Psychiatric Aftercare

Well, either you’re closing your eyes to a situation you do not wish to acknowledge,

Or you are not aware of the caliber of disaster indicated by the presence of a pool table in your community.

Ya got trouble, my friend, right here, I say, trouble right here in River City.

~ Meredith Willson | The Music Man

Fresh Answers For Psychiatric Hosptial Aftercare

Tonmoy Sharma MD, CEO of Sovereign Health, has been recognized with numerous awards, honors, and grants for his work in advancing mental health and its treatment in the United States, Europe, and Southeast Asia. His background as a psychiatrist has provided him with unique insight into his management of facilities in the United States, Europe, and India. His views on psychiatric aftercare now become a small marker for an important review of improved treatment options.

He’s a prolific researcher and scientist and has authored or co-authored more than 200 peer-reviewed articles and five books on schizophrenia and mental illness. Under his leadership, Sovereign Health has grown from a small facility in San Clemente to a national brand spanning five states and comprising nine fully functional facilities that treat addiction, mental illness and co-occurring disorders, brain wellness, and behavioral health programs for eating disorders.

Details Matter

This CBJ/094 interview provides international insights from a thought leader with an informed, more comprehensive vision of institutional/structured mind care. Dr. Sharma lives in that world beyond labels, with an evolved awareness of the relevance of time – time to heal.  He seeks to humanize, to systematically support each patient’s return to the reality of their lives with evolved hospital aftercare programs that address human complexity both in and after each hospitalization. 

His remarks emphasize his helpful responses to…

————————

The Reality Behind The Money Curtain

The budget is a moral document.

Tom Perez – Chair DNC, Former Sec of Labor

Ed Note: If the national budget is a moral document, consider the larger context of these budgetary observations: The everyday reality of managed care economics – in or out of the hospital – presses politically against moving forward with improvement to more informed, utilitarian, mind-understandings and applications. Questions of morality and ethics do arise.

Our global CBJ listeners may miss the entropic, dehumanizing point of hospital treatment challenges we see so often here in the US. Today the managed care industry works diligently every day to commoditize humanity into a process of label-magic, bean counting, and medication guesswork. Measurement criteria remain almost entirely focused upon a murky veneer of managed care beliefs that serve the interests of their company perspectives about moods, appearances, and cardboard classifications. The reality of multiple variables found in mind complexity, the soul of humanity, often remains untouched.

Too often the reality of Time serves the interests of the company, not the patient. Disconcerting is the additional fact that hired psychiatric gatekeepers imperiously facilitate this medical politic.

There’s an obvious, yet unexamined, corrosive economic incentive that encourages ever higher levels of dehumanized imprecision. That economy of thought is based upon test and appearance protocols that today prove to be shockingly outdated. Far too often dismissive, less informed thinking supersedes critical thinking for more precise interventions. Time is wasted as managed care has, following years of entitlement, decided it is the manifest gatekeeper on the evolution and practice of psychiatric medical care here in the US – and...

Update Eating Disorders, Fears, and Self-Management

Janet Lee Whitney, MA, LMFT – Discusses evolved Eating Disorder treatment from multiple perspectives.

In any given moment we have two options: to step forward into growth or to step back into safety.

~ Abraham Maslow

She is a licensed psychotherapist and the author of the book and program entitled Facing Your Fears and Following Your Dreams. Her personal mission involves finding a career that creates life satisfaction and becomes life changing. Once someone finds the right career, work and play coalesce into a variety of exciting activities. As the co-owner of a sexual addiction program and director of an eating disorder program, Janet works with individuals, couples, and families in a variety of addiction/recovery challenges.

As Program Director of the Eating Disorder Program at Sovereign Health, she and her teams create a recovery process that helps instill hope – and a belief that there is a more constructive way to deal with the stresses of life as they manifest in that array of eating disorder symptoms. A priority for her program is to provide ways for patients to discover how to live without an ongoing focus on food and body image – in a constructive, not a self [or staff] reproachful way.

We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.

~ Martin Luther King Jr.

Eating Disorder Recovery Takes New Courage

“My philosophy is to build on strengths and positivity and to develop a deeper belief in moving forward towards goals. I have trained other therapists across the country in using this program to help people recover from self-sabotage. My youngest daughter has been dealing with an eating disorder for over seven years. When my daughter’s eating disorder did not improve after eleven inpatient hospitalization, my two oldest children encouraged me to walk the 500 mile Camino in Spain, in 2015. For this six-week trip, I carried all my belongings in a backpack. I walked those 500 miles alone and found my calling.”

———-

Janet Whitney: Eating Disorder Reconsidered CBJ/092

* I watched my younger daughter fall into an eating disorder

* Her problems with 14 inpatient treatment programs 

* I couldn’t get her back into inpatient until she was over 18

* My specific philosophy on ED treatment/recovery 

* We talk to them about their gifts

* Therapists must emphasize: ‘Let’s go for the positive’

* The difference with Dialectical Behavioral Therapy  DBT & CBT

* The duration of a treatment program

* At Sovereign our unique aftercare structure includes 

* Overcoming denial 

 ————-

References & Janet’s Websites:

* Her Site with Personal Video: http://janetwhitneymft.com

* Her Inpatient Sites: Sovereign Health Eating Disorders

* Her Book: Facing Your Fears and Following Your Dreams – Global Amazon Link

* The Facts: Eating Disorders & Self Harm (2015): Selfharm.com – UK

* Hudson, J. Hirpi, E. Pope, H.& Kessler R (2007) The Prevalence and Correlates of Eating Disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication, Biological Psychiatry Vol 61 p. 348-358 [Full PubMed Article]

————

Addiction/Recovery Perspectives: Previous CBJ I...