Psychology Articles

Have you ever stopped to wonder why psychologists, doctors, and others with a Phd use big words? Are they trying to confuse the rest of us?

I don’t really think they use it all the time to confuse the rest of us mere mortals, okay not all the time anyway. You and I both know that some use this little bit of skill as a soap box to show the rest of us just how much they really know.

Have you ever wondered why there are people who are taken by ‘rip off artists’? Well there are a couple of reasons, one is that these individuals are highly trained and or have a certain adaptability towards learning these tips and tricks. Another would be that we don’t always know what they are looking for.

So to get what you want let’s look closely at some of these and see exactly what they are using or what they know that we don’t.

Cognitive Dissonance, okay let’s break this down, when you are encountering someone that you want to know you start off with simple questions to get to know someone. Well the first part of understanding how to get what you want is to build a rapport.

1. Getting your foot in the door so to speak. You get to know them by starting off with simple things, questions that are easy to talk about, their day the weather, if there has been a big event in the news lately talk about that.

2. Key: Ask questions that get the person to agree and begin saying yes. Once they are saying yes it’s much easier to get them to continue saying yes even if it’s not exactly what they want to do. In fact after a bit the person typically tells them self that giving you what you want can’t be so bad. They have helped you and felt pretty good about it.

It’s a psychological trick that is pretty easy to do once you understand it.

Warning, now you do have to be careful with this tool as if you are asking them too many things, or something quite unusual this can backfire and they will have built up a very negative image in their mind about you and now if you ever encounter them again instead of it being a pleasant exchange it’ll be a uncomfortable and stiff conversation at best.

So a word to the wise now that you know what this is and how to use it to help you get what you want use it carefully. Now you understand some psychology and why it can be very easy to get what you want.

3. Give them something, what is it that you’re looking for, an answer, money back, to return a product. Now what do you have that they could possibly want?

Think for just a moment, if you’re at work how to you get recognized?

Well, in customer service or in an industry where you work with people, typically it’s those people that you work with who are the ones who help you move up, or at least receive additional recognition.

So now you know what you have that they want.

Now you have to think about everything surrounding you and or the person you are making the request from, so you can offer to give them what they want without being too pushy, that will only turn out to be another backfire.

For Example: If you have someone on the phone who you’ve built up that rapport, tell them how good of a job they’re doing. Thank them for their time to address their concern, and be sure to get their supervisors information so you can pass this along, and do it don’t just say it. Believe me they’ll check into this, all of us want to be recognized for what we are good at.

Do you want some other must have techniques to get what you want?

• Would you like to tell your boss a few things, want to know how to do it without conflict?
• Have you ever been in a relationship where you felt like a door mat?
• Did you receive a bill you swear isn’t yours?

Become a smashing success at turning a situation around in your favor. See how, or learn more free tips here.
http://www.crwenterprise.com/getwhatyouwant

Dreams are produced by the unconscious mind, which is a separate brain that doesn’t belong to the human being, but has a mysterious origin. This brain is superior, saintly and perfect, and uses dream images in order to send secret messages to the human side of our conscience, in order to protect us from our wild conscience. This is the anti-conscience, our primitive conscience that didn’t evolve like our human side and keeps trying to destroy it, in order to control our behavior, instead of being tamed by the human side of our conscience.

The anti-conscience is violent, immoral and sneaky, like all wild animals, only that it can think. It has an independent functionalism, and it can interfere in the thoughts of the human side of our conscience.

What causes dreams is therefore the human necessity of protection and guidance, because we inherit a very dangerous wild conscience that has to be tamed by our human side; otherwise it will destroy our humanity, and imprison us in the labyrinth of craziness, where all mental illnesses reside.

This is why when we are passing though difficult and dangerous experiences we see many vivid dreams, which contain precious guidance.

We have to study the dream language if we want to understand what our dreams mean. This is a secret language created by the wise unconscious mind to send us secret protective messages that the wild anti-conscience won’t be able to understand. Our human conscience cannot understand them either, but it can study the dream language, and find out the meaning of dreams.

This is a very difficult occupation. Carl Jung made an arduous research for many years, before he finally found the exact method of dream interpretation, which he could prove thanks to the communication that the dreamer starts having with the unconscious mind, this superior brain, which gives answers to the dreamer in dream messages. We can ask the unconscious mind what we want to learn about, and see the answer in a dream, having therefore a direct communication with this extraordinary superior mind.

This wise brain can only be God. It is superior and has saintly characteristics.

The scientific world is atheistic and denies accepting many indubitable proofs of God’s existence, even when there are scientific evidences and explanations that can be given, however the truth is that if we want to humbly understand the entire truth, we have to simply accept the fact that there is really a superior creature, much superior to the human being. We are not the most intelligent creatures in the universe.

No… we are idiots in fact, and this is why our world is governed by terrorism, violence and immorality, while everything is covered by hypocrisy and futility. This happens because we are destroyed by the primitive side of our conscience, the evil anti-conscience that takes the place of our human conscience, and dominates our behavior.

The unconscious mind tries to save us from craziness and despair, but we have to follow the unconscious’ guidance if we want to win the battle against the evil and powerful anti-conscience that occupies the biggest part of our brain.

I simplified very much the complicated method of dream interpretation discovered by Carl Jung, transforming it into a simple method of dream translation that everyone learns very fast, and starts immediately seeing results.

The unconscious mind is a psychologist, and also a priest. So, he starts giving relief to the dreamer with his support. Your religion is not important: all religions are true, and this is why you will recognize the symbols of your religion in your dreams too, no matter which your religion may be. The unconscious mind is not going to tell you that you have to change it and believe in something else. On the contrary: you will have proofs that your religion is right, because all religions were created by the wise unconscious mind in order to teach to the human being the complex truth about the human origin, and transform his spirit.

The spirit is the product of the thoughts and feelings of the live conscience.

If you are an atheist, you can simply consider the unconscious mind as a superior brain, without feeling any emotion because science could finally prove the existence of God, and simply learn the dream language in order to solve with this knowledge all the problems of your life.

The unconscious mind will answer all your questions, even very simple ones, but he is not your servant: he is your teacher. So, the answers you’ll get may be totally different from what you may expect.

You’ll have protection and guidance, and you’ll be able to develop your intelligence following the precious guidance of a far superior brain. 

Christina Sponias continued Carl Jung’s research into the human psyche, discovering the cure for all mental illnesses, and simplifying the scientific method of dream interpretation that teaches you how to exactly translate the meaning of your dreams, so that you can find health, wisdom and happiness.
Learn more at: http://www.scientificdreaminterpretation.com
Click Here to download a Free Sample of the eBook Dream Interpretation as a Science (86 pages!).

We humans are uniquely fortunate that ambivalence pervades everything we experience, think, feel and intuit, or we wouldn’t have gotten as far as we have. Though you wouldn’t know it from the way we feel about ambivalence. We hate and mistrust it. For centuries we’ve been trying to do away with it by denying, and as much as possible, obliterating its presence from our consciousness. We’ve worked very hard to achieve an alternative, that for thousands of years we’ve considered to be nothing less than heavenly: i.e. single-mindedness without complication or contradiction.

In science we readily acknowledge that nature is full of complexity and ambiguity. Ambivalence is a personal acknowledgment of the emotional experience of ambiguity. Viewed psychologically it is nothing more or less than a clever inventive psyche, capable of simultaneously holding several options in mind, recognizing that all possibilities probably take place, and precedence, at one time or another, and can therefore be learned from. This attitude could be described as the scientific approach to experience, which recognizes infinite possibility as constantly operative.

Science generally excludes emotional experience from its territory. Psychology has discovered this to be impossible; so lets first notice, and then explore what’s happening when ambiguity crosses our path-as it does every day of our lives.

At any given moment in time, a disturbingly ambiguous conflict of desire, or opinion, or both, occurs spontaneously in order to find an as yet unseen third alternative; which more effectively resolves particularly contradictory circumstances. This is best accomplished by allowing polarized options to slug it out subconsciously and unconsciously-more in dreams than in thinking about it-a very different strategy than the forced premature decision we usually expect of ourselves. This spontaneous discovery of additional options will always take place in an open mind given enough time, and in the absence of prejudice.

Ambivalence is the emotional awareness of the most dominant characteristic of reality, that whatever is happening can always reverse itself and go in the opposite direction. We call it change that is perpetually taking place, like a transformation of matter into energy, or the reverse happening, energy into matter. A more familiar ordinary example is standing on unstable ground, literally or metaphorically; if we move we may trigger a landslide; yet if we don’t move it means perpetually to live in impossibly unreliable circumstances.

Ambiguity, the noun that describes our awareness of opposite conflicting possibilities, is best illustrated by Einstein’s equation, E«MC2, which moves in both directions; either to release enormous energy by tearing apart the forces that bind particles to each other, the atom bomb; or to capture potential energy by attracting particles full of energy, such as potassium and chloride precipitating to form salt.
The word, ambivalence, is most commonly used to describe the human experience with which we have the most trouble: i.e. the emotional dilemma of feeling 2 or more ways about the same event, possibility or person. It’s an experience we perceive almost entirely as dysfunctional, something to be avoided at all cost. Indeed emotional ambivalence is generally regarded as pathological-”indecisive, can’t make up their mind”.

When the possibility of feeling contradictory emotions about the same idea, event or person, is the most fundamental skill required for handling conflict of both varieties: internal and interpersonal. Indeed it’s the essential skill that will eventually vault us into the wisdom of a peaceful world community; without which we will continue to wander cynically on the premise that it can never be accomplished.

Violence is one of the principle outcomes of our misguided belief in single-mindedness. In order for one side of the argument to be absolutely true, the other side must be erased by all means possible-usually in the name of God as a holy cause! Human history is overwhelmingly dominated by such primitive violent behavior.

Unfortunately our experience, particularly of emotional conflict and contradiction has never been successfully cut down to size in ways that remove it from the category of trauma to become simply problem solving. We almost always experience conflict, whether internal or interpersonal, as traumatic-beyond coping, something that can’t be tolerated, which must be stopped or run away from. We regard those who in any way contribute to conflict, even when they’re non-violent, as villains deserving of censure, punishment or even retaliation.

This is why we invented good and evil, good guys and bad guys, in order to vastly oversimplify this seemingly intolerable experience. To avoid the responsibility of conflict and its contradictions, thousands of years ago we even handed over most of the power of our own lives to anyone whom we could believe was a god; meaning someone capable of being in touch with the gods that ran the universe and made disaster, or good times, happen; so on our behalf they could plead for mercy and special treatment. Many people still believe and function in these ways.

Ambiguity exists in everything human-seen because we are an animal capable of perceiving things in contradictory and multiple dimensions. Though some of the other apes have some degree of self-consciousness, only we can simultaneously hold in the mind’s eye several layers of possibility. The simplest way of expressing it is that we can simultaneously do things, watch ourself do them, comment upon what we’re doing, even criticize it, and at the same time imagine doing it in other ways. That complexity of perception is the principle trait that makes us what and who we are; and ambivalence is the key skill necessary for the creative management of this remarkable gift of multilayered comprehension.

Within the scientific realm dealing with tangible objects, we have become very accustomed and skilled at managing and using contradictory possibilities and options. In fact that’s how science has progressed. It’s become the art of putting things together that previously weren’t supposed to be married, and taking apart things that were supposed to remain together.

But when it comes to dealing with ambiguity in the intangibles of human life, most accurately described as the realm of the human spirit-of which the psyche is the principle agency-we suddenly lose it! We stumble into ambiguity-illiteracy. We try and make reality caveman-simple, of which good and evil is the best example; in making the most important decisions of life we have only 2 options instead of a thousand or more.

Lets face it. Ambiguity, particularly the emotional variety, still scares the hell out of us. But truth is, the problem is ours, not everybody else’s, or God’s. We seem to connect simple-mindedness to being safe, which, as has been seen, it isn’t. This misperception could mean the problem has a lot to do with the ways we love, where we confuse a lot of things in our mad dash for the human essentials: i.e. support, encouragement and comfort. Perhaps we need to rethink how we do, and understand love. At the very least we need to find alternative ways of thinking about the human spirit, its emotional experience, and the personal management of conflict.

In my efforts to do all of this I sometimes regard the active spiritual part of us, the human psyche, with all of its remarkable parts, as the only thing we’ll ever experience in this life that’s holy-not what we do with it, but what it’s capable of-something I suspect that we’ve hardly begun to comprehend.

My additional works can be seen at this website: http://donfenn.com

There is a lot of nonsense being perpetrated about the differential impact of the economic recession on men and women. The prevailing wisdom is that men suffer more anxiety and stress over the loss of a job than women. It is reasoned that because the self-identity of men is intrinsically wound up in their work and role as “breadwinner” (is there a more odious term?) that it is inevitable they suffer greater loss of self-confidence and self-esteem. It’s time to set the record straight.

The great psychiatrist Vicktor Frankl, who was incarcerated in a concentration camp in the Second World War and who lost his entire family in the camps wrote that human suffering is like a gas in a glass container, it expands to occupy every space in that container equally, whether it be a little bit of gas or a lot of gas. He reasoned that human suffering, be it from loss of job or loss of loved one or death in the family is equal and that is is unreasonable to speak of a “little suffering” or “great suffering”. In fact for Frankl suffering has potential meaning for all and therefore should never be diminished.

I don’t understand why we partition the impact of economic hardship and make it more damaging to one gender than the other. It seems obvious to anyone who cares to look that if a householder loses a job all living in that house suffer the consequences. If it is a man his partner will feel the pain and struggle just as greatly as he to cope. If it is a woman the man feels the pain and struggles to cope. Along with the adult partners the children often become stressed as they witness parents under stress, struggling to make ends meet and bearing the burden and stresses together.

The notion that men suffer more than women demeans the role of women and robs them of the essential humanity. How is it that one human being with a partner will suffer less than the other partner? Why do we want to believe that men are somehow more delicate than women (or women more than men)? Why do we ignore the impact of our current national distress on our children? Is it not a fact that some of our children are being deliberately disadvantaged by government cutbacks? Does no one notice or care that the only legislation protection the educational rights of children with disabilities has been deliberately stalled? Does no one notice that the governmental body vested with authority to protect our rights against discrimination (the Equality Authority) has been deliberately rendered impotent?

If a man has such a delicate constitution that loss of job results in a decrease in self-esteem and self-confidence his partner will notice and will struggle to support him through his burden. This struggle to support will mean less focus on self and children, thereby stressing the partner as much as they man.

I think it’s time we recognise, in the words of the Irish American psychiatrist Harry Stack Sullivan, that we are “…all more basically human than otherwise.” We are in this struggle together, we must support one another together and realise that when it comes to human suffering we all suffer in equal measures.

David J. Carey, Psy.D.
297 Beechwood Court
Stillorgan
Dublin, Ireland
http://www.davidjcarey.com

Understanding Psychological Assessments and Academic Testing

Educational psychological assessment is a formal procedure undertaken individually between a psychologist and a child (or any person). After building up rapport and making the child comfortable, the psychologist will administer a test to the child. There are many tests that can be administered so I will just introduce and explain the most commonly used tests. First though, it is necessary to discuss some general principles of testing.

Tests do not tell anyone anything! They do however yield data and information that then must be intelligently consumed by the qualified assessor. The information gathered from a test must fit into the picture of the whole child’s life, background, family dynamics, learning and schooling history, motivation, health history and a thousand other variables. Anyone who takes the simplistic view that a test provides an answer that can be used to definitively unlock the riddle of a child’s learning problems is seriously mistaken.

What is Intelligence?

Arguments about the nature of human intelligence and what comprise it are centuries old. We have looked at one particular psychological test that is based on a model of intelligence that conceives it as a combination of verbal and non-verbal skills. This model feeds into the common-held understanding that being intelligent means you will ‘be good at reading and maths, you will perform well in comprehensive examinations and you will necessarily perform well in school and get into the university programme of your choice’. This is obviously a narrow model and a dangerous assumption – it’s one that is being challenged vigorously from many fronts today.

IQ is probably the most commonly understood, and at the same time misunderstood, concept about human intelligence. The problem with IQ scores is that they are far too easy to misinterpret and lead quickly to assigning people into the general categories of ’smart’ or ‘limited’. An IQ is nothing more than a mathematically derived formula to quantify various test scores. There has been a lot of research into IQ and it has been discovered that it is a good predictor of one thing, and one thing only – success in school! This is particularly true of the Wechsler model of IQ.

As stated earlier, there are other models, and a popular one is that developed by Howard Gardner*, which is known as Multiple Intelligence theory. Gardner was dissatisfied with the major model of intelligence and the type of educational structures that have resulted from this model. Gardner has stated, “I want my children to understand the world, but not just because the world is fascinating and the human mind is curious. I want them to understand it so that they will be positioned to make it a better place. Knowledge is not the same as morality, but we need to understand [morality] if we are to avoid past mistakes and move in productive directions. An important part of that understanding is knowing who we are and what we can do…”.

Gardner believes that every human being possesses a number of different capacities, all as a result of brain system functioning, which can be called ‘intelligences’. For Gardner, there are at least seven different types of intelligence and our inability and difficulty in recognising them is a result of the way we educate people, relying mostly on words and numbers.

Gardner lists his seven intelligences as:

• Linguistic Intelligence – facility with words, reading, speaking.

• Logical-Mathematical Intelligence – facility with numbers, logical-
sequential thinking.

• Interpersonal Intelligence – being sensitive to and understanding
other people.

• Intrapersonal Intelligence – knowing oneself, one’s beliefs, attitudes
and values.

• Musical Intelligence – the capacity to respond to music or perform
music.

• Bodily-Kinaesthetic Intelligence – ability to move, athletics, dance.

• Artistic Intelligence – responding to or creating visual or plastic art.

Since creating his first list of seven intelligences Gardner has continued his research and now believes there are sufficient grounds for adding one other:

• Naturalist Intelligence, which he defines as enabling “…human beings to recognize, categorise and draw upon certain features of the environment.”

Gardner continues to investigate the nature of human intelligence and is considering the possibility that he can add to his list the following:

• Moral Intelligence – a concern with those rules, behaviours and attitudes that govern the sanctity of life – in particular, the sanctity of human life and, in many cases, the sanctity of any other living creatures and the world they inhabit.

• Existential Intelligence – a concern with ‘ultimate issues’.

• Spiritual Intelligence – exploring the nature of existence in its multifarious guises.

According to Gardner, every human being has capacities wired into their brains that are manifested in these intelligences to one degree or another. In other words, we are all intelligent – it’s just that we show our intelligence in different ways. I have oversimplified this theory to a great degree but the point I wish to draw to your attention is how much we can underestimate certain children when we conceive of intelligence merely as an IQ figure obtained from a particular test.

This ‘obsession’ with IQ testing can lead to low expectations on the part of educators when the test results are low; low expectations quickly translate into poorer teaching methods, less reinforcement in the classroom for the child and therefore lower performance on the part of the child.

The stakes are high in the IQ race and the winners are more often than not created by those who teach them than by any so-called natural intellectual endowment. Think of it this way; if a person has an IQ of 185 but possesses no ability to understand himself or others, what sort of a life will he lead? Generally speaking the answer will be a life of frustration, wrong choices, unhappiness in love and relationships, and constant disappointment.

Gardner’s theory has its critics and is not universally accepted as an alternative model of human intelligence. But whatever concerns arise about it and from it there is no disputing the fact that Gardner is responsible for bringing to the fore the issue of intelligence and expanding our understanding of what it is.

Intelligent tests require intelligent testers
Put simply, intelligence testing requires intelligent testers. Additionally, tests in themselves are not useful instruments to classify children into special education categories. I have seen far too many children with autistic spectrum disorders given tests of intelligence with the results indicating that their intelligence is significantly impaired – yet anyone working with the child, or any family member, can relate poignant stories of the child’s keen mind and different ways of thinking that clearly demonstrates their intelligence. I am therefore wary of intelligence tests when they are relied upon to provide the sole answer, solution, and source of information used to provide special education services.

The information gathered from a test falls into some general categories. If the purpose of the test is to assess intellectual skills (often referred to as cognitive skills), the information gained should shed light on most of the following:

• Verbal skills
• Non-verbal skills
• Attention and concentration
• Visual memory
• Auditory memory
• Short-term, long-term and immediate recall of visual and auditory information
• Social judgement
• Social comprehension
• Hand-eye coordination skills
• Perceptual organisation skills (orientation in space and time)
• Abstract reasoning, both verbal and visual
If the purpose of the assessment is to investigate alleged behaviour or emotional problems, then in addition to the above, the information gathered should shed light on:

• Frustration tolerance
• Impulse control
• Anger management
• Coping skills
• Interpersonal judgement
• Stress tolerance
• Anxiety issues
• Fears and phobias
• Unusual thoughts or ideas/beliefs
• Knowledge of right from wrong
• Social problem-solving skills
• Motivation for schooling
• Preoccupations and obsessions
• Mood (emotions of short duration)

In general, the more information one is able to gather from assessment, the greater the possibility of putting together an intelligent formulation that helps everyone involved in the life of the child to understand the child more comprehensively. The written assessment should clearly provide insight into the referral question and all related information necessary to understand the child. It should be easily read by a teacher or parent, should not contain jargon or scores that can not be understood by all who read it and should outline specific recommendations for educational and support services and strategies necessary to enable the child to benefit from their educational programme.

Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children

The most common assessment instrument used by psychologists is the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children and will therefore be the one we look at. In using this test as an example, you will hopefully get a reasonable picture of how an assessment is carried out. The Wechsler test is, essentially, a test of intelligence. It has been in use for over fifty years and has been revised numerous times to keep it up to date.

The test is divided into two sections with each section containing a number of subtests. The two broad sections of the test are the

• Verbal Scale
• Performance Scale

Successful completion of any item on any of the Verbal subtests requires a verbal response. On the Performance subtests, the person must do something in response to a question or task. When the entire test has been administered, the assessor calculates what is called a Composite Score, a score that takes into account both sections. Because it is a test of intelligence, the test scores obtained are called IQ scores and you will see the results stated in this format:

• Verbal Scale IQ
• Performance Scale IQ
• Full Scale IQ (the composite score)

The Full Scale score, according to the standard interpretation, indicates the level of a person’s intelligence. A Full Scale score in the range of 90 to 110 is considered average; the person can be said to have average intelligence.

In addition to looking at the Full Scale score, the three scores, (verbal, performance and full scale) can be compared against one another. What is expected in most people is that the three scores will cluster close enough together to indicate that the individual’s verbal and performance skills are evenly developed. When there is a large difference between the two subtest scores (verbal and performance), it may indicate learning problems.

This is as good a time as any to introduce the reader to some of the common terms used in assessment:

• Percentile scores
• Reading age scores
• Standard scores

Children are frequently referred for assessment after reading or maths tests have been administered to the entire class. The most common whole-class tests in use are the Drumcondra tests (reading) and the Micra T test (mathematics). A child’s results in these tests are reported in what are called percentile scores. A percentile score indicates where a child stands in comparison to a sample of children in his or her own age, on a given task. A score at the 50th percentile on the Drumcondra test means that the child is well within the middle range (49 children out of 100 score higher, 49 score lower).

Some tests yield what are called reading age scores. Reading age scores do not yield significant information, their use has been criticised and has been discouraged in the learning support teachers’ written guidelines. A two-year difference in reading age in 5th class may not be terribly significant.

Standard scores are also frequently reported following assessment. The average standard score is 100, which is at the 50th percentile, meaning the child’s score isn’t significantly different in that test than other, same- age children. Standard scores must differ from one another by about fifteen points in order for the difference to be of any real significance. About two-thirds of all children have standard scores on a test that are between 85 and 115, that is, the 16th percentile and the 84th percentile (see table below). Scores in this range are not particularly noteworthy (there are exceptions to this, which will be presented when we explain tests of children’s intelligence).

The following chart will be helpful in translating standard scores, scale scores, standard deviations, and percentile scores into understandable and meaningful information. Standard deviations tell us how much confidence we can place in a given score. Any time a test is administered there will be a certain range of scores obtained that don’t have any significance in the actual test results. In psychological assessment the usual standard deviation of significance is three points or more. So if a child measures 12 points on a test and 11 on another there is no real significance to this difference. Although an oversimplification it is helpful to consider the standard deviation in scores to determine whether or not a strength or weakness is actually present upon assessment.

The most useful scores to interpret for common sense purposes are therefore percentile scores. I recommend you ask for percentile scores when test results are being reported. Most importantly, do not expect reading- or mathematics-age scores to be useful for educational planning or for reviewing the effectiveness of educational interventions. We will refer to percentiles again throughout this section.

Standard Scores

The Verbal Scale, Performance Scale, and Full Scale scores are all Standard Scores. Previously I stated that standard scores all have 100 as their average, with the range of average being from 90 to 110. About two-thirds of all children will score between 85 and 115 on these three scales and scores within this range are not highly significant.

At the risk of getting bogged down in too much information, it’s worth having a more detailed look. For example, let’s take a look at the Verbal Scale. The subtests that are administered are in bold and I have included what they are trying to assess:

• Information: factual knowledge, long-term memory, recall.
• Similarities: abstract reasoning, verbal categories and concepts.
• Arithmetic: attention and concentration, numerical reasoning.
• Vocabulary: language development, word knowledge, verbal fluency.
• Comprehension: social and practical judgment, common sense.
• Digit Span: short-term auditory memory, concentration.

On the Performance Scale, the following subtests are administered (bold) and what they are trying to assess is indicated:

• Picture Completion: alertness to detail, visual discrimination.
• Coding: visual-motor coordination, speed, and concentration.
• Picture Arrangement: planning, logical thinking, social knowledge.
• Block Design: spatial analysis, abstract visual problem solving.
• Object Assembly: visual analysis and construction of objects.
• Symbol Search: visual-motor quickness, concentration, persistence.
• Mazes: fine motor coordination, planning, following directions.

An example will help illustrate the fine points of interpreting this test. Suppose Patricia is referred for an educational psychological assessment, having progressed through Stages One and Two.

The Wechsler test is administered and she obtains the following results (this is a crude example for illustrative purposes and the numbers are not meant to be accurate representations of what a real test profile would look like). Individual subtest scores range from a low of one to a high of nineteen. Remember that differences of three points or less between them are not particularly significant. When the difference exceeds three points it may indicate a difficulty with the underlying brain processing tasks that were described above.

Verbal Scale Performance Scale
Information 8 Picture Completion 9
Similarities 3 Coding 10
Arithmetic 9 Picture Arrangement 11
Vocabulary 9 Block Design 2
Comprehension 18 Object Assembly 9
Digit Span 9 Symbol Search 8
Mazes 14

Using the conversion tables available in the Wechsler test manual, the results of these subtests yield the following scale scores:

Verbal Scale IQ 109
Performance Scale IQ 113
Full Scale IQ 110

Patricia is in the average range, right? Looking at the three Scale scores, you would think so. But if we take a closer look at the individual subtest scores, something interesting comes into view. On two subtests that assess abstract thinking (Similarities and Block Design), Patricia’s subtest scores are quite low. Subtest scores have an average of ten and there is little significance in a variation of three. However, Patricia’s score of 2 on Block Design and 3 on Similarities indicates a real weakness in abstract thinking, verbally and non-verbally, despite her average intelligence. This weakness may well indicate learning problems.
I described percentile scores earlier. These scores help us to compare a child’s test results with those of other, same-age children. Let’s see how Patricia compares with other girls her age by looking at the percentile scores that correspond to each of her scores above, as follows:

Verbal Scale Performance Scale
Scale Score percentile Scale percentile
Information 8 25 Picture Compilation 9 37
Similarities 3 1 Coding 10 50
Arithmetic 9 27 Picture Arrangement 11 63
Vocabulary 9 27 Block Design 2 1
Comprehension 18 99 Object Assembly 9 37
Digit Span 9 37 Symbol Search 8 25

Mazes 14 91

The results of all these subtests yield the following scale scores:

Scale Score percentile
Verbal Scale IQ 109 73
Performance Scale IQ 113 81
Full Scale IQ 110 75

Taking a look at the percentile scores tells us more about how Patricia compares to children her own age.
Now, let’s suppose that Patricia was initially referred because she was having considerable difficulty learning to read. I was at pains to point out in the earlier section that the assessor must take into account all the factors that might result in Patricia’s difficulty, before drawing conclusions She may have had health problems which caused her to miss one-third of the school year over each of the past several years; what if her parents were members of the Travelling Community and moved her from school to school five times each year? What if, for the past two years she has had three different teachers, as a result of staff illness, and two of them had no teaching qualification? There may be personal issues (family bereavement etc) that may have relevance. Any of these factors, and more, could be the real cause of Patricia’s reading problems. The assessor will have to take everything into account and put it together in a way that makes sense to all.

What I am saying here is that there are a great many factors which can account for the scores obtained and that it is the responsibility of the examiner to be sure the results are an accurate picture of the child’s intellectual skills and not an artefact of other influences which mask the true skill levels.

It is only possible to make full sense of test scores if they are stated in full in the assessment written report. It is often the case that the psychologist will only report a range of scores, for example, “Verbal IQ: Average Range”, “Performance IQ: Borderline Range” This sort of report writing can raise more questions than answers because sometimes the numbers are at the fringes of a range. For example a score of 90 and a score of 109 are both within the ‘Average’ range but are both at the extreme range, with one Low Average and one High Average. Without stating the exact numbers, it is impossible to get an accurate picture of the child’s level of abilities. I suggest that parents request the complete test data, (the actual numbers themselves) – it will be a useful means to compare results if an assessment is re-administered sometime in the future.

Scale Scores

This brings us to the range of scale scores and what they represent. The Wechsler test is supposed to be a test of intelligence and for these purposes, the three scale scores that are calculated correspond to a range of intelligence ‘category’, from Gifted to Learning Disabled:

Scale Score IQ Intelligence Range/Special Ed Category
130 and above Exceptionally Able/Gifted
90-110 Average (not a special education category)
70-79 Borderline General Learning Disability
50-68 Mild General Learning Disability
35-49 Moderate General Learning Disability
Below 35 Severe/Profound General Learning Disability

You might wonder what happens to those children whose scale scores fall between 80-89. The short answer is that they are not generally eligible for special education services; if their reading of mathematic ability is below the 10th percentile they will be looked after by the learning support teacher. If not, they are deemed to be doing as well as other children and will not receive any specialist assistance.

As has been stated earlier, observations are a helpful source of information but it must be remembered that all observations are subjective (liable to be distorted by hidden bias and differing levels of tolerance for learning differences and differences in behavioural skills). In any assessment the sole reliance upon observation and teacher-made tests is inappropriate. Assessment instruments that generate quantifiable data are a necessary part of the assessment process.

David J. Carey, Psy.D.
297 Beechwood Court
Stillorgan
Dublin, Ireland
http://www.davidjcarey.com

We are in the middle of an economic crisis. If we haven’t lost our job, we have lost income, money on our investments, our retirement, or our home. The stress that these financial difficulties place on us can be devastating to our ability to be “here and now,” fully present in our life, appreciating and enjoying what is left, and more importantly, parenting our children in a healthy way.

Many of our children are struggling too, whether they are twenty-three, thirteen, or three. Their lives aren’t any less stressful than ours. They go from the ever increasing academic and social demands of school to activities, practices, clubs, rehearsals, work, dad’s house, mom’s house, feeling the same pressures we do. They are presented daily with the expectation to do better, be better, and get to the next level. Many children experience stress that goes beyond what we would ordinarily imagine or expect for their age. Some live in impoverished, sometimes dangerous communities. Others live in homes with a family member who is ill or abusing drugs or alcohol. Some have been in and out of hospitals trying to survive their own chronic illness.

Others still, try to cope with being different somehow, in a way that makes them a target for abuse. They experience bullying, racism, homophobia, and other forms of hatred and maltreatment at the hands of peers and adults, including siblings and caregivers. In addition to their own daily pressures, our children soak up the stress of the adults around them like a sponge. They feel what we are feeling. They are especially tuned in to us as parents more than we realize. They see and hear, not what we are trying to portray, but what is really going on. The good news is that if we are managing our stress well, engaging in all the things that help us feel balanced and connected, grounded and whole, our children pick up on what is working in our lives and are soothed by their experience of us.

In addition to how we are being with our children, there are many things we can do to help them thrive in the face of these uncertain times, in spite of the pressures that are a normal part of being alive. Relief of their stress is possible, whether they experience ongoing, “chronic” stress or something called “traumatic stress.” Traumatic stress is the result of our children experiencing events that are extraordinarily frightening or difficult. Though you may not believe your child with difficulties has ever experienced a trauma, or that your healthy child ever will, statistics overwhelmingly indicate that, as long as we are living on this unpredictable and often dangerous planet, it is likely that they have or they will.

Traumatic experiences are not, as we would like to believe, outside the range of possibilities for our children. They are not so uncommon that they “couldn’t possibly happen to anyone we know,” let alone to someone we love so much. Dismissing trauma as the possible source of our children’s difficulties and lack of hoped-for success is one of the most costly mistakes we can make. Doing so can prevent us from finding the most effective solutions and has, in many cases, contributed to the continuation of harmful interventions such as the medication or overmedication of children as young as three years of age. When hasty conclusions are drawn without consideration for our child’s entire history and experiences, unnecessary suffering is prolonged for all of us.

Recent neuroscientific study is offering us a way out of our suffering. We know more now than ever more about the how the brain develops, functions and mediates all of learning and behavior. This information is precisely what parents need in order to understand how it is that our children develop some of the problems they do. For instance, when we learn how our child’s brain is affected by stress and trauma, we discover what interventions work best and why. Better still, we realize how to prevent problems from ever developing in the first place.

When parents come to see me, they have questions and concerns about how and why their child is having difficulty with learning or behavior. Because their questions are so important, and because the answers helped their children so much, I decided to write, You Can Heal Your Child: A Guide for Parents of Misdiagnosed, Stressed, Traumatized, and Otherwise Misunderstood Children. The book serves whole families – parents and children – so they will know precisely what to do to get through tough times and any other challenge that may come their way. Please find the book at amazon.com or visit drmelrose.com and help your child today.

Please read Dr. Reggie Melrose’s books, “You Can Heal Your Child” and “Why Students Underachieve: What Educators and Parents Can Do about It.” Visit her website, http://www.DrMelrose.com, for more information and resources.

Most reputable scientists now believe that autism has existed throughout the history of humankind. Some have speculated that ancient legends about “changelings” are actually stories of children with autism. Celtic mythology is redolent with stories of elves and visitors from “the other side” who steal a human child and leave their own damaged child in its place. The child left behind is usually mute, remote and distant, staring into space and unresponsive to its adult caretakers. We must bear in mind that in times gone by, and in some cultures today, children who are unlike the average expected child are seen to be victims of evil or some sort.

In 1801 the French physician Itard took into his care a boy who had been found wandering naked in the forest. It was believed at the time that the boy had lived alone in the forest since early childhood. The boy could not speak and was unresponsive to human contact. He has come to be known as “sauvage de l’Aveyron,” or “wild boy of Aveyron”. Itard’s tireless efforts to help this boy mark the beginning of special educaiton. Although autism was not a term used at the time there are those who speculate that the wild boy of Aveyron was a child with autism.

The real history of autism dates back only one hundred years to the time of the Swiss psychiatrist Eugen Bleuler. In 1911 Bleuler was writing about a group of people then identified as having schizophrenia. In his writing he coined the term “autism” to describe their seeming near total absorption with themselves and distance from others.

Writing in the early 1920’s, Carl Gustav Jung introduced the terminology of extrovert and introvert. Jung viewed these personality types as being present in all people to one degree or another. However he noted that in extreme cases, cases that in the language of his day were called “neurotic”, a person could become totally absorbed into himself or herself.

It was not until the late 1930’s and early 1940’s in America that the term “autism” joined the official psychiatric nomenclature. Psychiatrists Leo Kanner, who started working with a particular group of children in 1938, and Hans Asperger, both publishing findings and writing in 1943 and 1944, wrote about groups of children they had studied and called either “autistic” or children with “autistic psychopathy”. Both authors believe these children displayed a constellation of symptoms that were unique and represented a syndrome not previously identified. As the children they studied seemed unable to engage in normal human relationships they borrowed Bleuler’s term “autism” to identify the syndrome. The defining difference between the work of Kanner and Asperger and that of Bleuler is that for the former two the condition they describe is present at birth while for Bleuler the condition appears much later in life.

Another important difference in these early pioneers of autism is that Kanner group is quite self-contained and comprised of individual all sharing the same “core” symptoms. Asperger’s group is quite wide, ranging from the children like Kanner’s to children with near normal characteristics. The vestiges of these two differing descriptions, now bearing the names of their illustrious “discoverers” remains to this day. In the literature and in lay terminology we still hear people described as having “Kanner’s autism” or “Asperger’s syndrome.

Around the time of Kanner and Asperger another famous, indeed in autism circles infamous, name appears. This is Bruno Bettelheim. In 1944 Bettelheim directed the Orthogenic School for Children in Chicago, Illinois. There he worked out his own theory of the cause of autism and started intervention programmes. Bettelheim believed that autism was a result of children being raised in severely unstimulating environments during their early years. He believed it was parents, particularly mothers, who were unresponsive to their children that caused autism. The unfortunate term “refrigerator mother” arose during this time.

Although Bettelheim’s psychological theories were eventually discredited it was not for many years that science advanced to the point that mother’s were not blamed for autism. Indeed, the author’s own post-graduate training in the mid to late 70’s was characterised by lectures about “refrigerator mothers” having caused autism. The legacy of Bettelheim’s theory is undoubtedly one of terrible harm inflicted on so many mothers for so many years. [I cannot help but wonder if we really have progressed since I have so often heard mothers of children with autism being described as "over-anxious", "clinging", "over-involved" and "pushy or aggressive" by some educators, psychologists and physicians]

From the 1980’s onward considerable research has been undertaken to uncover the “cause” of autism. So many theories have come forward: genetic, environmental, toxins, endocrine, metabolic, unusual reactions to certain foods or additives and the current favourite, immunizations. Despite all this theorising autism still remains a puzzle. Little scientifically valid evidence supports any particular theory and research continues into the cause of autism.

What do we know about autism?

It is now and accepted fact that autism is a neurodevelopment (sometimes called neurobiological) condition. This places the site of autism within the human brain itself, not in the form of physical brain abnormalities that appear on physical examination or X-ray, but rather in the chemical and electrical activity of the brain. It is know that autism is present at birth, is more common amongst boys than girls and is a life-long condition with no “cure”. We know that autism can be treated effectively and there are a wide number of treatment options available. It is now known that education is particularly important in the treatment of autism and that early intervention is critically important. Children born with autism can improve along a number of pathways but they will always have autism no matter how seemingly like others they may become.

Having said what was said about autism being incurable and a life-long condition there are those who say it can be cured. Interesting forms of treatment being studied in New Orleans, Louisiana involve testing children with autism for low-level presence of lead in there system, then providing treatment to eliminate any traces of autism. This is said to have “cured” over 1,500 children of the condition (personal conversation with the lead physician). It has to be cautioned that such extreme and emphatic statements must be put to the rigorous test of scientific study and that the sorts of assessments being completed on these children in New Orleans are not in favour in Europe at the moment.

What is autism?

The neurodevelopment or neurobiological condition known as autism is highly variable. No two people with autism are alike. Having said that, all people with autism share common characteristics. These characteristics exist along what is called the “Triad of Impairment”.

The Triad of Impairment consists of significant deficits across three developmental areas:

1. Social impairment
2. Verbal and non-verbal communication impairment
3. Impairments of thinking and behaving

1. Impairment of Social Interaction

There are several sub-types of behaviours that characterise this group of people with autism. They can be quite aloof, behaving as if other people did not exist at all, making little or no eye contact and have faces that seem to lack any emotional display whatever. Less common is the passive group who will accept the advances of others, can be led to participate as a passive partner in an activity and who return the eye contact of others. Another subtype has been called the “active but odd group”. These people pay no attention to others, have poor eye contact and may stare too long and often shake hands far too vigorously and strongly. The last subtype is the overly formal and stilted group. They tend to use language in a very formal way when it is not called for, are excessively polite and try to stick to the rules of social interaction but don’t really understand then. They tend to have well developed language skills that can mask their real social deficits.

2. Impairment of Communication

Significant deficits in communication are present, to one degree or another, in all people with autism. They may have problems is using speech (expressive language), ranging from having no speech at all (about 20% of cases) to have very well developed speech. They make repeat words spoken to them (echolalia) or repeat phrases they associate with something they want (e.g. “Do you want to play” instead of “I want to play”). They will also have deficits in understanding speech (receptive language). Confusing between sounds of words can be present (e.g. meat and meet). Difficulty with irony, sarcasm and humour is often found in those with well-developed expressive language. They may have problems understanding when an object has more than one meaning (e.g. soup bowl, toilet bowl).

In addition to the problem listed about in receptive language people with autism can often have significant difficulty with modulating their tone of voice and putting expression into what they say. They can sometimes sound robotic and speak with a droning monotone. Sometimes they can emphasise the intonation of certain words with unnecessary force. Sometimes they are too loud, sometimes too quiet (more frequent).

It is important to recognise that communication is more than speech. Non-verbal communication is important for human social interaction to proceed smoothly. People with autism have deficits in understand non-verbal communication. They may not be able to interpret facial expression or to use it themselves. They may have odd and unusual body posture and gestures. They may not understand the body posture and gestures of others.

3. Impairment of Thinking and Behaving

People with autism have pronounced difficulty with play or imagining. The lack of the ability to play has a profound effect on the ability to understand the emotions of others therefore sharing joy or sorrow with another can be impossible. Repetitive and stereotyped movements or activities are often present in autism. They may want to taste, touch or smell things. They may have a need to twirl things before their eyes. Sometimes they may jump up and down and make loud noises. In more severe cases they may bang their heads against walls or floor or pull and scratch at their skin. People with autism have a strong need for consistency and sameness. They become unsettled when routine changes. All these behaviours and characteristics point to a pronounced inflexibility in thinking and behaving.

Although every person with an autistic spectrum disorder has deficits in all three parts of the triad each varies significantly in the nature of their deficits. This makes is imperative for people working with children with autism to individualise their interventions. Autism is a highly variable condition with no two children alike and with some children, seemingly near normal but having subtle deficits.

Problems that may accompany autism

In addition to deficits across the triad there are a number of problems often associated with autism, though it is not known yet if they are caused by autism. Among the most common are: epileptic seizures (particularly in adolescence), sensory integration deficits (difficulty integrating the reception of sensations such as sound, sight, taste, hearing or movement), general learning disabilities, Fragile X syndrome (about 2-5% of people with an ASD), tuberous sclerosis (benign tumours in the brain or other organs, occurs in about 2-4% of people with an ASD), ADHD, Tourette’s syndrome and dyslexia. Proper treatment of autism must include appropriate treatment of any associated condition.

Education of children with autism

Many children with autism can be educated in the mainstream with appropriate supports. These supports typically include speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, psychological services and special education. Though they perceive the world differently from those around them they benefit from placement in mainstream classroom and the other children benefit from having them in their class.

People with autism vary to an enormous degree as has been said above. As they progress through the educational system the types of supports they require and the intensity of these supports can vary as well. It is important to recognise that children with autism can be educated and reach their optimum level of potential. The task may be difficult and progress may be slow but progress will be made when supports are present and all work cooperatively together.

When autism is severe and accompanied by extremely challenging behaviour such as aggression, self-harm, extreme disorganisation and complete lack of language the education being provided often must take place in a specialist setting. The goal in these settings is to attempt to re-integrate the child back into the mainstream. For children whose autism is of such a severe nature psychiatric services may be required as an adjunct to the educational programme.

People with autism can be educated and a great many of them can enter the work force, sometimes independently and with great success, at other times requiring the support of a job coach and in some cases may require sheltered work settings. As well as entering the work force many people with autism can live independent lives, some will require structured and supported accommodation and some will require accommodation is specialist settings.

Autism and the brain

Considerable research is underway to investigate the exact nature of brain functioning in a person with autism. A lot is being learned but there is more to be learned in the future. What is known now is that there seems to be differences in the brain functioning of people with autism. With advances in nuero-imaging it is now possible to look at the brain with performing an autopsy. This makes it possible to study how the brain works while it is working. These imaging methods (CT scans, MRI scans PET scans and others) have shown that there seem to be a number of brain structures associated with autism and autistic spectrum disorders. These include the cerebellum, cerebral cortex, limbic system, corpus callosum, basal ganglia, and brain stem. These structures are responsible for cognition, movement, emotional regulation and coordination as well as sensory reception. Other studies are looking into the role of neurotransmitters such as dopamine, serotonin and epinephrine. There seems to be a genetic factor involved in some of these brain dysfunctions and some research indicates that unusual brain growth may take place in the first three months of life, is a genetic factor and that results in autism appearing in early childhood.

What is being learned turns other theories, such as Bettelheim’s, upside down. Autism is no one’s fault. It is a neurodevelopment disorder affecting more boys than girls (4:1), occurring in about 3-6% of the population. This makes autism less common than general learning disabilities but common than cerebral palsy, hearing impairment and visual impairment. Translating these statistics into something more comprehensible it can be said that about 1 in 500 to 1 in 150 people will be born with autism. The implications for these figures are alarming because it means that virtually every school in the country has a child on the spectrum and that the vast majority of these children have not been diagnosed and are perceived in a pejorative light by their teachers, sometimes seemingly odd or obstreperous and sometimes lazy or unable to learn.

Autism and the family

Autism is a family condition. When there is one child in the family with autism there is a condition present that affects every single-family member including those who do not live in the same home. On receiving a diagnosis of autism parents sometimes feel a certain relief, now knowing that it isn’t their fault the child is different. Others react with anger, grief, shame, denial or rage. Sometimes they become angry with the diagnostician and refuse to believe the findings. Although diagnosis at an early age is a good predictor of successful outcome if appropriate treatment is provided it is always accompanied by considerable trauma to family life. The impact of the diagnosis is always greatest on the mother.

The impact of living with a person on the spectrum has been shown to be harder on the mother than the father. The lessened paternal impact has a lot to do with factors associated with the gender role of the man in the traditional family: out of the home and working much of the time. Mothers are left in the major caretaker role and face the day-to-day stress of rearing a child with autism. For fathers the major impact of autism in the family is associated with the stress it puts on the mother. Figures in the US seem to indicate that the divorce rate in families of children with autism is not higher than in other families. This is something that has not been studied extensively in other countries however one study conducted in the UK indicates that the lone parent rate in families with autism is 17%, compared with 10% in other families.

Studies have shown that the emotional impact of autism on the mother can be quite severe. Many mothers experience enough emotional distress to require medication or psychotherapy. One study showed that 50% of mothers of children with autism screed positively for significant psychological distress and that this was associated with low levels of family support and brining up a child with challenging behaviour. Another study raised this figure to 66%. The emotional stress on the mother appears to have a significant effect on the work status. Many cannot work outside the home. For those that manage to work outside the home there is an increased incidence of tardiness, missed days and reduction to part-time status. Mothers are also the person most likely to be held responsible for their child’s behaviour by others outside the family including neighbours and teachers. Mothers tend to cope differently with these stresses than fathers. Fathers tend to hide their feelings and suppress them, the result often being increased episodes of anger outburst. Mothers tend to cope by talking about their difficulties with friends, particularly other mothers of children with autism. They also cope by becoming avid information seekers, often knowing more about autism then the educators of their children.

The impact of autism on the siblings is not to be underestimated. They know from an early age that their brother or sister is “different”. They will have a great many questions but most often don’t ask them for fear of hurting the parent’s feelings. The will have a deep love of the sibling with autism but this love is sometimes associated with anger and resentment due to the increased time the parents spend on the sibling with autism. They will often worry about their own future and obsess about whether or not they will “get” autism or will they pass it on to their own children one day.

The impact is not always negative and several studies have shown that being a sibling of a child with autism is associated with greater self-confidence and social competence. Care-taking skills often improve as well. Levels of tolerance to difference can be higher than in the siblings of children who do not have autism. So, what do we know about the impact of autism on the family? It is a mixed bag of results. At times is can be devastating, at other times it can lead to higher levels of coping skills and a sense of self-mastery. A lot depends on the family itself and the community in which it is embedded. A lot more depends on the supports and treatments available, especially the educational interventions and supports that can be provided. One this is certain: autism is a family condition affecting everyone.

David J. Carey, Psy.D.
297 Beechwood Court
Stillorgan
Dublin, Ireland
http://www.davidjcarey.com

Positive Psychology is an ever growing branch of psychology and since its ethos is about getting the most out of life, I believe it can be readily used in counselling.

For many years psychology has focused on looking at problems and seeing if anything can be done about them. As a result so much focus seems to have been on what’s wrong rather than what’s right with people. Somehow people have become victims of their genes and environment and the best they can hope for is to learn how to tread water. Positive Psychology offers more than this. It teaches people how to swim and to swim well. We don’t just have to ‘make do’. It recognises that people are capable of real growth and change.

There are many ways Positive Psychology can be used in counselling and in fact it often flows quite well into widely accepted techniques such as Solution Focused Therapy and Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. For instance Solution Focused Therapy works to help the client recognise what they are already doing in their life, noting what’s better for them and what worked well in the past. Focus is on the solution rather than the problem. Whereas Seligman’s work on learning optimism is about recognising unhelpful thought patterns and learning to dispute and replace them. This is a fundamental aspect of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy.

Beyond this, Positive Psychology provides us with an opportunity to nurture what is already within the individual, but years of unhappiness and struggle mean the person is no longer able to recognise it. I see Positive Psychology offering a series of techniques (which have ever growing scientific support for) which can help people cope when things go wrong. The ideal would be to learn these techniques whilst things are good, enabling us to readily draw upon them during times of difficulty. This is the ideal. However, by integrating them into therapy an opportunity is given to introduce ideas and techniques the client can take with them. That being said, seeking out support during difficult times is a fundamental facet of Positive Psychology, whether this is through a friend or the assistance of a mental health professional.

Some of the ideas stemming from Positive Psychology that I think are particular prevalent to counselling include eliciting personal strengths, learning optimism as well as understanding the concept of control (i.e. the things we can and cannot control and what we can do about both). Work on gratitude and forgiveness will both have their place in a counselling environment. However, perhaps the most important concept so vital to Positive Psychology is the one of hope: the belief that things will get better. If a counsellor has no hope for their client, then what is the point?

Copyright Julia Barnard 2009

Julia Barnard is a professional counsellor living in Adelaide, Australia. She provides an online counselling service through her website http://www.makethechange.com.au, which offers counselling at a time and place that suits you. Julia also writes articles and tips for the website aimed at enhancing wellbeing and promoting good mental health.

How would you like to have a tool which you could monitor your body’s actions and how it was processing the way you feel at all times? Most of the time we can not remember what happened in our childhood or how it affected us. Most people do not know they are not in control of their life. Are you making the decisions that affect you or are you on automatic pilot? Most of the time we are following the programs which were programmed into our Subconscious Minds database. There is a method to find which file folder in the data base holds the information we are searching for. Energy Psychology is the method. You have this tool built into your body/minds operating system at your service all the time. It is described as Kinesiology or muscle testing.

After practicing conventional psychology for many years we discovered that you can not talk programs and dysfunctions out of the body. Sometimes we can help a person change his/her beliefs if he/she is not being run by a program. It was very frustrating to find I was only marginally successful in my practice. So I began researching for a new system which would achieve effective results. Having studied with Dr, John Diamond in 1978-79 and learned how to use Kinesiology. His form was much more effective than conventional Kinesiology which had been around for quite a long time. I decided to use it as a tool to locate programs in the mind which were causing conflicts in the mind/body and it worked very well in finding the base causes and core issues.

Most of the time clients would tell what they thought the problem was, yet when we went through the testing we found it was a different issue. Shortly after this I discovered a new concept that a few researchers had been studying. It was Psychoneuroimunnology the interrelationship with body and the brain. They were finding that the body and brain/mind were connected. I had been aware of this since it was what I had been doing in my new found practice for ten years.. When I found Energy Psychology and Energy Medicine they did not seem to me be in line with what I was finding in my new work, yet I decided I was going to integrate them into my work and come up with a new definition.

The interpretation or description of psychology is to understand the actions, attitudes and/or behavior of a person and how she/he is interfacing with his/her life. Conventional psychological practices are only marginally successful in getting down to the cause of dysfunctional behavior because we very seldom can recall or understand the situation and the actions we have taken due to the trauma or distress we were under at the time. Most of the time we are not aware how, where or what was filed in our mind.

My new definition of Energy Psychology was locating the base causes and core issues of malfunctions in the body and the mind. Behavioral Kinesiology as Dr. John Diamond described it was the perfect match. Energy means you are using some form of energy which has a basic connection with psychology. When a practitioner uses Energy Psychology they are using it as a support system to ask questions to help them find a conflict or malfunction which is affecting the body/mind. Once you find the source of the malfunction then you can release it with an affirmation if it is just a belief. Affirmations are extended tools of Energy Psychology. They are like dialogues with our mind to get it to accept a new belief and new way of behavior. This shift in programming is based on our ability or the person we are working with to accept this new behavior. We must let go of the past experiences which created the conflict or malfunctioning program to be installed and filed in our Subconscious mind.

If we can not release or change the program which is driving and causing the problem or challenge with an affirmation I discovered it had become locked into the cellular memory of the body. This is where Energy Medicine seemed to fit in the system. This requires we go to the next phase. Energy Medicine is the system which we use to release programs which are locked into cellular memory such as anger, resentment, fear and all the programs which are attached to some behavior which we encountered in earlier years of our life. If they are driven by a program this is the only method we have found which will release the program. We will describe what this system in future articles on Energy Medicine.

When you master this system you can control your behavior and response to any situation which is presented to you. You can use the energy of your body and mind to ask any question you would like to know about once you learn how to use the system. There are two forms you can use to ask the questions. One is a direct form using your fingers if you are working it yourself or a pendulum which is described as Dowsing, an indirect form which will provide the same answers once you learn how to use this method of asking questions. The second form requires a practitioner or someone who is skilled at Kinesiology to ask questions using your arm as the signaling device. Energy Psychology is a method to ask yes or no questions about anything which is in your Subconscious minds data base or actually anything you would like to ask questions about that your mind can tune into. There really is no limitation as to what you can access with Energy Psychology when you learn how to ask the questions.

Since Energy Psychology has come to the forefront in the last fifteen years many people are describing their practice or therapy as Energy Psychology. Even though practitioners have been using the term, are they actually practicing Energy Psychology? Since psychology is about behavior and actions people are involved in what is the link which creates the connection with Energy Psychology? We have to ask this question. Do they have a background in basic Psychology so they can they ask the right questions and explain the answers they receive?

Dr. Art Martin has a Ph.D. in Energy Medicine and Psychology. He has been practicing Energy Psychology and Energy Medicine for over 25 years. More information about Energy Medicine and Psychology is available at his website. http://www.transformyourmind.com

Addiction is a disease that affects the person abusing as well as family members. Often likened to having “a hole in the soul,” it is a spiritual deprivation that requires the development of an inner spirituality for full recovery.

Spirituality is a connectedness with self, others and a greater power, referred to sometimes as God, or higher power, Source or Universe. Spirituality may be practiced through organized religion or not. Many people have been turned off by organized religion with the misunderstanding that spirituality cannot be obtained without it. But that is just not true.

Those who are addicted are disconnected from themselves, from others and from their Source. They are lonely, scared and confused. Often their lives are out of control and they’ve lost family members, jobs or homes due to their addiction. It is devastating for the person who is addicted as well as for their families.

Have you been affected by someone else’s drinking and drugging or another addiction like gambling, working, sex, spending? Do you stay up at night worrying about someone you love? Are you frustrated that your efforts of trying to control haven’t worked?

The stress of living with someone who is addicted can have numerous effects. Physical problems may develop, including headaches, high blood pressure, insomnia, upset stomach, colitis or heart disease. Emotional problems include anger, resentfulness, irritability, loneliness, guilt and depression. A person’s social life may also be affected, and often they find themselves withdrawn, aloof and isolated, or embarrassed, aggressive and controlling. Hopelessness and lack of faith may also befall a person living with an addict. Such spiritual problems can cause bitterness, despair and helplessness.

Family members often blame themselves for the behavior, try to control their loved one and in the end lose themselves. Being involved with an addicted person for any length of time, and trying to reason with them, can be discouraging. Children of addicts suffer because they think that if the parent really loved them, they would stop using. Many have turned to support groups like Al-anon and Al-ateen to cope with this devastating and life-threatening disease. What they learn is what is referred to as the three Cs: You didn’t cause it, you can’t control it and you can’t cure it.

As family members, we must learn that we cannot fix the problem. We need to allow addicts the dignity to recover at their own pace. Learning to detach with love is a skill that must be learned and practiced on a daily basis. Detachment is regaining ones identity and taking responsibility for one’s own life – ultimately letting go of trying to control the behavior of someone else. Detaching doesn’t mean not caring, but it does change the focus inward and sometimes that means seeking help.

Spiritual Coaching can help both the addict and those living with one. The goal is to support the movement from a place of dis-ease to a place of happiness and peace. All problems are spiritual problems in the sense that they arise when we feel disconnected from the Source of our being. Spiritual coaching supports a movement from an experience of disconnect to one of deep connection. The effects of this type of coaching is to experience more peace and joy, a deepening of relationships, a stronger connection to God and others, finding true purpose and being present in a way that reflects inner love.

Pat Hastings, MS LCDP is the author of “Simply a Woman of faith.” Pat is the President of her company and utilizes her gifts as an Author, Inspirational Speaker, Spiritual Coach, Radio Talk Show Host, Retreat Leader and Ordained Minister.

Pat can be reached at Pat@SimplyaWomanofFaith.com or http://www.SimplyaWomanofFaith.com.