Psychology Articles

Abstract:
All over the World serial and mass killings occur almost daily somewhere. This criminal activity is best known in the USA and the UK where the freedoms of society allow murderers to act out their psychotic murders with the protection of rules that ensure freedom of movement, rights to silence and privacy. In the past in China society was so regulated that crime in all areas was extremely difficult to conceal. However in modern China the serial killer has emerged but with backward police and communication methods for detection they often kill for years until accidentally caught more by luck than professional investigations. In this paper we will look at the patchy criminal profile of Chinese serial killers that is starting to emerge.

Background & Cases:
China has a very strict reporting system for crime – it is after the fact reporting – so the police and government keep hidden from the public many aspects of crime as the failure of authority and police to capture or control crime means losing face. Even after a long investigation and pure luck, they actually arrest someone they pay the reward money to the police investigators not the public that provided the information to capture the killers. With this level of inefficiency and low level of intelligence and cooperation within and between police authorities it is not surprising that serial killers can operate and avoid detection for long periods of time. Most of the killers come from low educational backgrounds and rural up bring from poor families which makes it even more surprising they get away with their criminal activity for so long.

A few examples of serial killers in China it will be sufficient to give a feeling for the seriousness of the situation rather than go into detail, the writer will merely give some general overviews, and (for those who would like to know more, then a quick search of Google will suffice to see many of these cases in more detail).

A 33 year old male kills six children and molests five others by luring them to his home and then sexually abusing them and then death.
A 20 year old male murders seventeen young boys by suffocation.
A male age 20, murders ten adults by knifing.
A male truck driver, murders fourteen women, raping first then killing them.
Gang of Four thieves rob, mutilate and murder seventy seven people in their homes.
Male age 29. Known as the Red Dress Killer, murders thirteen known plus numerous attacks.
A 32 year old male, kills twenty children, sexual assault and mutilation.
The Monster Killer, male, murdered sixty five people.
Male 29 year old farmer, murders twenty three young boys age 16 to 20.
A couple lures twelve women with promise of work and then murders them.
Male 34, murders seven during shop robberies.
Unlicensed male doctor poisons over 150 victims charged with three deaths for court purposes.
Male age 38, murders ten people mainly females, including a pregnant woman and mental patient.

As you can see from the above examples compared to the serial killers in the USA or EU it is hard to compare the sheer scale of the problem in China and the amount of victims in each case is much higher than other countries reported except perhaps the USSR where mass serial killers exist. To have a successful profiling system you first have to have access to information in detail about how the crimes were committed, a good developmental background of the killer and the social environment that allowed the situation to arise in the first place.

Criminal Profiling Background:

There are two profiling systems in the world that are sufficiently funded and have had some success in detecting criminals and helping to apprehend them by assisting police to narrow down the suspects in a case and to develop a strategy to capture them.

The most well know is the criminal behavioral unit of the FBI in the USA. Although not based on any real science, it does have a lot of historical data based on past serial killers and their motives, modus operanda, interviews with convicted serial killers for biographies and background. The FBI has a basic model that they train other security forces around the World to follow, one is, data assimilation, collecting information about each case, second, crime classification, looking at the type of crime for example organized or disorganized, third, crime reconstruction, looking at victim behaviour as a clue to why they were chosen by the killer and fourth, profile generation in which an outline of the killers behaviour and motives are assessed with demographics, physical profile and likely perpetrator type. The success rate of the FBI profiling is actually very low at only 17% of profiles actually helping to an arrest. This is thought to be because the FBI’s methods are fundamentally flawed as they have no control group in which to compare and contrast results. They accept the interview often at face value from criminals that lie constantly even after arrest. The other most well known profiling methods are from the UK, mainly led by consulting psychologists who have been employed by the British police to help in difficult cases. Alas on review the UK system does not fare much better than the FBI at 16% of cases when reviewed led to an arrest based on profiling. The British system was based in science where people tend to act consistently and follow patterns of behaviour. The British system was more in-depth, looking at speech patterns, social constructs, interests and obsessions. This approach although still lacking over-all success just as with the FBI, was far more accurate when post analysis was applied. In other words, although the criminal was arrested by chance (the most common way a serial killer is caught), detection or self confession, the profiles tended to be very close to the killers real life, habits and identity although they did not actually help to catch the criminal at the time.

Profiling in China:

As far as the writer is aware of there are no profilers in China and probably very unlikely to happen due to one simple reason, there are no qualified criminal/forensic psychologists in China. Also the police here are in the main street crime orientated which is why they find it so difficult to investigate any crime that is not immediately obvious. The level of education in the police is no more than glorified security guards in most cases. Having said that – one always hopes for change. The education system at all levels in China is dogged by corruption and payments for results – and so Chinese qualifications are not trusted around the World at this time. Until they organize foolproof external examinations systems such as those in the UK and USA this will continue to be the case.

An Attempt at Profiling in China.

Taking the case studies above can we identify in China the most likely suspect in a serial killing case? Here is a preliminary outline, but by know means scientific or proven. This is just an overview of the current situation from reports surfacing after convictions.

Gender: Almost always male.
Age: 20 – 35
Education: Failed high school cannot read and write very well.
Background: Rural upbringing, countryside. Ex-army
Developmental: Mother only after divorce or abandonment.
Mental Health: delusional, grandeur, no empathy shown to victims.
Method: Suffocation, Knifing, Strangulation
Other motives: robbery
Lure/Victimology: money, offer of work
Trophies: Taken in most cases, belts, clothing, and jewelry.
Disposal of Victims: often buried, but some left at scene of crime.
Type of Victims: mainly female adults and children.
History: Most had some criminal backgrounds and prison sentences for lesser crimes.
Other: Cannibalism in one or two cases.

This outline profile of course is quite wide and based on just a few cases. However even from this we can make some useful deductions. A lack of access to guns (as in the UK too) means most murder is committed using knives or strangulation methods. Some societal restriction on the sale of hunting knives as in the UK would go some way to removing access to certain weapons. Lack of access to mental health professionals is clearly a problem in China which is stuck 50 years in the past in the hospitals using outdated psychiatric methods of drugs and confinement. Failure of the education system to support rural children who cannot pay for schooling. Lack of social opportunities makes it easy to lure victims with offers of money or work. Police should cross reference their systems of information – a central data bank – that does not currently exist in China. Most of the killers at some point were still living at home with family – not loners as such – until they started to avoid the police – then moving about from province to province made them difficult to track and find. Most serial killers are statistically married with children unlike the supposed image of the lone lunatic.

Profiling in Fiction:

One of the problems with criminal profiling is television. The first TV program to highlight the science came from the UK with a series called. Cracker in which a psychologist helps the police crack all the difficult cases of murder by smart deduction based on psychological principals. However if you analyze the content most of the outcomes were as in all fiction pure luck. In the USA, there was, Criminal Minds, this was in the beginning trying to be a serious attempt at using profiling in a scientific way but soon as most of these programs lost its way in characterization and mundane stories from any other police series and so in the end was a very poor program from a real life point of view. Other programs such as the CSI were more scientific but just as far from real life as any other TV when the series moves into later seasons. The conclusion is that TV psychology vastly over-estimates the abilities of criminal profiling and that in the real World it is just not that essential to the capture of killers who by and by get caught more by chance that any other reason. A new program called. Lie to Me, shows psychologists who use body language and micro-expressions to catch criminals out in a lie. This is pure fiction and not based on any credible science at all.

Profiling in China:

For the Chinese authorities to start to appreciate the support psychology could give to them – they first have to have a mind-set change to enable them to use more modern ways of looking at crime and victims. They need to allow research at prisons of past offenders to start to build a data- base similar to the FBI model but also to allow in-depth interview of motives by deception psychologists who would use cognitive interview techniques developed in Britain to ascertain real information. This is also difficult as most serial killers are executed every quickly after conviction in China. Also to enable cross fertilization of information across provinces without beucratic defenses. It would certainly benefit China to have a Criminal Intelligence Squad that was made up of experienced detectives, psychologists and criminologists working as a team on any crime, country-wide, with full powers over the local police force to investigate major serial killings when they occur. This would mean just like the FBI’s BU team specialists can be on call to help when the local police stumble and fail to protect the victims of crime. However even before all this – you have to have a teaching regime of criminal and forensic psychology available at university level and experienced teachers to give the courses. That is a long way off – as psychology in China is so poor in general here. The universities tend to concentrate on the soft sciences in psychology such as child development and cognitive work with little attention to the hard sciences in neuropsychology, biopsychology and abnormal psychology. You need good scientists to do forensic work otherwise it is all subjective as in the example of the TV shows that use the science as background to a drama about love and relationships within the characters of the show rather than project real life.

Conclusion:

Criminal profiling in China is a distant idea right now – the necessary backgrounds, education, experts and science are just not available in the education system or the wider society. The police are too unsophisticated and untrained to be able to handle real investigations. If it is not obvious – then forget it. Corruption with in China is still wholesale in all aspects of life and so paying off the system still happens if you are rich enough and the authorities are underpaid and under-educated and so an easy mark for taking money and turning a blind eye to crime.

As China modernizes in its cities and lifestyles, so more crime from the area of those without and those with wealth will continue. The gap now between the middle classes and the rural poor is getting wider everyday and so creating the right conditions for crime where material gain is the most important thing. In China everyone seeks money as a God and empathy for others is non-existent. Perfect society in which to breed major crimes against the person such as the serial killer.

Dr. Stephen Myler is from Leicester in England, an industrial town in the Midlands of the United Kingdom. He holds a B.Sc (Honours) in Psychology from the UKA’s Open University the largest in the UK; he also has an M.Sc and Ph.D in Psychology from Knightsbridge University in Denmark. In addition to this Stephen holds many diplomas and awards in a variety of academic areas including journalism, finance, teaching and advanced therapy for mental health. Stephen has as a Professor of Psychology many years teaching experience in colleges and universities in England and China to post 16 young adults, instructing in psychology, sociology, English, marketing and business. He has been fortunate to travel extensively from Australia to Africa to the United Sates, South America, Borneo, most of Europe and Russia. Stephen’s favourite hobby is the study of primates and likes to play badminton. He believes that students who enjoy classes with humour and enthusiasm from the teacher always come back eager to learn more.

Whether a person has some type of mental imbalance, chemical dependency, phobia or more, he or she will need to put their trust in a proven expert in order to get help. Marsha Linehan is that expert and has the background and credentials to show for it.

Who she is
A professor at the University of Washington, Marsha Linehan offers a lot to not only her students but also the psychology community as a whole. She holds an array of positions at the university, including Professor of Psychology, Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Director of the Behavioral Research and Therapy Clinics. Born in the early 1940s, this psychologist has had the opportunity to conduct an extensive amount of research. Her main focus is in behavioral models which apply to those at risk of suicide, drug addition and multiple personalities.

What she’s done
Marsha Linehan is responsible for creating a system that treats patients that are thought to be on the edge of a personality disorder. This system is known as Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and is the first of its kind. It has been effective in treating people with borderline personality disorder. The therapy consists of joining basic cognitive-behavioral methods and reality testing with a variety of meditation strategies derived from the area of Buddhism. These strategies include learning how to deal with distress, awareness and acceptance. This form of therapy is also said to assist those dealing with mood swings, sexual abuse and drug and alcohol dependency.

Her education
Beginning her college education career in 1968, Marsha Linehan attended Loyola University in Chicago. She received a B.S. in Psychology and graduated with honors. In addition, she continued her education at Loyola, making her specialty Clinical Psychology. While there, she worked as a lecturer and ended up receiving an M.A in 1970 and a Ph.D. in 1971. Once she received her assortment of degrees, Marsha travelled to New York and held an internship at a suicide prevention center. She also worked as an adjunct assistant professor at the University of Buffalo in New York as well as finished her post-doctoral fellowship in Behavior Modification.

Teaching
In 1973, Marsha Linehan went back to Loyola and worked as an adjunct professor for a couple of years. She divided her time between Loyola and The Catholic University of America and worked as an Assistant Professor in Psychology. In 1977, the psychologist continued her teaching career by working as an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Psychiatry at the University of Washington. To take it a step further, she has served in the role of diplomat for the American Board of Behavioral Psychology, president of the Association for the Advancement of Behavior Therapy as well as a fellow for an array of other associations.

Awards
Marsha Linehan has earned multiple awards and recognition for all her contributions and clinical work over the years. These include the Louis I. Dublin award for Lifetime Achievement in the Field of Suicide in 1999 and The Outstanding Educator Award for Mental Health Education from the New England Educational Institute in 2004 to name a few.

If looking for Marsha Linehan people know she is someone who knows what they’re doing. For more information please visit: http://www.psychotherapynetworker.org/.

Do movies make a difference in our lives? Of course they do. We are human beings and we learn from what we see, hear and feel. Movies offer it all.

Even when the experience is vicarious and we are only imagining ourselves in a role, movies affect us because of the combined impact of music, dialogue, lighting, camera angles, and sound effects that enable a film to bypass our ordinary defensive censors.

We can become emotionally receptive and energized by an uplifting message, or we can become desensitized to violent behavior. But, like no other medium before it, the popular movie presents the potential of a new power for therapeutic success. It is up to us to see that potential and use it creatively and beneficially.

Cinema Therapy is a tool for assessment. While many adults benefit from talking about problems, thoughts, dreams, or emotions in psychotherapy, most children and adolescents find it more difficult to express such feelings. A young child’s response to movies can help a therapist to understand the child’s personality, concerns, interests or current problems. In a child’s choice of movies, we can find clues to their working role models…ideal self-images, internal resources, potential goals, perceived obstacles, degrees of imagination and creativity, and their overall philosophy of life. Cinema Therapy allows children to express feelings that may be too threatening to express directly.

Films can also be used to get to the bottom of difficult issues. Films provide a common ground for discussions about problems related to family, friendship, school, anxiety, self-esteem or love. Issues can be addressed in relation to an outside element, and seeing how an individual in a movie handles a situation can offer children ideas how to deal with a problem in their own lives. Key scenes, watched over and over, can become the basis for practicing new skills. Many films enable children and adolescents to envision how their own problems might be solved when characters demonstrate behavior change.

Many films, like dreams, are full of metaphors and symbols that affect us on a deep level. Carl Jung believed that as the mind explores the symbol, it is led to ideas that lie beyond the grasp of reason. Metaphors and symbols stimulate bi-lateral thinking and creativity; creating a bridge to the subconscious and bypass normal ego defenses often found in traditional therapeutic approaches.

Myths and stories can help people place their own personal story and the stories of others into the proper context. All myths and stories have a villain, and tell great tales of a journey upon which a hero must embark. Likewise, young people are on a journey of the heart and soul.

Moviemaking can be considered the contemporary form of myth making, reflecting our response to ourselves and the mysteries and wonders of our existence. Movies can have a powerful effect on children and adolescents because they speak directly to their heart and spirit, avoiding the resistance of the conscious mind.

Cinema Therapy can offer insight, role models, and options for more positive behaviors, but its limit is in its vicarious nature. We are watching, perhaps internalizing, but we are not necessarily doing. Unless a child actively and consciously engages in behavior change, Cinema Therapy lacks the element of experiential learning.

While Cinema Therapy is a tool for assessment, The MovieMaking Process becomes a concrete tool for behavioral change. This is experiential learning at its best, because it is creative and requires a child or adolescent to actively participate in its creation by becoming self-aware. A child becomes the hero in his own movie and actively engages in his own journey toward healthy behavior and adulthood. In essence, a child now becomes his own teacher and is learning from him or herself as he watches the movie, again and again. He is becoming the behavior he admires and is solving his own problems as he acts within his own scene and as his own role model. The MovieMaking Process was nominated to SAMHSA’s Service to Science Academy in 2008 as one of the Midwest’s most promising prevention programs for its unique fusion of creativity, technology and human development.

The MovieMaking Process begins with the problem to be addressed, then turns its focus to the desired outcome. The movie becomes the hero’s journey toward resolving the issue and demonstrating more positive behavior. If the issue is bullying the focus of the movie is on kindness, the hero learns through his movie experience how this feels, how it looks and how it affects others. The movie is often based on a myth or story from antiquity, but our hero is the child.

The MovieMaking Process uses the techniques of gorilla filming, which is basically the resourcefulness of what we have available at any given moment in time. This can be in a child’s own home, backyard, neighborhood, park or the school playground. It’s the creative process of choosing a theme and gathering, or creating, the props that make the movie a movie. Children and adolescents love creating their own costumes and their costumes represent the hero they wish to become.

The movie is filmed as a silent movie, using gestures and expressions. This is an important part of child development, to learn and recognize the subtleties of human feelings, acted out non-verbally in facial expressions and physical postures. This also allows any child to participate. It is not necessary to learn and memorize lines, merely to act out the part, expressing emotion through physical expression.

The movie is often filmed through reflection. A child is looking back on something in his past, perhaps an incident that has caused emotional pain, to himself or others. The movie is the journey through the emotional pain to resolution, and a happy ending. The movie always ends with resolution and hope. The journey is completed and the hero is more aware, more skilled and can now see the incident in a new perspective.

Narration is added after the movie is edited. The narration is the storyline that tells the tale of the hero looking at his past, overcoming obstacles, learning new behaviors, seeing new perspectives, and coming to be more than he was before. Using voice over narration, rather than attempting to film a sound movie, keeps the focus on facial expressions, body language and action, plus it is very cost effective in time and money.

Music is added to the completed movie. Music that is meaningful to the child or adolescent is best and is intended to create the emotional feelings that are important to behavior change. We must feel inspired to change behavior, and we must feel hopeful. Music can take us to those heights. While using copyrighted music is a very serious issue these days, there are always musicians in every community who want their music to be heard and used. There is also a lot of royalty free music on the Web.

It is essential for a child’s completed movie to be Premiered with as much fanfare as possible. Inviting family and friends to see the completed movie is an important element in creating new behavior. Most children and adolescents like watching their movie, over and over. This strengthens the new learning and each viewing reinforces that learning. Now a child is learning from the movie he created. He is learning that he can be his own hero and can journey through the difficulties of life with awareness, skills and hope. He is no longer just viewing, he has actively participated, and that is the great power of experiential learning.

AUTHORS:
Linda Flanders has a degree in Criminal Justice and is a former police detective, specializing in Child Abuse. She is a prevention program designer, Guild Certified Feldenkrais Teacher, and independent filmmaker.
Dorothy Halla-Poe holds Master’s Degrees in Rehabilitation Counseling, Clinical Psychology and Human Development, as well as a PhD in Human Development. She has specialized for more than two decades working with young adults suffering from traumatic head injuries. She has documented the foundation of The MovieMaking Process in the book, The Matrix Model.
Curriculum for The MovieMaking Process and movie examples can be found on Taproot’s website at http://www.taprootinc.com

THE SITUATION….THE GAP

Technology is advancing at lightning speed. Faster all the time, it is spreading into all areas of our lives. Equipment that once was obsolete two years ago is now obsolete within 6 months. Technological tools are getting smaller and more affordable to the entire world. Businesses and governments are trying to find their economic equilibrium as consumers purchase goods laterally, from one another through the Internet, often avoiding traditional consumer shopping or payment of sales tax.

Humanity is reeling from the physical effects of technology as well. Normal human development does not happen at lightning speed; it is a timed and sequenced process that requires human interaction, behavioral learning, and real experiences, if we are to learn the full spectrum of emotion and mature into healthy and happy adults. In times past, the way we lived our lives incorporated human interaction. Technology has now changed the way we live. Pushed too rapidly, human development becomes distorted or retarded, and emotional maturity goes awry.

While we continue to crave new and faster technology, as physical beings, we also feel the physical effects of getting what we want. We are becoming isolated and narrow in focus, perpetuating a narrow, superficial, and isolated existence. Human beings were not meant to live in this way. The human spirit needs to be nourished and replenished with work, play, friendship and love. At the core of us, we are emotionally and physically interactive beings. When we lose our ability and the opportunity for emotional connectedness, we are in danger of becoming as inanimate as the technology we so greatly desire.

Our electronic media culture bombards the current world with mass reproduction and reproducibility that can fool the human eye. Reality can become distorted; what’s real and what’s not real? The word, simulacrum means an unreal or superficial likeness, a copy without the original. Photographs, TV, video games, advertising, special effects, and computers are part of our electronic media, offering images so realistically created or altered, they can appear real, even when they are not. This inability to differentiate the real from the not real causes us to question our reality and we begin to mistrust our own perceptions. We begin to believe that nothing is real. This leads to feelings of apathy, hopelessness, and, ultimately, anarchy. If nothing is real, then nothing really matters. We become as robotic as our technological inventions, and just as cold and unfeeling. This is death to a human spirit that requires the warmth of human connection, touch and trust as its foundation. And, the human spirit will not go quietly into the night; it will not vanish without a fight. It will find some other way to express itself, too often in the sensual world of substance abuse and addiction.

A basic knowledge of human development is needed to understand the fundamental nature of the gap that has been created by our technological advancements. Our experiences from birth to age five set in place the neurological foundations upon which future learning depends: self-awareness, self-regulation, communication skills, personal relationships and the ability to learn from cause and effect. When one of these core developmental processes is not successfully navigated, it alters the ability to learn, evolve and mature. As human beings, we respond to and grow from being held, talked to, read to, listening to music, and played with, and pleasurable physical experiences with others. Without these foundations we regress, into human beings with no self-awareness, no self-control, unable to communicate our ideas, needs or desires to others, difficulty making or keeping relationships. And, not aware of what is wrong, we are unable to learn from our mistakes.

This is especially troubling in a wired world of information overload, and becoming more so as technology expands and speeds up its domain. When technology is offered to children too early, during human developmental years, it creates a problem. It may offer an intellectual exchange, but not the nuances of a human exchange. When technology is used as a surrogate caregiver, it creates emptiness within the human spirit.

The word simulation means the process of pretending, an imitation or representation of behavior, of one system through the use of another system. The military, law enforcement and businesses use the technology of virtual reality as a training tool, to train for the real thing. The technology of virtual reality may provide a partial learning experience, an intellectual experience but not a human encounter. It is an incomplete experience that lacks the full inclusion of the five senses, the very senses through which we experience being human. When we become aware and feel a full sensory experience, integrated through a shared physical encounter, it becomes functional, developing a human skill that we can use in future interactions.

As modern technology requires our cognitive self to speed up, the rest of our nervous system lags behind. This ultimately becomes a bridge too far and we create a split within ourselves, pitting technical being against human being: a brain without a body, intellect without emotion.

It doesn’t have to be this way. Technology can enhance the human world, but technology can also enhance the human being. What is needed are new ways to integrate technology with basic human needs and use that technology in the service of human development.

ONE SOLUTION

It is through the human developmental stage of pretend play and using The MovieMaking Process, that a creative alliance and innovative solution can be found between the world of human needs and the age of technology.

The MovieMaking Process is a simultaneous learning and teaching tool that incorporates human development with the best of today’s digital technology. Brain, body, awareness and emotions, merge through a shared and meaningful experience with others. This shared and meaningful experience with others is something human beings are hard-wired to need. Without it, there is an emptiness within that needs and desires to be filled. This desire will not go away until it is filled. Digital cameras and editing technology become the tools we use to create. Real life presentations expand this experience on a local level, and the Internet becomes the wormhole we slip through to share what we create on a worldwide scale.

The MovieMaking Process was developed to retrace fundamental early childhood developmental stages, address alternative learning styles, as well as visual perceptual differences, and teach new, behavioral skills quickly through the power of neuroplasticity-the brain’s ability to be re-wired. It does this through the tools of technology, self- awareness and play.

In the MovieMaking Process acting is used as a source of age-appropriate play. Pretend play is one of the developmental stages of early childhood, but the ability to play is needed throughout life; it is a human need. Play leaves the essence of reality intact; it is based on an actual physical experience that is shared with others. While simulacrum threatens to blur the difference between the real and not real, and simulation offers an imitation of an experience, pretend play incorporates mind and body through a shared sensory experience that teaches the subtleties of human actions and reactions-basic essentials of our humanness. It offers an experience to learn from and build upon. There are three distinct elements to The MovieMaking Process.

Clay and Art-Based Lessons: Initial clay and art lessons take the theme the movie will address and breaks it down into three to four core words, which are abstract concepts, focusing on the definition of these words required for total comprehension. These art based lessons teach from the perspective of an overview: the ability to see the larger picture and the relationships of parts to the whole. It entails using art, and physically creating these words and their definitions. By doing so, it is possible for almost everyone to conceptualize the meaning of abstract words, regardless of age or learning ability. Developmentally, this process takes advantage of the natural order of learning which must incorporate an interactive personal experience with another, that combines visual-spatial activities and involves touching, feeling or exploring objects. Simply put, these lessons can teach abstract concepts to concrete learners.

The theme of the movie may be any issue that needs to be addressed, or subject that needs to be learned, yet it must also have a functional goal, a link that addresses how can I use this information to make my current life better? Whatever the theme may be, it is within the shared experience of those participating and it is the experience that reconnects brain, body and awareness through active participation. It begins the filling of the emptiness.

Filming of the Movie: The filming of the movie provides the framework in which to plug in another early developmental stage in an age-appropriate way. Participants do not use dialogue; they use gestures and expressions to convey a message. This is one of the earliest human developmental needs, initially learned from the gestures and expressions of parents or primary caregivers. The reading of subtle body language is the foundation for learning the limits and boundaries of behavior.

Filming uses only one camera and one director/filmmaker. It is the participants who must develop certain human skills in order for the movie to flow with continuity and look more like a movie than simply action being recorded. Participants learn to freeze while the camera is moved and the lens refocused to show another perspective. Learning how to freeze for the camera teaches the basics of self-control. Participants must learn and use self-awareness to regulate themselves from the inside out. The need for self-control is obvious: without it, when human behavior becomes uncontrollable, a danger to others or ourselves, we eventually need to be controlled by others. Teaching self-control through the use of freeze, within the context of play, bypasses resistance to behavioral change.

The filming of the movie is often done in out of sequence parts, so the magic of editing technology now comes into play. The edited version of the movie creates something far more wonderful than anything the participants could have imagined. They see themselves larger than life, acting in a different way. Narration is added that contains the message the movie is intended to convey. More sophisticated language can be used within the narration, for it is added to the solid foundation of visual metaphors, and a real life remembered experience.

The final, magical touch, to The MovieMaking Process is the musical score that runs through the movie. Music is vibration and the combination of musical tones has always been able to inspire and move the human spirit. In listening, we are emotionally moved, and through that process we become more than what we are. The whole movie experience is now part of us: in our mind, our emotions, our body, and our spirit; aware, alive, and enhanced.

Several Presentations: Presentations of the finished movie are mandatory, using the latest in neuroscience research the power of paying attention in a positive and pro-active way. As participants present their creation to others, talking about their experience, what and how they created it, it is possible to bring a larger group into the experience and once again share a meaningful interaction, simply in a different way. As digital technology continues to expand and movie theatres acquire the universal ability to show digital movies, everyday people and community groups can become stars in their own lives. They can see themselves, literally, larger than life and learning from themselves, over and over.

By aligning with technology, using The MovieMaking Process as a learning and teaching tool; human development, through pretend play, can claim authority over simulation and simulacrum, overruling them with a meaningful, shared experience. At its core, The MovieMaking Process is differentiation, simply taking an issue as it is: learning to do it differently with a productive and positive ending and gaining the awareness to perceive the differences.

As digital cameras get smaller, they offer the ability for use with very young children, within classrooms, therapeutic learning environments and community groups, without being obtrusive. As they evolve in quality, they offer more clarity, more lighting corrections and more internal movement possibilities, getting closer and closer to the look of 35mm film. As digital cameras and editing equipment become more economical, they allow for their use by families, public education, community groups, faith-based groups, service agencies, even underdeveloped and economically disadvantaged countries.

As all-purpose, home entertainment devices permeate mainstream living-rooms, the neighborhood Premiere is only a step away. The Internet, with its variable and expanding forms of distribution, allows for global presentations of local creative projects, entertaining and educating at the same time. Ideas are community property and free access to information is meant to be a matter of principle. Instead of being isolated by the use of technology, technology can be used to reconnect humanity as communities engaged in creative and pro-active use of the media arts to address human needs and social issues.

CONCLUSION

The MovieMaking Process is an independent educational initiative. It was developed on the solid foundation of human development and alternative learning styles, while tapping into the positive power of the neurosciences through the media arts. It was developed as a way to use technology for the advancement of humanity. Training is offered in workshops for teachers, families and community activists.

This process has been used successfully with children and adults who have complex learning difficulties or exhibit atypical behavior, in education, mental health, probation and corrections. It’s also been used with entire communities to address global issues on a grassroots level. It allows for the creative and diplomatic progress of technology and humanity, incorporating the developmental needs of human beings and the very best that technology has to offer, each urging the other to continually evolve and challenge one another toward excellence. Its potential uses are unlimited, allowing humanity and technology to co-evolve, creatively bringing out the best in one another. In 2008. it was nominated to SAMHSA’s Midwest Science To Service Academy as one of the Midwest’s most promising prevention programs.

Linda Flanders is a former San Francisco police detective specializing in child abuse. She is a certified Feldenkrais Practitioner (C), prevention program designer and educational video producer. Curriculum for The MovieMaking Process and movie examples are available on the website http://www.taprootinc.com. Taproot, Inc. N1872 670th St. Bay City, WI 54723, (715) 222-0920

Dorothy Halla-Poe holds Master’s Degrees in Rehabilitation Counseling and Clinical Psychology, plus a Ph.D. in Metaphysics, She has specialized for over twenty years working with young adults suffering from traumatic head injuries. She has documented the foundation of The MovieMaking Process and early case studies in the book, The Matrix Model.

What is hypnosis? It is a state of mind characterized by a trance-like, hyper-attentiveness. When you enter a hypnotic state, you are aware of deep relaxation, of your imagination beginning to flourish and of a state of letting-go or hyper-suggestibility.

Under this altered mental state, you are more apt to be open to suggestions of positive changes from someone else or yourself. Contrary to the beliefs of most laymen, hypnosis is not a state of sleep or unconsciousness.

As a matter of fact, when hypnotized, you are alert throughout the entire process. Not only that, but I bet you did not know that hypnosis occurs regularly in our daily waking life, without our even being aware of it.

It is merely hyper-alertness and hyper-awareness. One example is our experience of total absorption in a movie or book, in which, for a time, we notice nothing else in our environment, but we are highly aware of what is taking place in the movie or book.

So this being the case, what is hypnosis used for? It is used to treat or manage many things, including chronic pain, weight gain, asthma symptoms and cigarette smoking.

Hypnosis is used in the treatment of illnesses and behavioral problems like deficient self-esteem, shyness, and even premature ejaculation. In many cases, hypnosis is not used just by itself, but in combination with other treatment modalities.

There are several methods used to induce the hypnotic state. Usually it is induced, using the skills of a qualified hypnotherapist.

With this method, the hypnotherapist delivers calming and relaxing suggestions, which help in blocking distractions and enhancing your openness to suggestion. This facilitates your ability to deeply concentrate on the therapist’s suggestions.

The therapist will target particular goals and ways of managing certain situations that are relevant to you when making his suggestions. He may also suggest alternative strategies for you to implement to facilitate the achievement of certain goals.

Mental or guided imagery is another widely used hypnotic strategy. When using this, the therapist activates your imagination by inducing your creation of relevant mental images.

The idea is to visualize images of the things that you want to obtain or achieve. For example, a student might visualize the image of a report card filled with all As.

The third and most convenient technique is self-hypnosis, in which you induce hypnosis independently in yourself. For self hypnosis, various techniques apply, such as using positive affirmations targeting goal achievement or stimulating images that will trigger enhancement of your confidence level.

Self hypnosis is used primarily to assist in habit management and in the sculpting and controlling of certain problem emotions and behaviors you may have.

When you place yourself in a hypnotic state, believe it or not, you will still have full and conscious control over your behavior and your mind. One huge convenience of self hypnosis is that you can place yourself in a hypnotic state independently, without having to rely on an outside hypnotist.

How is it done? How do you hypnotize yourself? First, arrange things so that you are not disturbed during the process.

Then, before starting, identify only one goal that you want to achieve. Other goals can be addressed, individually, in subsequent sessions.

In starting your session, first concentrate on a spot or item situated slightly above the level of your eyes. Then, breathe deeply and mentally instruct yourself to relax both your mind and body.

As part of this process, close your eyes and concentrate on a simple sound, such as a bird chirping or rain drops. Once relaxed, imagine yourself steadily climbing a staircase, on the top of which is your ultimate destination such as, a tranquil, serene and beautiful beach.

Tell yourself that with each step you take, you will be letting go of your anxieties and tension. When you come upon the last step, before reaching the final destination, begin repeating your pre-planned suggestions to yourself.

After finishing them, imagine arriving at the scene of the final destination. Take several deep breaths and slowly open your eyes. Your session of self hypnosis is now finished.

People most often use self hypnosis to manage the effects of daily stress in their lives because it facilitates reduction in the activity of stress hormones and anxiety.

Do this every day for 30 days; then, be prepared to be astounded at the results!

Dr Shery earned his doctorate at the University of Southern California. He is an expert counselor in Cary, IL with 30 years experience. He provides proven self-hypnosis programs that he prescribes to his own patients. These self-therapy kits are guaranteed to make your self-esteem surge in just 30 days or you get a no-strings attached, full and unconditional refund! Learn more about these New Self-Therapy Kits

Social anxiety is exhibited by people who are painfully shy and overwhelmed by worry in social situations. Treatment for it is important; you need to eliminate the anxiety in order to have a normal social life and to enhance the quality of your overall life.

If you experience social anxiety, you probably are fearful of being judged critically by others and feeling humiliated, embarrassed or rejected. When you are in a social situation with people you value highly, but don’t know, you probably experience symptoms, such as heart palpitations, hyper-scanning of the environment, self-doubt, over-thinking or even excessive sweating.

Social anxiety disorder is pervasive but it is treatable with counseling, psychotherapy and some medications. Cognitive therapy which re-structures your thought processes is highly effective.

It is important to engage in treatment to enhance the quality of your overall life and the lives of those close to you. Social anxiety disorder usually features persistent, intense and chronic anxiety fueled by the fear of being criticized, shamed or humiliated by anyone you socially value.

These anxieties may have been intensified because of the previous judgmental, insulting or humiliating behavior of others. While engaged in anxiety-laden social interactions, you may know intellectually, that there is no legitimate or realistic reason to feel such anxiety, but often, without treatment, that does little to help.

Generally, men are more predisposed to experience social anxiety than are women. It has been hypothesized that this is because, in our society, men have the primary role of being the initiator of interaction with strangers they would like to know.

Consequently, males search more frequently for treatment for social anxiety than do females. Social anxiety disorder is very common, though males, in particular are loathe to admit it.

Countless men continually struggle with their fears, particularly when in bars or at parties. Social anxiety is hypothesized to be a strong motivator for the tendency of college students to get drunk before or during their parties.

Those with social anxiety often, also, feel apprehensive in performance-based situations; this is called performance anxiety. Their anxiety about being embarrassed, criticized or negatively evaluated is generalized to any spectators who may be present.

The more severe cases of performance anxiety are even generalized to sexual situations where the male becomes anxious about performing well. This sometimes leads him to problems with premature ejaculation or impotence.

Some also see the fear of public speaking as related to both social and performance anxiety. After all, the fear of embarrassment or criticism is central to both.

As stated previously, psychological counseling and medication such as, antidepressants can reduce any combined anxiety and depression that may result. It is also hypothesized that specialized counseling utilizing cognitive behavioral methods may be particularly effective for the longer-term treatment of social anxiety.

For those with less intense fear in social situations, therapy may only need to be short-term. However, for those whose anxieties are pervasive, persistent and overwhelming, long term therapy including both cognitive behavioral techniques and medication, is optimal.

What should you do?

First, seek professional help. This usually involves:

1. Individual counseling or psychotherapy. The purpose of counseling is to understand yourself and your situation clearer.

You get objective feedback, support and guidance from a professional with experience in treating anxiety.

2. Group therapy. Attending therapy in a group setting desensitizes you to your anxiety and teaches you how to communicate better in an environment which is, itself, social.

You get objective feedback, support and guidance, not only from a professional, but also from your peers who are experiencing problems similar to yours. Money should not deter you because both types of counseling can be received from private practitioners and non-profit sliding scale community agencies.

3. Cognitive therapy-oriented self-therapy kits (STKs), articles and books.

If going to counseling seems initially like too big a step, reading articles and books, attending seminars and using cognitive therapy-oriented self-therapy (STKs), also known as “home therapy kits” can help. STKs are self-help programs that use cognitive therapy to tutor you, step-by-step on how to deal with your social anxiety.

As opposed to books and articles, they teach assertive social skills using cognitive therapy in a multimedia format: CDs, DVDs, MP3s, e-books, workbooks, audios, videos etc. Cognitive-behavioral tutoring on how to respond assertively in social settings can be very helpful.

In short, combined therapy, utilizing cognitively-oriented individual therapy, group therapy and medication is the treatment for social anxiety disorder that provides the best chances of success.

Dr Shery earned his doctorate at the Univ. of Southern Calif. He is an expert counselor in Cary, Il with 30 years experience. He provides home therapy kits for social anxiety that he uses with his own patients. They are guaranteed to eliminate your social anxiety and shyness quickly or you get a full, no-strings attached, unconditional refund. Start your new life now; learn more about these New Self-Therapy Kits

It takes students on a journey through the human mind. Intro to Psychology often looks at human behavior, memory, dreams, personality and intelligence. Students in this course are likely also to learn about abnormal behavior, perhaps even sexual attraction.

In an Intro to Psychology course, students might learn the role that genetics and outside influences have in shaping the mind. They might, as a result, come to understand why people behave differently. Students might also come to understand how, through psychotherapy, psychologists come to better understand and help their patients.

There are different approaches to psychotherapy that students in Intro courses might learn about. Students might come to understand a form of psychotherapy that involves focusing on reward and punishment, positive associations and “desensitizing.” They might also learn more about a form of psychotherapy where attempts to change negative thoughts, feelings and behaviors are made by gaining a better understanding of what might be causing that negativity.

Another approach to psychotherapy that might be addressed in an Intro to Psychology course is getting patients to change the way they think in order to change the way they feel and behave. Another form of psychotherapy involves helping people to make intelligent choices that lead them to become the best person that they can be.

Psychology is said to have been founded in the 1870s by William (“The Principles of Psychology”) James and Wilhelm (” Principles of Physiological Psychology”) Wundt. They were involved early on in experimental psychology, and they taught the likes of Ivan Pavlov, Granville Stanley Hall and Russ Dewey. Of course, students in Intro to Psychology are likely also to be introduced to Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud. B.F. Skinner of “Skinner box” behavioral conditioning notoriety, and Kurt Lewin, founder of modern social psychology, might also be introduced in Intro courses.

Many Intro to Psychology courses explore how personalities develop in children, how and why people are different in terms of thoughts and emotions. These courses also explore different theories related to dreams, what they mean and why they might exist. A few of these theories, Intro students might learn, include the ability to preserve sleep through the experience of hallucination, the ability to develop our personalities and solve problems.

In Intro to Psychology courses, students also are likely to learn the difference between normal and abnormal behavior. They might gain a better understanding of how professionals determine whether patients are afflicted with disorders such as depression or anxiety. As a result, students in Intro courses are likely to learn what the symptoms of these and other disorders are.

Intro to Psychology introduces students to what scientists so far understand about people’s behaviors. The course provides a broad overview that might help students begin to better understand others as well. Some students might find that their interest in psychology is piqued enough that they decide to minor in the subject or venture into the human mind even farther, perhaps by pursuing a degree and career in psychology. Test Drive College offers free psychology courses for students interested in studying psychology. http://www.testdrivecollege.com/ also may be found through Test Drive College.

As a practicing psychotherapist in Cary and Crystal Lake, IL, I have seen all kinds of approaches to the treatment of anxiety come and go.

However, to date, CBT is the best! Research has demonstrated that cognitive behavioral therapy, or, CBT can produce dramatic results in reducing your anxiety.

It works by combining effective mood-enhancing interventions with new cutting-edge techniques that have yielded impressive results. CBT improves your thinking and your ability to accurately assess troubling issues.

Your nervous system then starts to view conflicts calmly and more realistically, rather than in an extreme, panicky or catastrophic way. This dramatically reduces your stress, and helps to improve your sleep and appetite hygiene.

Though few people are privy to it, CBT can be delivered to you, using self-help educational programs, called Self-Therapy Kits, or STKs. When using STKs, CBTs proven interventions are delivered in a multimedia format, which may include any or all of the following: DVDs, MP3s, e-books, workbooks, videos etc.

STKs are self-paced, inexpensive and can be used anytime in the comfort of your own home. They teach you how to relieve and cope with your anxieties and frustrations independently.

You can use them anytime at your convenience. You do not have to spill your guts to any strangers or expose yourself to the sometimes dangerous side-effects of medication.

It takes only a few days for them to begin working and the results can be dramatic. They are ideal therapeutic educational tools for people who have particularly private personalities or severe time constraints.

Since you use them in the privacy of your home, using them is like having your own private therapist at your personal disposal. These programs are particularly helpful if you have limited financial resources; they typically cost a one-time fee of anywhere from $9 to $100 or so, and the fee is only a one-time event.

It is not a recurring fee you would have to pay for a private counselor. STKs can be easily located by using an internet search engine.

Are there any drawbacks?

There are two drawbacks to using STKs:

1. They do not address crisis situations as they arise in your life, as would a therapist;

2. STKs are not reimbursable by health insurance policies; and,

What about Crisis Situations?

If you have an unfortunate pattern of being in crisis (for example, feeling suicidal or homicidal) you are not an ideal candidate for using STKs. They are educational tools and are not able to provide the type of immediate attention required in a life-threatening situation.

Crises can only be addressed with a professional counselor who can respond to your needs in real time.

Insurance Coverage:

Insurance companies do not reimburse for educational materials, such as multi-media self-therapy kits (STKs). Therefore, you pay out of your own pocket, but at rates that are dramatically lower than full-fee face-to-face counseling.

As stated previously, these programs are particularly helpful if you have limited financial resources because they typically cost a one-time fee of only $9 to $100 or so, the fee is only a one-time event and you can get your money back if you are not satisfied. The fee is not recurring like the fee for a private counselor and the unconditional guarantee eliminates any risk to you.

Conclusion

When you use an STK, you can be totally honest in your studies, exercises and responses because you do not have to deal with the judgments of another person, as you do in in-person counseling. While it is in your best interest to be honest with a therapist, you may not always do so, particularly when a very sensitive or embarrassing topic arises.

In fact, many people tell stories to their therapists until they feel confident enough to tell the truth. Critically judging you or the facts you present is not helpful when done injudiciously by your counselor, but the concepts about overcoming anxiety presented dispassionately through an STK can guide you judgment-free toward better mental health with no embarrassment.

People who are embarrassed to talk to a professional counselor or who are not able to express themselves easily are particularly attracted to STKs. There are times when a person starts in-office counseling and, after the first visit, chooses to switch to one.

The reason generally given for switching to an STK is a desire for a self-paced experience where they can be in control of how and when they work on things. Some people are simply more comfortable working on their own, in their own environment, and STKs provide an ideal alternative for them.

They are a therapeutic educational modality that help people improve the quality of their emotional life without having to confide in a stranger or take drugs. This form of therapy is very flexible and allows the client to work on alleviating his symptoms, anytime, day or night.

The benefits of using STKs are convenience, confidentiality and an enhanced quality of mental health for those who are on the move, time-restricted, shy or too withdrawn to talk privately to a professional therapist.

Dr Shery earned his doctorate at the University of Southern Calif. He is a board-certified counselor and is an author with over 30 years experience. He provides groundbreaking Self-Therapy Kits (STKs) that he uses with his own patients. They are guaranteed to eliminate anxiety, anger and agitation; if not satisfied, you get a no-strings attached, unconditional refund. Learn more about these New Self-Therapy Kits

Sudden fits of anger and violent outbursts are some of the symptoms of Intermittent Explosive Disorder. If they sound familiar to you, be sure to keep reading.

People who manifest IED are normal most of the time, but they also have scary episodes when they erupt with sudden and unpredictable displays of rage. When this occurs, they behave in ways that normally would mortify them.

For example, they might break anything that is immediately available or even set things on fire. They also may harm someone or even try to harm themselves.

Some of us react to frustrations normally, while others react to the very same things violently. This would suggest that there is a behavioral dysfunction in those who react so disproportionately to the original trigger.

This is called Intermittent Explosive Disorder and it may even afflict a person without he or she even being aware of it. It can be hard to understand because when there is no provocation, these patients appear normal and even charming.

However, when a stimulus presents itself, the extreme and abnormal display of rage can be terrifying. In fact, people who suffer from IED seem to manifest such an altered state that, under ordinary circumstances, they appear unaware of the pathological intensity of their behavior or the serious risks it entails.

What causes Intermittent Explosive Disorder? Research seems to suggest that children reared in family settings in which the parents frequently and bitterly argue are likely to express their anger violently and inappropriately, as adults.

Also, poverty-stricken families tend to have a disproportionate share of kids that grow-up to have IED. This could be the result of a family under such stress and experiencing such frustration that dysfunctional displays of anger are more likely to take place.

Also, poverty-stricken kids are more likely to compare themselves unfavorably with others, leading to more dissatisfaction and frustration. Even though none of these factors guarantees the spawning of IED, they make its manifestation more likely.

Other influences on the possible spawning of IED include a possible genetic propensity. Also, watching violent movies and playing violent video games could be additional causal factors for the spawning of IED.

How can you detect the existence of Intermittent Explosive Disorder? Think about your most recent angry episode and answer the following questions.

If the answers to many of them are ‘yes’, then it is more likely that you have IED:

1. Did you feel almost as though an entity within you was compelling you to react with hostility or the causing of harm? Some people report the propensity within themselves to fight is extremely compelling. Their own emotions become so strong that they have a compelling or “involuntary” type of quality to them.

2. Did you feel your anger as a wave? Did you experience it as a feeling or set of sensations boiling within you that you wanted to quickly expel or force-out?

3. Were you normal just prior to the sudden and extreme rage overwhelmed you? Did it erupt suddenly?

4. Is the person with you during your sudden episode of rage frightened? IED patients often trigger terror in those who witness their outbursts.

5. Did you experience regret or remorse after your IED episode? Most IED patients feel great remorse after the fact.

If you have some of these symptoms, it is important that you get some kind of help before things get way out of hand!

This usually involves:

1. Individual counseling or psychotherapy. The purpose of counseling is to understand yourself better and get objective feedback, support and guidance from a professional with experience in treating IED.

2. Marriage counseling related to IED. You and your partner learn how to mitigate the dire impact that IED has had on your partner or kids. You also learn how to communicate better and problem-solve effectively.

Abusive IED communication and anger management versus healthy dialogue and interaction is discussed. You and your partner, together, get objective feedback, support and guidance from a professional experienced in treating IED’s impact on relationships.

Importantly, both types of counseling can be received from private practitioners and non-profit community agencies.

3. Self-therapy kits (STKs), articles and books -If going to counseling seems initially like too big a step, reading articles and books, attending seminars and using self-therapy kits (STKs) can be helpful. STKs are self-help programs that tutor you, step-by-step on how to deal with your abusive anger.

As opposed to books and articles, they teach these skills using a multimedia format: CDs, DVDs, MP3s, e-books, workbooks, audios, videos etc.

Important Caveat: If your behavior is dangerous, your first step should be personally consulting with a professional!

Dr Shery earned his doctorate at the Univ. of Southern Calif. He is a counselor in Cary, IL with 30 years experience. He provides anger self-help programs to treat rage and IED. He prescribes them to his own anger and IED patients. They are guaranteed to diminish anger and the symptoms of IED while at home or you get a no-strings attached, unconditional refund! Learn more about these New Self-Therapy Kits

As a board-certified counselor practicing in Cary and Crystal Lake, IL, I have treated many patients for depression. Treatment for depression used to have good results.

30 or 40 years ago, if you came to a therapist with symptoms of depression, he could reliably tell you that the odds that you would soon get better were solidly on your side. He would most likely assure you that most episodes of depression run their course, benefit from counseling and end with total recovery, without drug treatment of any kind.

However, in the last several decades something changed in the field of diagnosing and treating depression that has led to a 600 percent increase in patients collecting Social Security disability because of psychiatric illness! There is no question that the contemporary approach to treating psychological problems is the use of drugs.

Between 1974 and today, the outlook for treating depression went from being a positive one to one that sometimes afflicts the patient for life. Why?

It’s because of the “anxiety-depression medication myth.” The myth has ballooned out of proportion to any reality because of the power of modern marketing.

Notice the commercials on TV and what do you see? The ads shape and condition your belief that this or that medication will make you better.

The harm is especially great if you happen to be one of the 65% of sufferers taking antidepressant medications who are failing to improve. Various studies have demonstrated that, in many, if not most cases, these types of psychiatric medications do not work any better than a placebo and, besides that, can also run the risk of serious side effects.

These side effects can include worsening the very mental disorder for which you originally started treatment! If you do not believe me, just look at the warning labels for these drugs on the internet.

They will make your blood curdle. Some experts assert that drug companies have even omitted disclosure of drug trial results when they showed no effects or negative effects.

However, many people are aware of the most common antidepressant side effects because they are so prevalent, including, sexual dysfunction and insomnia. Remember the TV; some of the negative side effects are mentioned in the ads but are done so, so rapidly you do not really notice them.

Also, some of the worst side effects, like significant weight gain and increased lipid and glucose metabolism, can be so unpleasant and troubling that patients taking these drugs often just quit taking them on their own!

A 2005 study mentioned in the New England Journal of Medicine reported that 74 percent of patients suffering from schizophrenia quit taking their medication either because it did not work; or because the side effects became unacceptable. Another dangerous problem that affects too many sufferers is the potent addictive potential of the anti-anxiety medications.

Perhaps the worst side effect of all is that you can acquire additional emotional problems or even a more severe form of psychological illness than that with which you started! That’s right, thorough research on this serious subject suggests that after a possible initial alleviation of symptoms, antidepressant drug patients often, subsequently, spiral downward into a chronic phase of dismal long-term depression.

If side effects create additional symptoms or contribute to the acquisition of a more serious illness, you may need to take a new drug that may create even more serious problems. The little known and little discussed effect of these drugs is that sometimes they can actually cause more of the problems they were designed to treat.

This often hidden effect needs much more discussion and exposure to start eliminating the anti-depressant medication treatment myth. What type of treatment for depression and anxiety do I prefer?

Cognitive-behavioral therapy is a very effective treatment technique. It is based on the well-founded assumption that traumatic or troubling, conflictual situations have caused us to develop certain subconscious patterns of thinking that pathologically affect our view of ourselves, our environment and our history.

As I use cognitive therapy (CBT) with my patients, I isolate, re-structure and replace many of the pathological beliefs and cognitive patterns stuck in the background of their minds. These subconscious beliefs unknowingly to the patients, hypnotize them into feeling terrible about themselves and their situations.

After completion of CBT, the hypnosis is over! Then their symptoms can start to disappear.

During treatment, I will often direct my patient to use an STK, or self-therapy kit at home. These kits are used to reinforce the benefits gained during the consultations; they are used concurrently with the cognitive therapy.

STKs are powerful educational packages. They are designed in different formats, including MP3, CD, DVD, e-book etc.

As stated previously, they effectively re-teach and consolidate the principles of cognitive therapy learned in the therapy sessions. They use imagery, role-exercises and lifelike examples to reinforce the central core of healthy life principles and thinking patterns.

They also accelerate the speed at which ones disturbing symptoms are eliminated. Once the belief systems related to these troubling situations are isolated and replaced, patients are then free of the distorted thinking patterns that were triggered by the troubling event.

Dr Shery earned his doctorate at the University of Southern Calif. He is a board-certified counselor and is an author with over 30 years experience. He provides groundbreaking Self-Therapy Kits (STKs) that he uses with his own patients. They are guaranteed to eliminate anxiety, anger and agitation; if not satisfied, you get a no-strings attached, unconditional refund. Learn more about these New Self-Therapy Kits