Mental health articles
OF mental health care and mentally ill
January, 2016
group therapy activities for substance abuse
group therapy activities for substance abuse Group therapy, alone or in combination with individual psychotherapy, is a traditional mainstay of substance abuse services. In our experience, group therapy provides a mechanism for addressing the unfortunately easy campus acceptance of alcohol abuse as well as the widespread denial and minimization of substance abuse. When individual psychotherapy […]
Tags: substance abuse, therapy
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Psychotherapy with substance-abusing individuals
denial is commonplace, it is best to fi nd ways to avoid head-on collisions with the client. If, for example, the student starts out by saying, “I don’t drink half as much as my friends do,” it may be useful to say, “I believe you, although it actually doesn’t matter how much your friends drink. […]
Tags: substance abuse
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motivational interviewing and substance abuse
motivational interviewing and substance abuse Motivational interviewing is a brief counseling technique that provides a research-supported foundation for eff ective substance abuse treatment. In their book Motivational Interviewing, Miller and Rollnick (1991) use the acronym FRAMES to summarize the key elements of eff ective brief counseling: Feedback Communicating the fi ndings of assessment is necessary […]
Tags: counseling, substance abuse
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Abstinence-Based and Harm Reduction Models
Th ere are two basic models for treatment, harm reduction and abstinence. Both have their place. Sometimes a student may fi rst try to reduce harm by curbing drinking, only to discover later that complete abstinence is necessary. Harm Reduction Approaches Most college students are not initially interested in abstaining and so may hesitate to […]
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Co-occurring Disorders and Medications
Co-occurring Disorders and Medications Alcohol and other drug problems have the uncanny ability to mimic psychiatric disorders, coexist with them, and create them. On the one hand, substance abuse can cause one’s life to become unglued, which naturally can lead to depression or anxiety. And drugs may even induce hallucinations, paranoia, ideas of reference, and […]
Tags: disorders
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leveraging alcohol and drug counseling
Substance abuse limits an individual’s ability to fully grasp its consequences; intoxication and denial both cause an emotional distancing from adverse experiences. In addition, adolescents’ sense of invulnerability and widespread acceptance of alcohol and drug use further minimize their awareness of substance abuse. Consequently, some individuals need to experience serious consequences in order to recognize […]
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Challenges to diagnosing alcohol use
Challenges to diagnosing alcohol use A complicating factor for diagnosis and treatment of alcohol diffi culties is the developmental stage of most undergraduate college students. At this age students typically feel invulnerable, and thus the consequences of substance abuse may have little or no impact on them. Also, since high-risk drinking is normative within some […]
Tags: alcohol use
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continuum of use alcohol & drugs
continuum of use alcohol & drugs Alcohol is a psychoactive drug that has been around for thousands of years and has been the drug of choice on America’s college campuses according to virtually every national study on college students’ alcohol and drug use (Johnston, O’Malley, & Bachman, 1998; Meilman, Cashin, McKillip, & Presley, 1998; Presley, […]
Tags: alcohol use
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Academic difficulties interventions and their application
Many simple problems of academic underachievement yield rather quickly to active short-term counseling, tutoring, or workshop interventions, so long as the student is motivated for change and does not have significant cognitive limitations or emotional interferences. Longer-term psychotherapeutic interventions can effectively remove psychological blocks to academic performance but require greater investment of time, energy, and […]
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Aims of intervention to academic difficulties
Depending upon how broadly college mental health practitioners defi ne their responsibility, the following goals may guide their interventions: Enhance students’ academic accomplishments to implement the college’s educational aims. Facilitate development of students’ full achievement potential by helping them overcome cognitive limitations and resolve psychological confl icts, inhibitions, or aff ective disturbances. Promote students’ capacity […]
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