


Archive for January, 2011

Some may recall an article posted back in May in regard a most remarkable woman whose life story is both poignant and powerful. It was entitled, Alice Ricciardi-von Platen: Against the Grain, courtesy of Vaughan over at MindHacks. MindHacks is currently undergoing a move to a new home and unable to accept comments temporarily. A reminder:
I’ve just discovered the powerful story of the German psychiatrist Alice Ricciardi-von Platen. She refused to take part in the growing eugenics movement in the 1930s Germany that targeted people with mental illness for sterilisation and euthanasia, resisted the Nazi party and wrote a book documenting Nazi medical abuses of psychiatric patients after being asked to observe the Doctors Trial at Nuremberg.
As a result, she was ostracised from the German medical community and her book was repressed. It wasn’t rediscovered by German historians until thirty years after it was published in 1948.
Afterwards she became highly respected for her work developing group therapy and worked in Britain and Italy right into her late nineties.
There is surprisingly little about her online or in the academic literature although she received two glowing obituaries in the British press when she died in 2008.
We like to think that each of us would stand up to human rights abuses even if everyone else around us was involved but we know from countless social psychology experiments that it is an incredibly difficult thing to do. Consequently, I always have immense admiration for people like Ricciardi-von Platen who did so in the most difficult of circumstances.
We also like to think that the Nuremberg trials put an end to the political abuse of psychiatry but a recent article Schizophrenia Bulletin tracked the history of these abusive practices noting that they have been regularly used throughout the 20th century and into the 21st.
From the Soviet use of sluggishly progressing schizophrenia to silence dissidents, to the Nazi’s incorporation of psychiatry into eugenics, to psychiatrists’ collaboration with torture during dictatorial regimes in Latin America, to China’s use of psychiatric hospitals to persecute Falun Gong members and to the collaboration with ‘war on terror’ torture in the US (albeit in the light of outright condemnation from the American Psychiatric Association).
Sadly, psychiatry has been co-opted many times over as a tool of oppression. Complacency is the enabler of these abuses and people like Alice Ricciardi-von Platen are a reminder that even the most powerful forces can be resisted.
Link to obituary from The Times.
Link to obituary from The Guardian.
https://www.aspie-editorial.com/2011/01/22/alice-ricciardi-von-platen-against-the-grain/
Ms Ricciardi von Platen’s daughter-in-law, Bernadine Grafin Platen Hallermu is currently seeking assistance in financing the very valuable project of having her mother-in-law’s biography published in both German and English. Ms Grafin Platen Hallermu wrote yesterday, “I have initiated the process of having a biography written, which is planned to be published by the Campus Publishing Company in the first half of 2012. Writers are expensive and I am currently looking for help in financing this project in the hope that the book will be released not only in the German but also in the English language and her fascinating story, spanning almost an entire Century, will finally be told.”
For anyone wishing to assist, please leave a comment either privately or publicly here. Thankyou.
Dear Bernadine Grafin Platen Hallermu, i write from the University of Bari. We published a book on Alice von Platen in the 2010. We would like to send you a copy of the book. If you want contact me, i give you this temporary email address. If you write to this address, i’ll give you my real address. Thanks. sample_2010@libero.it
2. Helen Tomkins left…
Dear Bernardine, I am a very old friend of Alice’s and last saw her in 2003 at Cortona. We kept in touch over many years from 1959 until her death. I would have liked to be at her funeral. I don’t know that I can help much with financing the biograph, though I would like to. There are other things I would like to ask – could you send me your email to my email above. I found the black background very difficult to read. Yours with my good wishes for 2011 Helen Tomkins (nee Caruana Galizia)
 
Article Date: 06 Aug 2010 – 4:00 PDT
Gender harassment verbal and nonverbal behaviors that convey insulting, hostile and degrading attitudes to women is just as distressing for women victims as sexual advances in the workplace. According to Emily Leskinen, Lilia Cortina, and Dana Kabat from the University of Michigan in the US, gender harassment leads to negative personal and professional outcomes too and, as such, is a serious form of sex discrimination. In their view, there is a case for interpreting existing legislation as including gender harassment, so that it is recognized as a legitimate and serious form of sex-based discrimination in the workplace. Their work1 is published online in Springer’s journal Law and Human Behavior.
The generally accepted view of sexual harassment sees unwanted sexual attention as an essential component. What Leskinen’s work shows is that nine out of ten harassed women in her sample had experienced gender harassment primarily in the absence of sexual advances in the workplace. And yet, within the current legal conception of sexual harassment, gender harassment involving no sexual advances routinely gets neglected by the law.
Read in Full:Â http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/197016.php
 
Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on August 6, 2010Â
Researchers report a breakthrough in the study of antisocial behavior — a finding that links the behavior to genetic and environmental factors.
University of Illinois scientists discovered children with one variant of a serotonin transporter gene are more likely to exhibit psychopathic traits if they also grow up poor.
The study, the first to identify a specific gene associated with psychopathic tendencies in youth, appears this month in the Journal of Abnormal Psychology.
People with psychopathic traits generally are more callous and unemotional than their peers, said University of Illinois psychology professor Edelyn Verona, whose graduate student Naomi Sadeh led the study.
“Those with psychopathic traits tend to be less attached to others, even if they have relationships with them,†Verona said.
“They are less reactive to emotional things in the lab. They are charming and grandiose at times. They’re better at conning and manipulating others, and they have low levels of empathy and remorse.â€
Read in Full:Â http://psychcentral.com/news/2010/08/06/antisocial-behavior-linked-to-genes-and-environment/16513.html
 
Article Date: 06 Aug 2010 – 2:00 PDT
Today, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) is proud to announce the release of the new Parents’ Medication Guide for Bipolar Disorder in Children & Adolescents.
The guide was developed by AACAP to give reliable information about medication used to treat bipolar disorder in children and adolescents to parents whose children have been diagnosed with the illness.
“It is not yet clear how many children and adolescents diagnosed with bipolar disorder will continue to have the disorder as adults. What is very clear is that obtaining a careful clinical assessment is utmost and critical to diagnosing bipolar disorder,” advised Larry Greenhill, M.D., President, AACAP.
The guide reflects what medications child psychiatrists currently use when treating bipolar disorder during childhood and adolescence. It is intended to provide parents with the latest expert medical opinion about medications used to treat the symptoms of bipolar disorder.
“Medication decisions for children with bipolar disorder are complex and difficult for many parents,” said Susan Resko, Executive Director Child & Adolescent Bipolar Foundation. “AACAP’s Parents’ Medication Guide for Bipolar Disorder in Children & Adolescents compiles the very best information and helps parents decipher the daunting decision-making process. I consider it required reading for any parent of a child with bipolar disorder.”
For most children and adolescents with bipolar disorder, medication can be a helpful and important component of treatment. However, intervention is most effective when the signs and symptoms are recognized as early as possible, and when treatment is comprehensive, ongoing, and individualized to the needs of the child and his or her family.
For more information about the Parents’ Medication Guide series of publications, please visit www.parentsmedguide.org/.
Source: American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP)
 
Article Date: 06 Aug 2010 – 2:00 PDT
Today, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) is proud to announce the release of the new Parents’ Medication Guide for Bipolar Disorder in Children & Adolescents.
The guide was developed by AACAP to give reliable information about medication used to treat bipolar disorder in children and adolescents to parents whose children have been diagnosed with the illness.
“It is not yet clear how many children and adolescents diagnosed with bipolar disorder will continue to have the disorder as adults. What is very clear is that obtaining a careful clinical assessment is utmost and critical to diagnosing bipolar disorder,” advised Larry Greenhill, M.D., President, AACAP.
The guide reflects what medications child psychiatrists currently use when treating bipolar disorder during childhood and adolescence. It is intended to provide parents with the latest expert medical opinion about medications used to treat the symptoms of bipolar disorder.
“Medication decisions for children with bipolar disorder are complex and difficult for many parents,” said Susan Resko, Executive Director Child & Adolescent Bipolar Foundation. “AACAP’s Parents’ Medication Guide for Bipolar Disorder in Children & Adolescents compiles the very best information and helps parents decipher the daunting decision-making process. I consider it required reading for any parent of a child with bipolar disorder.”
For most children and adolescents with bipolar disorder, medication can be a helpful and important component of treatment. However, intervention is most effective when the signs and symptoms are recognized as early as possible, and when treatment is comprehensive, ongoing, and individualized to the needs of the child and his or her family.
For more information about the Parents’ Medication Guide series of publications, please visit www.parentsmedguide.org/.
Source: American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP)
 
(Healing Together for Couples) – You don’t need to watch the movie Inception to gain tons of insight from this post. And it won’t give away the ending either. What it does is look at all of the destructive preconceived ideas we have about our partners and how it can potentially work to destroy our relationship. Read this and learn the tools you’ll need to work together instead of against one another. –
While the movie Inception has certainly invited discussion about dreams and even an interest and analysis of viewers’ own nightmares, you may recall that in the film, the motivation for entering the dream world is the recognition of the impact of a persistent idea. As Leonardo DiCaprio (Cobb) forebodes in the opening of the film, “What’s the most resilient parasite? An idea.â€
In the movie’s narrative, hidden beneath the scaffolding of dreams and driven by the confusion of dream and reality is an idea that ultimately destroys Cobb’s wife, his relationship with his children and possibly his ability to discern reality – depending on your take of the ending.
Recognizing that media both reflects culture and is shaped by it, this film raises the question, “Can a persistent negative idea threaten a relationship?â€Â Yes.
Drawing upon DiCaprio’s ( Cobb’s) depiction of an idea as a resilient parasite, there are in fact, some ideas that partners have about self, their partner and aspects of their life that feed on fear, misunderstanding, past trauma and human frailty. Left unquestioned, often acted upon, sometimes hidden, and usually unexamined, they can impede the growth and vitality of a relationship.
The First Impression
“Your mother never liked me.â€Â “This new house was a mistake.â€
Regardless of how good your â€bllink†of a situation, first impressions are still just that, an initial read made in a certain moment of time. Yes, your impression may be true at that time. The danger is that holding on to an impression as immutable fact forecloses on deeper understanding and can color years of dealing with a family or living in a home. Self-fulfilling prophesizes are fueled by first impressions and avoidance.
Consider that you co-create your experience in life by your response to it – you can look for evidence of a persisting idea or wonder what you haven’t noticed.
Even after a number of years, the more you move into a situation with curiosity instead of negative conviction the more freedom of emotional space you allow for you and your partner.
The Presumption of Knowing
Often persistent negative ideas color our perception of our partners in ways that are true, were once true, or never true. Some of the most relationship destructive ideas are what we “think†we know about our partner.
Over the years of working with couples, it very often happens that if I ask one partner a question, the other answers. While finishing each other’s sentences is something most partners are occasionally guilty of – there is a downside to this. The presumption of knowing a partner leaves little room for discussion and too much room for reaction based on misunderstanding, projection, and worst fear scenarios.
Consider these partner reactions to my questions:
- Therapist: “So Jack, what do you usually do to reduce stress?â€
- Michele: “He doesn’t reduce stress – he creates stress!â€
- Jack: “How can you say that- you have no idea what I handle every day.â€
- Therapist: “So Mary what can you tell me about the romance between you and Bob?â€
- Bob: “She can tell you that she hates sex.â€
- Mary: “I don’t hate sex – I hate your demand for sex.â€
What is so valuable in the disclaimers and the discussion that unfolds is the confrontation of the presumptions. When â€knowingâ€Â is left unspoken, partners act in accordance with it creating vicious cycles of confirmation.
Read in Full:Â http://blogs.psychcentral.com/healing-together/2010/08/inception-and-dangerous-ideas-in-relationships/

(Healing Together for Couples) – You don’t need to watch the movie Inception to gain tons of insight from this post. And it won’t give away the ending either. What it does is look at all of the destructive preconceived ideas we have about our partners and how it can potentially work to destroy our relationship. Read this and learn the tools you’ll need to work together instead of against one another. –
While the movie Inception has certainly invited discussion about dreams and even an interest and analysis of viewers’ own nightmares, you may recall that in the film, the motivation for entering the dream world is the recognition of the impact of a persistent idea. As Leonardo DiCaprio (Cobb) forebodes in the opening of the film, “What’s the most resilient parasite? An idea.”
In the movie’s narrative, hidden beneath the scaffolding of dreams and driven by the confusion of dream and reality is an idea that ultimately destroys Cobb’s wife, his relationship with his children and possibly his ability to discern reality – depending on your take of the ending.
Recognizing that media both reflects culture and is shaped by it, this film raises the question, “Can a persistent negative idea threaten a relationship?â€Â Yes.
Drawing upon DiCaprio’s ( Cobb’s) depiction of an idea as a resilient parasite, there are in fact, some ideas that partners have about self, their partner and aspects of their life that feed on fear, misunderstanding, past trauma and human frailty. Left unquestioned, often acted upon, sometimes hidden, and usually unexamined, they can impede the growth and vitality of a relationship.
The First Impression
“Your mother never liked me.â€Â “This new house was a mistake.”
Regardless of how good your â€bllink†of a situation, first impressions are still just that, an initial read made in a certain moment of time. Yes, your impression may be true at that time. The danger is that holding on to an impression as immutable fact forecloses on deeper understanding and can color years of dealing with a family or living in a home. Self-fulfilling prophesizes are fueled by first impressions and avoidance.
Consider that you co-create your experience in life by your response to it – you can look for evidence of a persisting idea or wonder what you haven’t noticed.
Even after a number of years, the more you move into a situation with curiosity instead of negative conviction the more freedom of emotional space you allow for you and your partner.
The Presumption of Knowing
Often persistent negative ideas color our perception of our partners in ways that are true, were once true, or never true. Some of the most relationship destructive ideas are what we “think†we know about our partner.
Over the years of working with couples, it very often happens that if I ask one partner a question, the other answers. While finishing each other’s sentences is something most partners are occasionally guilty of – there is a downside to this. The presumption of knowing a partner leaves little room for discussion and too much room for reaction based on misunderstanding, projection, and worst fear scenarios.
Consider these partner reactions to my questions:
- Therapist: “So Jack, what do you usually do to reduce stress?â€
- Michele: “He doesn’t reduce stress – he creates stress!â€
- Jack: “How can you say that- you have no idea what I handle every day.â€
- Therapist: “So Mary what can you tell me about the romance between you and Bob?â€
- Bob: “She can tell you that she hates sex.â€
- Mary: “I don’t hate sex – I hate your demand for sex.”
What is so valuable in the disclaimers and the discussion that unfolds is the confrontation of the presumptions. When â€knowingâ€Â is left unspoken, partners act in accordance with it creating vicious cycles of confirmation.
Read in Full:Â http://blogs.psychcentral.com/healing-together/2010/08/inception-and-dangerous-ideas-in-relationships/
 
August 6, 2010
By Therese J. Borchard
I loved these bits of advice from Beliefnet’s Renita Williams. Click here to see the original gallery.
We all have experienced hurt and pain in our lives. Sometimes we are exposed to experiences so painful that they leave marks that are difficult to heal-especially if we feel somone has wronged us or harmed us.
1. Acknowledge the problem
Figure out what it is that’s causing you to hold a grudge. You have to know what the problem is in order to solve it. When you allow yourself to see the real issue you can then make a choice to move forward from there.
2. Share your feelings.
A grudge can form when an issue isn’t fully confronted. Without being judgemental about yourself or another, clarify your feelings on the situation. Then, decide if this is something you will work on in your own heart or by contacting the other person involved. Only when you are ready, communicate with the other person about the issue. Whether you work it out on your own or involved the other person, you may feel more relieved by releasing that built up tension and all involved can have a better understanding of the situation and able to resolve the issue.
3. Switch places.
To get a better understanding of the other person, try putting yourself in their shoes. This will give you a better understanding of their point of view and behavior. Maybe the person in question was in a lot of pain. This doesn’t justify their negativity, but it will help you understand it. The more you understand the other person and their behavior, the easier it is not to let go of a grudge.
A natural response may be to develop a grudge, or even a hatred of the person who has caused us pain. But the person who holds the gudge always suffers more!
The longer we hold a grudge the more difficult it is to forgive and move on. You can begin to free yourself when you begin to forgive. Here are eight ways to get a grip on the pain and find the strength to let it go.
4. Accept what is.
Choose to create your own healing, with or without an apology. Don’t wait for the person you are upset with to come around. For all you know they are already past the issue and not putting as much thought into it. Even if they don’t offer an apology, it doesn’t mean they are not remorseful. Some people are unable to apologize or may not fully understand that the person they hurt may need to hear one.
Read in Full:Â http://blog.beliefnet.com/beyondblue/2010/08/8-ways-to-stop-holding-a-grudg.html
 
August 6, 2010
By Therese J. Borchard
I loved these bits of advice from Beliefnet’s Renita Williams. Click here to see the original gallery.
We all have experienced hurt and pain in our lives. Sometimes we are exposed to experiences so painful that they leave marks that are difficult to heal-especially if we feel somone has wronged us or harmed us.
1. Acknowledge the problem
Figure out what it is that’s causing you to hold a grudge. You have to know what the problem is in order to solve it. When you allow yourself to see the real issue you can then make a choice to move forward from there.
2. Share your feelings.
A grudge can form when an issue isn’t fully confronted. Without being judgemental about yourself or another, clarify your feelings on the situation. Then, decide if this is something you will work on in your own heart or by contacting the other person involved. Only when you are ready, communicate with the other person about the issue. Whether you work it out on your own or involved the other person, you may feel more relieved by releasing that built up tension and all involved can have a better understanding of the situation and able to resolve the issue.
3. Switch places.
To get a better understanding of the other person, try putting yourself in their shoes. This will give you a better understanding of their point of view and behavior. Maybe the person in question was in a lot of pain. This doesn’t justify their negativity, but it will help you understand it. The more you understand the other person and their behavior, the easier it is not to let go of a grudge.
A natural response may be to develop a grudge, or even a hatred of the person who has caused us pain. But the person who holds the gudge always suffers more!
The longer we hold a grudge the more difficult it is to forgive and move on. You can begin to free yourself when you begin to forgive. Here are eight ways to get a grip on the pain and find the strength to let it go.
4. Accept what is.
Choose to create your own healing, with or without an apology. Don’t wait for the person you are upset with to come around. For all you know they are already past the issue and not putting as much thought into it. Even if they don’t offer an apology, it doesn’t mean they are not remorseful. Some people are unable to apologize or may not fully understand that the person they hurt may need to hear one.
Read in Full:Â http://blog.beliefnet.com/beyondblue/2010/08/8-ways-to-stop-holding-a-grudg.html
 
August 4, 2010
By Therese J. Borchard
Divorce is the second most stressful life event, preceded only by the death of a spouse. And what is stress is capable of? Expediting a severe bout of depression and anxiety to your limbic system (the brain’s emotional center) if you’re not careful. Acute and chronic stress, especially, undermine both emotional and physical health. In fact, a recent study published in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior suggests that divorced or widowed people have 20 percent more chronic health conditions such as heart disease, diabetes or cancer than married people.
Another study in Psychological Science claimed that a person’s happiness level drops as she approaches divorce, although there is rebounding over time if the person works at it. That what these 12 tips are: suggestions for preventing the devastating depression that often accompanies divorce, and techniques that you can use to keep your happiness level steady or maybe even higher!
1. Lose yourself in a book (or an afghan).
I think the one thing that kept my mom sane the years after she and my dad split were the 75 afghans she knitted for me, my sisters, and anyone who got married during between 1982 to 1985. The mundane, repetitive gesture, she told me later, kept her brain on the loop that she was making with her big plastic needles, away from all the sadness in her heart. Swimming is the same type of activity for me. I count each lap, so if I start to ruminate too much, I lose track. For an OCD gal who needs to burn calories, it’s a tragedy when that happens. A friend of mine who divorced last year said that losing herself in a juicy novel was a helpful diversion. Or I guess you could also watch reality TV, although I’d hate for you to sink that low.
2. Change your routine.
The year after my dad left, a counselor recommended to my mom that she go back to work. So she took a part-time job as a hostess at a nice restaurant downtown, working lunch hour. The job forced her to smile, meet new people, and be part of a fresh environment–all of which helped her to get out of her head for several hours of the day and gave her hope that there was new life out there, that just because her marriage had ended, didn’t mean her life was over.
3. Plan, plan, and plan some more.
In her book “Solace: Finding Your Way Through Grief and Learning to Live Again,” psychotherapist Roberta Temes suggests a few activities that are therapeutic during bereavement (and divorce is a kind of bereavement). One of them is planning. That is, planning everything. I know this works because I did it during the really low months of my severe depression. I planned when I would eat my bagel, when I would shower, and when I would relieve my bladder. I planned when I’d write my distorted thoughts into a journal, and when I would try to count my blessings. All the planning cut down on my ruminations. You think I’m crazy? Temes writes:
Use a calendar to make your plans. Plan when you will go somewhere new. Plan when you will buy yourself a new outfit. Plan to learn to knit and decide when you’ll go to the yarn store. Plan to go fishing and call a buddy who likes to fish. Or, learn how to frame a favorite photo and plan when you will venture to a craft shop or to an art supply store. Plan to repair something in your house and plan to go to Home Depot or to Lowe’s or to your local hardware store. Planning activities for your future will help you reach that future.
Source:Â http://blog.beliefnet.com/beyondblue/2010/08/12-depression-busters-for-divo-1.html

