Counselor Toolbox Podcast

Summary/Advice to Counselors - Provide bilingual services. - Use family therapy as a primary method of treatment. - Assess cultural identity and acculturation level for each family member. - Determine the family's level of belief in traditional and complementary healing practices; integrate these as appropriate. - Discuss the family's beliefs, history, and experiences with standard American behavioral health services. - Explore migration and immigration experiences, if appropriate. - Provide additional respect to the father or father figure in the family. Summary/Advice to Counselors - Interview family members or groups of family members (e.g., children) separately to allow them to voice concerns. - Generate solutions with the family. Do not force changes in family relationships. - Provide specific, concrete suggestions for change that can be quickly implemented. - Focus on engaging the family in the first session using warmth and personalismo - Group leaders should allow members to learn from each other and resist functioning as a content expert or a representative of the rules of the system. Otherwise, members could see group therapy as oppressive

Summary - Academic success - Impacts student’s self-esteem by providing frequent small successes - Empowers them and reduces depression and hopelessness and helplessness by teaching them how to solve problems and opens up a world of possibilities - Reduces anxiety by helping them develop an “I can” mantra and learn how to embrace failure as a learning opportunity - Each child has their own unique learning needs based on their learning style and temperament. - Once children know how they learn best they can be empowered to modify lessons and study habits to accommodate their unique needs.

Objectives - Explore the impact of homeschooling on the family - Identify issues that may come up during homeschooling - Explore creative ways to help families effectively homeschool Impact of Homeschooling - Physical - It is easy for the child’s schedule to get out of synch when they don’t have to get up to meet a bus - Maintain a schedule - There is a risk of greater weight gain related physical problems due to a lack of enforced PE and 24/7 availability of food - Mindful eating, cooking, fun activities, nutrition literacy - Some children may rely on free and reduced breakfast and lunch and will no longer be able to access that. - Work with food pantries and volunteers to disperse care packages - Increased risk for unnoticed child abuse or neglect when children are home all day - Conversely, children could get more sleep, be exposed to fewer germs, encouraged to be active in meaningful ways, learn how to eat mindfully as well as develop culinary skills.

- Learn about Asian cultures, traditions and values as they relate to mental health - Learn about communication styles to help the counselor more effectively communicate with culturally different clients - Explore health disparities - Explore appropriate approaches to counseling General Information - Asian Americans have a 17.30 percent overall lifetime rate of any psychiatric disorder and a 9.19 percent 12-month rate, yet Asian Americans are three times less likely to seek mental health services than Whites - Cultural factors, such as language, age, gender, and others, can influence the mental health of Asians, particularly immigrants - Asians place great value on the family as a unit. Each individual has a clearly defined role and position in the family hierarchy and is expected to function within that role, submitting to the larger needs of the family. - Social stigma, shame, and saving face often prevent Asians from seeking behavioral health care - Asian patients are likely to express psychological distress as physical complaints

- Learn what juvenile and rheumatoid arthritis are - Identify the prevalence of JA/RA - Explore the relationship of JA/RA and affiliated medications to mental health - Identify interventions to assist people with JA/RA achieve their highest quality of life Autoimmune Issues and Children - Autoimmune disorders that occur in childhood include: - Juvenile arthritis, which affects about 1 in 1,000 children - Type 1 (juvenile) diabetes, which affects 1 to 2 of every 400 children - Celiac disease which impacts 1-3% of the population

Summary - There is no one right way. Providing direction on how something should be done is not a comfortable or customary practice for American Indians and Alaska Natives. For them, healing is interconnected with others and comes from within, from ancestry, from stories, and from the environment. RESPECT - Respect communication styles and how respect is shown in the culture - Explanatory model: Understand how clients perceive/understand their presenting issues - Sociocultural context affect treatment - Participation expectations for treatment may be different than mainstream. (family, community, faith healers etc.) - Empathy - Concerns and fears should be elicited (at the beginning and at points of resistance) - Trust is based on who you are not what you accomplished.

Summary - CBD is showing promise as an alternative or adjunctive treatment for a variety of ailments ranging from Alzheimer’s and Addiction to Parkinson’s and Schizophrenia. - CBD does not have the psychogenic effects that THC does, however, THC has been found to be more effective at addressing some issues - OTC CBD is nonstandardized so dosages, even from the same manufacturer, but in different lots may have different potencies - CBD interacts with most medications, so it is vital to consult a physician prior to using it. - Dosages of CBD in the literature varied widely. - Currently there are a couple CBD based medications for the treatment of seizure disorder - CBD oils also may have a trace of THC in them—again, in OTC formulations, it may be variable, but supposed to be less than 0.3%

From a survival standpoint, the symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress make a lot of sense. We will explore the possible reasons for these symptoms and interventions that can be used to assist clients in creating a resilient recovery narrative.

Objectives Review multiple ways of writing treatment plans including using the integrative summary, FARS, CANS, ASAM and LOCUS Review pitfalls in writing effective treatment plans and how to avoid them Review the purpose of the reassessment and best practices for documentation Identify time-effective methods for completing treatment plans and reassessments

Objectives ~ Review the characteristics of BPD ~ Compare and contrast BPD with addictive behaviors ~ Examine ways to implement the activities presented in the book in a group format Characteristics of BPD ~ Poorly developed, or unstable self-image, often associated with excessive self-criticism ~ Difficulty recognizing the feelings & needs of others ~ Interpersonal hypersensitivity (i.e., prone to feel slighted or insulted) ~ Perceptions of others tend to focus on negative attributes or vulnerabilities.

- Review common life skills Communication Skills - Types - Written - Nonverbal - Oral

Objectives ~ Review the function of mindfulness and a variety of mindfulness techniques ~ Explore the concept of relaxation ~ Identify different methods of relaxation

-Post-traumatic stress disorder: the neurobiological impact of psychological trauma Dialogues Clin Neurosci. 2011 Sep; 13(3): 263-278. https: //www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3182008/ -This article lays out the many changes and/or conditions seen in the brain of people with PTSD. -As clinicians, awareness of these changes can help us educate patients about their symptoms and find ways of adapting to improve quality of life.

» Define grief » Conceptualize grief in terms of any loss » Identify how failure to deal with grief can impact a person » Explore the stages of grief » Review activities and interventions to help people grieve

» Review the symptoms of anxiety in adults and children » Explore the impacts of anxiety » Identify strategies for prevention and intervention