As a clinician specializing in the treatment of pediatric anxiety and OCD, I am very fortunate to have access to so many effective interventions designed to treat the children suffering from these disorders. However, as anyone who works with this population knows, addressing the child’s symptoms is only half the battle.
Ambivalence – and a great deal of it – is a typical feature of hoarding disorder. Given the considerable ambivalence of most clients with this condition, clinicians want to take care to avoid inadvertently shutting down the client’s motivation to work on the problem. Here are typical ways clinicians shut down motivation when treating hoarding disorder.
We hear a lot about “life hacks,” simple things that we can do to improve our lives. Research shows that the #1 life hack is better sleep. Better sleep improves your health, mood, performance at work or school, even your social life. Did you know that you look more attractive to others when you have had a good night sleep?
Psychotherapy with adolescents is a difficult proposition. Research suggests that adolescents do not do as well as adults in psychotherapy and that they tend to dropout or refuse treatment more often. The cognitive-behavioral treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is no exception.
Worries and fears are a typical part of early childhood. Most children outgrow their fears with little or no impact on their social, emotional, or intellectual development. Little worriers, on the other hand, do not outgrow their fears and over time experience a myriad of problems.
It’s no secret that kids crave attention—in fact, parents’ attention can be the most powerful reinforcement a child can receive. And that goes for positive as well as negative attention—whether you’re complimenting your child or yelling at him. Therefore, it’s important to know how to use your attention wisely.
Finals time of year can be intense. Let’s be honest, for many students, it is the most stressful time of the year. Here are some tips that can help finals-takers with managing time, managing stress, and having a successful finals week.
If your loved one suffers from hoarding disorder, you’ve likely tried to help. You may have offered to clean her home or to hire someone to do it. You may have suggested that your loved one meet with a therapist or talk about the problem with a doctor; you may have purchased books on the […]
Tompkins, M. A. (2017).
Working With Emotion in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Emotions In Psychotherapy Video Series.
Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
In cognitive-behavioral therapy, emotion stands with thought and behavior […]
Although cognitive-behavior therapy helps many clients with anxiety disorders, the exposure tasks, which are central to overcoming an anxiety disorder, are not easy. Because exposure to anxiety-evoking situations is difficult, attending to your client’s willingness throughout treatment is essential to a good outcome. Here are two standard cognitive-behavioral strategies to enhance willingness.
