Parenting children with ADHD

Posted by: Amal Souraya on December 2, 2015 4:20 pm

Parenting can be a hard task for anyone. It is particularly stressful for parents rearing a child diagnosed with ADHD. Theule, Wiener, Tannock and Jenkins (2010) indicated that parents of children with ADHD reported significantly more stress than their counterparts.

Fortunately these parents are not alone, and there has been a lot of research completed in order to look at ways to decrease the challenges associated with raising children with ADHD. Specifically, some parenting training has been found to have positive effects on the prognosis of ADHD. Vaughn et al. (2015) showed that parents who engaged in an 8 week Behavioral Parenting program had observed a decrease in child symptomatology and indicated and increase in their ability to parent their children.

Additionally, Au et al. (2014) conducted research on Chinese parents of children who had been diagnosed with ADHD and had participated in a Positive Parenting Program (PPP). According to Au et al. (2014) there were several notable positive differences between the experimental group: PPP program and the control group. Parents whom had attended the level 4 Triple P parenting program noted an increase in self-efficacy in managing disruptive behaviors, and reported improved personal measures on mental health variables such as depression, anxiety, and stress.

Cassone (2015) mentioned the effectiveness of enrolling children in a mindfulness-training program. Mindfulness was found to assist these clients in sitting with their impulsive thoughts and potential hyperactivity. The study found that these patients were better at regulating their attention processes including orienting, alerting, and executive attention (Cassone, 2015). Van der Oord, Bogels, and Peijnenburg (2012) conducted a similar study by evaluating not only children with ADHD but simultaneously with their parents in an 8-week mindfulness training program as well. The parents in this latter study might not have otherwise enrolled in such a program, although they may have undiagnosed ADHD as this disease has a hereditary component (Van der Oord, Bogels, & Peijnenburg, 2012). The results of the study yielded a significant reduction in overactive parenting and parental stress.

Hence many new research favors including the parents in the therapy process of treating ADHD in children for several reasons. In many cases, the parents may be inadvertently be behaving in ways that mimic ADHD because he/she may also be unknowingly suffering the disorder due to its heritability component. This may play a negative role on the parents’ ability to more effectively parent the child, as well as be more likely to be overwhelmed by the task of parenting. Hence, it is especially beneficial for parents who may be suffering from ADHD, as well as their ADHD diagnosed offspring to engage in mindfulness-based practices in order to better manage the symptoms of ADHD. Most parents would also benefit from additional support and knowledge about parenting by engaging in training such as behavioral parenting training and Triple P training.

Parents have the power within themselves to gain information and skills in order to better help themselves in their parenting skills and overall health, which will ultimately assist them in helping their children with the struggles associated with ADHD.

Au, A., Lau, Kam-Mei, Wong, A., Lam, C., Leung, C., L., J., & Lee, Y.K. (2014). The efficacy of a group Triple P (Positive Parenting Program) for Chinese parents with a child diagnosed with ADHD in Hong Kong: A pilot randomized controlled study. Australian Psychologist, 49(3), 151-162. doi:10.1111/ap.12053

Cassone, A.R. (2015). Evidence-based treatment for ADHD within families. Journal of Attention Disorders, 19(2), 147-157. doi: 10.1177/1087054713488438

Loren, R.E., Vaughn, A.J., Langberg, J.M., Cyran, J.E., Proano-Raps, T., Smolyansky, B.H., Tamm, L., & Epstein, J.N. (2015). Journal of Attention Disorders, 19(2), 158-166. doi:10.1177/1087054713484175

Theule, J., Wiener, J., Tannock, R., & Jenkins, J.M. (2010). Parenting stress in families of children with ADHD: A meta-analysis. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 21(1) 1-15. doi 10.1177/1063426610387433

Van der Oord, S., Bogels, S.M., & Peijnenburg, D. (2012). The effectiveness of mindfulness training for children with ADHD and mindful parenting for their parents. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 21(1), 139-147. doi 10.1007/s10826-011-9457-0

*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

Do our screens get in the way of people?

Posted by: Sherry Law on November 25, 2015 11:59 am

The Technology in Counselling Chapter of the CCPA has been one of the quickest chapters to form it its history. It is difficult to ignore the captivating nature of these devices while everyone is kept busy tapping away. Our integration of these devices into our day to day may explain some of the interest practitioners may have. However, when I approach those with an interest it seems people are still wrought with uncertainty about their technological literacy and shy to dig their hands into tech.

When I get a better understanding of these folks perspective, it dawns on me that they are unsure because they don’t believe they understand technology, even though they use it every day. Technology seems strange, different, and to a psychotherapist, even a bit arcane. Psychotherapists are studied in the art of personal interaction, where computers and screens seem devoid of it. The flickering screens that people are so focused on seemingly distract from personal interactions. The buzzing, bleeps, and rings from devices sound alien, not like human voices at all, and again, devoid of the human spirit.

I grew up with technology. From a young age, the computer screen was my portal to be with my friends during most of my adolescence when my family would shelter me from contact with my peers. I learned how to build relationships through AIM, MSN, and Facebook chats. During my formative years, I would spend hours toiling away at a thought, or analyzing the thoughts of others through the computer and keyboard. Now in my adult life, I continue to use similar platforms to stay in touch with others and practice the same process, even evolving the way in which I spend time with my friends through the computer. I have web conferenced with friends to teach them how to use their Ebay accounts. I have bonded over online e-sports competitions such as StarCraft with co-workers a province away whom I’ve never met. I also spend quality time playing games with friends, getting to know them by how they problem solve, how they react to stressful situations, and team building, not unlike engaging in a sport with a group of friends.

In other words, my experience with technology is one of human connectivity. When I look at a computer screen, I see friends and ways to interact with people. When I hear a chime on my phone, or feel it vibrate, I’m delighted because it may be a co-worker, or a friend that wants to catch up. Seeing technology does not have to be scary. It’s a matter of seeing beyond the screen and thinking about the person on the other side. Being technologically literate begins with understanding that there’s nothing to be scared of. Part of that journey is understanding that the device is simply a window to people.

*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

How To Make Meaning of Political Violence Directed at Innocent Civilians When it Hits Your Home in Paris on a Random Friday Night?

Posted by: Barry D'Souza on November 18, 2015 4:05 pm

Please note that this blog article was written on November 16th

The title of this blog entry follows what I wondered as I came home on the TGV this morning. When the carnage began to unfold Friday night, I was hosting my therapist meditation group. It was only when my son-in-law who texted me to check that I was alright much later – he’d heard of me going to the Bataclan to see concerts many times before – that I had any inkling of war coming to Paris.

I turned on the TV and began to watch news coverage of what was a momentary hiatus in the bloody assault as I cleaned up plates from the potluck that we have after our blissful meditations. I thought, this is the essence of shock! Parisiens, in all variations from the “furthest away” of thinking that anything like that could possibly happen in our streets – were being pulled into something very awful of which only the first few dimensions were perceived.

Most of the restaurant killing had been completed but there were hundreds of hostages in the concert hall. I stayed awake as long as I could. Casualty figures were modest at 1am, but, I knew that when I woke, countless of those hostages would be among the freshly dead that Paris would mourn. When I had to go to bed I felt some nibbling guilt – for weeks I had had plans to catch up with an old friend down in Montpellier. I had a train to catch the next morning. Already, I wasn’t the slightest aware of the killing as it happened, and then when the rest of my Paris would start to reel, I’d be away.

This weekend, as I realized the randomness of who happened to be in the places where ISIS chose to slaughter, and felt amongst other things, political worries for what would come next, I yearned for many things. I wanted to have an expression of solidarity with those who lost their lives, their families and those who just felt the pain of the meaning of Friday night in Paris. I wanted to commemorate all of those who were unknown to me and to whom up until Friday were living their ordinary lives. I wanted to feel a little vicarious pain, imagine and connect with the loss, from all sorts of personal angles.

With the friends in Montpellier, amidst our ‘catching-up’, we shared on many aspects of the human side of processing. Sunday afternoon, when it was so beautifully blue skied, sunny and warm, I went for a walk, sat in the Parc de Peyrou and falling into a sublime moment of peace, felt no nibbling of guilt. Coming together as friends, as a group, as societies, to feel and to make gestures confirming our humanity is part of the meaning-making in the short term, I am sure. We Parisiens might do well to take our time here. Attempts to make more absolute meaning of Friday, November 13 in Paris, in what is the long, ideological war of attrition between opposite sides of the war on/of terrorism, (where civilian casualty and trauma is bountiful), might end up choosing anger and fear as the basis for a response…not that anger and fear are not understandable and rightful responses just now. So here then is my immediate decision to make meaning of weekend events over the longer term – I hope to be a ‘present’ force of humanity-confirming senses in the midst of crazy violence.

*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

Hear the Podcast: Real Talk on using skills from a humanities degree

Posted by: Mark Franklin on November 18, 2015 10:31 am

Ian Hartlen studied philosophy and political theory in university. What good was that? He told Career Buzz listeners that his education helped him become “a good writer, speaker and thinker, skills that are under-represented in the workplace.” Listen to the podcast (Oct. 21, 2015) to hear how Ian is using those strengths in a career he loves at The Learning Partnership where he’s just launched the Real Talk app to help high school students learn about real careers from the people in them.

How do the clues apply to you? I hear lots of people corner students who are studying humanities with the question, “what are you going to do with that degree?” It discourages them because it’s usually an unanswerable question at the time. Next time you’re tempted to ask it, instead, consider encouraging that student by taking a page out of Ian’s playbook, with something like, “That’s great, you’re working hard at building skills in writing, speaking and thinking. Those are important and under-represented skills in the workplace.”

If you’re trying to put your skills to work in a meaningful way, get started with an Exploratory Consultation with CareerCycles.

Hear the whole interview also featuring Linda Morgan, and Julie Einarson who spoke at the recent Your Workplace conference.

*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

The Wild West of Psychobiotics

Posted by: Trudi Wyatt on November 12, 2015 11:22 am

I’ve been reading a lot lately about the nervous system connection between the gut and the mind—primarily, about the importance of the vagus nerve that connects the GI system to the brain, and whose branches orchestrate whether we respond to changes in the environment via social engagement, fight or flight, or shutting down. This past Saturday however I was reminded of another gut-mind connection when I noticed an emailed Wellness Tip from The Cleveland Clinic that mentioned that “Over time, your microbiome may influence everything from your weight to your risk of chronic illness — including your mental health.”

What is your microbiome? It refers to the genetic material of the vast collection of microbes (bacteria) that line your GI system and that also live on your body. (1) This collection can weigh up to 6 pounds, has 2 million genes (vs. our own humble 23,000), and can be thought of as another organ with potentially diverse functions still to be discovered and confirmed.

I first read about the microbiome in The New York Times Magazine’s June 28, 2015 mental health edition, in an article entitled Gut Feelings, by Peter Andrey Smith. Gut Feelings described a compelling hypothesis currently being investigated that suggests that gut microbes might influence mental states like anxiety and depression, and explored some possible mechanisms of action of this influence. This hypothesis seems plausible to me, as many clients with depressive and anxious (especially anxious) symptoms also report GI symptoms; and, as the article describes, intestinal disorders “coincide with high levels of major depression and anxiety”. So compelling is this hypothesis that the US Taxpayer-funded National Institute of Mental Health in September 2014 offered four grants of $1 million each to support research on the gut microbiome’s role in mental disorders.

“Somehow” the article describes, “micro-organisms in the gut tickle a sensory nerve ending in the… intestine and carry that electrical impulse up the vagus nerve and into the deep-brain structures thought to be responsible for elemental emotions like anxiety.” The article explains that neurotransmitters like dopamine, serotonin, and GABA—the same ones that are thought to communicate and regulate mood in the brain, and that are often targeted with antidepressant and anti-anxiety medications—are actually also secreted by these microbes in the intestinal tract. Thus, much of our supply of neurochemicals may originate in the gut; and thus, these bacteria might affect the brain and mental health. And hence, neuroscientists John Cryan and Ted Dinan have named these potentially mind-altering microbes ‘psychobiotics’.

What are the implications? Will changing someone’s bacteria one day be a treatment option for mental health issues? For example, in one experiment by Cryan and Dinan, mice fed bacteria kept swimming longer when placed in water than their counterparts, who gave up sooner and just floated in “behavioural despair” (or “immobilized woe”).

This treatment application is perhaps plausible, but still very far from supported, as the research is still in its infancy. But, certainly food for thought!

Trudi Wyatt, MA, RP, CCC is a Registered Psychotherapist and Canadian Certified Counsellor in Private Practice in downtown Toronto. She has been practising for over six years and currently works with individual adults on a variety of life challenges such as depression, anxiety, anger, trauma issues, and career choices.

*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

Counselling in the Outdoors

Posted by: Jennifer Morrison on November 9, 2015 1:30 pm

This will be a short and to the point blog. I have been recently asked by my schools to work with students outside during lunch hours as a way of interacting with those students who may not be candidates for my services, but could still use a positive role model in an unstructured environment. I was apprehensive of this at first as I felt that my time would be better applied doing group work with students. Two days outside and I already find myself reaping the benefits of the all-student interactions. I do miss eating and chatting with my colleagues but I have students coming up to me to chat, walk around, hang out and ask for advice. What a great unobtrusive and informal way of getting work done. I was stuck with this idea that we work in our offices, one on one or small groups, doing lesson plans and talking to teachers about ways to help children. All that is great and I am very comfortable with that, but perhaps it is time for me to see and try other ways to counsel students.

I admit that change is not an easy thing for me and I do tend to get anxious when expectations of me change. However, change can be a very good thing and in this case it has given me the opportunity to look at my job in a different way. School counsellors are moving away from the ‘office’ and into the classrooms and playgrounds. This is a good thing and I plan to do my best to embrace it. I know there will be times when I will want to stay inside on the cold winter days, huddled in the staff room with my fellow teachers. When these thoughts creep up I will have to remember that the benefits of working with students in their own space while at the same time getting fresh air and shaking out my own cobwebs is well worth the 30 minute change in my schedule.

*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

Compulsive Texting

Posted by: Dawn Schell on November 4, 2015 2:52 pm

It started out innocently enough. A teacher asking students to put their phones away and focus on what was happening in the class. One of the students said she felt “anxious” about not having access to her phone. Other students echoed her sentiment. The teacher was flexible enough to engage in the conversation and ask them to explain. The conclusion – some students said not being able to text at any given moment or to check their messages left them feeling nervous, anxious, worried. Naturally this concerned the teacher.

Now I don’t mean this to come across as yet another adult shaking her finger at the younger generation and saying they have it all wrong. When someone says NOT doing something leaves them feeling anxious I think it merits further exploration.

A recent study published in the Psychology of Popular Media Culture journal (http://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/releases/ppm-ppm0000100.pdf) looked at the role “compulsive texting behaviour” plays in students’ academic functioning. The research focused on assessing what counts as “compulsive texting” as well as three components of academic functioning (grades, social bonding and perceived academic competence). While the study was conducted with a relatively small number of Grade 8 & 11 students (n=403) and is based on self-reporting it’s worth having a closer look at their results.

The first step was to create a measure for compulsive texting that is similar to one used for Compulsive Internet Use (Young, K.S. 1998). They wanted to assess for: interference with tasks, cognitive preoccupation and concealment, all potential indicators of compulsivity. Their research showed a high internal consistency for their Compulsive Texting Scale.

The authors measured frequency of texting, compulsive texting, academic adjustment, and gender differences. They found:

Females had higher levels of compulsive texting than males (12% vs. 3%)
“It appears it is the compulsive nature of texting – not the sheer frequency – that is problematic”
There is a relationship between compulsive texting and poorer academic functioning for females and not for males

Hmm. Now that is interesting!

The authors go on to speculate about potential explanations for females being more susceptible to compulsive texting behaviour. They point to research that indicates “females are more likely than males to engage in rumination or obsessive, preoccupied thinking” (see study for details). They also are “more likely to focus their intimacy in interpersonal relationships than males”. Which may mean the content of their texts may be more “distracting or interfering than the texts males receive”.

The researchers discuss the limitations of their study and conclude with a reminder that texting can have potential benefits as well. It’s like anything really – when the use becomes compulsive that’s when we need to find ways to address it.

Dawn M. Schell, MA, CCC, CCDP is an affiliate of Worldwide Therapy Online, Inc. http://www.therapyonline.ca

*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

When we Stumble, it is Simply Part of the Dance

Posted by: Bonney Elliott on November 3, 2015 12:55 pm

As we struggle to wrap minds and bodies around a new sequence, our wise dance teacher asserts that Argentine tango is not complicated, but complex. His words give me pause, and hope. Tango looks complicated, and takes years of practice to master. Yet, even the most dazzling choreography is essentially a pattern of basic steps.

As a psychotherapist, this distinction seems quite relevant beyond the dance floor. Helping clients who are suffering to make sense out their lives can feel complicated, but perhaps the intricate dance of psychotherapy is, like tango, a layering of steps and patterns.

A few concepts that simplify therapeutic relationship for me are connection, presence, self-awareness, humility and perspective. When a dance goes well, the partners are in sync. They have a strong, tangible connection that transcends the alchemy of physical chemistry or attraction. Dancers communicate with each other, often nonverbally. Therapists deliberately cultivate and maintain empathetic attunement with our clients. Connection is the fulcrum for therapy. When Ego steps into the space between us, connection wavers. Miscommunications happen. Insecurity and perfectionism complicate relationships.

As dance partners need to be fully present to each other to coordinate their steps and negotiate the space of the dance floor, the therapeutic process flows when we manage to stay together in the moment with our clients. Mindful presence helps us to keep in step and rhythm, to focus on what is actually happening. Staying centered in any complex relationship takes self-awareness. Partner dancing is not about one controlling the lead or the other blindly following. They work together, each learning to maintain individual frame and axis of balance. Similarly, therapy evolves when both partners are able to keep their feet under them, therapist self-awareness nurturing client self-awareness.

To grow and learn is to be vulnerable. Good dancers expect to make mistakes, to fall in and out of sync and rhythm. As the saying goes, when you stumble, make it part of the dance. Err graciously. They improve over time at stepping back to figure out how a small step gone awry threw off the entire pattern. Similarly, therapy is rarely a linear process. One step forward, two steps back. Creating new patterns of being requires patience and practice. It takes humility to own our fears and foibles while gently calling our clients on theirs.

Keeping perspective is important. The essence of any dance is simply expressive movement to music. Good dancers attend to the technical details while keeping in mind the bigger picture they are co-creating. Whatever theoretical methodologies we subscribe to and creative counselling techniques we weave in to help our clients wade through the intricacies of human feeling, thought and circumstance, the essence of our work is the co-creation of meaningful, compassionate dialogue. Simply put, psychotherapy is a therapeutic conversation. Inherently complex, but not necessarily complicated.

*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

Counselling in Private Practice and Using Social Media

Posted by: Shelley Skelton on November 3, 2015 12:17 pm

Are you thinking about opening a private practice sometime down the road? Are you wondering about what you can be doing in advance? If so, I have a great suggestion for you. Let me back up and tell you about how I arrived at this great idea.

I had a timeline to open my private practice and there were many things that I put on hold until everything was in place, such as designing a website and getting business cards. Those two choices served me well, but I missed out on some preparatory work that would have sped up my process. Once I had everything in place and opened my practice, I began catching on to ways in which I can bring more people to my website. Now let me say that many of you may already know about what I am talking about, but for those of you like me who are not as online savvy, this information may sound new.

One way to draw people to your website is by having a strong online presence in social media, such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. On Twitter, you can build a following of people by posting ideas, reposting other people’s tweets, and responding to others’ ideas. This following can become very useful for two reasons. The first is that from time to time, you can post about a blog that you have written on your website and you can direct people to read more. The second reason is that the more you connect your website to other links online, the more people visit your site and then your ranking in a search engine will increase. By that I mean when people search for counselling in your city, your website is closer to the top of the list. This is referred to as Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and this takes TIME.

No doubt you see where I am going with this … before you even get your private practice opened, if you invest some time in building your online presence in social media, you will be better equipped to direct people to your website when you are open for business.

*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

The Role of Mindfulness and Self-Compassion in Self-Care

Posted by: Amal Souraya on October 28, 2015 5:00 am

In our daily lives we juggle a multitude of roles. Professionally we are called counsellors. As counsellors we spend our time working with and assisting people on bettering their lives and living more healthfully. We do this in real time while we are working with these clients in an individual counselling session, while we are involved in case consultations pertaining to these clients, while we write assessment reports, and case notes; we spend a great deal of our time investing in client change.

For most therapists, this professional role is not the only identity that we hold. Some are also business owners, teachers, volunteers, mothers, fathers, daughters, sons, and students. With this vast array of roles that we juggle it is paramount that we find balance in our lives. This is a rudimentary skill that we thrive to teach our clients. Do we not deserve the same principles for ourselves? Continue reading →

*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA