July 2008

In this newsletter:

1) Fast Help: Relationship Boundaries
2) Therapist Q&A: Depression Treatment
3) Psychology News In Brief: NEW SECTION!!
4) Programs To Help You: NEW SECTION!!
5) Reading Recommendations

1) Fast Help: Relationship Boundaries by Christine Lerner, MSW, LCSW

Charles Whitfield, author of Boundaries and Relationships describes a boundary as a “neutral space between one’s self and another.” It is the space where one ends and another begins. It is a limit on how far one can go, with comfort, into a relationship. A boundary is an agreement we make with ourselves based on what is, and what is not, acceptable to us and acting upon that.

Boundaries can be physical as in physical closeness, touching, or sexual behavior. It can be emotional as in our thoughts, feelings, or choices. Boundaries can be spiritual as in relationship with our higher self, our religion, or our spiritual path. Healthy boundaries keep us safe; they help us know and define ourselves as individuals; they help us grow in our ability to be present in relating with others without taking on the energy, behavior, or belief of another, therefore, remaining true to ourselves.

To know and understand our boundaries we must first have an awareness of our inner lives. Our thoughts, feelings, choices, wants, needs, bodily sensations all help us know ourselves intimately. When we are in touch with our inner lives we can more readily be aware of and honor our boundaries.

If the topic of "boundaries" calls to you, I recommend reading Charles Whitfield’s book Boundaries and Relationships. The book provides great insight on becoming aware of, maintaining, and creating healthy boundaries. Enjoy!

2) Therapist Q&A: Depression Treatment

What is the most common treatment for depression?

One of the most common types of treatment for depression is cognitive-behavioral therapy. Cognitive-behavioral thearpy, or CBT, is well-respected for its effectiveness in treating depression. CBT looks at maladaptive thinking patterns, or “cognitions,” as a common cause of depression. CBT attempts to assist the client to replace those thinking patterns that are not effective, with more effective, rational thinking patterns. The premise is that when the client experiences healthy thinking patterns, they will experience healthy behaviors as a result. This in turn will reduce depressive feelings. CBT is supported by extensive psychological research and is a cost-effective form of therapy, therefore, making CBT widely accepted in the treatment of depression. However, as with any form of therapy, it is important to understand that change is a process and the length of therapy depends on each person and his/her circumstances. Of course, many other modalities of treatment are available to suit the individual needs of clients. Our therapists are trained in a variety of treatment modalities, and we welcome any questions you may have if you are considering therapy, so that we may tailor a treatment plan to fit your unique needs.

3) Psychology News In Brief

Since the beginning of online social networking websites, such as MySpace and Facebook, parents and adults have been rightfully concerned about the safety and well-being of adolescents’ use of these sites. They fear that teens could become victims of online predators. According to a recent study (American Psychologist, Feb/March 2008), research conducted by the University of New Hampshire found the real risk of these sites lies with adolescents having online discussions about unsafe topics, primarily about sex, with unknown people. The study suggests talking with teens about the potential serious risks of chatting online with strangers about sex. Furthermore, although it may be obvious to adults, parents/adults need to talk with adolescents so that they know romantic relationships with adults is inappropriate, and that if they become involved romantically with an adult, they are the victim of a crime (from Monitor on Psychology, May 2008).

4) Programs To Help You

In addition to the traditional counseling services we provide, at Clinical Psychology Associates we also offer the following:

• Depression Screening
• Anxiety Screening
• Marriage/Relationship Enrichment Program
• Smoking Cessation
• Career Counseling

For information regarding any of these programs or to schedule a confidential consultation, please contact our programs coordinator, Chris Lerner at lernerc@hotmail.com or 262-251-1112 x 8. For a full listing of the services we offer, please go to http://www.clinical-psychology-associates.com/services.htm.

5) Reading Recommendations

Staff therapist Kristen de Junco, MSW, LCSW, recommends:

How To Win as a Step-Family by Emily Visher PhD and John Visher MD
For all blended families I work with, I highly recommended this book. Personally, it helped me as I adjusted to my new family. It normalizes the adjustment period families need to go through and is easy to understand. Great book!!!

You Can Be Happy No Matter What: Five Principles for Keeping Life In Perspective by Richard Carlson, PhD
This is my most recent best book recommendation. It looks at how changing a person's thoughts and thinking can improve his/her outlook in life and build contentment. An easy to read book.

CPA Newsletter Reader recommendations:

Mindfulness in Plain English by Bhante H. Gunaratana
"This one seemed to have the best reviews and I like the apparent simple approach to describing mindfulness."

Mindfulness for Beginners by Jon Kabat-Zinn
"I liked that this was available digitally so that I can take advantage of the drive for work."

We welcome the titles and authors of any appropriate books you have found to be particularly useful. We may then share them in this newsletter and on our website (your name will be withheld for confidentiality purposes). If you have a book or similar resource you would like to share, please send the title, author, and a brief description to cpa@wi.rr.com.