New! Therapeutic Meal Group for Disordered Eating Recovery

/ Mind Therapy Clinic/
New! Therapeutic Meal Group for Disordered Eating Recovery

The therapeutic meal group is part nutrition education and part culinary skills development designed around a coached meal and post-meal process group. Even as recovery progresses, many people encounter difficulties at meal time such as trying new foods, preparing their own food, and implementing skills from intuitive and mindful eating. This group intends to bridge that gap and act as a laboratory to learn about and practice new skills and discover the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that show up during meals that may be inhibiting progress in recovery.

To register for this group, contact us at info@mindtherapyclinic.com.

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Mind Therapy Clinic welcomes Katherine Dittmann, MS, RDN, Nutrition Therapist.

/ Mind Therapy Clinic/
Mind Therapy Clinic welcomes Katherine Dittmann, MS, RDN, Nutrition Therapist.

It is with pleasure we welcome Katherine Dittmann, MS, RDN, to Mind Therapy Clinic.  Katherine is a nutrition therapist specializing in eating behaviors and disorders, and has worked the full spectrum of eating disorder treatment for a decade.  Katherine uses a food-positive and pragmatic approach, weaving in concepts from yoga and mindfulness to help people connect with the body and eat with more ease. Katherine is a certified Mindfulness-Based Yoga Therapy for Eating Disorders teacher, certified Mindful Self-Compassion teacher, and former chef.   Learn More About Katherine.

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Understanding Holistic Trauma Treatment - Education Event 1 CE

/ Il Davide/
Understanding Holistic Trauma Treatment - Education Event 1 CE

Learn how traditional therapeutic methods including Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Sensorimotor Psychotherapy can be integrated with non-traditional therapies, such as yoga, neurofeedback, meditation to help resolve the implicit memories associated with trauma.  

This workshop for 1 CE is suitable for clinicians at the intermediate and advanced level.

Guest Presenter:  Adriana Westby-Trend, PhD,Clinical Director, PCH – Psychological Care & Healing, Residential and Outpatient Treatment, Venice, CA

Date/Time:  Friday, March 17, 11:30am to 1:15pm

Location: Il Davide – 901 A Street, San Rafael

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Categories of Traumatic Experience - by David Campell

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Categories of Traumatic Experience - by David Campell

We've covered single incidents of trauma exposure in our Trauma Series to date.   But, as we know other kinds of traumas can be repeated and enduring such as domestic violence, military combat, or living in a war zone.  These can have an even more pervasive effect than a single incident trauma since the mind/body may not have time to settle before the next threat occurs.   

An even more insidious form of trauma is that which occurs during the critical developmental years of a child, thought to be 0-6 yrs of age [3].  When an event in childhood is overwhelming it elicits the same survival circuit as in adults.  But for a child, an experience of overwhelm does not require the same magnitude of threat that it would take for an adult to feel overwhelmed, due to their vulnerability and lack of survival resources. 

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The Role Medications Play in the Treatment of PTSD - Trauma Series by Mark Schiller, MD

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The Role Medications Play in the Treatment of PTSD - Trauma Series by Mark Schiller, MD

Psychotherapy is the keystone of PTSD treatment.  Nevertheless, medications play an important role and often included to facilitate the psychotherapeutic treatments.  Medication can help improve core symptoms as well as other problems related to the traumatic experience, such as depression, anxiety, or excessive alcohol or drug use.

For people who have experienced trauma, there may be changes in the brain that are linked to their ability to manage stress.  Specifically, people with PTSD have changes in the balance of certain chemicals - called neurotransmitters -  in the brain than those who do not have PTSD.  These imbalances in different neurotransmitter systems are the focus of medication treatment. 

There of different classes of medications that are used to address different types of symptoms.

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How trauma stress is passed down to children and burdens families with mental disorders - Trauma Series by Kenneth Perlmutter, PhD

/ Mind Therapy Clinic/
How trauma stress is passed down to children and burdens families with mental disorders - Trauma Series by Kenneth Perlmutter, PhD

Addiction, compulsion, disordered eating and mental illness typically show up in people from families that have experienced significant losses from which members of the system have never fully recovered.

Families burdened by these legacies of loss find themselves caught in repetitive cycles of illness and relapse, reinforced by learned responses that are transmitted across the generations.  Rather than see these families as dysfunctional, it has proven more useful to think of them as “wounded.” The wounded family system displays a set of environmental characteristics dubbed “the dastardly D’s.”  This vignette describes a family burdened with inherited trauma stress... 

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How do people with PTSD come back to normal? - Trauma Series by David Campell, MD

/ Mind Therapy Clinic/
How do people with PTSD come back to normal? - Trauma Series by David Campell, MD

So, how do you know you if you have it? What are the signs?

Symptoms usually start soon after the traumatic event, but less often they may first appear months or years later – often triggered by another traumatic episode. Symptoms may come and go over time; however, if the symptoms last longer than four weeks, and interfere with your work or home life, you might be experiencing PTSD.

While it has become apparent that supportive talk therapy by itself is not very helpful for PTSD, specific trauma-focused therapies that address the way trauma is stored in the mind/body are effective.  There are treatment methods that research has shown to be effective for treating trauma: 

  • Cognitive Behavior Therapy 
  • Prolonged Exposure Therapy 
  • EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing)
  • Somatic Psychotherapy
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How is brain scanning (EEG) used to treat mental health?

/ Mind Therapy Clinic/
How is brain scanning (EEG) used to treat mental health?

If you are currently taking medication as a part of your mental health treatment, and it is not working, you are not alone.  Almost 20 million Americans have failed two or more medication therapies (mynd analytics) for a mental disorder.

To tackle this problem, an online database was created called PEER Online.

What is PEER Online?

PEER stands for Psychiatric EEG Evaluation Registry.  

Through this tool, your doctor can learn which medications have been effective, and which have not, in treating patients with similar brain patterns.  Doctors use the data to help identify the medications most likely to achieve a positive outcome based on your unique neurophysiology.

An electroencephalogram (EEG) which records a person's brain electrical activity, much like an EKG does for the heart, helps your doctor understand the unique brain patterns or neurophysiology.  Your EEG is then, compared to others with similar EEGs to see which medications worked and which didn't.  This information is used by your doctor to better design your treatment options.

EEG is sometimes covered by your insurance depending on the results of the outcome report. If you are interested, contact Mind Therapy Clinic's doctors for more information.  You can also find more information in our diagnostic imaging and eeg pages.

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Who gets PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) and why? - Trauma Series by David Campell, MD

/ Mind Therapy Clinic/
Who gets PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) and why? - Trauma Series by David Campell, MD

Since announcing Trauma Services as a specialty at Mind Therapy Clinic, we’ve been receiving a lot of questions about therapy as it relates to trauma. Most commonly people want to know what is PTSD, and who gets it and why?

With so many traumatic experiences in today’s news – from police shootings, racial tensions, war, car crashes, crosswalk and bicycle accidents, physical and sexual assaults, gun violence, natural disasters, racial and economic fallouts, etc. - it makes sense that there is a heightened awareness and interest in the need to fully understand the impact of these events and treatments for those who are affected.  Media often presents PTSD with a military focus, but recent research has revealed that civilian PTSD is 13 times more common. In fact, an estimated one out of every nine women develops PTSD (more than twice as likely as men).*  So, what is considered PTSD and who should receive treatment? 

Let’s start with how does someone become traumatized?

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Mind Therapy Clinic at the California MFT Fall Symposium on Nov. 12

/ CAMFT Fall Symposium @ San Ramon Marriott/
Mind Therapy Clinic at the California MFT Fall Symposium on Nov. 12

Visit Mind Therapy Clinic at the California Association of MFT Fall Symposium in the Resource Room, Table 2.  Don't forget to ask Jacqueline Perlmutter about Mind Therapy Clinic's IOP, PHP, and Trauma programs.  For more information about the event and Mind Therapy Clinic's participation, contact Jacqueline.

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Typical student or early signs of serious mental trouble?

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Typical student or early signs of serious mental trouble?

Recently, we've been hearing a lot about "college students flooding the mental health centers" and new clinics popping up near campuses designed to help students cope with anxiety, depression, and related disorders.  According to WSJ,* 17% of college students are diagnosed with or treated for anxiety last year, and as of this Spring, 13.9% were diagnosed and treated for depression.  This is up more than 10% for both disorders.  

While these numbers are alarming, when it comes to your own child, what should you know?Sometimes, it is difficult to decipher whether your student is showing initial signs of serious mental trouble, or he/she is now more comfortable asking for help to cope with the stress of competitive learning environment.  It is especially difficult when you are unable to see the day-to-day episodes of the mental breakdowns.

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Psychological "First Aid Kit" - What's included?

/ Mind Therapy Clinic/
Psychological "First Aid Kit" - What's included?

When a loved one is experiencing a mental health crisis, it's natural to feel confused and helpless. Throughout your life, many of us learn how to give first aid in an emergency for all types of situations.... except for those involving mental calamities.  Yet, many of us find ourselves in a situation where help is clearly and eminently required, and you have no idea where to start or who to call.  Here are a few tips and tools that should be included in your psychological 'first aid kit'...

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World Mental Health Day - October 10

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World Mental Health Day - October 10

Today marks World Mental Health Day, which aims to raise public awareness around mental health issues and the importance of mental wellbeing.   World Health Organization (WHO) declared the theme of this year's World Mental Health Day -  "psychological first aid".  

Psychological first aid includes support that ensures anyone in acute distress to receive basic support including health, mental health, and social support.  It's a good reminder for all of us to remember, one out of four of us experience psychiatric problems, and that mental crisis requires a first aid as would any physical injury.  

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