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philosophical counseling

Granted, cognitive approaches in psychotherapy such as cognitive therapy, Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy, logotherapy, and existential psychotherapy seem to already be doing some of what philosophical counseling claims to do. These psychotherapies are admittedly based on a philosophical type of inquiry into the client's reasoning. But these approaches were developed in the 1950s when psychologists were the only ones interested in the practice of counseling. Today there are a growing number of philosophers willing to work with individuals outside of the traditional academic setting -- philosophers very skilled at actively listening, at separating large masses of information into manageable pieces and putting them all back together again, and at spotting inconsistencies, contradictions, and other problems in a person's reasoning style. A philosopher, in order to become a philosophical counselor, must have achieved at least a Master's degree in philosophy. The aspiring philosophical counselor will often focus his studies on practical or applied philosophy. Because of this he will be far better qualified to deal with specifically philosophical issues such as the meaning of life or questions of right and wrong than the therapist whose education has been predominantly in psychology. In other words, he will be experienced in discussing existential and ethical issues for which many psychotherapists have little or no training. Many philosophical counselors are hesitant to call philosophical counseling "therapy". This is because the philosophical counselor, unlike his psychotherapeutic counterpart, does not diagnose his clients according to normative ideals about normalcy, mental health, self-understanding, or psychic well-being, such as the DSM-IV or the ICD-10. Neither does he offer the sort of therapy that expects the client to passively receive treatment. As with many modern psychodynamic therapies, the client is an active participant in the philosophical encounter. Philosophical counseling can be therapeutic in its effect. Wittgenstein saw philosophy as having a practical use in "untying the knots in our thinking," or what he considered the treatment of "intellectual disease." The philosophical methods required for untying these troublesome knots he called "therapies." Therapy in the philosophical sense comes from the client's increased understanding, self-awareness, and feeling of well-being -- all products of a careful exploration, in tandem with a skilled philosopher, of herself and the world around her. To undertake such an exploration some philosophical counselors prefer to use the reasoning of a single philosopher or philosophical system. But most take a more eclectic approach, knowing that specialization in one area of philosophy restricts a counselor's effectiveness when his client's problems or concerns shift over time. The key to philosophical counseling generally is its client-centered and open-ended nature, one which does not manipulate the client's thinking so as to bring him to accept some particular philosophy as the "Truth." The philosophical counselor's intention is to help his client reach any reasonable and morally permissible goal the client has set for herself. Apart from being of great help to the average person, philosophical counseling can also be of immense value to professional psychotherapists. After all, philosophy is the foundation upon which all other fields of thought are based. Philosophy does not simply transmit a body of knowledge; it is the act of constantly improving one's understanding by means of thinking and discussion. Philosophers have an extraordinarily rich repertoire of theoretical perspectives at their disposal and therefore are especially adept at seeing the implications and assumptions behind the theories guiding all of the various approaches to psychological therapy. The philosophical counselor is well prepared to facilitate an inquiry into both the content and the process of reasoning that may have resulted in either professional or personal difficulties for the psychotherapist. While the adage that the unexamined life is not worth living is somewhat of an exaggeration, it is certainly true that the examination of a life by means of philosophical counseling can lead to the living of a better life.

Mental Health Disorders, Conditions, causes and Treatment: 1.  Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). 2. Adjustment Disorder. 3. Agoraphobia. 4. Alcohol, Violence, and Aggression . 5. Alzheimer's Disease. 6. Amnesia. 7. Anger in Children. 8. Anorexia. 9. Anxiety Disorders. 10. Autism. 11. Eating Disorders. 12. Filial Therapy. 13. Forgetfulness. 14. Gender Identity Disorder. 15. Geriatric Depression. 16. Inhalant Abuse. 17. Intimate Partner Violence. 18. Stress at Work. 19. Bereavement and Grief. 20. Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). 21. Child Abuse and Neglect. 22. Club Drugs. 23. Depression and HIV. 24. Men and Depression . 25. Depression in Women. 26. Commonly Abused Drugs. 27. Marijuana. 28.  Mathematics Disorder. 29. Nightmares. 30. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). 31. Psychotic Disorders. 32. Reading Disorder. 33. Sexual Disorders. 34. Sleep Disorders. 35. Spirituality and Faith. FULL NOTE:   1.  Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): Imagine living in a fast-moving kaleidoscope, where sounds, images, and thoughts are constantly shifting. Feeling easily bored, yet helpless to keep your mind on tasks you need to complete. Distracted by unimportant sights and sounds, your mind drives you from one thought or activity to the next. Perhaps you are so wrapped up in a collage of thoughts and images that you don't notice when someone speaks to you. For many people, this is what it's like to have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD. They may be unable to sit still, plan ahead, finish tasks, or be fully aware of what's going on around them. To their family, classmates or coworkers, they seem to exist in a whirlwind of disorganized or frenzied activity. Unexpectedly--on some days and in some situations--they seem fine, often leading others to think the person with ADHD can actually control these behaviors. As a result, the disorder can mar the person's relationships with others in addition to disrupting their daily life, consuming energy, and diminishing self-esteem. ADHD, once called hyperkinesis or minimal brain dysfunction, is one of the most common mental disorders among children. It affects 3 to 5 percent of all children, perhaps as many as 2 million American children. Two to three times more boys than girls are affected. On the average, at least one child in every classroom in the United States needs help for the disorder. ADHD often continues into adolescence and adulthood, and can cause a lifetime of frustrated dreams and emotional pain. What Are the Symptoms of ADHD? ADHD is not like a broken arm, or strep throat. Unlike these two disorders, ADHD does not have clear physical signs that can be seen in an x-ray or a lab test. ADHD can only be identified by looking for certain characteristic behaviors, these behaviors vary from person to person. Scientists have not yet identified a single cause behind all the different patterns of behavior--and they may never find just one. Rather, someday scientists may find that ADHD is actually an umbrella term for several slightly different disorders. At present, ADHD is a diagnosis applied to children and adults who consistently display certain characteristic behaviors over a period of time. The most common behaviors fall into three categories: inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. Inattention. People who are inattentive have a hard time keeping their mind on any one thing and may get bored with a task after only a few minutes. They may give effortless, automatic attention to activities and things they enjoy. But focusing deliberate, conscious attention to organizing and completing a task or learning something new is difficult. Hyperactivity. People who are hyperactive always seem to be in motion. They can't sit still. Sitting still through a lesson can be an impossible task. Hyperactive children squirm in their seat or roam around the room. Or they might wiggle their feet, touch everything, or noisily tap their pencil. Hyperactive teens and adults may feel intensely restless. They may be fidgety or they may try to do several things at once, bouncing around from one activity to the next. Impulsivity. People who are overly impulsive seem unable to curb their immediate reactions or think before they act. As a result, they may blurt out inappropriate comments or they may run into the street without looking. Their impulsivity may make it hard for them to wait for things they want or to take their turn in games. They may grab a toy from another child or hit when they're upset. Not everyone who is overly hyperactive, inattentive, or impulsive has an attention disorder. Since most people sometimes blurt out things they didn't mean to say, bounce from one task to another, or become disorganized and forgetful, how can specialists tell if the problem is ADHD? To assess whether a person has ADHD, specialists consider several critical questions: Are these behaviors excessive, long-term, and pervasive? That is, do they occur more often than in other people the same age? Are they a continuous problem, not just a response to a temporary situation? Do the behaviors occur in several settings or only in one specific place like the playground or the office? The person's pattern of behavior is compared against a set of criteria and characteristics of the disorder.   These criteria appear in a diagnostic reference book called the DSM (short for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders). According to the diagnostic manual, there are three patterns of behavior that indicate ADHD. People with ADHD may show several signs of being consistently inattentive. They may have a pattern of being hyperactive and impulsive. Or they may show all three types of behavior. According to the DSM, signs of inattention include: becoming easily distracted by irrelevant sights and sounds failing to pay attention to details and making careless mistakes rarely following instructions carefully and completely losing or forgetting things like toys, or pencils, books, and tools needed for a task Some signs of hyperactivity and impulsivity are: feeling restless, often fidgeting with hands or feet, or squirming running, climbing, or leaving a seat, in situations where sitting or quiet behavior is expected blurting out answers before hearing the whole question having difficulty waiting in line or for a turn Because everyone shows some of these behaviors at times, the DSM contains very specific guidelines for determining when they indicate ADHD. The behaviors must appear early in life, before age 7, and continue for at least 6 months. In children, they must be more frequent or severe than in others the same age. Above all, the behaviors must create a real handicap in at least two areas of a person's life, such as school, home, work, or social settings. So someone whose work or friendships are not impaired by these behaviors would not be diagnosed with ADHD. Nor would a child who seems overly active at school but functions well elsewhere. Can Any Other Conditions Produce These Symptoms? The fact is, many things can produce these behaviors. Anything from chronic fear to mild seizures can make a child seem overactive, quarrelsome, impulsive, or inattentive. For example, a formerly cooperative child who becomes overactive and easily distracted after a parent's death is dealing with an emotional problem, not ADHD. A chronic middle ear infection can also make a child seem distracted and uncooperative. So can living with family members who are physically abusive or addicted to drugs or alcohol. Can you imagine a child trying to focus on a math lesson when his or her safety and well-being are in danger each day? Such children are showing the effects of other problems, not ADHD. In other children, ADHD-like behaviors may be their response to a defeating classroom situation. Perhaps the child has a learning disability and is not developmentally ready to learn to read and write at the time these are taught. Or maybe the work is too hard or too easy, leaving the child frustrated or bored. It's also important to realize that during certain stages of development, the majority of children that age tend to be inattentive, hyperactive, or impulsive--but do not have ADHD. Preschoolers have lots of energy and run everywhere they go, but this doesn't mean they are hyperactive. And many teenagers go through a phase when they are messy, disorganized, and reject authority. It doesn't mean they will have a lifelong problem controlling their impulses. ADHD is a serious diagnosis that may require long-term treatment with counseling and medication. So it's important that a a Mental Health Councelor first look for and treat any other causes for these behaviors. What Causes ADHD? Understandably, one of the first questions parents ask when they learn their child has an attention disorder is "Why? What went wrong?" Health professionals stress that since no one knows what causes ADHD, it doesn't help parents to look backward to search for possible reasons. There are too many possibilities to pin down the cause with certainty. It is far more important for the family to move forward in finding ways to get the right help. Scientists, however, do need to study causes in an effort to identify better ways to treat, and perhaps some day, prevent ADHD. They are finding more and more evidence that ADHD does not stem from home environment, but from biological causes. When you think about it, there is no clear relationship between home life and ADHD. Not all children from unstable or dysfunctional homes have ADHD. And not all children with ADHD come from dysfunctional families. Knowing this can remove a huge burden of guilt from parents who might blame themselves for their child's behavior. One disappointing theory was that all attention disorders and learning disabilities were caused by minor head injuries or undetectable damage to the brain, perhaps from early infection or complications at birth. Based on this theory, for many years both disorders were called "minimal brain damage" or "minimal brain dysfunction." Although certain types of head injury can explain some cases of attention disorder, the theory was rejected because it could explain only a very small number of cases. Not everyone with ADHD or LD has a history of head trauma or birth complications. Another theory was that refined sugar and food additives make children hyperactive and inattentive. As a result, parents were encouraged to stop serving children foods containing artificial flavorings, preservatives, and sugars. However, this theory, too, came under question.In 1982, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Federal agency responsible for biomedical research, held a major scientific conference to discuss the issue. After studying the data, the scientists concluded that the restricted diet only seemed to help about 5 percent of children with ADHD, mostly either young children or children with food allergies. Types of Professionals Who Make the Diagnosis School-age and preschool children are often evaluated by a school psychologist or a team made up of the school psychologist and other specialists. But if the school doesn't believe the student has a problem, or if the family wants another opinion, a family may need to see a specialist in private practice. In such cases, who can the family turn to? What kinds of specialists do they need? Speciality Can diagnose ADHD Can prescribe medications, if needed Provides counseling or training Psychiatrists yes yes yes Psychologists yes no yes Pediatricians or family physicians yes yes no Neurologists yes yes no Countinue...... << back click here to download the lecture on this page ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ADHD nowing the differences in qualifications and services can help the family choose someone who can best meet their needs. Besides school psychologists, there are several types of specialists qualified to diagnose and treat ADHD. Child psychiatrists are doctors who specialize in diagnosing and treating childhood mental and behavioral disorders. A psychiatrist can provide therapy and prescribe any needed medications. Child psychologists are also qualified to diagnose and treat ADHD. They can provide therapy for the child and help the family develop ways to deal with the disorder. But psychologists are not medical doctors and must rely on the child's physician to do medical exams and prescribe medication. Neurologists, doctors who work with disorders of the brain and nervous system, can also diagnose ADHD and prescribe medicines. But unlike psychiatrists and psychologists, neurologists usually do not provide therapy for the emotional aspects of the disorder. Adults who think they may have ADHD can also seek a psychologist, psychiatrist, or neurologist. But at present, not all specialists are skilled in identifying or treating ADHD in adults. Within each specialty, individual doctors and mental health professionals differ in their experience with ADHD. So in selecting a specialist, it's important to find someone with specific training and experience in diagnosing and treating the disorder. Treatments To Help People With ADHD and Their Families Learn To Cope Life can be hard for children with ADHD. They're the ones who are so often in trouble at school, can't finish a game, and lose friends. They may spend agonizing hours each night struggling to keep their mind on their homework, then forget to bring it to school. It's not easy coping with these frustrations day after day. Some children release their frustration by acting contrary, starting fights, or destroying property. Some turn the frustration into body ailments, like the child who gets a stomachache each day before school. Others hold their needs and fears inside, so that no one sees how badly they feel. It's also difficult having a sister, brother, or classmate who gets angry, grabs your toys, and loses your things. Children who live with or share a classroom with a child who has ADHD get frustrated, too. They may feel neglected as their parents or teachers try to cope with the hyperactive child. They may resent their brother or sister never finishing chores, or being pushed around by a classmate. They want to love their sibling and get along with their classmate, but sometimes it's so hard! It's especially hard being the parent of a child who is full of uncontrolled activity, leaves messes, throws tantrums, and doesn't listen or follow instructions. Parents often feel powerless and at a loss. The usual methods of discipline, like reasoning and scolding, don't work with this child, because the child doesn't really choose to act in these ways. It's just that their self-control comes and goes. Out of sheer frustration, parents sometimes find themselves spanking, ridiculing, or screaming at the child, even though they know it's not appropriate. Their response leaves everyone more upset than before. Then they blame themselves for not being better parents. Once children are diagnosed and receiving treatment, some of the emotional upset within the family may fade. Medication can help to control some of the behavior problems that may have lead to family turmoil. But more often, there are other aspects of the problem that medication can't touch. Even though ADHD primarily affects a person's behavior, having the disorder has broad emotional repercussions. For some children, being scolded is the only attention they ever get. They have few experiences that build their sense of worth and competence. If they're hyperactive, they're often told they're bad and punished for being disruptive. If they are too disorganized and unfocused to complete tasks, others may call them lazy. If they impulsively grab toys, butt in, or shove classmates, they may lose friends. And if they have a related conduct disorder, they may get in trouble at school or with the law. Facing the daily frustrations that can come with having ADHD can make people fear that they are strange, abnormal, or stupid. Often, the cycle of frustration, blame, and anger has gone on so long that it will take some time to undo. Both parents and their children may need special help to develop techniques for managing the patterns of behavior. In such cases, mental health professionals can counsel the child and the family, helping them to develop new skills, attitudes, and ways of relating to each other. In individual counseling, the therapist helps children or adults with ADHD learn to feel better about themselves. They learn to recognize that having a disability does not reflect who they are as a person. The therapist can also help people with ADHD identify and build on their strengths, cope with daily problems, and control their attention and aggression. In group counseling, people learn that they are not alone in their frustration and that others want to help. Sometimes only the individual with ADHD needs counseling support. But in many cases, because the problem affects the family as well as the person with ADHD, the entire family may need help. The therapist assists the family in finding better ways to handle the disruptive behaviors and promote change. If the child is young, most of the therapist's work is with the parents, teaching them techniques for coping with and improving their child's behavior. Several intervention approaches are available and different therapists tend to prefer one approach or another. Knowing something about the various types of interventions makes it easier for families to choose a therapist that is right for their needs. Psychotherapy works to help people with ADHD to like and accept themselves despite their disorder. In psychotherapy, patients talk with the therapist about upsetting thoughts and feelings, explore self-defeating patterns of behavior, and learn alternative ways to handle their emotions. As they talk, the therapist tries to help them understand how they can change. However, people dealing with ADHD usually want to gain control of their symptomatic behaviors more directly. If so, more direct kinds of intervention are needed. Cognitive-behavioral therapy helps people work on immediate issues. Rather than helping people understand their feelings and actions, it supports them directly in changing their behavior. The support might be practical assistance, like helping Henry learn to think through tasks and organize his work. Or the support might be to encourage new behaviors by giving praise or rewards each time the person acts in the desired way. A cognitive-behavioral therapist might use such techniques to help a belligerent child like Mark learn to control his fighting, or an impulsive teenager like Lisa to think before she speaks. Social skills training can also help children learn new behaviors. In social skills training, the therapist discusses and models appropriate behaviors like waiting for a turn, sharing toys, asking for help, or responding to teasing, then gives children a chance to practice. For example, a child might learn to "read" other people's facial expression and tone of voice, in order to respond more appropriately. Social skills training helped Lisa learn to join in group activities, make appropriate comments, and ask for help. A child like Mark might learn to see how his behavior affects others and develop new ways to respond when angry or pushed. Parenting skills training, offered by therapists or in special classes, gives parents tools and techniques for managing their child's behavior. One such technique is the use of "time out" when the child becomes too unruly or out of control. During time outs, the child is removed from the agitating situation and sits alone quietly for a short time to calm down. Parents may also be taught to give the child "quality time" each day, in which they share a pleasurable or relaxed activity. During this time together, the parent looks for opportunities to notice and point out what the child does well, and praise his or her strengths and abilities. An effective way to modify a child's behavior is through a system of rewards and penalties. The parents (or teacher) identify a few desirable behaviors that they want to encourage in the child--such as asking for a toy instead of grabbing it, or completing a simple task. The child is told exactly what is expected in order to earn the reward. The child receives the reward when he performs the desired behavior and a mild penalty when he doesn't. A reward can be small, perhaps a token that can be exchanged for special privileges, but it should be something the child wants and is eager to earn. The penalty might be removal of a token or a brief "time out." The goal, over time, is to help children learn to control their own behavior and to choose the more desired behavior. The technique works well with all children, although children with ADHD may need more frequent rewards. In addition, parents may learn to structure situations in ways that will allow their child to succeed. This may include allowing only one or two playmates at a time, so that their child doesn't get overstimulated. Or if their child has trouble completing tasks, they may learn to help the child divide a large task into small steps, then praise the child as each step is completed. Parents may also learn to use stress management methods, such as meditation, relaxation techniques, and exercise to increase their own tolerance for frustration, so that they can respond more calmly to their child's behavior. As we learn more about what actually happens inside the brain, we approach a future where we can prevent certain brain and mental disorders. ------------------------------------------------------------------ 2. Adjustment Disorder. What is an adjustment disorder and how does it occur? There are six major adjustment disorders: Adjustment disorder with depressed mood; Adjustment disorder with anxiety; Adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood; Adjustment disorder with disturbance of conduct; Adjustment disorder with mixed disturbance of emotions and conduct; Adjustment disorder unspecified.                             Studies continue........ < < back click here to download the lecture on this page ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Psychotherapy Psychotherapy is a set of techniques believed to cure or to help solve behavioral (See bellow) and other psychological problems in humans. The common part of these techniques is direct personal contact between therapist and patient, mainly in the form of talking. Owing to the nature of these communications, there are significant issues of patient privacy and/or client confidentiality. Behavior: Behavior generally refers to the actions or reactions of an object or organism,  usually in relation to the environment or surrounding world of stimuli. Behavior can be conscious or unconscious,  overt or covert and voluntary or involuntary. The behavior of people (and other organisms or even mechanisms) falls within a range with some behavior being common, some unusual, some acceptable, and some outside acceptable limits(See bellow). The acceptablity of behavior is evaluated relative to social norms and regulated by various means of social control. The behavior of people is studied by the academic disciplines of psychology, sociology,and anthropology. Outside acceptable limits(Deviant behavior in social sciences): Deviant behavior is a behavior that is not accepted in the society or organizations. Crime ( See bellow) is a good instance of this, but other behaviors caused by cultural difference can be seen as deviance. Formal and informal social controls attempt to prevent and minimize deviance, both serious deviance such as murder (See bellow) and trivial deviance such as picking one's nose. Actually it means doing what the majority does, it doesn't necessarily mean you are a criminal. Crime: A crime is an act which violates a law of a government, nation-state, or jurisdiction,  for which there is no successful defense.  According to Western jurisprudence, there must be a simultaneous concurrence of both actus reus ("bad action") and mens rea ("bad mind") for a crime to have been committed; except in crimes of strict liability. In order for prosecution, some laws require proof of causality; relating the defendant's actions to the criminal event in question. In addition, some laws require that attendant circumstances have occurred, in order for a crime to have occurred. Also, in order for a crime to be prosecuted corpus delicti (or "proof of a crime") must be established. Muder: Murder is the crime of intentionally causing the death of another human being, without lawful excuse. When an illegal death was not caused intentionally, but was caused by recklessness or negligence (or there is some defense, such as diminished capacity), the crime committed is manslaughter or criminally negligent homicide, which are considered to be less serious than murder. Manslaughter is often broken into two categories: involuntary manslaughter and voluntary manslaughter.  << back click here to download the lecture on this page ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Epicurus Epicurus, Hellenistic Greek philosopher (born Samos, 341 BC; died Athens, 270 BC). Epicurus was born into an Athenian émigré family - his parents, both Athenian citizens, had moved to an Athenian settlement on the Aegean island of Samos. He returned to Athens to serve as an ephebe - a young citizen in military training. The playwright Menander served in the same age-class of the ephebes as Epicurus. After pursuing philosophical education in several Greek cities he taught in two cities in Asia Minor. In about 306 BC he bought a house and garden in Athens. << back click here to download the lecture on this page end of the first lecture.