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Mental Health Monday: Grief, Pain, & Loss

Mental Health Monday: #Grief, #Pain, & #Loss - A reflection and review in preparation of the next one on August 26th, 2019! #mentalhealth #blog #awareness

Your grief path is yours alone, and no one else can walk it, and no one else can understand it.

Terri Irwin

On Monday May 20th, 2019 I had the pleasure of being able to visit ReBirth Church, 2300 Fairmount Avenue, Richmond, Virginia 23223 to present on “Grief, Pain, and Loss” with Alva Kershaw, LCSW from Touchstone Counseling Services to a great group of people. Throughout the evening we took…

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Speaking Engagements

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Can you figure out these five words? A challenge known as "Magic Spells" that helped kick off a presentation called "Crossing the Ravine of Despair to Resilience" this past Thursday for Virginia Commonwealth University Family Education Program that supports families and loved ones who are dealing with substance use disorder!

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The Journey Of Becoming A Clinician

What does it take to be a mental health clinician? Generally, whether a physician, or mental health professional “a clinician is a health care professional that works as a primary care giver of a patient in a hospital, skilled nursing facility, clinic, or patient’s home. A clinician diagnoses and treats patients.” Once you enter the mental health field you are always striving to be the best…

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An End Of An Adventure At Blackwater Outdoor Experiences

An end to an #adventure @BOEtherapy #update #dyk

Dear Blackwater Outdoor Experiences Family, I am writing this letter to officially inform you that as of November 30, 2017, I will no longer be working for Blackwater Outdoor Experiences. Taking such a huge step has without a doubt been one of the toughest decisions Dr. Bright, the other BOE staff, and myself had to make this year. Over the past two years I have worked hard to help Blackwater…

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Therapy costs a pretty penny. And if I’m honest, I expected the sessions to fix me—but they didn’t. I sobbed during the first few; I couldn’t stop. The experience was an odd melancholy release of everything I had been holding inside. And while I have yet to feel ‘fixed,’ I will liken it to someone coming alongside a weary traveler and offering to help carry their bags. It doesn’t make you feel less tired, but it makes your burden more manageable. And it’s the relief of someone else saying, 'I care that you make it to your destination.’

Courtney Bunting, “The Reality of Therapy” (via twloha)

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Understanding The Complications Of Clinical Work

Clinical Work Can Be Complicated - #counseling #clinical #wordpress #dyk

Throughout my bachelor’s in clinical and counseling psychology and even more so in my graduate program for mental health counseling it seemed that the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) was the end all and be all when it comes to diagnoses. I am now in the process of going for licensure in the Commonwealth of Virginia. I have started my 3, 400 hour residency under the…

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Blackwater Outdoor Experiences: 2016 Accomplishments

Blackwater Outdoor Experiences: 2016 Accomplishments

I have been working at Blackwater Outdoor Experiences as a Field Therapist for a little over a year at this point. What has been able to be accomplished since my last post about Blackwater Outdoor Experiences? We have been able to have 7 successful 22 Day Therapeutic Wilderness Expeditions for the 2016 year. Throughout that time we launched social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram,…

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Key Hotline numbers to keep in mind for the future.

Follow this link for a complete list of Toll-Free Crisis Hotline Numbers. Below I have highlighted some key hotline numbers for those who are or know someone is dealing with a current crisis.

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline Phone: 800.273.TALK (800.273.8255) TTY: 800.799.4TTY (800.799.4889) People They Help: Families, concerned individuals

Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN) Phone: 800.656.HOPE (800.656.4673) People They Help: Rape and incest victims, media, policymakers, concerned individuals

Child Find of America Phone: 800.I.AM.LOST (800.426.5678) People They Help: Parents reporting lost or abducted children, including parental abductions

Child Find of America—Mediation Phone: 800.A.WAY.OUT (800.292.9688) People They Help: Parents (abduction, prevention, child custody issues)

National Center for Missing and Exploited Children Phone: 800.THE.LOST (800.843.5678) TTY: 800.826.7653 People They Help: Families and professionals (social services, law enforcement)

Childhelp® Phone: 800.4.A.CHILD (800.422.4453) People They Help: Child abuse victims, parents, concerned individuals

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A great quick list of things to help you in various situations.

I decided to create a masterpost that would help you with what you are struggling with. Hopefully any of the links below will help you! Reminder; You’re going to be okay. What you are going through will pass, just remember to breathe. 

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Distractions;

Here are some distractions to help keep your mind occupied so you aren’t too focused on your thoughts. 

-Draw something

-This website translates the time into colours.

-Create your own galaxy.

-Play flowing.

-Make a 3D line travel where ever you like. 

-Listen to music.

-Calm.

-Ocean mood, do nothing for two minutes.

Sleep issues; 

- 8 hour sleep music.

-Rainy mood. 

-Meditation.

-Coping with nightmares.

-How to cope with nightmares, 11 steps.

-Calm

-Foods that can affect your sleeping, both positive and negatively. 

 Uncomfortable with silence; 

-Rainy mood.

-10 hours of rain and thunder.

-3 hours of rain and thunder.

-Human heartbeat.

-Rainforest.

-Sound of rain on a tin roof.

-Autumn wind.

-Rain on a tent

-Traffic in the rain.

-Soft traffic. 

-Fan.

-Train.

-Simply noise.

-My noise.

-Rainy cafe.

Anxiety; 

-How to stop worrying. 

-Tips to manage anxiety and stress.

-The 10 best ever anxiety management techniques. 

-Self-help strategies for anxiety. 

-Helping a friend with anxiety. 

-All about worrying.

-8 myths about anxiety. 

Sad, angry and depressed/depression; 

-“I’m always sad”

-Feeling sad.

-Going through trauma.

-“I’m always angry”.

-Anger management. 

-All about anger.

-National helplines and websites.

-Self-help strategies for depression.

-Dealing with depression at work.

-Dealing with depression at school.

Isolation and loneliness; 

-Pets and mental health.

-All about loneliness. 

-“I feel so alone”

-10 more ideas to help with loneliness. 

-How to deal with loneliness.

 Self-harm;

-Alternatives to self-harm and distraction techniques.

-146 things to do besides self-harm.

-More alternatives to self-harm.

-Self-harm alternatives.

-How to take care of self-harm wounds/injuries.

-Getting rid of scars.  

Addiction; 

-How to help a friend with a drug addiction.

-What is addiction?

-All about alcohol and addiction.

-The facts about drug addiction.

 Eating disorders; 

-Helping a friend with an eating disorder.

-Eating disorder treatments. 

-Support services for eating disorders. 

-Self-help tips with eating disorders.

-Eating disorder recovery. 

-Recovering from an eating disorder. 

-100+ reasons to recover. 

-Understanding and managing eating disorders. 

 Dealing with self-hatred;  

-3 ways to ease self-loathing. 

-How to turn self-hatred into self-compassion.

-Self-hatred resources.

-10 step plan to deal with self-hate. 

 Suicidal; 

-International suicide hotlines (1)  (2)

-Preventing suicide. 

-Reasons to stay alive.

-Dealing with suicidal thoughts and feelings.

-Coping with suicidal ideation.  

 Schizophrenia;

-All about schizophrenia.  

-Helping a person with schizophrenia.  

-Understanding and dealing with schizophrenia.  

-Delusions and hallucinations.  

OCD;

-Managing your OCD at home. 

-Overcoming OCD.

-How to cope with OCD. 

-Strategies for dealing with the anxious moments. 

Borderline personality disorder; 

-Helping someone with BPD. 

-All about personality disorders.

-Treatment for BPD.

Abuse; 

-Healthy relationships VS abusive relationships. 

-Emotional abuse

-Overcoming sexual abuse. 

-Hotlines services. 

-5 ways to escape an abusive relationship. 

-Domestic violence support. 

-Signs of an abusive relationship. 

-What do to if you’re in an abusive relationship. 

-Surviving abuse. 

-What you can do if you’re sexual harassed. 

-Sexual assault support.

-What to do if you’ve been sexually assaulted or abused. 

 Bullying;

-How to stand up against bullying.

-How to protect yourself when it comes to cyber bullying.

-How to help stop people bullying you. 

 Loss and grief; 

-How to cope with a suicide of a loved one.

-Grieving for a stranger. 

-Common reactions to death. 

-Working through grief.

(Other loss and grief)

-Moving away from friends and family. 

-Coping with a breakup.

 Getting help; 

-Seeking help early. 

-All about psychological treatments. 

-Types of help.

-All about age and confidentiality. 

Things you need to remember; 

- Don’t stress about being fixed because you’re not broken.

-Remember to remind yourself of your accomplishments. Tell yourself that you’re proud of yourself, even if you’re not. 

- This is temporary. You won’t always feel like this. 

-You are not alone. 

-You are enough. 

-You are important. 

-You are worth it. 

-You are strong. 

-You are not a failure, 

-Good people exist. 

-Reaching out shows strength. 

-Breathe. 

-Don’t listen to the thoughts that are not helping you. 

-Give yourself credit. 

-Don’t be ashamed of your emotions, for the good or bad ones. 

-Treat yourself the same way as you would treat a good friend. 

-Focus on the things you can change. 

-Let go of toxic people. 

-You don’t need to hide, you’re allowed to feel the way you do. 

-Try not to beat yourself up. 

-Something is always happening, you don’t want to miss out on what’s going to happen next. 

-You are not a bother.

-Your existence is more than your appearance. 

-You are smart. 

-You are loved. 

-You are wanted. 

-You are needed. 

-Better days are coming. 

-Just because your past is dark, doesn’t mean your future isn’t bright. 

-You have more potential than you think. 

- Your value doesn’t decrease based on someone’s inability to see your worth.

Please remember to look after yourself and know that you are more than worth it and you deserve to be happy. Keep smiling butterflies x

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Jacob Moreno, the founder of psychodrama, originated the empty-chair technique, which was later incorporated into Gestalt therapy by Perls. The empty chair is a vehicle for the technique of role reversal, which is useful in bring into consciousness the fantasies of what the “other” might be thinking or feeling. Essentially, this is a role-playing technique in which all the parts are played by the client. In this way the introjects can surface, and the client can experience the conflict more fully. There are many applications for this technique. One of the more important uses is to explore what another person in one’s social network might be feeling, and what that person’s more realistic predicament might be. Using two chairs, the therapist asks the client to sit in one chair and be fully the top dog and then shift to the other chair and become the underdog. The dialogue can continue between both sides of the client. The conflict can be resolved the the client’s acceptance and integration of both sides. This exercise helps clients gent in touch with a feeling or a side of themselves that they may be denying; rather than merely talking about a conflicted feeling, they intensify the feeling and experience it fully. Further, by helping clients realize that the feeling is a very real part of themselves, the intervention discourages clients from disassociating the feeling. The goal of this exercise is to promote a higher level of integration between the polarities and conflicts that exist in everyone. The aim is not to rid oneself of certain traits but to learn to accept and live with the polarities.

Gerald Corey; Theories and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy (via sociolab)

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Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare Professional Resource List

Aspiring Outdoor Behavior Health Care Professional,

Throughout my studies and my professional experience I have come to realize the need for a comprehensive resource list for those who are trying to enter the Outdoor Behavioral Health Care field whether they are aspiring to be an adventure therapist providing adventure based counseling on a challenge course or other setting; or a wilderness therapist providing wilderness immersion along with adventure based counseling. No matter the type of professional the list compiled below is a comprehensive resource list as I have been able to develop including helpful groups, associations, college programs, training courses, and more that I have found to be beneficial as an emerging professional in this field.

Recommendation: Read “Adventure Therapy: Theory, Research, and Practice” and “Stories from the Field: A History of Wilderness Therapy” in order to get the most comprehensive understanding of how the field has developed and grown.

Thank you for reading,

Jonathan Ugalde, M.S.Ed./C.A.S., NCC

(List first published: Dec 19, 2014. Most up to date list found here)

"When an old person dies it is like a library burns." - Alex Hayley

A Path with Honor: The Story of VisionQuest by Dennis Adams (1987)

Adventure Therapy: Therapeutic Applications of Adventure Programming by Michael Gass, Phd (1993)

Adventure Therapy: Theory, Research, and Practice (2012)

Association for Experiential Education: Therapeutic Adventure Based Group

Association for Experiential Education: Therapeutic Adventure Based Group Best Practices

Camping and Character by Hedley Dimock and Charles Hendry (1929)

Camping Therapy by Ruth Caplan (1974)

Exploring the Islands of Healing: New Perspectives on Adventure Based Counseling by Jim Schoel and Richard Maizell (2002)

History of Organized Camping: The First 100 Years by Eleanor Eells (1986)

Islands of Healing: A Guide to Adventure Based Counseling by Jim Schoel (1988)

Kids in Trouble by Campbell Loughmiller (1979)

LinkedIn.com Adventure Therapy Group

Naropa University Masters Degree Wilderness Therapy (Boulder, Colorado)

National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS)

Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare Council

Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare Research Cooperative

Outward Bound: Instructor Development Program

Outward Bound USA: Crew Not Passengers by Josh Miner and Joe Boldt (1981)

Pathways to Becoming an Adventure Therapist by Christian Itin

Prescott College (Prescott, AZ) – Masters of Science in Counseling with Concentration in Adventure-Based Psychotherapy

Primitive Pursuits (Ithaca, NY based Wilderness Skills Instructor Certification Program)

Project Adventure: Workshops and Degree Program

Shouting at the Sky: Troubled Teens and the promise of the Wild by Gary Ferguson (1999)

Stories from the Field: A History of Wilderness Therapy (2015)

The Background of Therapeutic Camping by Elton McNeil (1957)

The Promise of Wilderness Therapy by Jennifer Davis-Berman and Dene Berman (2008)

Unity College (Unity, Maine) – Bachelors Degree in Adventure Therapy

University of New Hampshire – Dual Master Degree Program in Social Work (MSW) and Outdoor Education (MS)

Wilderness Road by Campbell Loughmiller (1965)

Wilderness Therapy: Foundations, Theories, and Research by Jennifer Davis-Berman and Dene Berman (1994)

Wilderness Therapy for Women: The Power of Adventure by Cole, Erdman, and Rothblum (1994)

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The Miracle of Wilderness

The Miracle of Wilderness: An Explanation. Like and Share.

Morgan Hite in 1989 wrote “Briefing For Re-Entry Into A More Harsh Environment” where he explained the skills and lessons that are taken away from a wilderness expedition; but how does the wilderness teach us these lessons? The wilderness creates opportunities for you to evaluate your life and your experiences without distraction so that you can gain insight and often times rejuvenation. As you…

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1. Adventure Therapy: What is it and how is it different?

                 Adventure therapy is a procedure in which natural and engaging environmental settings are used to captivate participating individuals first kinesthetically and then on deeper more emotional, behavioral, and cognitive levels (Gass & Gillis, 2012).  Although adventure therapy (AT) is readily used its true definition is often debated on. The consensus of the field seems to be that AT must combine some element of a natural environment (weather or virtual) and include  actually therapy rather then just be therapeutic.  Because of its unique and heavy use of the outdoors AT is also known as wilderness therapy (Arizmendi & Capella, 2012). It is a relatively new and experiential approach to therapy, yet is is rapidly growing as more substantial research is being done in the field.

                  Adventure therapy is different than many other more traditional forms of therapy such as psychoanalysis, behavioral therapy, and cognitive therapy. For one adventure therapy focuses on using kinesthetics to involve the patient in there own therapy as to where there other approaches typically result in the patient becoming a spectator of sorts. The unique setting of adventure therapy is one of its key distinguishing points from other therapies. For example psychoanalysis occurs in a room under the typical Freudian "lie down and talk it out approach". Behavioral therapy may branch away from the couch setting, however, it is still likely to occur in a controlled environment such as a lab. It also involves the patient working closely with a therapist to try and modify behaviors or learn new ones. This is contrary to adventure therapy in both respects. As its name suggests cognitive therapy works to improve the patients possibly flawed or unrealistic thinking by having them to work though their ideas and realize their problems (Lee, 2013). Psychoanalysis, behavioral, and cognitive therapy focus on the thoughts, behaviors, cognitions, and the overall minds of their patients. Adventure therapy takes this focus on the mind and expands it to the body. It applies many of the same elements of the other therapies in a location in which the patient is free to engross every part of themselves into the therapeutic process. References

  Arizmendi, J., & Capella, N. (2012). Wilderness therapy: The impact of the psychosocial work environment on field instructors. 

  http://udini.proquest.com/view/wilderness-therapy-the-impact-of-pqid:2523515901/Gass, M. A., & Gillis, H.L. (2012). Adventure Theropy: Theory, Research, and Practice. New York, NY:  Taylor & Francis. Lee, W. (2013). The 3 Major Types of Psychotherapy. http://www.counselor.org/types-of-                                psychotherapy.html