General Reference - MyHope

Getting the Help You Need – Fast

One of the challenges of living with a mental health issue – either yours or that of someone whose life you’re involved in – is that sometimes an incident quickly escalates from “under control” to crisis level. If you need help immediately, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) lists several resources on […]

Autism

Definition Autism is a developmental disorder that appears in the first 3 years of life, and affects the brain’s normal development of social and communication skills. Alternative Names Pervasive developmental disorder – autism; Autistic spectrum disorder Causes, incidence, and risk factors Autism is a physical condition linked to abnormal biology and chemistry in the brain. […]

Autism: Treatments

Treatments While there’s no proven cure yet for autism spectrum disorder (ASD), treating ASD early, using school-based programs, and getting proper medical care can greatly reduce ASD symptoms and increase your child’s ability to grow and learn new skills. Early intervention Research has shown that intensive behavioral therapy during the toddler or preschool years can […]

The Four Steps of Taking in the Good: HEAL Yourself

The Four Steps of Taking in the Good: HEAL Yourself In his insightful, practical book Hardwiring Happiness, well-known psychologist and author Rick Hanson, PhD, makes the point that even though our brains are “hardwired” to give more weight to negative rather than positive experiences and emotions, you can learn to retrain your brain to switch […]

Awakening From the Trance of Unworthiness

During high school, I consciously struggled with not liking myself, yet it was during college that I became distressed by the intensity of my self-aversion. On a weekend outing, a roommate described her inner process as “becoming her own best friend,” and I broke down sobbing, overwhelmed at the degree to which I was unfriendly […]

Autism – The Basics

Every child has a unique personality. Some are outgoing, while others are shy. But there are certain kids who have trouble dealing with things that most children take in stride. They may not make eye contact or have conversations. They may not like to be touched or to hear loud sounds. If you have […]

Depression Causes

Causes Most likely, depression is caused by a combination of genetic, biological, environmental, and psychological factors. Depressive illnesses are disorders of the brain. Brain-imaging technologies, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), have shown that the brains of people who have depression look different than those of people without depression. The parts of the brain involved […]

Courage

Courage By Michael H. LeBlond, PhD, MBA Licensed Psychologist How often have you heard “just feel the fear and do it anyway.” This actually is not far from the definition of courage. What courage is not is the absence of fear. When most people think of courage they think of it in one […]

Should Parents Worry? Video Games and Their Impact on Children

When I started my practice almost thirty years ago, Sesame Street and the benign Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood captured our children’s attention. Disney movies proliferated throughout the video market and they followed a similar fairy tale pattern in which a hero or heroine is pursued by a villain but triumphs in the end. Children learned which […]

When in Doubt, Follow Grandma’s Advice!

We live in a fast-paced world infused (and often confused!) with information and technology. It’s a world in which we eat on the go, sleep when we can, and often neglect to take care of ourselves. We call that “progress”, but ironically, as we dig to find the newest, latest, most advanced wellness research, we […]

Mindfulness and Six Key Elements of Psychological Well-being

What does it mean to be a psychologically healthy person? Many people assume that good mental health means feeling happy most of the time. Indeed, studies show that positive emotions have many benefits. They increase resilience to stress and encourage us to learn, grow, and bond with others. However, there’s much more to good mental […]

How to Get Unstuck at Work

In 2010, a rather surprising research finding was uncovered at the Change Anything Labs. A whopping 87 percent of the folks we surveyed said they had bosses who’ve prevented them from getting the pay, promotions, or other opportunities they wanted because of a concern they’ve had about their performance.1 From within this same population, close […]