Adults

Focal brain stimulation techniques are potentially powerful tools for the investigation and treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders. These approaches include transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), and deep brain stimulation among others.

We have all felt afraid.  Fear makes some feel unique, alone, embarrassed, or ashamed, while others may become angry, defensive, or hostile.  Socially, group experiences of fear of the unknown and xenophobia can drive negative political movements and mass hysteria.

Elizabeth Spencer and I just finished giving an ADAA continuing education webinar called, The Magic of CBT for Anxiety and Depression. We have found, from our workshops, that many master level clinicians have never learned the foundations of cognitive behavioral therapy.

Whether my patients have OCD, social anxiety, a phobia, panic, or are just generally anxious about life, they come into treatment wanting to be free of the uncomfortable feelings associated with anxiety.

Many Americans are experiencing a higher level of worrying since the presidential election.  Our country is in midst of a big transition and the stakes are high. We don’t know what will happen and uncertainty is worrisome for many.
 

Suicide is one of the most devastating public health problems faced by society today. In the United States, suicide is the 10^th leading cause of death (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2015).

As my OCD patients get better with treatment, they are relieved that their obsessions are less frequent and less intense and they have more control over performing rituals. This they expect. But what can be unexpected is the feeling of mourning as symptoms dissipate.

Naturally, when individuals seek treatment for anxiety, their primary goal is to “stop…worrying/panicking/obsessing/etc.” This is understandable because the symptoms have caused turmoil in their lives!

Many of my patients took an extended holiday over the Christmas/New Year's break. When they returned to treatment in mid­January most of them reported that their OCD symptoms had worsened. Obsessions returned that had been dormant.

We are in the home stretch of a prolonged, caustic, and shocking presidential campaign season.