I've been asked to do a training on Nonviolent Communication for mentors in the Boys to Men program in January 2015.  Learning to listen to others' feelings and needs is a great way to actually become more empathic. I'll be teaching some of these basic skills and also leading experiential exercises so mentors can practice responding in "real life" situations with the young men they work with. Looking forward to this!

Here is info about my next parenting class!! 

"Beyond Setting Limits:  Parenting with Compassionate Communication." 

The 6 week series will begin on Tuesday, April 8, from 6:30-8:30, and continue every Tuesday until May 20 (no class on April 29).  The cost for the 6 week series is $150.  If you wish, you can pay for the class through a $150  donation to Mountain Oak Charter School.  Childcare is available for $5/child/class.  

Come see what it is all about before you pay anything!  On Tuesday, April 1 there will be a free introductory class  from 7-8:30 pm at Mountain Oak School.   (Childcare will be provided by 8th grade students at a cost of $5/child).

YOU MUST PRE-REGISTER FOR THE FREE INTRO! Please call me at 928-830-4661 or email me to register or for more information.

Why is it SO HARD to keep New Year's Resolutions?  I was recently interviewed by Quad Cities Business News about that topic.  See my answer here (starting in the 6th paragraph), and if you want help in keeping your resolutions, call or email me to make an appointment!

In the 1800's people could end up in the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in West Virginia for all these reasons. (Thanks to Insanity is a social construction... what seems odd or unusual or abnormal is called "mental illness," and the definition of that changes as the social mores do.  Even today, diagnoses in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, published by the American Psychiatric Association, are essentially voted on by "experts" in the field.  Don't think you've ever been given a diagnosis?   Think again.  If your therapist has ever billed your insurance to cover the cost of your sessions, then they've given you a diagnosis.  Insurance won't pay without one.

Staff that work with children at West Yavapai Guidance Center in Prescott have been learning about nonviolent communication from me in a series of workshops!  They will be using this approach more and more with the children and parents they work with, as an alternative to behavioral approaches.  Their director, Kent Mattern, says that so many of the children they work with have been traumatized, that traditional behavioral or what I call "power over" approaches, re-traumatize the children.  I fee so happy to be contributing to children, parents, and those who work with them in this way!  For more info about nonviolent communication, see http://www.cnvc.org/ or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQO7h9MNCqI

Harvard trained psychiatrist Peter Breggin, MD, has been warning us about the dangers of psychiatric drugs for decades.  Although there are many things that contribute to violent behavior, I have seen people in my practice have bizarre reactions to anti-depressant medications, namely the class of drugs referred to as SSRI's (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors), especially when the dosage is increased or decreased.  Read one of Breggin's latest articles about these effects.  http://www.variety.com/2013/01/18/breggin/

I once worked with a patient at a state psychiatric hospital who swallowed inanimate objects. Her arms and hands were kept in restraint at all times to prevent her from doing this. She'd had several surgeries to remove various objects.  When you are desperate for emotional nourishment, you'll swallow anything! Here is a photo of the contents of a different patient's stomach who died during surgery to remove the objects.  

Thomas Szasz, MD, author of the classic, "The Myth of Mental Illness, " died over the weekend at his home near Syracuse, NY.  I was lucky to have heard him speak twice--once last year at the IESPP conference, and once while I was in graduate school at Syracuse University.  Although criticized by the mainstream psychiatric system for his "radical" views, many have continued to champion his cause.  

I will be presenting on Empathic Parenting at the Living Compassion Workshop at NAU Oct 27-28!
http://www.nau.edu/SBS/Events/Living-Compassion/