Professionally: Mental health delivery, research on mental health, social research, managed care issues and problems
Personally: Travel to exotic places, scuba diving
Music
opera, Andrea Bocelli soft Rock and what my grand childtren would call elevator music
MySpace is no longer just for kids. It seems everyone just about has a MySpace page these days including retired senior citizens like myself. So it's time to join the MySpace community.
Getting old has it perks. That is if you are fortunate enough to enjoy reasonably fair health and have been successful enough to save a sufficient amount for retirement.
What will I do now that I am not putting in up to 10, sometimes more, hours a day seeing patients as a mental health therapist, friends and colleagues ask. Well many things including, travel and enjoying life but also writing, teaching and giving back to the profession that has given me so much. How to find a way to give back that fits my personality and style has been an evolutionary process combined with a little serendipity.
Throughout my career whether my I was involved in direct practice, teaching, administration or a combination I was always a bit of an advocate. Among my first jobs was that of advocate for homeless skid row alcoholics. As a student in graduate school I fought for increased financial aid for students in need and as a clinician in private practice I advocated increased third party insurance coverage higher reimbursement and a decrease in managed care red tape and intrusion etc. However there are ways to advocate and ways one should not.
My websites have a number of article, podcasts and soon videos that are geared for both consumers of mental health and practitioners. They examine some of the practices that mental health providers do that they often don’t talk about with their patients.
Only by holding what we psychotherapists do to the light of day and being transparent and honest in our dealings with the public and ourselves can we truly be helpful to people and truly obtain the respect we want so much from the public. I call this being consumer-centric or holding the consumer, client, patient ‘s inertest foremost. Ironically that is about the best way to have a successful and thriving practice or business there is.
Sp please look over my page and feel free to comment with praise or otherwise. I look forward to hearing from you either way.
I would like to meet fellow mental health professionals who are interested in exploring ways to be consumer-centric and improve communication between professional mental health providers and consumers and or family members in need of such services.
In Sumatra, Indonesia, illegal logging is threatening the habitat of the last remaining Sumatran tigers. This logging is causing problems for both animals and humans, and must be stopped immediately.Didy Wurjanto, head of the official nature conservancy agency in the area, has taken steps to stop this illegal practice. Please ask Wurjanto to do everything possible. Six people were recently killed from tiger attacks in Sumatra in less than a month. Three tigers were also killed by civilians in this same area. This battle for territory cannot go on, especially when these tigers are not only fighting for their lives, but fighting for existence.
Fewer than 400 Sumatran tigers remain in the wild, and we must do everything we can to protect these animals and the forests they call home.
Please sign today to help stop illegal logging in Sumatra.
Protect Wild Tigers From Poachers
Wild tigers are in crisis. With their population at an estimated 3,500, it is crucial for those who hold their fate to make the right decisions.
Opening the Chinese market to tiger products is not the right decision, and could drive wild tigers to extinction. Poaching, along with environmental degradation, is diminishing the wild tiger population; legalizing the trade of tiger parts would encourage even more poaching.
Hi John! Wishing you an abundant and joyful holiday season. :) Liz PS I'm celebrating my deal with St. Martin's for Death Will Help You Leave Him, the follow-up to Death Will Get You Sober.
Hello Dr John ~ thank you for being a friend of Moon Warriors. I am drumming up signatures for 14 petitions to stop the gassing of healthy, loving animals in the USA, so please visit my blog and sign them!
This video shows what can be done ~ it is not necessary to kill so many animals, nor kill them in an inhumane manner
Cat House on the Kings Cat Sanctuary ~ amazing video
Please visit the blog and sign petitions to end the animal gas chambers. There are 14, if you could sign at least some of them that would be great ~ Have a good weekend ~ Thank you for helping animals ~♥~
"May you always be able to enjoy yourself. May you be able to perceive yourself in a positive light, combining your perception of yourself with a world view that permits fun, replenishment and good times. May you have the courage to play."
Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein Positive Psychologist and Happiness Coach www. enchantedself. com
Stopping by to say hello and say thanks. Have you ever had one of those weeks that life likes to challenge you at every turn? Well this has been one of them for me. Computer decided to act the something from the terminator series and did not like human interaction and it was like life was saying slow down and focus.
So lets slow down and focus. Do you believe that we attract what we focus on? If so what have you been focusing on things you want or are you putting a lot of thought into stuff you don't want to have. Just by being more aware of what we spend our time thinking about can show us where we are heading at times. Of course you could just say we have to live in this world that the media has created for you and you have to experience everyone's pain that you see and be that martar. I am a little more selfish I guess because I like experiencing everyones joy instead. Nice thing about life is you have a choice so it is up to you.
Finned Shark Shark finning is animal torture. During this process, fins are ripped off the living animal. The poor creature, is then thrown overboard to sink to the bottom where is lies motionless and dies a slow and painful death. You have an opportunity to help stop this hideous practice, without spending a dime. American Express will fund the program that receives the most popular votes. PLEASE vote for the sharks, vote to stop this senseless torture... It only takes a few minutes and you can make the world a better place. Please copy this link into your browser, follow the directions to vote and MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
Many times we spend our life not paying attention to how we operate. Take a minute and ask yourself what state of mind do you spend most of your day in. Do you look for the positive things in life to happen or are you creating a lot of journeys down negative roads? Your body responds to the journeys that you create even when they never come true. Take a minute and think about what kind of experiences you are living that never come true and ask yourself if you would like to change that.
My favorite two words are "What IF" as long as you use them to create fun and excitement. By simply asking yourself "What IF" you can allow your mental state to change. If you practice it enough you can change how you respond and react to any situation.
We are blessed with so many abilities and the only limits we have are the ones the we place upon ourselves. Your life can be anything you want it to be and if you play "What IF" enough you can actually teach your subconscious what choices to make because you rehearsed them enough in your fantastic mind.
A gift to you... This is a recipe for a full and satisfying life:
Take quiet time in the morning. Drink lots of water. Eat at least three times a day. Smile a lot. Love your body and use it everyday. Respect and be with nature. Be kind and practice seeing people in a positive light. Give something good back to the world everyday. Thank someone, God and/or the universe at least once a day. Get enough sleep. Have big dreams about yourself. Add here what you need everyday - your special ingredient - a laugh, a conversation with a friend ... or?
This recipe can be reused indefinitely. It will always have a unique flavor based on the day.
Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein Positive Psychologist and Happiness Coach www. enchantedself. com
