Health and Psychology

I have three offices but the primary place where I do psychological and neuropsychological testing, (unless I'm working on contract for another company at their location), is in my Glendale office.  I have access to well over 300 psychological tests, rating scales and measurements.  Some of these are online.  Some of these are portable.  Some of these require a lot of equipment and special testing condiions.

In my Santa Clarita office I use a single room ...

There was an article this morning on Houzz about how difficult it is for people to get used to a new piece of furniture. Change is difficult for people. The brain wants sameness. It wants order and routine. Change requires the brain to expend energy. Even when changes are positive-a new job, a new car, a promotion, a new house-it disrupts the pattern and creates stress. The stress is both psychological and physiological. People often get sick with the disruption in routine, the cold s...

I used to walk three miles to the ice cream store with a friend when I was 8. I used to build things and played stick ball with the boys on my block in the middle of the street starting when I was in preschool. I still remember my childhood and the idea that I could create anything that I wanted. The kids that are sheltered, homeschooled, and given nothing but prearranged play activities are hampered in all aspects of their adult life.

I have an animal model for this.
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Cognitive Behavior Therapy is an evidence based treatment that is effective in significantly improving symptoms of depression, anxiety and other psychological problems.  There are a couple of problems with the method.

1.  First-Cognitive Behavior Therapy is NOT effective in treating depression and anxiety as a symptom of a medical illness that is NOT a psychological illness.  So one of the things I look for in evaluating a medical condition is that an evidence...

I will frequently ask new patients to get copies of their laboratory results and a copy of the note from their complete physical. I’m often met with the response that “The doctor said everything was fine.” Or “The doctor said everything was normal.”

In the last several cases in the past year where I have requested laboratory studies and a complete physical note, and have been told “everything was normal” what’s been present ...

There are about five different types of evidence based treatment currently available for depression.  The treatment involves learning some skills to manage how the individual thinks, acts, and feels when events occur. There are several different types of skill sets that help people manage.  The skills set depends on the specific type of treatment.  

When I suspect someone has a medical condition that contributes to feelings of depression, I usually treat the depression fi...

Getting organized requires a strategy. People with executive functioning difficulties have problems with setting up, implementing and following through with the strategy. This results in lost items, clutter, and wasted time.

I find it helpful to start with labeling. What should go in this place? Label the location. Keep only those things that match the label in that location. The second part is to determine how long you need to keep those items. Then you need to go ...

Hallucinations seem to mean a symptom of psychosis to many physicians. However many hallucinations have nothing to do with mental illness.

The most common hallucinations are auditory hallucinations associated with sleep disturbance. As rapid eye movement (REM) periods in sleep are disrupted the person loses a normal dreaming pattern. This can result in periods where the person is dreaming even though their eyes are open. This is often a side-effect of a medication such ...

The first thing I ask someone on the phone when they call to make an appointment is what the issue is that they are calling about. We have three divisions in the company so that question serves to filter and triage the call.

Is this a medical condition or medical issue contributing to a psychological condition?

These are the kinds of cases I take personally. So I want to know if this is what’s going on with the person so I can take the case and have...

I see a number of people that have been diagnosed with ADD or ADHD. When I ask how the diagnosis was made I hear about questionnaires. Questionnaires are a nice confirming meaure, when other, more objective measures have been done. But as a primary measure for the purpose of providing treatment planning, they aren't a great way to assess attentional difficulties.

Here's how to make the assessment of attentional difficulties in children or adults...