Health and Psychology

I don't believe I know any woman over the age of 15 that hasn't been sexually assaulted, inappropriately gropped, fondled or touched without her consent by someone.  So I'm not surprised that when @kellyoxford asks women on twitter to share their first sexual assault stories that there are more than 1 million responses with most of the events starting in childhood.

While the tipping point in the conversation about the prevalence of assault against women may be the lates...

Jarisch-Herxheimer Reaction also known more simply as Herxheimer or Herx reaction sometimes occurs after antibiotic treatment causes a large die off of bacteria, fungus, yeast, or other systemic infections. initially described by Adolf Jarisch in 1895 and later by Karl Herxheimer in 1902, the reactions have been found in syphillis, sarcoidosis, rheumatoid arthritis, chronic lyme disease, leptospirosis, relapsing fever and candidiasis starting within an hour or so of taking the ...

Jessica Jacobs died in August. She had Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. She is also described as having Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome. I say described because I’m not sure I believe that. I think she had Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome with Autonomic Dysregulation and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome is just a part of that. She lived most of her adult life in Washington, DC but moved back to Twain Harte, California when she became too disabled to continue working. She wanted t...

I am as appalled by the media coverage of the Pulse Nightclub massacre and the Stanford Rape case as I am of the events themselves.  I'm chairing a dissertation on rape and I have a clinical practice that is LGBTQIA friendly.  The media turns these events into single incidents rather than common place occurrences.  The rape case stands out only because of the articulate first person account of the victim.  Rarely do we hear the words of the victims.  And 7000+ words n...

Depending on the study, somewhere between 58 and 79 percent of all psychological diagnoses have a substantial medical component.  That's a very alarming statistic.  In the 1970's the field of medical psychology was created to address this need.  By the late 1980's it had all but dissappeared, replaced by the less medically intense health psychology field or the broader behavioral medicine field.  

When I first went into practice I worked with a family pra...

Patient shaming. This time it happened to/about my cat. This happens by physicians (or vets) when they don’t know what is going on and all the treatment options they know of have been exhausted. It usually happens to people on the fourth visit either when there isn’t a diagnosis or the treatment is ineffective.

I ‘ve had Tatum since she was just under 2 years old. She was a hot mess. She was in several foster homes. The rescue organization referred to her as ...

Disability is a complex system of insurance companies, state regulations, federal regulations and governmental bodies with competing and differing codes for determination. It’s confusing to a lot of people. Our office can help with all forms of evaluation.

DEFINITIONS

A disabling condition is a physical or emotional illness or collection of symptoms that impairs the ability to function in one or more areas of life. Accommodations are methods to assist someone...

I explain complex trauma to my students by telling the story of my cat Tatum.  I met Tatum through a cat rescue organization.  Tatum was described as a fragile medically ill cat.  I picked her up in my arms and she jumped out of my grasp.  The rescue group had me sign several forms and gave me her medical history.  Three foster homes in her six months of life.  Countless medical visits.  Found in a cardboard box in a McDonald's parking lot in Lancaster, Cali...

In 2006 I and a colleague stood up in an auditorium in San Jose at a California Psychological Association convention and spoke about what it was like to have a head injury, and how the research, done mainly by psychologists working for insurance companies and personal injury attorneys, was flat out wrong.

In 2006 basic information about concussion included the following INCORRECT information:

• Concussion is a minor thing. 
• Everyone improve...

The new information on the Zika virus is that there is a confirmed case of sexual transmission of the virus in Texas.  This means that anyone, male or female, traveling to an area where the virus is epidemic, or anyone who has flu like symptoms following being bitten by a mosquito should:

1. Not donate blood.
2. Not engage in sexual activity without using a condom.
3. Be closely monitored if you or your partner become pregnant following symptom development.  An ...