Recent news of the closure of Maple Leaf Treatment Center in Underhill took many of us in the field of mental health and addiction by surprise. Too many Vermonters in need of addiction treatment are already underserved. And the sudden loss of Maple Leaf's 41 beds along with its outpatient program for people battling opioid addiction is an unfortunate blow that will further strain our state's loosely stitched patchwork of mental health and addiction services.
Joseph Shannon, PhD, a personality disorder expert, follows up his 2012 Keep Talking interview and describes when unreasonable behavior is a symptom of an underlying personality disorder, and how, through the power of empathic listening and the knowledge of universal human concerns, it can be possible to disarm the unreasonable person and avoid conflict.
Mindfulness has been gaining in recognition and popularity in the U.S. for the last two decades, and with good reason. A number of leaders in the mental health field have studied the usefulness of mindfulness in creating mental health and in treating mental illness. In fact, many of the evidence-based treatments (i.e., treatments that have been scientifically shown to be effective) used in the care of patients at the Brattleboro Retreat are centered on the practice of mindfulness. But did you know it’s a technique that can benefit just about anyone?
Brattleboro Retreat
Sargent Rich LaBard has been a police officer for over 16 years but an incident in 2004 when responding to an emergency call at a home where there had been a shooting, left him struggling to live his life for over eight years. Suffering from PTSD, he enrolled in the Uniformed Service Program to start his journey toward recovery. Hear his story captured in this video.
Psychological Cost of Racial Injustice
Smith College professor of clinical psychology, Nnamdi Pole, PhD, an expert of traumatic stress in racial and sexual minorities, joins Gay Maxwell to discuss the impact of chronic and race-related violence on individuals, communities, and society.
As I look back on the various clinical and administrative positions I have held in the field of mental health and addiction in my nearly 30 year career, I have always considered my work with children and adolescents to be among the most rewarding. This is one reason why I read a report released in May by Burlington, Vermont-based Let’s Grow Kids, entitled “Stalled at the Start: Vermont’s Child Care Challenge,” with both interest and concern.
Reid Wilson, PhD, international expert on the treatment of anxiety, panic, phobias, and obsessive compulsive disorder, speaks to Gay Maxwell of the Brattleboro Retreat, about his self-help protocol for therapy clients that transforms anxiety and worry from intimidating threats into challenges that can be met and conquered.
Helping Kids Cope With Big Feelings
When should a parent seek help with a child's behavior and mood? When should a teacher ask for assistance with a student who is unhappy and disruptive? Eboni Webb, psychologist and DBT expert from Nashville, TN, sits down with Gay Maxwell to discuss sensitive children who need tools and resources for regulating their very powerful emotions.
A Discussion With Stanley Possick, MD
One in a hundred people develop schizophrenia, a mental illness suffered by approximately 3 million Americans. Yet the very word itself conjures sensational and inaccurate images and scenarios that have largely been created by the media, television, and the movies.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently issued a tragic new report showing suicide rates in the U.S. have risen to a 30-year high. While the rise was particularly sharp among women, the report also outlined increases in rates of suicide among nearly all races and age groups.
