Meridian Behavioral Health, PC



Have you ever hear the term expressive therapy? Or ever been asked to draw a feeling? Expressive Therapies are strategies a therapist or social worker may employ that provide the opportunity to communicate your world and emotional struggles through the use of creative outlets.  These include (but are not limited to) play therapy, sand tray therapy, art therapy, music therapy, dance/movement therapies and clay therapy.  In these circumstances, feelings or experiences are expressed through or projected onto materials in order to create a safe environment outside of the person to discuss and problem solve.  Because they do not often have the words to explain what they are feeling, these therapeutic methods are most often used with children.  That being said there are many situations where adults could benefit from expressive interventions including processing past trauma experiences.

Posted by Sarah Jones, LCPC

I’m sure we all remember our own teenage years or perhaps some of us would rather forget them. The teenage years are a difficult time in virtually everyone’s life. It is a time where you go through great transition and transform from a child to an adult. Some of the struggles teens face during this time include: determining where they fit in, who they are, who they want to be, dealing with sexuality and learning to be responsible, while still having fun.

This transition period doesn’t only affect the teen but it also affects their parent(s). It’s a difficult time for parents because teens can be selfish, insensitive, lazy, demanding, etc. but also because parents themselves are transitioning. Parents are transitioning from the complete caregiver to a combination of guardian and spectator in their child’s life. This is a difficult adjustment, especially since teens will pick and choose when they need their parents, leaving parents wondering how and when they should jump in, or when they should encourage independence. This causes parents to feel pushed and pulled unexpectedly. “I need you to help me with this” or “I can handle it on my own” to “drive me here” or leave me alone.” Teens become more private about their lives and do not share many things like they once did. This leaves parents hoping that their teen is making the right decisions and trusting that they will come to them if they need help.
It is often helpful to remain mindful of why teenagers need to be this way, and to learn how to cope by giving your teen just enough space in order to manage this “push and pull” relationship. Both teens and sometimes their parents could benefit from developing healthy communication skills, trust, and ways to show care and concern during these difficult years. If you have taught your children well, you can rest assured that they will likely make wise choices, come to you for help if needed and/or know how to get themselves out of a sticky situation. It is difficult but children will only learn how to be adults if they are given the opportunity to try while still knowing that their parents are still behind them to assist or pick up the pieces as needed.
Our children grow up depending on us for nearly everything and that is a role that we often fall into with ease. This is because as humans we have the emotional desire to be needed and to please/help others. The truth is most parents just want their children to be safe and well taken care of but during the teenage years this point can be difficult to get across.

For more information or to schedule an appointment to develop you and your teen’s relationship, please contact us at 815-344-5061. Everyone needs a little support sometimes.

Written By Sarah Jones, LCPC

Anger can isolate an individual from friends, family, and the community. It can harm others and result in legal problems. What researchers know is that there are many reasons an individual’s anger gets out of control. Some of the most common are:

1. The effects of drugs or alcohol
2. Angry behavior learned from family, friends, and the media
3. A biological inclination to getting angry faster than others
4. Poor communication skills
5. Poor conflict resolution skills
6. Negative attribution of the behavior of others
7. Mental illness of any kind, including ADHD

A number of strategies will help tackle these problems, but you will have to challenge the way you think, and change your negative behaviors. You may also have to learn relaxation techniques, new communication skills, coping strategies, and how to motivate yourself to keep on trying when life feels hard to deal with.

Drugs and alcohol problems can make all the other reasons for anger worse. Sometimes this problem needs professional intervention, but the solution is to stop, stop, stop, and let your body learn to handle life in a normal way.

Just as angry patterns of behavior can be learned, they can be unlearned too. NO, it may not be easy, but it IS possible, and people do it every day.

What does a biological inclination mean? Simply, some people are born with more patience than others while others appear high strung and get angry more quickly and intensely. Suffering Succotash, what do you do? It will be important to develop coping strategies and relaxation skills to help you deal with situations when you get angry, and to help bring your tolerance for anger closer to a normal level.

Poor communication skills means you find it hard to express your feelings appropriately, and to talk to people in a way that makes them feel good about you and them. Learn to avoid using the ‘YOU’ word, extremes such as ‘always’ or ‘never’, labeling a person, words that are sarcastic, and other words likely to inflame.

Poor conflict resolution skills often means one person wins at any cost and one person loses. Learn to give sometimes, and cushion criticisms with positives. Keep the conflict focused on the problem at hand, and don’t bring up irrelevant wounds or unsettled business from the past. Negotiate and compromise, and learn to say that word ’Sorry’.

Some people assume the worst about others most of the time. They might interpret an apology as ‘They just want to pretend everything is all right now’, or might interpret an accidental oversight as ‘They forgot that on purpose’, or after a compliment might say, ’He just said that to be nice’. People can be cruel, and life can be unfair, but people who think this way the majority of the time, will feel unhappy and angry most of the time. Life is short, learn to be realistic. Truth is often in between the ‘all good’, and ‘all bad’ extremes.

Mental illness is not just a word. Statistics show that 26.5% of adults in the United States have a diagnosable mental illness in a given year. Mental illness can simply mean depression, anxiety, or attention deficit disorder, but other serious mental illness affect individuals as well. If your anger is out of control, consider being assessed by a competent psychologist, social worker, or counselor. Be open to the possibility of taking medication if it will help. People with the same problem often need different treatment strategies.

A therapist can help you define specific goals for your unique situation. Staff, at Meridian Behavioral Health, are compassionate and willing to help you start making the meaningful changes most important to you. Call our office or leave us an email, and a qualified therapist will get back to you as soon as possible.

Gwen Ames, LCSW     03/29/2011