Cave Health

You have finally decided you want to consult a psychologist, psychiatrist or other mental health professional, but how do you go about choosing which one will meet your unique needs? There are at least 5 different types of mental health treatment providers from which to choose.

Do not just consider the professional degree when picking a counselor or therapist. Do you want a male or female?

Do you want one who is an expert in marriage counseling? Individual counseling? Substance abuse treatment? Do you want a therapist who prescribes drugs?

How about one who can X Ray your personality by using tests? One who can administer hypnosis? Electroshock?

A good first step would be to consult with a healthcare professional who knows the answers to these questions. Call the psychology or psychiatry department at a university.

Talk to a psychology instructor at a local community college or contact the behavioral health unit in your local hospital or your community crisis line.

It is important to be familiar with the training, skills and treatment philosophy of the various types of professionals, and then match what you prefer with what a particular treatment provider has to offer.

Also, talk to the representative of an organization which is concerned with issues like yours i.e. marriage, anxiety, depression etc. Their opinions are invaluable, as they are in contact with many different patients and treatment providers who are concerned with the very same issues as you and they have first hand knowledge of the characteristics and qualities of different types of counselors and therapists.

Your 5 main choices of mental health treatment providers are: The marriage and family counselor, the psychologist, the psychiatrist, the professional mental health counselor and the clinical social worker.

The marriage and family counselor has one to two years of graduate training in counseling those with troubled marriages and family problems. He or she will have a masters degree and will likely have done an internship.

The advantage of using these professionals is that you are working with someone who has intense training in this one area of counseling. The disadvantage is that some insurance companies may not cover their services.

The psychologist holds a doctoral degree in psychology. Some consider him or her to be the most highly trained of mental health professionals. The psychologist has approximately 6 years of college training in the psychological sciences; 2 years of upper division in college and 3 to 4 years of post-graduate school.

A psychologist is trained to do counseling, psychotherapy, research and mental X Rays, better known as psychological testing. They practice marriage and family counseling and therapy to eliminate anxiety, depression as well as the entire range of psychological disorders.

The advantages of using a psychologist are that he is the most highly trained in psychological practice, is an expert in providing cutting edge treatment for diverse problems and uses psychological testing to provide revealing information about how your mind works.

Also, in many cases, he or she is a trained mental health researcher, meaning, in this case, the psychologist is trained not to just practice psychology, but also to contribute to it through research.

Another advantage is that their services are covered by almost all insurance companies who provide mental health coverage.

The clinical social worker and professional counselor provide counseling to eliminate family problems and troubles arising from depression, anxiety, agitation and other emotional disorders. They have from one to two years of post-college level training in counseling and mental health.

The social worker holds a masters degree in social work while the professional counselor holds one in counseling. They both must do an internship and pass a comprehensive examination to practice independently.

Psychiatrists have most of their training in medicine, chemistry and the biological sciences. Their central training in psychiatry and mental health is usually received in the 3 year residency in psychiatry.

They hold a doctoral degree in medicine or osteopathy and receive no substantive training in counseling, family therapy, marital therapy or psychological testing.

They are mainly used to prescribe medication and administer occasional electroshock treatments. Their services are covered by all health insurance companies.

As you can see, there is a wide variety of professionals available to treat emotional problems. The one crucial ingredient, however, is the quality of the rapport you have with your provider.

It is important to check educational credentials, experience and any history of disciplinary action by your state Board. But even after all these check-out, be sure you trust and have an excellent rapport with your therapist, or you might have to start all over again!

Self confidence is a psychological and emotional state of mind that responds to an individual’s need for recognition and self-acceptance. It’s one of the oldest and most studied concepts in psychology. It describes a positive but also realistic perception somebody has of himself or herself and of his or her abilities. Thus, people with self confidence usually have a better idea of what they are able to achieve and will be more likely to be successful in what they attempt. They are able to more easily admit and learn from their failures.

On the contrary, a lack of confidence may deter you from believing your actions or decisions will later work out the way you had planned. It can hence prevent the improvement of executive skills, strategic and management capacities all of which are necessary and mandatory things in today’s business world. The pre-occupation with how others will judge your work can also make you become excessively self-critical, which can distract you from tasks you would have otherwise been perfectly able to do.

Low self confidence will also affect your social life, as people with low self confidence tend to stay in their “comfort zone” and fear the risk of being rejected. This is called social phobia and presents a high degree of co-morbidity with low self confidence, but also other psychological diseases such as depression. People with low self confidence are scared of the judgment of others and will avoid meeting new people, which can result in isolation and even less self confidence. Low self confidence is a vicious circle that is difficult to break.

To the contrary, because they have faith in their own abilities, people with self confidence are able to do what they feel is right and don’t feel the need for the approval of their peers. They are also able to inspire confidence: your boss, employees, customers, friends or relatives are more likely to trust you or what you are telling them if you appear self-confident.

Many experiences can contribute to low self confidence. New research indicates that parenting style has a major impact on the development of the self confidence of a child. Corporal and mental abuses in childhood are for instance the worse for somebody’s self confidence, as well as family conflicts and divorce. Overprotective parents may also contribute to a child’s social phobia and hamper the independence necessary to develop self confidence. Failures and successes, for instance at school or in one’s professional life, also play an important role: losing a job or failing a class are among the numerous experiences that will negatively affect your self confidence.

There are however methods to overcome these bad experiences and increase self confidence. The first step to develop self confidence would be to learn to know yourself and your strengths. Acknowledging the fact that you are allowed not to be perfect and cannot be the best in everything you do will help you gain self confidence. Accepting yourself as you are is the key to gaining self confidence. But improving self confidence also requires that you start taking risks and giving yourself credit for your achievements. This is very simple advice which will help you build self confidence. You might also find several books which will claim they can help you gain self confidence, however not all of them are reliable.

Many people have low self confidence or are only capable of gaining self confidence in one or a certain number of areas of their lives because they constantly try to get other people’s approval and are afraid that they could fail. Many factors, such as childhood traumas, can explain why some people cannot have the wholesome life of a self confident person. Such persons also do not always know how to gain self confidence. But improving self confidence can now easily and effectively be done thanks to hypnosis and NLP.

As we have seen social phobia and low self confidence can be triggered by bad experiences or unconscious fears that may be difficult to overcome through self persuasion only. Confidence hypnosis and NLP on the other hand are able to get to the unconscious part of our mind and alter belief systems to boost self confidence. They are powerful tools that will help you address your fears and trust yourself to develop self confidence.

Self-Hypnosis for building self-confidence has been used for a few decades and has shown significant results in building self confidence. In a hypnotic state, reaching unconscious thoughts is a lot easier and, through hypnotic suggestion, you will be able to replace your negative thought patterns with positive ones to boost self confidence.

Juvenile Delinquency Theories

Through an understanding of causes of juvenile delinquency society may come to deal preventively with delinquency; certainly treatment of the offender needs to be based upon an understanding of the causal mechanisms that have produced him. In this paper we’ll describe three theories of juvenile delinquency such as Social Learning Theory, General Strain Theory and Behavioral Theory and discuss appropriate preventive programs based upon these theories.

In 1977 Albert Bandura, a Stanford University psychology professor, published Social Learning Theory, in which he postulated that human learning is a continuous reciprocal interaction of cognitive, behavioral, and environmental factors. Sometimes called observational learning, social learning theory focuses on behavior modeling, in which the child observes and then imitates the behavior of adults or other children around him or her (Wiesner, Capaldi, Patterson, 2003, p. 318).

In his research on social learning theory, Bandura studied how violence portrayed in mass media can have a tremendously negative impact on the behavior of certain types of children watching violent television shows. What he noted was that some children will observe and then imitate the behavior of the characters on the television screen. From these observations, we can conclude that juvenile delinquency is the result of imitation of aggressive actions. Bandura determined that certain types of children learn to perform violent and aggressive actions by observing and then modeling their behavior after what they have seen. He referred to this as direct learning through instantaneous matching of the observed behavior to the modeled behavior (Wiesner et al, 2003, p. 320). Therefore, social learning theory states that learning can occur through the simple process of observing and then imitating others’ activities.

Merton (1957) formulated a social strain theory of criminal involvement (Broidy, 2001, p. 10). Merton proposed that a society instills in its citizenry aspirations for upward mobility and a desire for selected goals. However, when legitimate avenues to goal attainment are blocked, anomie or strain sets in, which in turn compels the individual to violate the law in order to attain these goals. Lower-class persons are viewed by Merton as more susceptible to the ravages of anomie because they are more regularly thwarted in their efforts to participate in the economic rewards of the wider society (Broidy, 2001, p. 12).

Merton assumed in his theorizing that humans are conforming organisms who only violate the law when the disjunction between goals and means becomes so great that the individual believes he or she can no longer pursue socially sanctioned goals via legitimate channels. Society and certain social variables are, according to strain theorists, responsible for the majority of crime being committed in the world today. According to Merton, a society that emphasizes goals over the means to obtain these goals, and that restricts access to opportunities for legitimate advancement, is establishing the conditions for anomie and future criminality. Strain theorists have long argued that once a person is removed from a situation of anomie or frustration, negative behavior will recede (Henry, Tolan, Gorman-Smith, 2001, p. 173).

Agnew’s (1992) general strain theory offers a promising framework for understanding juvenile delinquency. A major type of strain, according to Agnew’s general strain theory, consists of experiencing unpleasant events or circumstances, including aversive situations at home, particularly arguments and violence (Broidy, 2001, p. 21). The theory proposes that adolescents are pressed into delinquency by negative emotional reactions that result from being situated in an aversive situation from which they cannot escape. This blockage frustrates the adolescent and may lead to desperate avoidance and/or anger-based delinquency (Broidy, 2001, p. 23).

Behavioral theory was studied by J. Watson, I. Pavlov and B.F. Skinner. It describes the outcomes of the consequences of a certain behavior on occurrence of such behavior in the future. Operant conditioning developed by Skinner is one of the learning methods according to which the likelihood of behavior is increased or decreased by the use of reinforcement or punishment. In case of positive reinforcement a certain behavior becomes stronger by the effect of experiencing some positive condition. In case of negative reinforcement a certain behavior becomes stronger by the outcome of stopping or staying away from some negative condition. In case of extinction a certain behavior is becomes weaker by the outcome of avoiding to experiencing some positive condition or stopping some negative condition.

Negative and positive reinforcements and extinction strengthen certain kinds of behavior of individuals. Punishment is a big form of operant conditioning used all over the world. When people are punished, it is to decrease that certain behavior produced by the individual. Therefore, behavioral theory refers to conditioning which leads to different behavioral pattern of juvenile offenders.

Preventive programs based on the social learning theory require placing an individual in favorable environment where he/she would be less tempted to imitate violent behavior. One of the examples of such environment is the social services of the church. The actual role of contemporary religion in delinquency prevention is not easy to evaluate. Its potential role is tremendous, but the fulfillment of that potential depends on the vitality of a religion in the lives of its professants. The formulation through religion of a standardized morality that is in conformity with the law (not all religious beliefs and practices in the United States are legal, of course, but the exceptions are in small minority faiths for the most part) establishes a system of social control norms that overlap substantive legal norms (Wiesner et al, 2003, p. 320). The social services of the church can do much–and some of them do-in providing more experimental, intensive, and therapeutic assistance to delinquents than public resources customarily are equipped to perform.

Also, community behavior can influence behavior modeling of juvenile delinquents. Community organization and planning represent tremendously significant possibilities for the development of delinquency-deterring measures.

According to the General Strain Theory, the major causes of juvenile delinquency are aversive atmosphere at home and school. The emotional atmosphere, the hostilities, and the inadequacies expressed in the parent-child relationships do greater injury to the child than do physical hurts. From a preventive point of view, then, it seems clear that the greatest hope for discouraging delinquency must lie in efforts to improve the quality and harmony of the family system.

Preventive programs based on the General Strain Theory refer to effective family social work: a field designed to strengthen family life through assisting individuals and family units and, so far as possible, to improve the community circumstances essential to wholesome family living. Private agencies, and governmental services (chiefly departments of public welfare) contribute to this work; many of them today, especially in moderate-sized cities, merge child-welfare services with their family case work for more completely integrated assistance (Asetline, Gore, Gordon, 2001, p. 257).

Family counseling, which is carried on in large part by the old established social agencies but which is also coming to be practiced increasingly by individual practitioners and clinics, offers much promise and some dangers. In an area where the divorce rates alone are a sufficient indication of the widespread need for help, trained and specialized skills focused specifically on the medical, emotional, and broader psychological requirements of the family can help to resolve difficulties before they become
too serious (Asetline, Gore, Gordon, 2001, p. 258). Provisions should be available in the community for the individual who feels the need for advice about his family relationships. Such facilities should be competent of course. Traditionally much of this advisory function, when performed at all (of course, many persons needing help have refrained from seeking it either out of pride or a lack of available and known resources), has been done informally by family physicians, attorneys, or friends. It hardly need be said that none of these roles, taken by itself, gives any assurance of qualification to deal with the often subtle, profound, and technical problems involved in family pathology. Today, though specialized skills for this work are being developed and counseling bureaus are being established.

One of the commonest characteristics observed among delinquent children is the dislike of school and teachers. It would seem that any real solution to this problem lies not in penalty classes or special schools with long hours-or even incarceration but in such preventive measures as vigorously attempting to adapt the educational process to the needs and interests of children. The docile rote learner-so dear to the heart of the educator-and the non-aggressive but apathetic conformist, as well as the resistant problem child, could all profit by a vitalized education. If classroom organization, program of study, and teaching methods are planned to meet the interests and needs of children and adolescents at their level of development, with rich and varied opportunities for the expression of diverse abilities and sufficient elasticity to allow the individual some freedom in adaptation, there would be far less aversion and passive indifference to school (Houchins, Guin, Schroeder, 2001, p. 110). Again it should be noted that flexible programs and good teaching are largely a matter of adequate budgets and careful selection.

Ideally every school system should have attached to it or continuously available to it the facilities of a psychiatric clinic or study home to which cases of juvenile delinquency might be referred for observation and assistance. If teachers can be trained sufficiently and selected as personalities sensitive to the needs of childhood, they should be able to refer a large proportion of unadjusted children for clinical assistance early and thus prevent the development of serious conduct problems and delinquency (Houchins et al, 2001, p. 108).

For most instances of children with psychological or conduct problems, the school must continue to provide formal education to meet their particular needs as well as possible. Thus arises a perennial problem in pedagogical and administrative technique: Should “problem children” be segregated in separate classes and separate schools where groups of unadjusted and delinquent boys are massed together, or should they be brought as much as possible into contact with normal children in the regular schools? According to General Strain Theory, in cases where the problems of personality are serious enough and classroom environment becomes the source of frustration for children, children should be treated for their special requirements in groups established according to their needs. If these individuals are to be taught separately they need programs and teachers that are adapted to their peculiar needs.

According to the Behavioral Theory, juvenile delinquency preventive programs should be based on positive and negative reinforcements. Some of the examples of preventive programs with the use of negative reinforcements are confinement, boot camps and waiver. Although not as restrictive as confinement in a secure facility, boot camps are known for their rigid militaristic style. Juvenile participants are commonly organized into platoons and required to wear uniforms and to participate in daily regimens of drill exercises and physical training. Daily routines may extend from 5:30 or 6:00 A.M. to lights out at 9:00 or 10:00 P.M (Fagan, Zimring, 2001, p. 88). This program is focused upon changing attitudes and behavior through discipline.

Another popular program of achieving delinquency prevention or reduction has been waiver of juvenile offenders to adult court. By waiving juveniles to adult court, there is an increased chance that they will come into contact with adult felony offenders and, consequently, after this contact the juvenile should learn to be better.

Unlike boot camps and waiver, mentor programs involve mostly positive reinforcements in changing juvenile behavior. Most programs involve volunteer staff who see themselves as giving something to or sharing something with the youths who are being mentored (Colvin, Cullen, Vander Ven, 2002, p. 20) Mentor programs are less costly than other approaches to delinquency prevention because often the mentors are volunteers who may or may not receive reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses related to mentoring activities. As a juvenile justice strategy, mentoring is an opportunity to provide support where it is missing and to supplement it when it is weak.

In conclusion, the contributing factors that make a child delinquent are numerous and varied; they are often complexly interwoven in a single case. One single theory cannot explain the complex of conditions and circumstances producing delinquency. Similarly, application of one single preventive program will not significantly reduce juvenile delinquency. Therefore, juvenile delinquency preventive programs should be based upon several theoretical approaches and developed for every particular case of juvenile delinquency.

Produced by ProfEssays ( www.professays.com ) – professional custom essay writing service: custom essays, custom term papers, custom academic papers, custom research papers, compositions, book reports, case study. No plagiarism, high quality, prompt delivery.