What can be done with music to enhance healthy growth in elementary school children after school

Roots & Rhythms, an after-school drumming program, teaches students to collaborate, create, and have some fun while learning the basics of percussion and embracing their own cultures,

Social workers impacted by the opioid epidemic

From News 5 Cleveland on July 3, 2017

AKRON, Ohio - Heroin overdoses are skyrocketing across the U.S., especially here in Ohio.

Nearly half a dozen people are likely to die from the drug. And now, kids are getting their hands on it, with dangerous consequences.

Already this year, at least four Ohio children have overdosed. Three of them live in Northeast Ohio.

The first people often called when that happens? The county social worker.

"The most difficult is managing everything that is thrown at you, it's a pretty unpredictable job," said Lauren Brown, an Intake Case Worker at Summit County Child and Family Health Services.

Brown is constantly putting out fires and working with families in some of their most traumatic and vulnerable stages.

Already there this year, a two-year-old overdosed in Akron, and a one-year-old died after getting his hands on heroin.

For more click here.

Editor's note:

As people locally struggle with opiate addiction in various ways, the Republicans have considered cutting substance abuse and mental health services from their health care bill through the health insurance plan itself and through cuts to Medicaid. Instead, they propose to give further tax cuts to the very rich. Ohio is a red state that has consistently elected Republicans to office except in their cities.

Opiod addiction is a family problem

Opioid addiction contributes to increase in children in the foster care system. For more click here.

The Mozart effect? Does listening to Mozart make you smarter?

The Mozart effect? Does listening to Mozart make you smarter?

Verenicline(Chantix) helps some patients stop smoking

Editor's note:

There are many ways to stop smoking. Working with an addiction specialist can help you develop a plan that will work best for you. In this JAMA report, verenicline helps some patients, but I also have found patients who used other ways to successfully quit and who didn't like the side effects of verenicline. The important thing to know is that there are many ways to quit and the chance of success increases with each attempt. So, the motto I like the best is, "don't quit trying to quit."

 

Understanding The Borderline Mother: Helping Her Children Transcend the Intense, Unpredictable, and Volatile Relationship by Christine Ann Lawson

Understanding The Borderline Mother: Helping Her Children Transcend the Intense, Unpredictable, and Volatile Relationship by Christine Ann Lawson is an extremely important book for any psychotherapist or layperson interested in the impact of parenting by a person with Borderline Personality Disorder. The impact is huge and can be multigenerational. Dr. Lawson, in lay language and with clear case examples describes the dynamics that occur between mother and children and somewhat with fathers. She also has clear suggestions for how adult children can manage the relationship with the Borderline mother. I believe this topic is so important that I am planning on posting a series of articles on this blog as I re-read and study the ideas in this book further. I am developing a new category on the blog which I am entitling, Borderline Parenting. While the focus of Lawson's book is on mother's, fathering plays a critical role as well. In addition to reading this book and being a psychotherapist, I also have personal experiences with the topic which undoubtedly fuel my interest and resonance with the material described. I highly recommend this book. This is article #1 in a series on Borderline Parenting

 

Why Is It So Hard to Change People’s Minds?

Why Is It So Hard to Change People’s Minds?

Our opinions are often based in emotion and group affiliation, not facts. Here’s how to engage productively when things get heated.

BY ELIZABETH SVOBODA | JUNE 27, 2017

For more click here.
Editor's note: Bottom line on why it is hard to change people's minds is fear. They are afraid of losing their group affiliation which to them seems to mean survival.