This is Fantastic!

Virtual Reality PTSD Treatment

What really torques me off though is that some of these soldiers were not given standard systematic desensitization therapy, which is very effective in most cases. I know that the damage is severe enough that for some it is not adequate, but it's clear that some of these people were simply given medication and sent home. That's CRIMINAL!!! This is such a buzz word these days, how could that possibly happen?

I have now had two crystal clear PTSD cases, complete with full on panic attacks, flashbacks, nightmares; the works. Both responded beautifully to systematic desensitization combined with CBT. Granted, neither were shell shocked soldiers, but both had experienced near death event and had become dysfunctional enough to jeaporadize their personal relationshihps and employment. Both were on antidepressants and sleeping meds, BTW, and it wasn't working for either one. Again, the shocker was that their MDs didn't even suggest PTSD to them. Hell, half the treatment was simply normalizing their symptoms and letting them know they weren't crazy and that what they were experiencing had a name and there was a treatment for it. Googling PTSD confirmed for them everything I said and made them even more willing to do the work.

I wonder how long or if, we non military therapists will have to wait to get our hands on software like this?

EEEEEEEEEE!!!!

Gee, isn't my subject line creative? It's emotive though, and I am on pure emote just now. WARNING!!! I'm totally manic. Babbling like an ijit so read at your own risk.

Just back from 2 hours touring Juvenile Hall and another 2 hours planning my practicum... that should be something like 750 hours of UNPAID, HAZARDOUS work. They decided to put me on all the most difficult cases, particularly those that looked like there might be some psychopathy going on.

But that's ok, this is what I want to work on... how our mental health/legal system can do better with youth that are potentially throw-away-the-key candidates. My first case will be one where the kid floated in a chemical broth (not hte kind Nature provides) for 9 months and was then violently abused for the next 18 years. He appears to be falling between the minor and adult systems.

Then I am to research all the really unique cases where my supervisor wants access to the newest info and research on this or that. Very cool... seems that university library logon doubles as a golden key!

I'll start by doing screening (for meds), assessment (diagnosis) and brief treatment at several locations. Then after school is out I'll hopefully start doing more testing, but I have to wangle a test kit from the school and try to drum up more guinea pigs in order to be proficient enough to satisfy my supervisor that I'm safe to put with the real thing (as in kids with serious problems).

There is also a chance I'll get some paid work if I am willing to be in rotation with a couple of other therapists. YES!!! $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ And it appears that my supervisor can delegate to an LMFT or LCSW for some work, so I can get MFT intern hours and still get doctoral practicum credits. Whoopee!!!

Oh Lord... I have the most labor intensive part of the term yet to come and I opted to start this NOW??? Well, opportunity knocked, so what's a girl to do?

Oh hey... where the hell did my comment link go down below? Added a pic (which I rethought and removed for anonymity's sake) and did something screwy. Shall have to look at the code later. Gotta say that this page format is hard to sift through. Having done my own web design for many years I'm not very patient with it...

Woo Hoo, I graduated!

Ok, so I actually finished in October, but I went through the ceremonies today. Even though almost all my classmates flaked and didn't walk, I'm still glad I did it. One woman I had not heard from in the 7 months since we finished (she was busy having a baby) was there, so that was a great surprise, and another woman who was a couple of terms behind me was there as well. I had quite a few classes with her so I knew her fairly well.

My most favorite present is a box of See's candy that came in a little mortar board cap. The top is 6" square and the 'cap' part is 3" square and makes up the little box of candy. There is a very professional looking little tassle on top too! I took pics of that on my counter so will definitely post them. It's just TOO cute. Now I know they have them I'll definitely give a few to graduating friends in the future!

Among other things my sister and her husband gave me a little portable color printer that works off a wireless connection. Bitchin'! My school is tiny and has just one computer lab with two printers and two other printers upstairs. They all absolutely suck and none are color. I suspect this is going to make me very popular with my classmates. I'd better find a little 'contributions' jar to pay for ink cartridges. =) The gift was 'wrapped' in a spiffy black leather briefcase with all kinds of fun goodies stuffed in the pockets. I felt like I was having a birthday party! Lots of other good stuff too. I don't think about graduations in terms of gifts, so I wasn't expecting anything... VERY nice surprise!

Along with our nice diploma folders each student got a license plate frame with the school name on it. LOL! Weird, but kinda cute. Only it bugs me... I am an alumna; just one, not an alumni! Oh well, my husband funded and sacrificed for my education, so I figure that makes him an alumnus (masculine) too, so the plate will be true when we're both in the car. ;p

Going to Jail!

So Tuesday I tour Juvenile Hall at 2:30 and then meet with my Supervisor to be and the Program Manager of the program where I will be doing my practicum. Woo Hoo! Doubtless I'll be sorry the first time I have to spend two days of my precious study time working, but I am so VERY ready to be doing instead of schooling.

The plan is for me to make this as broad an experience as possible so in addition to psychometric testing I'll be doing screening, assessment and brief treatment of kids in Juvenile Hall. The gangs in my area of the county are pretty violent and kids are being tried as adults quite frequently, so I'm a little nervous about that. What does body armor cost, and is there a business casual line available? Yikes!

I'm curious how the treatment will look. I've done this work in a residential care setting after the kids get out of the Hall, but then I had plenty of time to get to know them, where now I'll have one or maybe two sessions at best. I cannot imagine what can be accomplished in a forced therapy setting with a frightened and angry child in that period of time, but I'm open to learn!

Well back to the academic world for now... had the day from hell yesterday with two presentations, a role play and a report due and I have one more presentation and another role play this morning. I hate sharing a shower with three other people in the morning in this house where I rent. Always hanging around listening like a spy for the door to open so I can scuttle in and stake out my territory for 15 minutes. LOL!

Projecting? Who, me???

My sister suggests this will be me in a few years...

Hm... must click on image to read it, dammit! No time to fiddle with the code to size it properly just now. Solly!

Oh the molehills I climb...

I am having a big all-about-me sort of pout this week. Let's see, I'll start at the very beginning, a very good place to start. =)

I didn't do very well in my undergrad and graduated with less than a 3.0. Having changed majors twice and schools once, there was not one soul in my class who I knew. I worked in a research lab and all my friends were graduate students. So I went to the graduation ceremonies but managed dissociate through the entire thing because I have no recollection of it at all, and the only pictures were videos taken by my dad, who accidentally taped over them a short while later (typical of him). No thrill in graduating from High School either, and no awards there... we had SIX validictorians and while my scores were good, they weren't stellar.

This time around I managed better than a 3.9. Yep only one B and all the rest As (Dont' even talk to me about the bitch who gave me that B...). The university where I got my Masters has five terms per year and rolling enrollment, so there is really no such thing as a 'class' per se. They have just one graduation ceremony per year; in May. Since I graduated in October I would have been just a hint premature if I'd walked in May and I'm one of those anal retentive people who instists that celebrating an accomplishment entails actually accomplishing the thing first, so I did not join the two classmates I knew of who walked early. I have all kinds of obnoxious issues surrounding never being good enough, no matter how well I do, so my therapist urged me strongly to make a big deal out of my accomplishments and suggested I invite only people who were really seriously supportive of my career move and appreciative of how hard I'd worked. Um... short list, that would be my husband (who abhors events like this), one sister and two local friends. There are a couple of others who would happily support me, but they live on the other side of the country.

Fine... now it's May again and graduation is coming up in two weeks. I checked around a few months back to see who might be going and a whole bunch of classmates were all onboard so I decided to take my therapist's advice and really get into it. I actually managed to get myself excited before the first shoe fell. First I learned that Latin honors are not awarded to graduate students at my university, only undergrads. The only way I can have anything that says Suma Cum Laude on it is if I spend $100 to get 25 graduation announcements all so that I can frame one for myself (more $$) and memorialize my own words. Um... nope, somehow that's just a teensy bit hollow, ya know? Next I learned that because I didn't walk in 2006 I cannot have a sash with that year on it, they only have 2007. Sigh. I got a 2007 tassle too, but fortunately they had ONE 2006 floating around from last year, so I got to pay extra to have that. It's not here yet.

Now I have discovered that NOT ONE of the people who told me they would walk in the ceremony is going to do it. Even the one who said she didn't want to participate but would be in the audience is flaking on me. My sister planned to come, but she just got hit with a wave of work and tax stuff and I know it will be a major struggle for her.

I'm mad. I'm sad. I'm feeling reeeeeeeealy stupid, too. If I were inclined to believe in higher powers about now I'd think he or she or it was saying "Get over yourself already girl!" So it will be me and a bunch of people whom I may or may not have seen around campus. At least my hubby and two friends will come; I think. Still haven't had a confirm from them. I stopped seeing my therapist too, because I couldn't afford it anymore, so I can't go cry on her shoulder. Pooh.

Yeah I know, I'm just finishing up the first year of my doctorate, doing fabulously and the Masters is long gone water under the bridge, but I really wanted to earnestly celebrate something I did, just once in my life.

Double pooh.

MB