SPECT imaging in helping predict treatment response to antidepressant medication

There is an exciting new study about SPECT brain scans and the possibility that they can help predict treatment response to antidepressant medications! The following paragraphs are taken from a regular email newsletter I receive from the Amen Clinic called "Brain in the News":

Several previous studies have concluded that SPECT scans are helpful in diagnosing brain disorders, such as depression. But this trial is one of the first and largest to examine SPECT's ability to predict whether or not a patient with depression will respond to a particular antidepressant.

The study, which appeared in the prestigious journal Psychiatry Research, involved nearly 100 participants with major depression. Their brains were scanned at the outset of the study and again four weeks later after treatment with an antidepressant. The research team concluded that SPECT is indeed highly effective in predicting treatment response.

When the prefrontal cortex works too hard, the medication Celexa was effective in calming it down and treating the depression. When the prefrontal cortex was normal or low in activity, Celexa was not helpful.

If you are unfamiliar with what SPECT imaging is, please visit www.AmenClinics.com for additional information. It is an extremely interesting process that is very relevant if you work in the mental health field. The Amen Clinic website has a wealth of knowledge and information that can shed light on an entirely different side of mental health treatment. SPECT brain imaging can be a great addition to someones treatment and help clients and their families understand the underlying brain systems that may be contributing to the problems

Positive Psychology

After studying Psychology and Marriage and Family Therapy for a total of 9 years, I have stumbled upon a very young and wonderful area of study now available to professionals in the Psychology field. Dr. Martin Seligman is the leading researcher and expert in the field of Positive Psychology. He is also the Fox Leadership Professor of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania and founding director of the Positive Psychology Center. A past president of the American Psychological Association, Dr. Seligman is the author of Authentic Happiness and (with Christopher Peterson) of Character Strengths and Virtues: A Handbook and Classification

Positive Psychology is exciting to me because for so long the field of Psychology, Counseling, and Social Work has been problem centered. Day in and day out in our area of study and in our careers we fixate on what is wrong with our client's and inevitably what is wrong with society. I'm sure many of you are thinking that identifying problems is necessary at times... and it is. However, I believe that this strength based approach will make therapists and others in the helping profession even more effective in the communities we serve.

The following information is taken from: http://www.ppc.sas.upenn.edu/index.html

Positive Psychology is the scientific study of the strengths and virtues that enable individuals and communities to thrive.

Positive Psychology has three central concerns: positive emotions, positive individual traits, and positive institutions. Understanding positive emotions entails the study of contentment with the past, happiness in the present, and hope for the future. Understanding positive individual traits consists of the study of the strengths and virtues, such as the capacity for love and work, courage, compassion, resilience, creativity, curiosity, integrity, self-knowledge, moderation, self-control, and wisdom. Understanding positive institutions entails the study of the strengths that foster better communities, such as justice, responsibility, civility, parenting, nurturance, work ethic, leadership, teamwork, purpose, and tolerance.

Some of the goals of Positive Psychology are to build a science that supports:

1. Families and schools that allow children to flourish
2. Workplaces that foster satisfaction and high productivity
3. Communities that encourage civic engagement
4. Therapists who identify and nurture their patients' strengths
5. The teaching of Positive Psychology
6. Dissemination of Positive Psychology interventions in organizations & communities

For more information on Positive Psychology, please visit the link above to the University of Pennsylvania Positive Psychology Center website.

Choice Theory and Reality Therapy

Choice Theory and Reality Therapy were not discussed much in my MFT Masters program. It wasn't until my second semester in practicum that I had a part time professor discuss Dr. William Glasser and his theory. I fell in love with it immediately and have found it to be useful with the at-risk youth I work with. I like Choice Theory because it focuses on what can be changed in the here and now, rather than placing blame for what's happened in the past. It also stresses the importance in understanding that all behavior is a choice, even if it doesn't feel like it at times. It's hard to think that someone would choose to be depressed or angry, but the truth is, we do. I highly recommend Dr. Glasser's books for further reading. Here is a brief overview of Choice Theory and Reality Therapy...


The Ten Axioms of Choice Theory

1. The only person whose behavior we can control is our own.
2. All we can give another person is information.
3. All long-lasting psychological problems are relationship problems.
4. The problem relationship is always part of our present life.
5. What happened in the past has everything to do with what we are today, but we can only satisfy our basic needs right now and plan to continue satisfying them in the future.
6. We can only satisfy our needs by satisfying the pictures in our Quality World.
7. All we do is behave.
8. All behavior is Total Behavior and is made up of four components: acting, thinking, feeling and physiology.
9. All Total Behavior is chosen, but we only have direct control over the acting and thinking components. We can only control our feeling and physiology indirectly through how we choose to act and think.
10. All Total Behavior is designated by verbs and named by the part that is the most recognizable.
    

Click here to read more on Choice Theory



Reality Therapy... based on Choice Theory

In my own words, these four steps are how I can best describe how to use Reality Therapy...

1. Help the client identify what they want right now... not what they want to change about the past, because we all know that no one can change the past.
2. Determine whether or not the current behaviors are rational and effective in getting the client closer to what they want.
3. Most often the behaviors are not rational or effective. Help the client identify behaviors that would be more effective and develop a plan on how to implement those behaviors.
4. The client must commit to trying the new behavior. Written contracts can be helpful here.
   

You can read more about Reality Therapy at the following links:

William Glasser Institute
Choice Theory Website