Self-help from SelfhelpMagazine.com

How Can I Tell If Therapy Is Working?

Therapy can be uncomfortable and exhausting work, and what you get out of it is often determined by what you put into it. But no matter how hard you work, if your therapist isn't addressing the right issues, you won't begin to resolve them. It's easy to form a strong attachment to your therapist and to relish having an opportunity to open up to someone. Sometimes, though, the immediate emotional release provided by therapy obscures the fact that it's just not working. Many people do face extreme challenges before they get better, but this experience should be short-lived. If you've gone to therapy for months and are only feeling worse, it's probably time to move on.

Alternatives to Psychiatric Hospitalization

Psychiatric hospitalization, no matter how helpful, can be a terrifying prospect. And for parents, busy professionals, and students, spending days or weeks in a hospital can serve as an added source of stress that destroys normal routines. Hospitalization is often the treatment of last resort for people who are suicidal or at risk of harming others, and if you're worried about your own safety or the safety of someone you love, hospitalization can provide a stable and safe environment. If, however, stress or a mental health problem has simply escalated to the point where weekly therapy is no longer enough, it might be worth trying an alternative to psychiatric hospitalization.

Do Children Need Praise? The Right and Wrong Ways to Praise Your Kids

Most parents begin praising their children the moment they enter the world, and it's easy to become gleeful as a child achieves any developmental milestone. But in recent years, there's been a praise backlash, with some parents arguing that we're creating an entire society of praise junkies who have little incentive to work hard and achieve great things. As with most parenting debates, though, the truth lies somewhere in the middle. The wrong kind of praise can harm children, but the right kind of praise can be the fuel for hard work, high self-esteem, and independence.

Effects of Bullying Can Last Into Adulthood

A generation ago, parents might have told children who were being bullied to “suck it up.” But as stories of bullying-related suicides plaster the news, parents and educators are beginning to recognize the serious effects bullying can have. A new body of research, however, indicates that bullying isn't just something that temporarily lowers a child's self-esteem or makes school miserable. The effects of bullying can last well into adulthood.

Everyone has an image of a psychopath, and to most people that image is terrifying. Psychopaths, in the popular consciousness, are remorseless criminal maniacs who put us all in danger and who can't be rehabilitated. On a recent episode of NPR's popular show This American Life, host Ira Glass and his staff each took a shortened version of psychologist Robert Hare's infamous psychopath test. A few of the test-takers scored higher on the inventory than they expected to, contributing to an ongoing debate about the use, validity, and potential misuse of the psychopath test.

When people think about posttraumatic stress (PTSD), they often envision a soldier struggling to cope with the physical and psychological ravages of war. Many PTSD outreach campaigns focus on this very image, but a person doesn't have to travel to a foreign land to experience trauma. The domestic violence rate in the United States is extremely high, with about 21% of women experiencing some form of intimate partner violence each year. Intimate partner violence is a leading—and often overlooked—cause of PTSD, and some people with PTSD may not realize they’re experiencing it.

There's no denying that obesity, an issue that afflicts about 36% of Americans, can cause serious health problems. A larger body does not, however, always mean that a person is unhealthy, and misconceptions about obesity can lead to social and mental health issues for people with larger figures.

Some advocates have termed the abuse and discrimination that some obese people experience “fatphobia.” The term might seem offensive, but it's an attempt to reclaim a potentially offensive term and remove its hurtful power.

Talking Back to Dr. Phil: Alternatives to Mainstream Psychology

By David Bedrick, J.D., Bipl. PW

Caregiving is rapidly becoming a central part of the lives of millions of Americans. A recent RAND corporation study found that 1.1 million Americans are caring for wounded war veterans in their homes, and as the Baby Boomer generation continues to age, more and more families are caring for ailing parents. The unconditional love of providing care ranging from running errands to round-the-clock assistance is undeniable and should be lauded. But the costs of caregiving on caregivers can be high.