Sunday, July 17, 2011

Guided Imagery Audio to relax to by Jacque Elder and Scott Hughes

Here is a lovely relaxation audio that Scott Hughes and I created so please help yourself and feel free to share with anyone.  Here is the link and I believe you can download it for your own use.  Scott was feeling a wee bit tired so I said "Let's go do some meditation for you to help you rest."

This is the result, and Scott did the beautiful music.  My dog, Laura, is snoring in the background yet I don' t know that you can hear her little doggie sleeping sounds.

Thursday, July 14, 2011

A College Education for Free? I love it!

I was reading The Economist Magazine when an article titled "How to make college cheaper" caught my eye, of course.  Having just read that tuition in the UK just skyrocketed and yet Germany decided to not make students pay any tuition in some parts of the country, this article was something I knew I had to read.

The University of the People is a free online university and the link is noted above.  It looks great.  I have applied to be volunteer faculty yet they already have 2,000 volunteers and only 1,000 students.  It is a global university, using the internet to offer free (minus a small admissions fee and some $ for teachers grading exams, etc) yet all in all, you can get a Bachelor's degree in Business, Economics or General Studies.

I hope they pick me.  I love people who do stuff like this.

Jacque

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

"Can't Get a Break"

This is a standard patient roleplaying the struggles of "trying to do the right thing" with a felony conviction blocking his way of becoming employed.

I hope you enjoy it.  The standard patient ( a good buddy of mine, paid and signed release) did a wonderful job, I thought.  He made the session so easy....

Jacque

Reading "Being Wrong" book

Last week, I finally finished the book Being Wrong,  which I highly recommend.  The book focuses on the "good" vs "not so good" things about how we make mistakes (assumptions) and how transparency about talking about our mistakes actually has the opposite effect that most people think.

For instance, the author has a chapter on all the lives that are lost in hospitals, due the medical error and the "thin blue(green) line" that is evoked when any practitioner makes a mistake because of the fear of legal liability.  She states that doctors and hospitals that acknowledge their mistake, and especially apologize to the patient and their family are sued 80% less than those who don't!  What a novel idea!  There is a beauty in transparency, as it speaks to our core values of honesty and integrity.  It is amazing what a simple apology can do in terms of impact upon the person to whom the harm has been done.

She also writes about using the language of uncertainty, which in MI is "asking permission" or using what a student of mine called "wiggle room".  "What, if any, ideas do you have about making this change if you decided to?"  "You will know if you are ready, and that is if you decide to do it at all."  "You are making a decision to not make a decision, and you know yourself best."  I have found that adding the "if any" is powerful.  For instance, "What are the not so good things about smoking cigarettes, if any?"  "What things have you done in the past to change this behavior, if any?"  That removal of certainty (expertness) opens up for collaboration and autonomy.  And we just cannot assume that they have done this things, or experience "not so good" things.

This is especially true in "Looking Backwards".  I cannot assume that folks have a positive experience that they can resource, and as a result, using the "if any" gives me my wiggle room.  As an Ericksonian hpnotherapist, Erickson was know for his strategic use of language, making sure that we start with the hypothesis that we do not have a crystal ball and cannot make assumptions about the patient's inner world or life experiences.  This is especially true with working with poor people.  They live in neighborhoods where it is not safe to go out and take a walk so pressing them to do so can be offensive.  They don't have money for fresh foods, and there has been a great deal of media attention on "food deserts", which are always located in disadvantaged neighborhoods.  I don't think they have a Whole Foods or Traders Joe's on the West Side or the Englewood neighborhoods of Chicago.  I haven't seen one so if someone knows of one, let me know.  And Oak Park does not count as the west side of Chicago.

Great book, easy to read and I learned a great deal about my willingness to "f**k up" as the author so succinctly puts it.  She wants it to be OK to do that, rather than hiding it and creating the constant "imposter anxiety" we all may experience either all the time or just some times.

Many thanks.  Jacque

Saturday, July 9, 2011

Starting to use the MISC 1.1

I am finally taking the leap and trying out Lisa Hagen and Terri Moyer's MISC 1.1, which Lisa assures me is very easy to use!  I will be finding out today as I practice with it for the first time.  The MISC 1.1 codes for Change Talk and Sustain Talk, using full pass coding, only one has to code the entire session instead of a random 20 minute segment.
I am looking forward to using this, as the MITI only codes the practitioner, and the MISC 1.1 tracks the presence and absence of what is going on with the client.  This fits in well with Scott Miller's Feedback Informed Treatment, though his feedback (SRS: Session Rating Scale) gives much more specific feedback to the practitioner and is easy peasy.Registration for Advanced MITI 3.1 and MISC 1.1 Online Coding Training.

Motivational Interviewing Resources

FREE INTERVENTIONS FOR FAMILIES WHOSE LOVED ONES ARE STRUGGLING WITH A SUBSTANCE

I WILL DO FREE INTERVENTIONS FOR FAMILIES WHO HAVE LOVED ONES WHO ARE AT THE LAST STOP. Formal Interventions used to be free in Illinois. Does anyone remember that? I do. I am a Licensed Couple/Family therapist and in order to stop interventionists who are charging any money, let alone ridiculous amounts of money for ripping you off, I will do this at no cost. Yes, I have experience. I have done them, and they are difficult for you, the family. Not me. Yet I care about people living instead of dying, and I am angry with counselors and therapist who are preying on misery of families, and taking what is supposed to be a Step of Alcoholics Anonymous and Charging for it. That is against the Traditions of AA. And they know it.
Now, I cannot afford transportation or anything as I am not employed right now at all yet I will do my best to assist you.
These interventions should be saved for the person who you believe you may never see again because they may die from their substance misuse. Other counseling interventions work better than Formal Intervention (which can often tear families apart rather than keeping them together) yet talking about it and getting the details will help determine that.
Don't pay a penny for an intervention. Please.