Adolescent Psychological Issues and the Need for Professional Help

Adolescent Psychological Issues and the Need for Professional Help

In this technological era, where the roles are adapted on the basis of cultural demands, adolescent developmental milestones are achieved quite late during the twenties, therefore, the period of adolescent psycho-sexual and psycho-social development could be considered from age 13 to 20. It starts with the onset of puberty where a sexual orientation and differentiation is introduced through bodily changes.
If an adolescent doesn’t successfully pass puberty it may cause psychological problems such as difficulty in accepting one’s gender, for instance, may result in poor body image. Another trend which is now seen increasingly in adolescent girls is to adapt tomboyish look. If we find in-depth reasons, it connects with primitive experiences, such as a girl in childhood living among many brothers, observing gender discrimination, watching that her brothers gained more favours from parents and society, or listening to gender-based comments such as boys are stronger than girls. If adolescent forms such kind of perceptions and ideologies, the sense of self and identity becomes distorted. In extreme cases, they may develop gender dysphoria or gender identity disorder. During an adolescent crisis, dissatisfaction with one’s own genitals may further lead to sexual difficulties or psychological impotence.
Keeping recent trends in mind it is also evident that some adolescents who don’t feel satisfied with their gender attempt to change their gender by undergoing surgeries as we see many transgenders who deliberately choose this style of life. Other traumatic or early sexual experiences along with difficult puberty may also lead to sexual disorders in adulthood such as hypoactive desire disorder, sexual aversion, premature ejaculation, erectile dysfunction and many others. Regarding career choices, an adolescent who couldn’t successfully attain the developmental tasks may acquire occupational choices other than gender suitability such as adolescent boy becoming more interested towards female fashion designing fields.

Some deviant career choices with this particular sexual identity crisis can include those sex sellers or prostitutes. Other abnormalities with respect to adolescent psycho-sexual and social attainments may include simple role confusions such as a female adopting dominant role in a family, going for a job while husband remains at home to take care of children. This could be primitively related to adolescence stage where a female felt inferior to males and to compensate this inferiority complex she adopts a powerful role in future. Similarly, an adolescent boy who observed a more dominant role of a mother compared to an inept father, he later in life may adapt female roles or may remain submissive just like his father was.
All of such issues are those requiring clinical attention. The period of youth is important in many regards. Youth is the period on which a person’s future is based. It is the period where an adolescent requires support and proper guidance. It is the alarming sign and it is the time to cater all of the above-mentioned issues related to the adolescent crisis before it’s too late.
During the adolescent period if parents observe any of these signs in their children then they must take steps. They may approach health workers, psychologist, psychiatrist, or any relevant professional to take proper guidance regarding how to deal adolescents with such issues. They may refer a child for psychotherapy where a therapist can help deal with such cases. Online counselling is now available to guide parents and adolescents regarding such issues. You can approach our trained professionals of this field by registering yourself for online counselling.
Written By:

Dr Mehwish Mursaleen
PhD Clinical Psychology

Attention Deficits and Hyperactivity in Children: Guidelines for the Parents

Attention Deficits and Hyperactivity in Children: Guidelines for the Parents

Parental guidance is one of the crucial steps in treating children with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactive disorder) symptoms. Without parental training, a child cannot be treated fully. If you are taking a therapeutic treatment for your ADHD child from a clinical psychologist you would be aware of this fact. Because parents are the first institution, a child learns many things from them, which is apparent in their life ahead. If parents treat their child appropriately in initial childhood years there are reduced chances of developing attention deficits and hyperactivity. Even if the child has developed symptoms, appropriate parental handling can create a difference.

Therapists treating children with ADHD give particular instructions to their parents for how to deal with behavioral issues. However, some of the necessary steps parents can take are mentioned here.
Child’s daily functioning would improve if he/she is provided with proper home base training for instance, train the child regarding mannerism and following rules such as how to sit quietly in a classroom or while studying at home, listen attentively to what is being taught, how to behave with other children, refrain from picking up other’s possessions etc.

Develop your child’s friendship skills e.g., teach the child how he/she needs to behave if he/she wants to make a best friend. Involve the child in play activities or games which require sitting quietly and following rules such as, Ludo, Carom board etc. Tell the child clearly about the consequence when he/she doesn’t wait for the turn. Teach the child how to initiate and end conversations with people if he/she wants to get a friendly response.

Parents must help and encourage their child to practice and develop above-mentioned skills and do provide the child various opportunities so that he/she can acquire a better quality of life.
Encourage the child when he/she does well on tasks and give feedback immediately after completion of a task. It will develop your child’s abilities and help him/her understand the link between his/her own efforts and success.

Some of the helpful tactics parents can apply during their home base training are as follows:

  • Create a to-do list of homework and household chores for the child so that he/she can follow it.
  • Give your child simple and clear instructions. For example, if you want the child to do homework then Instead of saying “Finish your homework”, you can say what specific things you want him to do such as, “Finish your English lesson. Then write down in a paragraph what you have read. Finally, do your maths sums”.
  • Organize your child’s clothes and school work so that they are always in the same place and easy to find.
    • Get into a routine. Having a sense of order and routine helps inattentive children stay focused. Follow the same schedule every day. Such as wake-up, brush your teeth, eat breakfast, get dressed, put on your uniform etc.
  • Paste the schedule in a central place, such as the main hallway of your house.
  • While doing homework, turn off the TV, computer, radio, video games or other distractions.
  • Give the child a reward for finishing his/her homework or other responsibilities. You might offer the child to take a trip to the zoo or may offer a chocolate etc.

Do utilize these strategies in your daily routine if you are dealing a child with ADHD. For expert opinion regarding specific behavioral problems of children and guidance on how to deal the specific issues, you can contact us directly.
Written By:

Dr. Mehwish Mursaleen
Ph.D. Clinical Psychology

Is Yawning Contagious?

Is Yawning Contagious?

Revealing the Logic of Our Brain behind Irrational Yawning Behavior
You must have experienced or listened by someone that yawning is contagious. You might be exposed to various comments regarding this phenomenon. You might have observed that if someone else is yawning you also tend to yawn. Is the sound of a yawn contagious? Have you ever experienced anyone watching a video or picture of a yawning person tend to yawn instantly? If someone yawns while observing others yawn must be sleepy? Is he getting bored? Because we are social beings so is the yawning transferred socially? These and many other questions regarding the phenomenon of yawn were existing in everyone’s mind. Do you know this debate is now under research and scientific observation? Yes! this is true. Just like everyone, this topic developed curiosity in scientists who observed this phenomenon under scientifically controlled settings.

One of the research conducted during 2013 by researchers in Switzerland who studied this matter. In Zurich University, they gathered 11 volunteers and showed them 3 different kinds of videos i.e. one containing laughing incidents, another containing neutral situations, and a video of yawning person. While the participants were watching videos, their fMRI was recorded. It was found that more than half of the participants who watched other persons yawning in the video were more likely to yawn as they watched the video. The brain area called inferior frontal gyrus was highlighted while they yawned. Whereas, those who were watching videos of laughing or neutral acts showed no activity in this area of the brain. This interesting study revealed brain area to be responsible for making a mirror image in brain cells (through mirror neurons) which tend to be imitated by the person (i.e. the person yawns in response to a yawn).
You can test this with a simple experiment. Visualize an image of a person yawning. Just maintain your focus on the image. Observe what happens. You will be surprised even while reading this article unconsciously some people tend to yawn. You may also tend to yawn unintentionally while visualizing, hearing, or reading about yawn.

There is more to study about the yawning phenomenon. Animal studies have been conducted to gain more insights about the facets of yawning. An article published in Frontiers of Neurology and Neuroscience revealed more aspects of contagious yawning with respect to social, evolutionary and neuroscience links of human behaviors. In an Italian Zoo, neuroscientists observed twenty-one baboons with respect to behaviors such as yawning, sleeping, nurturing, priming, and walking. They found that not merely observing other baboons led them to yawn, but their yawning behavior was more related to the time they spend in nurturing and grooming of each other. Thus, it is more about the connection, affection, and closeness in the relationship which determines their contagious yawning behavior.

The interesting findings regarding the phenomenon of contagious yawning are opening doors for many other facts. If the mirror neurons play a role in contagious yawning and this behavior is further related to social familiarity and the degree of closeness among creatures, there might be indications that mirror neurons can also show links with imitation or understanding of other person’s experiences. Empathy is the state where a person can put himself in the other’s shoes. Can there be a link between mirror neurons and the development of empathy? We await further discoveries to unleash the topic.

Written By:

Dr. Mehwish Mursaleen

Ph.D. Clinical Psychology

Source: Psychology Today

Latest Research Regarding the Use of “Ignoring Strategies”

Latest Research Regarding the Use of “Ignoring Strategies”

Up till now psychologists focused more on the emotional domain of person’s disturbed state and changing those disturbing factors to adopt new healthy ways. This is true for the cognitive behavioral approaches to psychotherapy which is a widely used approach in mental health treatments.

A new research conducted by Doctor Noga Cohen showed intriguing findings. She conducted a study on a group of German participants in order to find out how ignoring the irrelevant information affects those brain areas which deal with emotions. The researcher engaged participants in two kinds of tasks. One which involved emotional kind of activity in which they had to ignore negatively charged emotional pictures. Other task involved simply notifying the pointing of an arrow to either left or right side while ignoring its direction to any side. The participants were trained in this activity and while performing the tasks both groups of participants were tested through fMRI showing activity in different areas of the brain. The researcher found that participants who were trained in ignoring emotional stimuli exhibited less activity in their amygdala which is responsible for producing negative emotions like depression, anxiety and anger etc. compared to the other group which was trained in ignoring simple things like direction of the arrow. Moreover, the intense training group showed more activity in brain connections to frontal cortex which is responsible for effective handling of emotions.
This study showed that if we train our patients suffering from any psychiatric illness about how they can ignore irrelevant emotional situations, they can better manage their psychological problems. This study has developed new ways for cognitive behavior therapists who can modify new strategies to treat their patients.

Written By:

Dr. Mehwish Mursaleen

Ph.D. Clinical Psychology

Source:
PsychologyMatters.Asia

Treatment approaches aimed at healing psychological problems

Treatment approaches aimed at healing psychological problems

The term “psychological problem” is defined as any kind of mental state in which person feels distressed or disturbed. The psycho-social functioning of the person gets affected such as academics and job performance is not up to the mark, the friendships, social contacts, and family relationships become troublesome and person’s daily life is messed up. This upsetting condition last for longer durations let’s say more than a week or a month. There are different kinds of psychological problems for example depressive state is associated with mood, anxiety relates with worries, adjustment issues are related with long-lasting stress and psychotic disorders are a kind of perceptual disturbance in which person has extrasensory experiences e.g. hearing unusual voices or seeing weird things which others can’t experience.

A variety of psychological treatments is now available for the management of psychological disorders. Behavioural therapy, psychodynamic approach, client-centered treatment, and cognitive behavioural therapy are some of the treatment options one can avail from a psychologist. Among this variety of treatments, cognitive behavioural therapy is proved to be the best treatment for most of the psychological disorders.

Recent researches by clinical psychologists suggest the effectiveness of cognitive behaviour therapy in a long run. Cognitive behavioural treatment in some cases is supposed to be more effective than pharmacological treatments. For example, a study conducted by clinical psychologist Mehwish Mursaleen along with Dr Uzma Ali associate professor at Institute of Clinical Psychology, University of Karachi shows the effectiveness of cognitive behavioural treatment for quick recovery of Panic Disorder with Agoraphobia. They had a client with severe symptoms of anxiety and panic. The client was unable to move out of home due to the fear of sudden anxiety attacks. Her life was limited to the bedroom and she even feared to drive or travel a car. She had not travelled through plane for a long time. The client had three to five panic attacks per day. She had constant nausea and anxiety. With increasing severity of the panic disorder, she also developed symptoms of depression. All these symptoms started after an event of an emergency situation raised during her travelling through an aeroplane. She also had one of her uncles died of heart attack during a plane travel. Before the development of psychological problems, she had a very social and active life but after such incidents, she had confined herself inside her room and she couldn’t run her home due to which all of her family life was disturbed.

She had all her medical test reports showing normal results while she was suspecting to have any heart disease. As recommended by medical professionals, she approached to a psychological clinic where psychologists treated her with cognitive behavioural therapy. She was provided with therapeutic interventions including cognitive restructuring in which thought processes were altered to create healthy thoughts/beliefs. De-catastrophizing continuum offered normal perceptions regarding travelling, minor bodily symptoms, and her ability to control the symptoms. Systematic desensitisation was useful in regulating her anxiety through graded exposure, imagination, and relaxation.

With the completion of treatment within four months, she became perfectly all right and started managing her daily tasks effectively. She had two to three plane travels from Pakistan to abroad and within Pakistan without any single moment of anxiety. She was even able to handle her life situations in a more efficient manner than it was prior to the development of her anxiety symptoms.

With this case study, the researchers showed the effectiveness of CBT in a clinical setting. There are many other instances of treating mental disorders with the help of cognitive behavioural techniques. Psychological management is becoming first-line treatment nowadays, whether it is a hospital, rehabilitation, private clinic or community setting. Therefore, our mental health professionals are acclaimed to include psychological strategies and be committed providing the best services to our people.

Written By:

Dr Mehwish Mursaleen

PhD Clinical Psychology

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