Stigma is nothing new. Throughout the centuries people have been stigmatized for everything from the color of their skin and country of origin to their age and religion. A hundred years ago, people were not stigmatized for weight; yet today, people are routinely and pervasively abused for being anything outside of our thin “ideal.” And, it starts early in life. Research reveals that even … Read More
For the past 25 years, September has been celebrated as National Recovery month. The focus of the month is to promote the societal benefits of prevention, treatment and recovery for mental and substance use disorders. Recovery Month spreads the positive message that behavioral health is essential to overall health, that prevention works, effective treatment is … Read More
In our culture, we are taught that certain things happen at certain ages – you get your driver’s license at 16, retire at 65. This idea also extends to certain decades. The 20s are geared to finishing up college, starting a career, and securing a spouse. If the spouse doesn’t materialize in the 20s, surely … Read More
In what areas does your family communications break down? Everyone in a family is affected by another family member’s problems. Yet the family can have a major influence on long-term recovery and adjustment from eating disorders, substance abuse, trauma, mood disorders and most other problems. People erroneously believe that because they can speak words, … Read More
It used to be that a child’s playdate was just that: kids would get together and run around a park, swim in a pool, maybe just play in the backyard. Today, many playdates offer a new component; one that isn’t entirely centered on the children, but geared more toward the mothers. This added component is … Read More
Negative body image has been growing throughout our country for quite some time; and what used to be confined to the female population, has rapidly move into the male population as well. At Timberline Knolls, we are increasingly aware that this trend has moved out of mere body dissatisfaction and into the realm of body … Read More
Prescription opioid abuse is now epidemic in our country. The statistics regarding addiction and death are staggering. The rate of death due to overdose of prescription opioids more than quadrupled between 1999 and 2010. This far exceeds the combined death toll from cocaine and heroin overdoses. In 2010 alone, prescription opioids were involved in 16,651 … Read More
Numbers are the bane of many women. Often, this negativity involves the numbers found on a scale, but also extends to the sizes of clothes. How many girls and women have I seen in treatment who would literally starve themselves to death if only they could be a size 00? Therefore, I generally applaud attempts … Read More
Frequently I’m asked by other clinicians how, as a therapist, I can ask people to sit with painful emotions. Because the truth is, it “is” a painful experience and we all want our clients to feel better. These clinicians point to the extreme histories of emotional pain and trauma of their clients and tell me that … Read More
According to the World Health Organization, depression is on the rise and is expected to be one of the biggest health problems we face by the year 2020. Millions of people take antidepressants every day; a significant number of them are women. We know that depression is far more common in women than in men … Read More
