Value System

Value System

Warm greetings and best wishes for a joyful 2011. Friends--hold on to your values!

Values are standards of conduct that we endorse and expect people to meet.

For example, when we expect our political representatives to "tell the truth" we are indicating to them and to ourselves that 'honesty' is one of our most cherished values.

Ask yourself what you expect your friends to be like? What standards of conduct would u want your children to develop....? Answers to these questions and wisdom will enlarge your understanding of your own values.

The worst thing that can happen to you is NOT death but loose hope while you live. Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat. Hold on to your values !!

Happy holidays !

Dr. Fenny Braide
December 17, 2010

Stuttering Speech Therapy

BECOME A CHANGE AGENT

Those of us who speak without stuttering should be thankful to God, and also appreciate the great effort made by those who stutter; support and give them all the encouragement you can. We all know someone or may have come in contact with a stutterer. Imagine what it would be like if just asking for 'voter registration card' made you to break into a cold sweat and if when speaking, you often got stucked on words or continuously repeating the first sound over and over. Such is the case with millions of people all over the world regardless of colour black, white or brown.

However many who struggle with stuttering problem have not let the condition rob them a meaningful life. Some have even become famous, some are politicians, civil servants, social workers, doctors, nurses, engineers, custodians, etc. Interestingly, with help people who stutter can sing, preach the gospel, whisper and hold a normal conversation.

A client once said to me when he stutter, he gets nervous, then stutter even more. He said "It feels like I am in a deep hole, unable to get out." It is frustrating, humiliating with low self-esteem - he said. No one knows the causes, some ancients during the Middle Ages believed that stuttering is taboo caused by evil spirit. Modern school of thoughts says it is hereditary and psychological.

Whatever the THOUGHT you too can become a change agent:

There are speech-therapy programs that can improve fluency. Some techniques involve relaxing the jaw, lips, tongue and breathing from the diaphragm. Instead of telling the stutterer to slow down, set the example by speaking more slowly yourself. Be patient and listen---do not interrupt or finish his sentence. Pause for few seconds before u respond. Avoid criticism and correction. More importantly, make appropriate eye contact; your facial expressions, body language, and comments will transmit signal of interest in what he says, and not how he said it.

GOODLUCK !

Dr. Fenny Braide
Psychotherapist, Philadelphia psychiatric clinic
December 11, 2010

SUICIDE

SUICIDE

This articles was written five days after I received a phone call from a family friend that her twenty one year old son (Talha) was dead. I got this call Sunday, October 24, 2010, while I was away on a conference at Strausberg, Pennsylvania. Talha was born on June 8, 1978 in Zaria, Nigeria. His mother a royal kalabari from Rivers state, Nigeria, and his father a well educated black American from Atlanta Georgia. Talha attended and graduated with honors at Oxford high school and a final year student in computer science at Lincoln university of Pennsylvania at the time he committed suicide. "But why me..?" she asked over the the phone.

Suicide can have a devastating impact on victims and communities

People who talk about or try to kill themselves often feel hopeless and are often trapped in their emotions or problems. Many times these feelings can be related to other factors such as depression or substance abuse or a major stressful event like loss of loved one, frustration or worthlessness.

Depression is a serious medical illness. Depression is more than just the "blues" it is a hopeless sadness that affects your thoughts, moods, feelings, behavior, and even your physical health. The condition affects your ability to function or study (if you a student), enjoy pleasurable activities or sleep.

No one saw depressive symptoms in Talha. He participated in many sporting events and activities in high school and in college. He played high school football (as a wide receiver), also played baseball and won black belt 2nd degree in martial arts. He had all the support system he needed at home and in school. In fact some of his professors were Nigerians, his late grandfather was also a tenured professor at Lincoln university of Pennsylvania.

Sometimes (without professional help) it is difficult to identify symptoms of depression. Talha has no prior history nor treated for behavioral or mental health problems. Other times depression may seem to come out of no where. Perhaps, in Talha's situation it may be unidentified chronic condition that existed without proper diagnoses.

It is very important to know the warning signs of suicide. People who feel hopeless may talk about suicide, withdrawn from family and friends, give away their personal belongings, or engage in risky behavior. Please urge people you know with suicidal thoughts to get help. Educate yourself that suicide may not be the only option when you or someone you know is feeling hopeless.

Talha was reportedly missing from August 24, 2010, and was found dead by Oxford police on October 23, 2010. May almighty Allah bless his soul!

Dr. Fenny Braide is a Psychotherapist and a family friend to The Mahmuds of Oxford Pennsylvania.
Reposted for Qualitative study----All rights reserved.

Attachment-Based Family Therapy

ATTACHMENT-BASED FAMILY THERAPY

On Tuesday, August 31, 2010, Dr. Fenny Braide, attended and participated in research introductory workshop organized by The Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences of Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

The finding shows that The Attachment-Based Family Therapy (ABFT) is the only manualized, empirically-informed family therapy model specifically designed to target family and individual processes associated with adolescent suicide and depression. ABFT emerges from interpersonal theories that suggest adolescent depression and suicide can be precipitated, exacerbated, or buffered against by the quality of interpersonal relationships in families. It is a trust-based, emotional-focused psychotherapy model that aims to repair interpersonal ruptures or traumas and rebuild an emotional protective, secure-based, parent-child relationship.

The initial focus of the ABFT is for repairing or strengthening attachment and then turns to promoting adolescent autonomy. The model is emotionally focused but provides structure and goal, thereby increasing therapist's intentionality and focus on the family.

Treatment is characterized by five treatment tasks:

(a) reframing the therapy to focus on interpersonal development (b) facilitating conversations to resolve attachment rupture (c) building alliance with parents (d) facilitating conversations to resolve attachment ruptures, and (e) promoting competency in the adolescent.

Try it! Incorporate Attachment-Based Family Therapy with evidence based cognitive behavioral therapy and see how it works.

Posted: Sept 27, 2010

Dr. Fenny Braide, is a Psychotherapist and Lead Clinician @ The Behavioral Health Center, Philadelphia.

Schizophrenia: Genetic Factors

Genetic Factors of Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia seriously impairs ones ability to cope with daily responsibilities. someone diagnosed with schizophrenia may have impaired ability to work, enjoy relationships or care for self - leading to social withdrawal and deterioration in social and daily functioning capability.

Experts believe that genetic factors is a contribution of imbalance chemicals in the brain, structural by the prenatal environment. In addition, stressful life events may trigger predisposed symptoms of the illness. This may include circumstances such as death of a loved one, marriage break-up, loss of job or sudden career change, reported/unreported sexual or physical abuse can increase trigger the chances of schizophrenia in a person biologically predisposed to the disease.

Delusions are fixed beliefs that are not amenable by argument or conviction because they are not with the person's educational, social and cultural orientation background. For example: a schizophrenic may think that people know what is on his mind. A client once told me that FBI is watching him and that his mails are always half open - we call this thought broadcast. The schizophrenic believes that he has no secrets anymore, he wants to say a lot of things but feels like people have stolen his thoughts away. Sometimes clients like this can get worried and withdraw because they cannot explain how people get know about them.

People with schizophrenia may also experience hallucinations; they hear, feel, taste things that are not really there. Hallucinations may include two or more voices that continually comment on the person's life. A schizophrenic may talk to himself, walk backwards, laugh when not necessary, make funny faces or even masturbate in public. They often talks incoherently or nonsensical and suggest confused thoughts.

It is always a good idea to know your family history and seek help as needed.

Posted: Sept 24, 2010

Dr. Fenny Braide, is a psychotherapist @ The Behavioral Health Center, Philadelphia.