The New York Times weighs in with a thoughtful article on more than a child-rearing question: Are we doing right by the next generation when early signs of emotional distress are expressed? This is an issue of national concern. Even though AMHF is concentrating its efforts more toward "the other end" of the population spectrum, along with individuals with special needs, we believe the way our youngest is treated is an issue of national scope and concern. Certainly, a large concern of our long-time director, Dr. Stefan de Schill, was that American society as a whole suffers (and suffers is the word) from the overuse and abuse of medication when intensive forms of therapy, individual or group, would be more in order.

Readers of our blog know I draw inspiration from the New York Times and The New Yorker, most anywhere. You loyal readers also know I recently blogged on the idea of death by mind control, as reflected in the words of an est group leader who spoke of a participant "willing his death." Whatever one may think of Erhard Sensitivity Training (which has been called a cult similar to L. Ron Hubbard's organization Scientology), the point really has to do with mind over body, mind over life itself.

On the AMERICA online magazine, here is an interesting profile of one of our upcoming authors:

"Ninety years ago this week Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify the Nineteenth Amendment, giving women a right to vote that should have been inalienable. This week, Joanne Gavin continues apace in coauthoring her third book, Live Your Dreams: Change Your World, a powerful guide for women that offers scientific approaches from fields of business management, cognitive and executive psychology, stress management and preventative medicine. The book is set for 2011 publication by American Mental Health Foundation Books.

A fascinating case was tried in 1993 in the state of Connecticut involving an est session, an est trainer named David Norris (among others on the scene), and the death of an est participant. How much stress is too much? How much of our own lives, including one's own death (excepting by suicide), could be consciously willed, as Norris suggested? Where does free will leave off and mind-control begin? Mental health and emotional well-being are the stated goals of our foundation. We call your attention to this unusual case not for judgment but for your thoughtful consideration.

Joanna Weiss has a slightly different take on bullying as she analyzes the trial of six young women. They are accused of bullying another adolescent so brutally as to cause her to hang herself. The entire article is worth reading. See

Article on Bullying by Joanna Weiss in the Boston Globe

We all know unhealthy ways to get to sleep, but how aware are we of small habits and behaviors that reap a big reward when it comes to getting a good night's sleep.

The New York Times reports on new medical research suggesting that repeated concussions and other brain trauma might be responsible for the constellations that are called "Lou Gehrig's Disease."

The article points out that Lou Gehrig probably suffered more head injuries and concussions than realized when one takes into account his career as a football player at Columbia University.

This news is bound to rekindle debate on the appropriate intensity of contact sports, especially at young ages.

New York Times Article on Lou Gehrig's Disease

Karen Smith, writing in AMERICA, reports on President Obama's talk at the beginning of the month in Atlanta, Georgia at the convention of the Disabled Veterans of America.

While those who read The New Yorker or have followed the lives of the protagonists in the New York literary scene, Daphne Merkin's...er...unique...memoir of therapists in her life will come as no surprise because of the...unique...nature of some of the past experiences she has written about.

Not a consumer's guide to therapy, this article offers a critical eye on psychoanalytic therapy as it is practiced in mid-town Manhattan. As I read I was tallying up the fees paid by Merkin over seven years, and it easily goes into seven figures. Fortunately she comes from an extremely wealthy family and can afford it.

The article is fascinating reading, and the last paragraph is especially good...so be patient and take your time in getting to the end.

It will also appear Sunday in the New York Times Magazine.

The American Psychological Association will hold its 118th annual convention this month in San Diego, California, from August 12th through 15th. This professional group has more than 100,000 members and convention attendance usually is more than 10,000 psychologists.

There are wealth of activities for both attendees and the public, including pre-convention workshops, discussions, presentations of research. exhibits by over 100 researchers, and social and networking opportunities.

There is an online program that can be accessed through the convention site: APA 2010 Convention Website

As in other years, there will be coverage by national media of the convention.

Most importantly for those following our bog and website, AMHF Books will be represented by the exhibit of Dr. Raymond B. Flannery Jr.'s The Violent Person.

AMHF has taken a special interest in the prevention of violence and in the many forms that coercion and abuse make themselves known. Recently we have been examining the extent of bullying in society and across the lifespan, a task that we suspect is only beginning.

Errol Louis, columnist for the New York Daily News, writes on how to "Take Aim at the Roots of Violence." He writes:

"Churches have much of what's needed to save the kids who can be saved. They have credibility, volunteers, real estate in he right communities and moral commitment.

"What they don't have, in too many cases, is money to bolster their ministries with paid staff, job training, coordination with law enforcement and other necessities."

Louis suggests ways to obtain funding for these ventures.

The movement of Community Psychology is one that attempts to use internal resources to revitalize communities, and this is one area that can be considered in virtually every community.

Football star and bipolar disorder.

In founding AMHF Books, the book-publishing arm of The American Mental Health Foundation, I along with our board sought two things. (1) To disseminate our knowledge in a way that also would preserve the lifework of the late Stefan de Schill. This would include books written in the spirit of Dr. de Schill's work but not necessarily directly derived from it. De Schill was one of the premier proponents of group therapy, a Freudian, and a humanist. He very much, and specifically, told me on more than one occasion that he had wanted his book Crucial Choices, Crucial Changes to be published by one of Erich Fromm's publishers. (2) To issue out-of-print classics that deserve to be in print, which reflect the mission and spirit of AMHF.

New York Times continues on the subject of Bullying through the Life Cycle.

Dr. Norman Reed, a clinical psychologist specializing in the assessment and treatment of violent children and adolescents, has joined our Professional Advisory Board. For nearly 30 years he has worked in various programs for these youngsters in the State of Oregon.
Welcome, Dr. Reed!

An intriguing article is presented in the current issue of the Journal of Counseling and Development, the academic journal of the American Counseling Association.

The authors (Gill, Minton, and Myers) that a woman's spirituality or religious commitment accounted for a good portion of their resilience and wellness.

There are implications for training programs in psychology, social work, and religion, as mental health workers need to know about these person's religious and spiritual beliefs in order to help them.

The authors concluded: "In the meantime, the results of this study may be used as a foundation for helping low-income, rural women experience greater wellness through strength-based interventions focused on their spiritual and religious beliefs and behaviors."

There is a great deal of interesting and helpful material on the website here:

American Counseling Association Website

We are happy to announce that Janice E. Johnson has joined our Professional Advisory Board. Ms. Johnson worked for many years in the public sector in California, working with many children and women who were being abused. She is Phi Beta Kappa and her graduate degree is from the University of Minnesota.
We are happy that she will be providing us ideas.

As experts and the public ask for and learn more and more about bullying, not only is its presence in schools better known, but one begins to wonder about all the other situations across the lifespan where bullying occurs.

Some possibilities:

*Siblings bullying each other
*Parents bullying teachers
*Cliques that bully other cliques
*Boys that bully girls
*Bullying in college situations
*Marital bullying (a sign or precursor of abuse?)
*Political bullying

In fact, the concept may include many situations where one person is coerced, taunted, embarrassed by someone who at first appears to have some kind of edge, physically, emotionally, or through some position in a group or organiziation.

What do you think?

Eric J. Green writes about Jungian Play therapy in his article Traversing the heroic journey," which appeared in the March 2010 issue of Counseling Today, published by the American Counseling Association

Here are some of his ideas:

"One of our primary tasks as child counselors is to provide an emotionally safe and protective space within a basic nondirective structure so that healing can occur. Psychic healing and maturation occur when a solid connection is maintained between the unconscious (Self) and the conscious (Ego)...this takes place when the child's ego can cope with pain and enjoyment appropriately.

"For example, by crying when hurt, by using words and appropriate verbalizations when angry, by relying for help and by taking pleasure and experiencing warm feelings, laughter, and joy. For healthy emotional development, the ego needs to look at difficult experiences, feel the associated hurting, understand the condition, and then let go.

Jungian play therapy can be conducted individually or there can be a family play therapy session with the child's family.

A good book on this topic is Written Paths to Healing: Education and Jungian Child Counseling, written in 1992 by John Allan and Judi Bertoia.

Book on Jungian Child Counseling