New designer drugs seem to be hitting the United States market and the media with a frequency that is unsurpassed in other countries. President Barack Obama signed the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act in 2012, effectively banning a number of compounds commonly used to create synthetic marijuana and other designer drugs. Before …
Designer Drugs: What They Are and Why Their Use Is Growing: Part I Read More »
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are two well-known conditions that can significantly alter normal mental function in affected individuals. While the two conditions are distinct, they can produce symptoms that strongly resemble each other in a variety of ways. For this reason, doctors sometimes mistake OCD for ADHD—or vice versa—when making their …
Most people enter an addiction treatment program for one reason and one reason only. They have suffered painful consequences related to their addiction and they want the agony to stop. Oftentimes they don’t even have a desire to be clean and sober; what they really want is to learn how to “drink like a gentleman,” …
Three years after “Obamacare” was passed, California has unveiled the first details about what people will be charged for coverage by 13 health plans offering policies in the state’s exchange. All health plans purchased through Covered California must cover a range of services called Essential Health Benefits that include mental health and substance use disorder services such as behavioral …
[YT video=”mR7ztbpwROM” title=”Wolf Therapy” description=”Promises has partnered with Wolf Connection, an nonprofit wolf and wolf dog rescue organization, to bring the young adults from West Los Angeles an amazing experiential therapy.”] From an early age, starting with Little Red Riding Hood and the Three Little Pigs, we’re taught that wolves are to be feared. They …
The Misunderstood Wolf Meets the Misunderstood Addict Read More »
As awareness about the depredations of substance abuse grows, we might expect that the rates of drug addiction and alcoholism would be falling concordantly. But while this has been happening with a few illegal drugs, it has not been happening with alcohol, which is by far the most frequently abused mind-altering intoxicant.
Social anxiety disorder is a form of medically serious anxiety that triggers a number of disruptive or dysfunctional symptoms in social situations that most people find manageable, harmless, or even pleasurable. Mental health experts also sometimes refer to the condition by the alternate name social phobia. Numerous sources indicate that people who experience bullying during …
Bullies Can Have Lifelong Impact on Their Victims Read More »
Negative emotions are emotional states that tend to limit your personal perspective, decrease your ability to think rationally and increase your overall level of mental unease or distress. Current evidence indicates that negative emotional responses to stressful situations can significantly increase your risks for eventually developing a diagnosable case of the serious mental health disorder …
The Wear and Tear of Rumination on Mental Health Read More »
Every year, L.A. Weekly chronicles the city’s most fascinating natives. Gracing this year’s list is internationally renowned sex and technology addiction expert, author, clinician and presenter Robert Weiss, LCSW, CSAT-S.
A recent report from the United Nations (U.N.) states that many so-called treatments for addiction and for autism are not only unhelpful, but are akin to torture. These treatments are found in practice throughout the world, including the United States. The report was completed by the U.N.’s Special Rapporteur on torture, Juan Mendez, for the …