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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 3 to 27 of 27. Go back in thread:
Posted by Emily Elizabeth on November 30, 2004, at 15:06:26
In reply to Weird question, posted by messadivoce on November 30, 2004, at 13:46:34
My friend's therapist let her bring her dog in once. I was jealous. Sounds good to me too. Apparently that therapist lets people do that from time to time.
My therapist is an animal lover too, so I have shared pix w/of my pets her. It made me feel like she understood an important part of my life. :)
EE
Posted by Shortelise on November 30, 2004, at 16:11:38
In reply to Weird question, posted by messadivoce on November 30, 2004, at 13:46:34
I took my new kitten into my T's office. It was lovely.
Several other T's in his practice have dogs, including the T he shares an office with. They use them as part of therapy, I believe for exactly the purpose you talk about.
Animals are wonderfully comforting, and loving, and accepting. There have been times when all I wanted was to hold onto something comforting. I finally made a pillow which I leave there, and I often hold it.
ShortE
Posted by Shortelise on November 30, 2004, at 16:14:41
In reply to Weird question, posted by messadivoce on November 30, 2004, at 13:46:34
what does "messadivoce" mean?
Just curious.
ShortE
Posted by Poet on November 30, 2004, at 16:18:02
In reply to Weird question, posted by messadivoce on November 30, 2004, at 13:46:34
Hi Mesadivoce,
I would love to have a cat to hold and pet during therapy, but I know that other clients might be allergic.
I know that some posters bring stuffed animals or pillows to hold. I've never done it, but it's an idea since I know a cat is out.
Maybe there should be pet therapy animals for psychotherapy like they bring into nursing homes. Not all therapists would be into having an animal during sessions, but not all of them do the same type of therapy.
Poet
Posted by fires on November 30, 2004, at 16:56:18
In reply to Re: Weird question » messadivoce, posted by fires on November 30, 2004, at 14:47:15
I guess some Ts value cats over human life. I wonder how they would feel if a patient went into a severe life threatening asthma attack due to cat dander. I suppose they either still believe that asthma is a psychosom. disorder, or they keep epi injections on hand.
Posted by Aphrodite on November 30, 2004, at 17:39:21
In reply to Weird question, posted by messadivoce on November 30, 2004, at 13:46:34
There is a therapy group in my city that uses "therapy dogs." Each of the therapists has a dog in the office with him/her. There was an article in the paper about it. Apparently, like dogs that visit nursing homes, etc., there is some kind of behavioral training for them.
Posted by Fallen4MyT on November 30, 2004, at 17:53:07
In reply to Weird question, posted by messadivoce on November 30, 2004, at 13:46:34
Where I go pets are welcome :) and my T once told me he likes his clients to feel comfortable. As my dog will grow up to be a therapy dog I find it's great practice. Ask your T MAYBE YOU will be allowed to have your cat in as long as she/he is up on all shots
Posted by Fallen4MyT on November 30, 2004, at 17:57:33
In reply to Not weird at all! » messadivoce, posted by Aphrodite on November 30, 2004, at 17:39:21
If you look on the web for TDI Therapy Dog International you will see that these pets are highly trained my dog will be going through training for this. A lot of hospitals allow these dogs/cats on psychwards. The place I go to is thinking of a resident pet
> There is a therapy group in my city that uses "therapy dogs." Each of the therapists has a dog in the office with him/her. There was an article in the paper about it. Apparently, like dogs that visit nursing homes, etc., there is some kind of behavioral training for them.
Posted by pegasus on November 30, 2004, at 18:03:18
In reply to Weird question, posted by messadivoce on November 30, 2004, at 13:46:34
I have a friend who works for a therapist who has a whole family of abyssinian cats that get involved in the therapy. I guess she's always had the cats as part of the practice. I would imagine she warns clients about the presence of animals before their first visit, so if they would fall deathly ill, they can avoid that particular therapist. She's supposed to be very good, so apparently she has no problem finding enough clients who like the cats, and doesn't need to accomodate everyone.
Also, interestingly, there is a new hospital in my town that just opened, that has a bunch of therapy dogs. The dogs actually live at the hospital, and there are full time employees who take care of them, and take them around to visit patients. I thought this was really cool, but I wonder about the allergy issues, especially in a hospital.
pegasus
Posted by Fallen4MyT on November 30, 2004, at 18:05:54
In reply to Re: Weird question, posted by fires on November 30, 2004, at 16:56:18
You have a valid point on the allergy aspect. I am HIGHLY allergic to cats and I own 4 well, they own me ..a well groomed pet wiped down right before entering the building is pretty safe and thank God for ME for I take Allegra.
One can be allergic to carpet fibers, cleaning products and so on and risk asthma attacks going anywhere. Stuffering allergies like I do I do sympathize but I think one has to take meds if needed..as you cannot avoid all triggers. Someone could enter the building with a service dog for the blind or epileptic and so on...still valid point but I am glad my dog goes and will grow up to be a therapy dog.> I guess some Ts value cats over human life. I wonder how they would feel if a patient went into a severe life threatening asthma attack due to cat dander. I suppose they either still believe that asthma is a psychosom. disorder, or they keep epi injections on hand.
>
>
Posted by Bent on November 30, 2004, at 18:21:50
In reply to Weird question, posted by messadivoce on November 30, 2004, at 13:46:34
I can see where an animal could be helpful to some people. When I am really stressed I carry along my little stuffed dog that lives in my car. Does that count? My T knows something is really bothering me when I walk into her office with my little dog in hand. In fact just this week she said, "uh oh, you brought the dog, what's going on?" :)
Posted by gardenergirl on November 30, 2004, at 21:37:58
In reply to Re: Weird question, posted by fires on November 30, 2004, at 16:56:18
> I guess some Ts value cats over human life.
Um, I assume you are being sarcastic here?
I also would imagine that any T who uses pets as therapy tools or even has pets in his or her office would inform new clients before they scheduled a first appointment. I would never be able to tolerate being in an office with a cat, even if I loved the T, as I am severely allergic to them. But it takes no special effort when describing your practice to add that you have pets in your office. And then I would have to choose another T, if there were cats. I might be disappointed, but I wouldn't die from it.
And just as I have to be proactive in dealing with my various food restrictions, I view my cat allergy as something similar. I have to ask if people have cats before I visit their home. And then I need to make an educated judgement on how much risk I would be placing myself based on how many cats, whether I've ever noticed a great deal of cat hair on their clothes, a "guesstimate" of their housekeeping standards, etc. Still, I always take my med before going, and I leave if I get too uncomfortable.
>I wonder how they would feel if a patient went into a severe life threatening asthma attack due to cat dander. I suppose they either still believe that asthma is a psychosom. disorder, or they keep epi injections on hand.
Interesting...I never knew asthma to be in any version of the DSM. Never heard of it being psychosomatic either. Although I do know that stress can make an attack worse.
gg
Posted by messadivoce on December 1, 2004, at 2:09:27
In reply to and by the way... » messadivoce, posted by Shortelise on November 30, 2004, at 16:14:41
> what does "messadivoce" mean?
>
> Just curious.
>
> ShortEIt's an Italian term used in singing--represents a sort of exercise used to blend registers in the voice....
I'm currently getting a degree in music and voice is my instrument. I thought of this thread because my voice teacher brings his dog to lessons a lot. I like it, it's quite disarming. It got me to thinking.
Posted by antigua on December 1, 2004, at 7:27:57
In reply to Re: and by the way..., posted by messadivoce on December 1, 2004, at 2:09:27
My T has a dog (used to have 2) and 2 cats. I am allergic to the cats so she usually puts them somewhere else when I come. The dog(s) are just part of her. My EMDR T had a dog too, who would join us for sessions. I'm used to it, and I find it so amusing when I notice the dog(s) responding during the session. My EMDR T asked if it bothered me, and I'm sure when I started seeing my regular T years ago that she asked.
Dogs were a big issue for me (my father had a killer German Shephard) and I dream about them sometimes, but this has worked well for me.
antigua
Posted by Shortelise on December 1, 2004, at 11:36:42
In reply to Re: Weird question, posted by fires on November 30, 2004, at 16:56:18
Fires, it's funny, and I do mean ha-ha funny, but my dander is up a little! I know it's silly, but I feel the need to defend my T.
I think all of the patients in the practice are aware that the therapists have dogs. There are I think four offices and three of the therapists have dogs.
My T is asthmatic. He is allergic to dogs and cats, to fur of any kind, I think. He sometimes has to take, what are they called ... pills for allergies - antihystamines (sp?). When I showed up with the kitten, I told him I'd take it back out to the car if he thought it was a problem (I may get angry at him sometimes but I do not wish anaphylactic shock on him. They'd mean I'd have to give him CPR. Yikes). He said it was ok, and my favourite image of him will always be him holding the tiny sleeping kitten on his arm.
Maybe he knows enough about allergies to know the cat wasn't there long enough to hurt anyone? I know his next patient was ok because she was in the waiting room and held the kitten for a while, at his suggestion.
Anyway, I am now finished defending my cherished T. He would never put anyone in danger. Ever, not knowingly.
I guess you have allergies. It must be awful. I am so lucky that way.
ShortE
Posted by Shortelise on December 1, 2004, at 11:38:55
In reply to Re: and by the way..., posted by messadivoce on December 1, 2004, at 2:09:27
I thought so. At first, not reading carefully, I thought it was "messydivorce". lol.
When I read it carefully, I figured it might have something to do with voice, as "voce" I know.
Cool name.
ShortE
Posted by fires on December 1, 2004, at 13:11:20
In reply to Re: Weird question » fires, posted by gardenergirl on November 30, 2004, at 21:37:58
I had a friend who saw a T who told her that her asthma was psychosomatic. He changed his tune when he developed asthma at a relatively old age.
In the history of Medicine all "new" diseases are generally initially claimed to be psychosom., e.g.: TB, MS, autism (cold mothering), Lyme disease, CFS, Fibromyalgia, Depression, and yes even schizophrenia.
Posted by sunny10 on December 1, 2004, at 14:06:07
In reply to Re: Weird question » gardenergirl, posted by fires on December 1, 2004, at 13:11:20
Actually, I have heard that there are studies about how many people there are suffering from allergies whom also suffer from depression.
Is it nurture vs nature again??? Some suggest that the antihystimines can trigger depression, others say that AD's trigger allergies, while still others say that if a mother breastfeeds her babies, they won't get any allergies- so maybe the children were neglected in other ways as well, thus creating a depressive personality (or triggering brain chem changes over time creating clinical depression).
But most people who seek therapy have already gone through the "medical professionals" before ending up with a therapist, having taken away other symptoms with meds. You would think most people would be treated for those allergies before ever stepping foot in a T's office....
All interesting theories....
Posted by fires on December 1, 2004, at 16:10:21
In reply to Re: Weird question, posted by sunny10 on December 1, 2004, at 14:06:07
I think that immune dysregulation caused by "hidden" viruses (or other bugs) are probably a major factor in causing depression:
http://www.biopsychiatry.com/cytokinesdep.htm
I think most Ts are clueless about this data.
Posted by gardenergirl on December 1, 2004, at 18:25:53
In reply to voce » messadivoce, posted by Shortelise on December 1, 2004, at 11:38:55
> I thought so. At first, not reading carefully, I thought it was "messydivorce". lol.
My brain did the same thing! Thanks for the explanation.
gg
Posted by gardenergirl on December 1, 2004, at 18:30:19
In reply to Re: Weird question » sunny10, posted by fires on December 1, 2004, at 16:10:21
As heard in every psych research class I ever attended...
Everyone please repeat after me: "Correlation does NOT imply causation."
gg
> I think that immune dysregulation caused by "hidden" viruses (or other bugs) are probably a major factor in causing depression:
>
> http://www.biopsychiatry.com/cytokinesdep.htm
>
> I think most Ts are clueless about this data.
Posted by fires on December 1, 2004, at 20:14:53
In reply to immune dysregulation » fires, posted by gardenergirl on December 1, 2004, at 18:30:19
Well.I'm long on thoughts, yet short on words. You did post earlier: "Do use humor at times. Laughter is healing, as some wise woman on another board said (Jai) :)"
I laugh> feel better, therefore I feel better because I laughed?? Correlation only.
I've never seen one shred of scientific proof that laughter is healing. I believe that's a pop psych idea that got started and then developed a life of its' own (as do so many "feel good" theories).
You also stated:
" Everyone please repeat after me: "Correlation does NOT imply causation.""
Correct. Now if Ts would only practice according to that truism. (Most would be out of practice).Correlation is the DX tool of psychology. Example: "you were sexuallly abused, therefore you feel bad." Correlation only.
There's quite a bit of evidence that Dep. **may** be caused by viruses. Certainly more evidence than the antiquated theories that it's cause by anger turned inward, or demonic possession.
> As heard in every psych research class I ever attended...
>
> Everyone please repeat after me: "Correlation does NOT imply causation."
>
> gg
Posted by Fallen4MyT on December 1, 2004, at 22:18:22
In reply to Re: Weird question » sunny10, posted by fires on December 1, 2004, at 16:10:21
Fires so true my t is studying this on this and mentioned it last year.
> I think that immune dysregulation caused by "hidden" viruses (or other bugs) are probably a major factor in causing depression:
>
> http://www.biopsychiatry.com/cytokinesdep.htm
>
> I think most Ts are clueless about this data.
Posted by gardenergirl on December 3, 2004, at 0:17:36
In reply to Re: immune dysregulation, posted by fires on December 1, 2004, at 20:14:53
> Well.I'm long on thoughts, yet short on words. You did post earlier: "Do use humor at times. Laughter is healing, as some wise woman on another board said (Jai) :)"
>
> I laugh> feel better, therefore I feel better because I laughed?? Correlation only.
>
> I've never seen one shred of scientific proof that laughter is healing. I believe that's a pop psych idea that got started and then developed a life of its' own (as do so many "feel good" theories).Well, it's actually a platitude. But laughter is a tool that can influence the flow of a session. And thus, it's valuable.
>
> You also stated:
>
> " Everyone please repeat after me: "Correlation does NOT imply causation.""
>
>
> Correct. Now if Ts would only practice according to that truism. (Most would be out of practice).Hmm, on what do you base this assumption?
>
> Correlation is the DX tool of psychology. Example: "you were sexuallly abused, therefore you feel bad." Correlation only.That certainly sounds more like an interpretation to me than someone invoking a scientific theory. Of course we cannot see these connections. But does that make attempts to piece them apart in order to give a client a structure within which to organize disturbing feelings a bad thing? I don't think so. We may not understand exactly how it works, but if it works and is not harmful, why the defense?
> There's quite a bit of evidence that Dep. **may** be caused by viruses. Certainly more evidence than the antiquated theories that it's cause by anger turned inward, or demonic possession.That "quite a bit of evidence" may be because scientific methods have improved since the time that anyone believed that mental illness was caused by possession. Did anyone really do a scientific study to find significant and robust evidence of the demon? And how do you operationalize anger turned inward? How do you measure it? Of course there are lots of physiological experiments. They are actually much much easier to conduct. It's much harder to develop and carry out studies which examine the components of psychotherapy process. I'm continually impressed by these types of studies and the level of wisdom and expertise required to carry them out.
gg
Posted by fires on December 3, 2004, at 20:58:39
In reply to Re: immune dysregulation, posted by gardenergirl on December 3, 2004, at 0:17:36
<snip>
> Well, it's actually a platitude. But laughter is a tool that can influence the flow of a session. And thus, it's valuable.<<What exactly is "the flow of a session."?
<snip>
> > Correct. Now if Ts would only practice according to that truism. (Most would be out of practice).
>
> Hmm, on what do you base this assumption?I don't think I can answer the question without someone taking offense -- which means I could get another time out -- so no answer.
<snip>
> > Correlation is the DX tool of psychology. Example: "you were sexuallly abused, therefore you feel bad." Correlation only.
>
> That certainly sounds more like an interpretation to me than someone invoking a scientific theory. Of course we cannot see these connections. But does that make attempts to piece them apart in order to give a client a structure within which to organize disturbing feelings a bad thing? I don't think so. We may not understand exactly how it works, but if it works and is not harmful, why the defense?<<The following are links that support my contentions:
A link to a quote from: "House of Cards":
A link to Zilbergeld's, "Shrinking of America:Myths of Psychological Change" (Amazon, scroll down to read review of book)
http://tinyurl.com/5jahr
> > There's quite a bit of evidence that Dep. **may** be caused by viruses. Certainly more evidence than the antiquated theories that it's cause by anger turned inward, or demonic possession.
>
<snip>
>> It's much harder to develop and carry out studies which examine the components of psychotherapy process.<<That's my point.
> gg
>
>
This is the end of the thread.
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