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Lewis Mehl-Madrona: Narrative and Science: Day 13 of the Australian Journey
Today was our last full day in Australia and the occasion for a lecture and series of discussions at the University of Melbourne's Center for International Mental Health and School of Population Health. We explored the bridges between science and the indigenous world view of narrative. Particularly we were impressed with how neuroscience is completely supporting indigenous knowledge about narrative and its importance! |
Lewis Mehl-Madrona: The Power of Community: Day 12 of the Australian Journey
Day 12 of our Australian Journey for cross-cultural exchange in mental health was a low-key day of exchanges about healing in community. We explored the concept that healing cannot occur so easily without involvement of the entire community. Those people to whom we are accountable must agree to allow us to change, or we will not change. We must be invited by the important others in our life to perform a different story. |
Lewis Mehl-Madrona: Approaches to Trauma in the Indigenous Community -- Day 10 of the Australian Journey
Today is Day 10 of the Australian Cross-Cultural Mental Health Journey. Today we talked about trauma in aboriginal communities and how to address that trauma. We collaboratively arrived at some ideas to propose. We agreed that narrativizing is necessary. We need to hear the stories of woundedness that people have to tell and to celebrate their resistance to abuse and to focus more on the resistance than on being a victim. |
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Lewis Mehl-Madrona: Implementing Narrative Practices: Day 9 in Australia
The highlight of Day 9 in our Australian cross-cultural mental health journey was a workshop for indigenous mental health and human service providers on how to make their services more indigenous friendly. This involves, of course, conscious decolonization of our clinical practices. We talked about the need to become more narrative, to listen longer and more deeply to the stories people tell us and to hear stories of others. |
Lewis Mehl-Madrona: Narrativizing is the first step at becoming indigenous friendly -- Day 8
On Day 8, we asked how do we transform health care to become more indigenous friendly, whether it's mental health care of general medical care. The answer that jumped out was to implement narrative practice. Indigenous cultures are virtually uniformly cultures of story in which stories matter greatly. Being heard means having the opportunity to tell one's stories. "Treatment" begins by hearing and acknowledging stories. 1  |
Lewis Mehl-Madrona: Still More Similar Than Different -- Day 7 of the Australian Journey
Today finds us in Day 7 of our Australian Cross-Cultural Mental Health Journey. They lessons of these week have been very consistent -- indigenous from anywhere in the world is more similar than different. An elder proposed an answer for this. He said, "When you listen to the spirits and to nature and show respect, you get the same guidance 'cause spirits talk to each other. They know how the world should go!" 1 |
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Lewis Mehl-Madrona: Imaging and doing are not as different as they sound
Contemporary neuroscience has shown us that imagining an act and performing an act are virtually the same. We can strength our muscles almost as much by imagining exercising as by exercising. If mind is so powerful, why aren't we harnessing it for the good. I fear that mostly we allow it to run for the bad, imagining ourselves in any number of dire straights and illnesses, instead of imagining ourselves hale as we should. 1 |
Lewis Mehl-Madrona: The Narrative Interview: Day 3 of the Australian Journey
Today finds us on Day 3 of our Australian cross-cultural journey. Our focus today is on the narrative interview. How would we interview people if our focus was to elicit their story instead of making a conventional DSM diagnosis. I interview a woman who has been suffering for 12 years and who has finally been offered an antidepressant medication. I show how her suffering can be rendered intelligible through narrative. 1 |
Lewis Mehl-Madrona: Suicide and Mental Health: Australia Journey Day 2
Lewis and Coyote Institute are on Day 2 of an Australian journey which is a cross-cultural exchange about ideas for mind and mental health. Today we focused upon suicide which elders told us was rare in Australia prior to European contact, but now, all to common. We focused upon suicide as a modern non-indigenous template for the communication of suffering which sometimes backfires leading to accidental death. 1 |
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Lewis Mehl-Madrona: Coyotes and Reclaiming Indigenous Knowledge
Three of us from Coyote Institute have journeyed to Australia to consult with a local aboriginal group on how to incorporate local culture into their health care and other services. This is the first in a series of daily blogs about the trip. I begin by wondering about coyote as a symbolic muse, an animal who lives at the margin and is currently expanding its territory. We discuss templates for the expression of pain. |
Lewis Mehl-Madrona: What we can learn from Tucson and why not to overreact!
The recent tragedy in Tucson has led some commentators to demand more inpatient beds, easier commitment laws, and forced treatment with medication. I argue that none of this would have stopped Mr. Loughner, since he had not come to anyone's attention yet. We need to refrain from overreacting and further stigmatizing the mentally ill, who are, by and large, not violent, and we need to think about ways to reach out more. 1 |
Dr. Cheryl Pappas: Celiac Blues and Greens
Celiac disease,invisible, undiagnosed, could be playing havoc with your physical and mental well-being. Learn to listen to your body and you can heal it. |
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Dr. Kathleen Albertson, L. Ac., PhD: What health treatment system treats multiple symptoms simultaneously? Acupuncture and herbal medicine holds secrets to returning you to your optimum vitality. Do you want to feel dramatically physically and emotionally better? Then Acupuncture and herbal medicine is for you. Here's 4 Reasons Why: 1 |
Lewis Mehl-Madrona: Narrative Interviewing and Behavioral Change
In this article, I talk about the importance of finding the stories behind behaviors that are adverse to health. Health behavior is not rational, but is guided by stories that people have about how life should be lived. Many times they do not realize what these stories are, since they are from their earlier years and are so ingrained as to be outside awareness. I show how changing story allows people to change diet. 1 |
Hyla Cass: Natural Solutions To Sleep Deprivation
I'm seeing increasing numbers of patients with sleep problems, ranging from difficulty in falling asleep, to being unable to sleep soundly through the night. Rather than waking up in the morning restored and rejuvenated, they are dragging themselves out of bed, facing another day feeling drained and exhausted. |
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Lewis Mehl-Madrona: Explanatory Plurarlism
I ask the question, what if all knowledge existed in the form of stories and all stories were true? If we practiced in this manner, as advocated by Uncle Albert, an aboriginal elder, how would we act? The notion of explanatory pleuralism argues that explanatory stories on any particular level do not have to relate to any other level of explanation; rather they must correspond to the level of which they are explaining. |
Lewis Mehl-Madrona: Ethics for Mental Health
The history of the mental health industry involves the management of people who are socially unacceptable, who are defined as excessively different from the rest of us, who live at the extremes of emotions and behaviors. How we treat these people depends upon the stories we carry about how they came to be the way they are. Contemporary stories are impoverished and lead to mistreatment of those who suffer. |
Dr. Kathleen Albertson, L. Ac., PhD: The four Stages of Fatigue: Which one are you in? How can TCM combat it?
Did you know that fatigue slowly expresses itself in four stages in your body? Did you know that it crawls deeper and deeper deteriorating all of your key organ systems? Fatigue has an uncanny way of starting out as an occasional situation that we assume will go away. Often, it doesn't. We do not slow down and get the rest we need---we merely push ourselves harder. At what expense? TCM helps. |
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Dr. Kathleen Albertson, L. Ac., PhD: Amenorrhea: What does not having a menstrual cycle mean?
Amenorrhea means "no menstrual flow" (absence of menstruation). In Chinese medicine, it refers to "no moon." Today it is more important than ever to understand TCM (Traditional Chinese medicine which includes acupuncture and herbal medicine) as well as Western medicine. Today's reality integrates these two schools of thought to improve patient care. TCM gets to the root cause naturally with out the harsh affects of drugs. |
Lewis Mehl-Madrona: Psychiatrists in Community Mental Health
This article explores the role of the psychiatrist in community mental health. I find myself working in this setting and realizing that almost everyone sees my role as the writing of prescriptions. Medication has become the core of community mental health with twice monthly, 25 minute "therapy" visits. I ask how psychiatrists working in such settings can push back. How can we reclaim psychiatry as the medicine of the soul? 1 |
Lewis Mehl-Madrona: Community -- Why is it hard?
Belonging to community has huge benefits. It's hard because true community includes annoying and irritating people who don't agree with us. It includes people who sometimes act bizarre or socially inappropriately. It doesn't exclude and it minimizes power imbalances. Having true community takes work, because it's easier to be anonymous and let other people be in charge. But the effort pays off, and it's worth it. |
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Saberi Roy: The Psychology of Emotions
Explaining emotions and distinguishing feeling and bodily reaction. |
Lewis Mehl-Madrona: More Indian Than Thou More Indian Than Thou is a current artefact of blood quantum discussion. It disenfranchises many, and seems to contain some of the same political aspects as our oppressors. This article addresses the question of Indian identity. Can a person be an Indian without being enrolled in a tribe. Can a person claim Native American heritage without tribal enrollment and endorsement? What are the politics of "Indianness"? 1 |
Ash Rehn: What is Sex Addiction? Questions from a Narrative Psychotherapy Perspective
This article examines the problems with the idea of Sex Addiction, and the possibilities for revealing more helpful and relevant understandings of problems that come from using the techniques of Narrative Therapy. 1 |
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Dr. Kathleen Albertson, L. Ac., PhD: The 5 Myths of Acupuncture: Do you Know them?
Does acupuncture hurt? Do I need to continue treatment forever? Is ther physiological change in the body?
This article dispels some of your questions and puts to rests the myths surrounding this 5000-year-old holistic health science. Yes, acupuncture has been in existence for 5000 years; compared to western medicine that is just over 200 years old.
It has stood the test of time. |
Lewis Mehl-Madrona: Reflections on the American Psychiaatric Association's annual meeting
This past week we attended the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association in New Orleans, Louisiana. The high point was the amazing food that New Orleans offers. Besides that, we dialogue about the myths that psychiatry has created that now need to be changed. These myths include the idea that a perfect pill exists to make people feel "normal" and that a pill exists that can change unpleasant affect in happiness |
Dr. Kathleen Albertson, L. Ac., PhD: Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine in the Treatment Gynecology Related Problems: Bridging the Medical Gap!
Traditional Chinese medicine includes acupuncture and the use of Chinese herbs formulated specifically or your condition.
For 5000 years, gynecology related conditions have been effectively treated with the use of TCM. Western medicine as were know it has only been in existence for 200+years.
Learn what conditions TCm treats and to bridge the gapin your hhealth care. |
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Kathie Albertson: Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner speaks out on National Health Reform: TCM advocates "health" care--not "sick'
Improved patient care depends on holistic measures that resolve health problems and improve patient care. Today, chronic diseases- heart and liver disease, arthritis, stress, fatigue and anxiety are common place ailments. They should not be. With the Health Reform Act, more people will have health care, and that is a good thing. But who is advocating the "health" in "healthcare?" TCM does! 7 reasons to use it for you and your 1 |
Lewis Mehl-Madrona: Coyote Healing Excerpt from Chapter 4, The Medicine Wheel
This is an excerpt from my book, Coyote Healing: Miracles from Native America. It's about the medicine wheel. |
Kathie Albertson: What Drives an Acupuncturist?A good philosophy on Health and People!
What drives an acupuncturist?
How are patients educated on the effectivenss of health based, holistic care vs disease based care. Trusting Chinese Herbs. |
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Articles For Tag "Health" |
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