Psychology Help Today

"Even 'constructive criticism' is usually received with defensiveness.  That's why Denver psychologist Susan Heitler, author of From Conflict to Resolution , recommends feedback that 'skips the complaining and goes straight to the explaining. ..."For parents, the same approach applies to homework and chores.  Choose encouraging statements over a stern grilling, Heitler advises, and say what you would prefer your child to do rather than what she has not done or has done incorrectly. ('I'd love to see your playroom cleaned up by this weekend so you and your friends can have fun downstairs,' instead of 'This place is a mess! What have you been doing?  You haven't picked up one thing.  No one is coming over this weekend until this room is spotless.') "Criticism is the single most significant factor in a child's perception of the parental relationship.  It's important to criticize without demeaning or humiliating." - Ma...

"Just because we may not pay mundane interactions much attention, however, doesn't mean that researchers ignore them.  In fact, it is one of the operating principles of social psychology that even the most minute encounters can have large effects on our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. "In that spirit, researchers have explored many of our everyday activities--and found empirical evidence that they can be performed better.  We can greatly reduce our stress and get more of what we see by applying a cornucopia of information from recent studies that bear directly on the small problems and challenges of our daily lives. "If there is a unifying these to the findings, it is that the most successful encounters accommodate, even anticipate, the respondent's point of view.  That is, if we want something only another person can give--friendship, acceptance, forgiveness--we need to factor the other person's mindset into our requests and behavior." - Mary Lof...

"In addiction to looking at SPECT scans, the nationally recognized mental health expert also began using a highly personalized evaluation process to reveal overlooked symptoms in each of his patients.  Dr. Amen's findings regarding ADD were nothing short of revolutionary.  The one-size-fits-all medication strategies were not working because there simply was not one single form of ADD.  In fact, Dr. Amen identified 6 completely different subtypes of ADD, with each type requiring very different treatment approaches. "'In four of the six ADD types, mainstream stimulant medications make symptoms worse,' Dr Amen said.  But his discoveries didn't stop at recognizing failures in common treatment protocols.  Dr. Amen also determined alternate treatments that would work for these other ADD types. "He found that specific types of therapy and nutritional supplements eased symptoms, and he sometimes paired these alternative treatments with targeted medications....