This brief article is meant for counselors, family members, and those suffering from addictions. By addictions, I mean both behavioral, such as gambling, and substance abuse, such as alcohol and drugs. I will only consider three areas of addiction treatment, as I consider these three crucial to favorable outcomes.
As ...
Date Posted: January 13, 2012
Categories: Addictions, Drug Addiction, Gambling Addiction
Written By:
Marjorie Nixon LCSW
A new year is fast approaching with a fresh start and new challenges. Let us take a look at some of the articles that had been previously posted on Psychology Matters Asia and have been well recieved by our readers.
In preparation for a brand new year, start it out by learning how to better manage ...
Dec 30
Categories: Mental Health in Asia
Written By:
Psych Mat Asia Editor
I was fortunate to have the opportunity to meet with several parents of children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD), both in the UK and in Singapore. When discussing what life is like, regardless of their residency, availability of support seemed to be one of the greatest factors in determining ...
Dec 19
Categories: Autism spectrum disorders, Caregiver Issues / Stress
Written By:
Jennifer Sunderland
On hearing of a newly published book on depression titled “My Voice; Overcoming”, I decided to contact the author, Mr Chua Seng Lee , to determine if there was some way of introducing this insightful book to readers of my blog. He was extremely friendly in our email exchanges and ...
Dec 6
Categories: Depression
Written By:
Brian Scott
When I first moved to Singapore, I was initially struck by just how differently the attitude towards children with disabilities were from what I had known it to be in the west. A number of studies have shown the extreme gap in resources for people suffering with mental health disorders throughout ...
Nov 27
Categories: Caregiver Issues / Stress, Child and/or Adolescent Issues, ...
Written By:
Jennifer Sunderland
Over the past 15 years, as part of a program of self exploration and development, I developed the habit of journaling on a daily basis. As part of that practice I started to record my ideas, memories etc on a voice recorder. Not only did this practice provide an abundance of ideas for my ...
Nov 11
Categories: Life Purpose / Meaning / Inner-Guidance, Positive Psychology, ...
Written By:
Brian Scott
Below is an extensive list of schools in Singapore which offer programs for children with a developmental challenge of some kind. One advantage of this data base is that it has been organized according to the type of challenge and age group catered to. It includes the following kinds of ...
Oct 28
Categories: Antisocial personality, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder ...
Written By:
Psych Mat Asia Editor
In this initial entry I want to introduce you to the topic of co-dependence which I feel is a valid and useful approach to helping people. I also use it because there are many resources available to help people recover from the effects of co-dependence (coda) including books, tapes, and videos so ...
Oct 19
Categories: Codependency / Dependency
Written By:
Brian Scott
What is meditation? Does practicing meditation daily really bring some benefits? How does one meditate?
My own experience with meditation began in the 70’s with the practice of transcendental meditation (TM), followed by Benson’s non-religious version of TM aimed at stress reduction ...
Oct 3
Categories: Mindfulness Meditation, Relaxation techniques, Stress Management
Written By:
Brian Scott
A blog is loosely defined as a web site on which an individual or group of users record opinions or information on a regular basis. In this article, we will try to highlight the usefulness of blogs and how they can help therapists engage with their clients.
When blogging about a particular ...
Sep 19
Categories: Mental Health Professions
Written By:
Psych Mat Asia Editor
Last weekend while breaking my fast in a fine hotel restaurant, a young Caucasian couple made a very noticeable entrance and sat at a nearby table. Both were at least 6 feet tall (tall by Asian standards), and attractive looking. She wore short shorts and a clinging tank-top, revealing her well ...
Sep 9
Categories: Personality problems, Self-Love, Sensitivity to Criticism
Written By:
Brian Scott
Recent news of widespread rioting and looting in several English cities has shocked most people both in England and the rest of the world. One widely reported video on TV was particularly disturbing and perhaps even more distressful to Asians, was that of the young Malaysian student, Ashraf ...
Aug 24
Categories: Aggression & Violence
Written By:
Brian Scott
If you have not seeked psychological assistance before or have just moved to a new location, trying to locate and select the right kind of help may seem a daunting task at first. In our previous article, we explored the differences between the various mental health professions ...
Aug 15
Categories: Mental Health in Asia
Written By:
Psych Mat Asia Editor
A mental health provider is a professional who has received training and credentials to provide services to either ameliorate mental distress or to improve mental health and prevent mental disorders. Although there are a variety of mental health providers, the four main kinds are social workers, ...
Aug 4
Categories: Mental Health Professions
Written By:
Psych Mat Asia Editor
What is the quality and availability of mental health services in the southeast Asia region known as ASEAN? The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a geo-political and economic organization of the following countries: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, ...
Jul 14
Categories: Mental Health in Asia
Written By:
Psych Mat Asia Editor
In 2007, Jon Kabat-Zinn gave a talk on Mindfulness meditation at Google. The video may be a few years old but it offers an excellent insight into the topics of mindfulness for beginners. The present article provides a brief summary of his presentation along with the actual video which you can watch on your own. Jon started with an analogy of the ...
Jul 4
Categories: Mindfulness Meditation
Written By:
Psych Mat Asia Editor