by Mike Willbur | Forensic Counseling, Uncategorized
As trained counselors with decades of experience, we are able to establish rapport and facilitate an atmosphere of trust with most interviewees. Many studies show that if a person trusts the interviewer, they are much more likely to be forthcoming with relevant information.
The skill set we bring to this process can be very helpful to an attorney or other professional who needs to obtain reliable evidence in a civil or criminal case. Having a fresh set of eyes is often critical.
Attorneys or other professionals often feel like they are drowning in reports, medical records, interview transcripts, etc. It becomes more difficult to separate out the truly relevant material.
Also, it is human nature for someone who is very close to a case to have trouble looking at the situation with objectivity. Because of our familiarity with both legal and psychological concepts, we can effectively work with counsel or other professionals to provide an impartial perspective on the case.
by Mike Willbur | Uncategorized
Received another request recently, to conduct a domestic violence evaluation. The mandate to get this evaluation was triggered by allegations spewing from the lips of both parents who were striving to gain the upper hand over the other parent. Effectively, these parents were using their own children to navigate and get what they wanted through an unhealthy triangulation that accomplished nothing but to confuse the children.
When I get these types of requests, I know there may not be any criminal history or for that matter, there may not have been any police contact at all concerning one’s misbehavior in the home leaving me with a situation of, “Is there a propensity for violence in the home?” If so, then, by whom, and what would the treatment look like since there has not been a crime committed?
When I am faced with these kinds of evaluations, very little thought is given to what the evaluation process really is. I assure you that it is complex and requires not only collateral contact interviews but objective testing as well. This would include lethality testing as well as behavioral.
These evaluations can be life-changing for the person who is weaponizing the children to get what they want. Here’s why…I interview both partners, the children, and family members who have knowledge of the relationship and how they might be resolving their issues behind closed doors.
Some people are pretty good at taking tests but when faced with multiple testing instruments that amount to over 400 questions with multiple validating scales, the tests are hard to beat and with proper analysis of the results, they will likely yield some pretty accurate findings. The kind of findings that will land a person in some extended classes that cover behavioral change. And for the many that I have seen go to these classes, there is not a lot of “By in” to a program that is force feeding behavioral etiquette. Something to think about when you decide to use your own children in a quest for control…
Bottom line point to this is simply, resolve your issues amicably and if that’s not possible, then look next to mediation because couples in conflict are not always the best communicators and quiet frankly, are really inept of asking for what they want in a manner that will not burn the house down.
by Mike Willbur | Uncategorized
Sometime back, I conducted an evaluation on a client who had been recently released from prison. Not only did I provisionally diagnosed this person, the client was previously diagnosed while in prison a number of years ago.
What? Autism spectrum disorder. This poor soul should never have been put in a correctional institute rather, in assisted living condition to teach and manage life skills. He will never be able to be completely autonomous but can enjoy the feeling of independence with some good and dedicated social worker who specializes in Autism.
To all the Corrections people I am connected with, I have this question, how often do (did) you see this scenario? I understand the “diminished capacity” rule but reality to this type is different and social interaction deficits can put this person in harms way. And yes, this person was traumatized while in prison and now, “I hate all Mexicans.”
Interestingly enough, the above statement is not really a racist based comment rather a person on the spectrum describing who it was who had traumatized him while incarcerated. There was nothing correctional about his stay in the house.
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by Mike Willbur | Domestic Violence, Uncategorized
A domestic violence perpetrator treatment program must focus treatment primarily on ending the participant’s physical, sexual, and psychological abuse. The primary goal of a domestic violence perpetrator treatment program must be to increase the victim’s safety by:
- Facilitating change in the participant’s abusive behavior; and
- Holding the participant accountable for changing the participant’s patterns of behaviors, thinking, and beliefs.
The minimum treatment period is the time required for the participant to fulfill all conditions of treatment set by the treatment program. Satisfactory completion of treatment is not based solely on a perpetrator participating in the treatment program for a certain period of time or attending a certain number of sessions. - The program must require participants to attend treatment and satisfy all treatment program requirements for at least twelve consecutive months.
- The program must require the participant to attend:
(a) A minimum of twenty-six consecutive weekly same gender group sessions, followed by:
(b) Monthly sessions with the treatment provider until the twelve-month period is complete. These sessions must be conducted face-to-face with the participant by program staff who meet the minimum qualifications set forth in this chapter.
by Mike Willbur | PTSD, Uncategorized
Treatment for PTSD will depend on the needs and desires of the person seeking treatment. Some of the most common modalities for treatment of PTSD are listed below:
Behavioral or Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
This approach looks at ways in which a person thinks about a problem, learned to certain triggers associated with that problem and ways in which thinking affects the emotional state. This treatment often uses a combination of exposure (deliberately thinking about an event or confronting a trigger) and relaxation training along with cognitive restructuring or changing thoughts or beliefs about that event or trigger. This process tends to desensitize a person’s response to reminders of the event so that it no longer carries the same emotional impact. This can be a very effective treatment.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
This modality uses exposure to the traumatic memory paired with “bilateral stimulation” of the brain by tracking the therapist’s finger or string of lights with the eyes or listening to alternating tones. Current thoughts, feelings, physical sensations and beliefs are activated and the tracking helps to reduce emotional and physiological reaction to the memory. This desensitization helps to process negative beliefs about themselves to adaptive, healthy and more accurate beliefs. There have been numerous studies over the years on EMDR and has shown to be a rapid and effective treatment for PTSD.
Group Therapy
Group therapy can be helpful following a traumatic event as it provides a safe and supportive environment in which to discuss a shared experience with others. There is often a felt sense that nobody understands and a group can help a person to feel less alienated, normalizing reactions to an abnormal event.
Medication
Medication is an option but many avoid this as they may feel stigmatized for doing so. Traumatic events can influence the neurochemistry of the body and brain, impacting the person in many ways. Excessive stress hormones can make it difficult to concentrate, relax or even sleep. They can increase blood pressure, muscle tension, skin conductance and general arousal levels. Traumatic events can also impair immune system functioning, making people more vulnerable to illness. Medication can be an effective way to reset these levels in the brain and may prove to be very helpful for a period.
by mwdrutledge59 | Uncategorized
PTSD is not the only issue a Veteran may be left with after serving our country. There are a multitude of presenting problems that may loom unexpectedly after discharge from the regimented system a veteran is accustomed to in the military.
There a veteran does most everything collectively. This makes decision making a very unique process, especially when you have been immersed for a number of years in the military way of life.
Sometimes after traumatic experiences, the memories of those experiences become lost in the depths of the limbic part of the brain. As a result, veterans may have found themselves making many decisions based on emotion and not on an intellectual basis.
That is treatable, and with the help of a therapist, I have seen many Veterans overcome the many obstacles they are faced with after discharge from the military.
