Posted by: MyTherapyJournal.com
on Apr 20, 2009
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WHO AND WHAT IS MYTHERAPYJOURNAL.COM ???
I would like to invite your patients and you to use MyTherapyJournal.com, the only therapy-oriented online journaling tool. You should consider this online service, as we continue to sign up new treatment centers who are providing this innovative service to their patients. I would like to share how the scientific proven benefits of journaling can be a great benefit to set you apart from other treatment centers, as well a provide an impactful tool to your patients/clients.
PLEASE TAKE A TOUR AT:
www.mytherapyjournal.com/take_a_tour
3 key benefits for patients:
1. My Journal Entries - Patients create their personal Journal and start writing daily feelings, thoughts, dreams and hopes in a customized and password-protected journal.
2. My Progress Questions and Progress Graph - Patients visualize their progress with a user-friendly, personalized graph and start tracking their journey. Patients select from pre-set progress questions relating to distinctive categories or simply create their own in collaboration with the therapist in less than 5 minutes.
3. Affordable and secure online service based on the principles of cognitive behavioral therapy, which is revolutionizing therapy via the online medium.
Awards to date:
To date, MyTherapyJournal has won several entrepreneurial competitions and articles have been published in Forbes, Daily Business Review, Psychology Today, CNN, Miami Herald, and more. Additionally, the American Psychological Association (APA) gave permission for MyTherapyJournal to launch at their prestigious annual conference back in 2007.
Members to date:
Today, MyTherapyJournal counts over 2,500 members including therapists, clinics, treatment centers, soldiers, health organizations, and individuals seeking self-help. To name a few clients, MyTherapyJournal is the exclusive provider of online journaling for the Williamsville Wellness Center, non-gambler.com, among others.
3 distinctive ways to buy memberships:
1) Treatment Centers: You can provide the patient/client with a membership upon arrival. Upon completion of program patient/client has the option to extend membership at their own expense. Clinicians have been using this tool for keeping track of matters related to their sessions with patients as well.
2) Individual Membership purchased by Therapist for Patient/Client: You can buy individual memberships for patients/clients. You can offer this service as part of your consultancy fees and treatment costs. This option allows you to create a username and password for your patient/client and thus have full access. It also allows you to be able to use our tool during sessions from your own office. For some lower functioning clients or for people of lesser means, this would ensure that the value of our services would ensue.
3) Individual Membership purchased by Patient/Client: You can recommend to a patient/client to buy an individual membership on their own at standard membership pricing starting as low as $7.95 per month - At this point, a patient/client has the option to provide you with full access to their information or not. The patient/client can grant you full access by simply sharing his or her username and password with you, at which point you will be able to view and change anything you want (e.g. create a new category for the patient/client to track).
Why Journal? The Science of Journaling
Over the last 20 years, the journal has been empirically shown to make therapy more effective and to diminish symptoms of depression, anxiety, panic, substance abuse, post-traumatic stress, and many other disorders, even for those who aren't seeing a mental health practitioner. Likewise, its demonstrated benefits include better physical health (i.e. blood pressure, immune functioning) and an overall improved mood.
Why is My Therapy Journal .com the #1 Source for Online Journaling?
MTJ is the first-ever, therapy-oriented online journaling tool. It provides the most private and secure venue available for both individuals and organizations who wish to not only journal, but also track progress of personally set goals using graphing software based on cognitive behavioral therapy. It presents you a journal that talks back and promises to aid anyone desiring to grow.
What Are The Benefits of Journaling?:
Journaling has been scientifically proven to provide a host of health benefits including: decreasing the symptoms of asthma, arthritis, and other health conditions; improving cognitive functioning; strengthening the immune system, preventing a host of illnesses; counteracting many of the negative effects of stress. Furthermore, anyone who journals will tell you that it "just feels good."
I'll bet you write (or word process) daily. Journaling (or keeping letters or diaries) is an ancient tradition, one that dates back to at least 10th century Japan. Successful people throughout history have kept journals. Presidents have maintained them for posterity; other famous figures for their own purposes. Oscar Wilde, 19th century playwright, said: "I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read on the train."
Who is Using Our Online Journaling and Progress Graph Tool?
MTJ Is For...
HEALTH PROVIDERS:
Treatment Centers =
Some of these include university and college psychological centers of both large and small institutions. Centers dedicated to specific populations such as people with HIV+ and AIDS, people with disabilities, LGTBQ individuals, survivors of trauma or abuse, and/or members of AA, NA, Al-Anon, Alateen, etc.
Hospitals and Health Clinics =
Some of these include clinics for people recovering from an addiction such as heroine, alcohol, gambling, sex, or even overspending. Hospital departments dealing with everything from trauma, chronic illness, and chronic pain to treatment adherence, post-operation recovery, and grief due to loss of a loved one.
Insurance Organizations =
Insurance companies utilize our tool as part of health packages. These sometimes accompany treatment with mental health or medical professionals, and sometimes they don't. It also helps clients keep track of how effective different treatments have been over a long period of time.
Mental Health Providers =
Both the journaling and progress tracking components of MTJ are invaluable tools for mental health providers. It not only allows for the provider to have observable results of the treatment at hand, but it also allows the treatment to remain ongoing through the week, even in the provider's absence. Psychodynamically-oriented therapists use MTJ for the journaling component of it whereas CBT-oriented therapists use it for the progress tracking graph. Psychiatrists use it to help clients track symptoms and how certain medications might be affection these. Life coaches appear to utilize both the journaling and graphing components with their clients. Family and couple therapists also do this, and find themselves tailoring the graphing questions so that all members in the family track the same behavior and/or emotion simultaneously.
Military =
The number of American and Canadian troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan is enormous, and the population of them with PTSD is as well. Both the journaling's ability to allow for clients to create chronological narratives of their experience and the emotions associated with them, and the progress graph's ability to have them observe themselves objectively, prove to be invaluable components of treatment and re-adjustment into civilian life.
Health Research Institutions =
Pharmaceutical companies aiming at having their medications tested by human participants use MTJ as a simple, and cost-effective way of tracking the results of their medication on any target symptom or population. Data is collected by each participant's self-report and is delivered already graphed and mapped out chronologically. Participants also use the other benefits of MTJ and feel empowered by their ability to track their own reactions to the new medication.
INDIVIDUALS:
One group of people who are using MTJ are individuals who simply love journaling and having their journals communicate with them. Adolescents, college students, stay-home parents, young professionals, insightful adults, and techno-savvy grandparents. Basically, anyone who is self-curious, who feels relief in expressing themselves through writing, and/or who enjoys seeing concrete evidence of their progress via our Progress Graph.
Another group of people are those undergoing painful, confusing, difficult, and/or daunting times in their lives. It also for people living with the reality of having emotional, physical, mental, and/or cognitive difficulties. This is everyone who suffers from depression, anxiety, panic, substance abuse, post-traumatic stress, obsessive-compulsions, mania, panic, and/or who has symptoms of any mental disorder. Some of these individuals are receiving some service from a mental health provider, and some are not. For some people, MTJ compliments their work with a professional, and for others, seeking professional help is something they are not at all interested in.
Finally, another group of individuals are those who fall in both the above groups, in some way or another. We believe most of our clients are in this third group. Life is usually ever-changing, and our states of being are too.
Anyone who is uncomfortable with the idea that a written journal might be ever found by their parents, siblings, housemates, roommates, boyfriend/girlfriend, colleges or strangers.
About the Team:
Alexis Saccoman - Chief Psychology Consultant and Co-founder
A graduate of Brown University, Alexis is a clinical psychology trainee pursuing a doctorate in clinical psychology (Psy.D.) at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco. Alexis has a Masters degree in clinical psychology and holds a private practice in the San Francisco Bay Area. Through his professional and volunteer activities, he has clinical and hospital experience working with groups including adolescents and geriatric inpatients, children with pervasive developmental disorders, HIV+ terminal patients, first-year college students, and families. He has also served as a trilingual medical interpreter and court mediator. He is currently in practicum with a caseload of ten clients (ages 18-50) - all endorsing Axis I diagnoses - of diverse ethnic, S.E.S., and LGTB backgrounds. With his dual passion for psychology and facilitating people's potential for growth, he especially enjoys his role as a mentor to younger generations.
Rodolfo Saccoman - CEO and Co-founder
A graduate of the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration, with an MBA degree from University of Miami. Rodolfo has dedicated his career at understanding people's dreams and developing proven online presences to embrace user's needs and wants. Like his brother Alexis, he has lived in five countries and developed a keen appreciation and respect for different cultures and human kind's search for peace and compassion. Both brothers recognize the importance and potential of communication in helping people attain their goals and live happier lives.
Noel Elman - Chief Scientist and Co-founder
Currently pursuing post-doctoral studies at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Noel earned a Bachelor of Science and Master's of Science in electrical engineering at Cornell University and has a Ph.D. from Tel Aviv University. His research focuses on the development of implantable Bio-MOEMS (Biological and Micro-Opto-Electro-Mechanical-Systems) devices for drug-delivery systems and cancer monitoring. A scientist, he is also a fervent believer in exploring your inner-self to achieve well-being.
I CAN OFFER YOU SPECIALS BESIDES WHAT IS ON THE WEBSITE! ASK ME HOW!?!
For any and all questions please contact me at:
Tim Nicola
Sales Manager
MyTherapyJournal.com
Email:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Direct: 561-860-3073
Posted by: Chez Wise
on Feb 24, 2009
Tagged in:
Respect ,
recovery ,
Nar-A-Non ,
Men ,
Functional Alcoholic ,
enabling ,
drugs ,
Dos and Donts ,
Boundaries ,
AODA ,
alcoholism ,
alcoholics ,
Alcoholic women ,
alcohol ,
Al-Anon ,
addicts ,
addiction recovery ,
addiction
For decades we have listened to the “experts” tell us recovery cannot happen until the addict or alcoholic hits bottom. Bottom for most alcoholics and addicts is jail, institutions, or death. Are you willing to wait?
No one, absolutely no one does anything without a reason or with out leverage of some sort. The same holds true for addiction of any kind. If there is no reason to get clean and sober, they won’t. If nothing ever happens that is all that bad, they won’t. Many just keep lowering their standards. In our current economic down turn, we will see more and more individuals falling deeper into their addictions. The truly sad part is the family will watch, not having a clue what to do, or the resources for solution.
If this is you, there are a lot of things you can do. First and foremost take an inventory of how you are adapting to the addict or alcoholic. How are you lowering your standard of living to accommodate them? For instance, some addicts and alcoholics tend to live in filth. They do not do the dishes, clean the bathroom or kitchen, and even their laundry will be piled sky high waiting for someone else to do it. Look around your house. How are they participating in the cleanliness of the nest? Then there is the other half that are up at three a.m. cleaning everything under the sun. How are they interrupting your sleep?
Here is a chance for you to take the blinders off and really get honest with yourself. If you find you are making excuses, such as “that is just the way they are”. Stop it! If you are participating in Al-anon and using the excuse, “I just detach from it”. Stop it! This is not 1951, the rules have changed. Our knowledge and experience has taught us a lot over the last 50 plus years. Detach emotionally, but do not accept even for a moment.
Posted by: KenP
on Nov 23, 2008
Tagged in:
trust ,
Spiritual awakening ,
society ,
social capital ,
shutting down ,
recovery community ,
recovery ,
Nar-A-Non ,
Meetings ,
fear ,
enabling ,
costs ,
alcoholism ,
alcoholics ,
alcohol ,
Al-Anon ,
addicts ,
addiction treatment ,
addiction recovery ,
addiction ,
12-step
The Greatest Loss is Personal Freedom
By Ken P.
"So you we want to change the world," says the now old Beatles song.
The original revolutionaries were people like Thomas Paine, the radical ne'er do well who failed everything he tried in England, fled to The Colonies to find his fortune, and was swept up in the cause for liberty. Thomas Paine wrote what proved to be the precursor to the Declaration of Independence in a little pamphlet he called "Common Sense." He personally printed copies of this revolutionary idea that The Colonies should declare their independence from England on a hand-press, then sold 100,000 copies of it on the street, starting with his neighbors for customers! Don't scoff; if you project the 100,000 copies he sold upon today's population relative to the population of the colonies, Thomas Paine would have sold 20,000,000 copies through today's outlets like book stores and Amazon.com!
Posted by: KenP
on Aug 25, 2008
Tagged in:
society ,
social capital ,
sobriety ,
Respect ,
recovery community ,
recovery ,
psychology ,
Nar-A-Non ,
Men ,
Meetings ,
Isolation ,
fear ,
enabling ,
costs ,
alcoholism ,
alcoholics ,
alcohol ,
Al-Anon ,
addiction recovery ,
addiction ,
12-step
Heard at a meeting:
When I first came to a meeting I was here to check you out. I had it all together. I was so far into denial that no matter how chaotic the situation was I would just re-fashion the truth to make it work for me!
Posted by: KenP
on Aug 10, 2008
Tagged in:
trust ,
treatment ,
Spiritual awakening ,
society ,
Respect ,
recovery community ,
recovery ,
psychology ,
Nar-A-Non ,
Meetings ,
fear ,
costs ,
alcoholism ,
alcoholics ,
alcohol ,
Al-Anon ,
addiction recovery ,
addiction ,
12-step
I am aware that these words will only reach a select few. I am writing to anybody who has reached their true "bottom" and given up on the whole life process. If you are like me, you were brought to this point by the impact of the two diseases of addiction and codependency. If you have just started reaching out for help through one of the 12-step programs, then continue reading. If you are just miserably despondent right now due to these diseases you might want to seriously consider asking for help.
When we 12-steppers begin to attend meetings we bring our bodies to some point in time and space where other people have gathered who are struggling with problems similar to our own. There is a great deal of hope for us as we walk through that meeting room door for the first time because when our body goes there our mind goes with it. In my case, when I stayed for a period of time with an open mind I was forced to accept the fact that there were people there whose problems were at least as great as mine, and that they were handling them with dignity.
I learned eventually that it was impossible to hold two totally opposite beliefs in my mind at the same time. For example, I could not continue indulging in childish self pity while being grateful that my problems were not as great as those of another. In open discussions during meetings I heard others sharing squarely where they were emotionally, relationally, mentally, maybe even spiritually at that moment. Sometimes I heard somebody who was demonstrating the self pity right in front of me. Instead of passing judgment I saw suddenly how those words could just as easily have come right out of my mouth!
That "A-HAAAA!" moment reduced me to the proper perspective. I had a moment of humility where I made a conscious decision to change my thinking. That was the moment when real change happened. In time, after practice, my new "attitude of gratitude" became such a deeply engrained part of my thinking that I became what I was thinking...grateful!
Posted by: KenP
on Mar 30, 2008
"The Affair"
Alcoholic wives resist every effort by an enablibng husband to escape the bondage of her extreme need for alcohol. One disturbing trend starts when he starts atending 12-step meetings for codependents, such as Al-Anon or Nar-A-Non. To her frustration, he seems to come home from these meetings whistling like he used to do. About this
Posted by: KenP
on Feb 26, 2008
12 SYMPTOMS OF A SPIRITUAL AWAKENING
When hurting people first come into a 12-step program, they are seldom walking into the meeting for the purpose of having a spiritual awakening. Most, men and women alike, come to programs such as AA, Al-Anon, Nar-A-Non, or Adult Children of Alcoholics searching for relief from the pain and chaos visited upon them and their
Posted by: KenP
on Nov 05, 2007
Tagged in:
trust ,
Step 1 ,
stay sober ,
Spiritual awakening ,
society ,
social capital ,
sobriety ,
shutting down ,
resentment ,
recovery community ,
psychology ,
powerlessness ,
persistance ,
Nar-A-Non ,
Meetings ,
Lifeline ,
Isolation ,
humility ,
hitting botom ,
help for drug addiction ,
get help for drug addiciton ,
fear ,
family problems ,
failure ,
enabling ,
ego ,
drugs and alcohol ,
drugs ,
drug treatment ,
drug rehabilitation ,
drug abuse ,
drinking problem ,
depression ,
costs ,
alcoholism treatment ,
alcoholism ,
alcoholics ,
alcohol treatment ,
alcohol rehab ,
alcohol abuse ,
Al-Anon ,
addicts ,
addiction recovery ,
addiction help ,
addiction ,
12-step
Nobody escapes paying the price for alcoholism, drug addiction, and codependency in society. Even if you are fortunate enough not to be a drinker at a level that is diseased (about 10% of our population drinks enough to hamper their daily performance) or one of the four adults who are in line daily enabling one who is (i.e., 48% of all adults over the age of 18 were either directly impacted by a diseased drinker as they grew up, or are being effected at the moment), then you are paying for the disease through higher taxes and insurance rates.
The cost in dollars of alcoholism is almost incalculable. We have all read so many horror stories about deaths on the highway, fetal alcohol syndrome, the 88% of the incarcerated citizens who are there because they did something while under the influence, etc. that we have become numbed.
But let's focus here on the costs to the trust and integrity within a society...something some believe is more important than even money. Psychologists can actually measure trust within a society. Dr. Daniel Goleman, in his great books on emotional intelligence tells us that the technical term for the overall trust level in a society is its social capital. Social capital is the sum of the goodwill and trust among the members of a society. Social capital takes in ethical values, charitable contributions, volunteerism, and such intangibles as looking out for the welfare of your neighbors, or caring for a sick friend. Interestingly enough, the three countries that have been the most successful economically on the earth (The U.S.A., Germany, and Japan) also have the highest levels of social capital.
What is the impact of addiction on social capital? To people who attend 12-step programs such as AA, Al-Anon, Al-Atten, Nar-A-Non, or Adult Children of Alcoholics, personal honesty takes in a wide range of meaning. First, there is what everybody else calls honesty. In program parlance that is "cash register honesty." However, the sort of personal honesty involved in taking all twelve steps, or making direct amends to someone you have harmed in the past, goes well beyond what the "man on the street" calls honesty.
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