Clinical Care Consultants'

Chicago Area Networking Event

October 14, 2011

Most mental health practitioners understand that networking and marketing is vital to the development and maintenance of a clinical practice. There are so many of us who are unintentionally disconnected from the greater mental health community. The demands of our personal lives, families and jobs can keep us far away from each other.

Think about it: how many times has someone mentioned another therapist's name and you had no clue who they were? CCC aims to change that for many Chicago and Chicago Suburban psychotherapists.

Our livelihoods rest on our ability to bring in new clients, receive referrals and develop strategies to create revenue-generating services. Because the Chicago metro area lacks a networking group for psychotherapists, Clinical Care Consultants is initiating such a program.

The event/meeting will occur every 2 months. The 2 hour meeting will be the perfect place for Chicago and Chicago Suburban area therapists to meet, get to know each other and network. A continental breakfast will be served. The typical meeting will consist of greeting and socializing, introductions, scheduled presentations from members, trainings about marketing and networking and more networking. Guest speakers will be invited.

The events will be led by Ross Rosenberg, M.Ed., LCPC, CADC, Clinical Care Consultants' owner and psychotherapist, and the CCC therapists: Dick Levon, ATR, LCSW; and Catherine Ness, M.A., LCPC.

The July 29th Clinical Care Consultants' Networking Event was a resounding success. A total of 23 practitioners participated. There was a great deal of positive energy and enthusiasm for this event. The feedback from the participants was positive across the board. To further the networking mandate of the group, we are collecting contact and referral information of participants. Barbara Wahler has volunteered to work on this project. Each participant will have access to the information of the group he/she attended.

The next networking event is scheduled for October 15, 2011 at Indian Trails Public Library in Wheeling IL. It will take place at 10am and last two hours. The library is located at 355 Schoenbeck Rd, Wheeling, IL 60090. The library's phone number is (847) 459-4100. There will be a $10 fee. Please RSVP by calling Nancy Cole a call at (847) 749-0514 ext 10 or email her at Ncoleccc@gmail.com Serving Chicago's North & NW Suburbs Arlington Heights, Barrington, Buffalo Grove, Inverness, Kildeer, Lincolnshire, Long Grove, Mt. Prospect, Palatine, Prospect Heights & Wheeling

Postpartum Depression: You’re Still a Great Mom!

Postpartum Depression: You’re Still a Great Mom!
By: Catherine Ness, MA, LCPC
Clinical Care Consultants

What is Postpartum Depression?

The first few weeks following a delivery tends to be an emotional rollercoaster for almost all women: You are adjusting physically, emotionally and psychologically to adding a new member to your family. Whether this is your first child or your seventh child, you are likely to experience fatigue, aches and pains, mood swings and periods of frustration. These symptoms are very normal during the first few weeks following birth. However, when you are constantly feeling overwhelmed, depressed and not able to see a light at the end of the tunnel several months following your child’s birth, you may be experiencing postpartum depression.

Major depression symptoms include: feelings of sadness, excessive tearfulness, feelings of hopelessness, trouble sleeping or oversleeping, weight loss or weight gain, irritability, increased use of substances (drugs, alcohol), loss of pleasure in activities that one use to enjoy, difficulty concentrating and thoughts about harming oneself.

Symptoms of postpartum depression can vary from mother to mother. These symptoms can range from feeling sad and experiencing tearfulness on a daily basis, to feeling resentment towards your child and having fleeting thoughts of harming your child. It is important to differentiate between major depression and postpartum depression. If you were experiencing significant depressive symptoms prior to pregnancy, the birth of your child, significant hormonal changes and the stressors of being a mother may be adding to a pre-existing depressive disorder.

Why Do I Feel this Way?
There are numerous reasons why women experience postpartum depression. If your child has colic and you have not had a good night sleep for the last 4 months, common sense dictates that you are physically exhausted which significantly affects your mood. Lack of a sufficient support system can also pay a large part in developing depression because you are not able to take time for yourself. For first time mothers who had specific expectations about a smiling, cooing infant who sleeps through the night and find that they have an infant who seems to never sleep and impossible to console, can lead to feelings of inadequacy and frustration. Financial stressors, guilt over returning to work or feeling of a loss of personal identity, guilt over not wanting to breastfeed or being unable to breastfeed and marital stress can also play a part in developing these emotions. And as previously mentioned, if you had been dealing with depressive symptoms prior to pregnancy, postpartum issues may exacerbate these underlying issues.

What Can I Do?
The good news about postpartum depression is that the prognosis for improving your mood is high once treatment is sought. Individual therapy can be an invaluable tool in determining your specific trigger for these trouble thoughts and feelings and formulating a plan to improve your mood, decrease stress levels and learn how to enjoy motherhood. As a new mother myself, I understand how coordinating care of your child, working and making time for yourself can seem like a daunting challenge. I also understand each mother faces her own specific challenges and each situation is unique to mother and child. Therefore, I utilize emotion-focused therapy, empathizing with each mother’s personal struggles and first focusing on addressing distressing emotions and then challenging negative thoughts. Treatment also includes identifying personal triggers for depressive symptoms and attacking these triggers one-by-one. Additionally, I assist you in building self-confidence and improving self-esteem so that you feel prepared to handle the challenges that lay ahead.

Group therapy is also beneficial because you are able to meet other women who are experiencing similar difficulties, letting you know that you are not alone in what you are experiencing. It is also important that you let your OBGYN or even your child’s pediatrician know that you are struggling. If you do have people who you can rely on, a spouse, partner, family or friends, do not be afraid to reach out to these people for support even if it means just having someone watch your child while you go to a movie or if you want to go shopping solo.

Whatever your course of action, make sure that you reach out to someone. Part of being a great mother is recognizing when you need help. Experiencing these feelings have nothing to do with your ability to be a great mother, but they can get in the way of enjoying motherhood.

Is Tiger Woods or Anthony Weiner A Sex Addict?

Is Tiger Woods or Anthony Weiner A Sex Addict?
Ross Rosenberg, M.Ed., LCPC, CADC

The following Associate Press article about Congressman Weiner illustrates yet another public figure who is claiming be is a sex addict. Whether Anthony Weiner or Tiger Woods are indeed a sex addict, the reality is that it is a serious and pervasive problem.

Just because these two celebrities claim to be sex addicts doesn't actually mean they indeed are suffering from the debilitating disorder. Without a full assessment/evaluation, it is impossible to confirm whether they suffer from this disorder. I provide comprehensive sexual addiction, cybersex addiction, and/or Internet Addiction evaluations / assessments. Additionally, I provide the full range of outpatient sexual, Internet, and/or cybersex addiction therapy /treatment services.


Through the evaluation process, I seek to uncover patterns and characteristics that are unique to sex, cybersex, or internet addicts. The goal of an evaluation for someone like Anthony Weiner or Tiger Woods would be to determine if they are seeking sympathy and forgiveness by feigning a sexual addiction, cybersex addiction, or Internet addiction, or if they actually suffer from a debilitating sexual, Cybersex, and/or Internet addiction.

In my experience, when a person gets "caught" in an inappropriate sexual situation (behavior), they seek therapy or treatment to minimize the damage of their actions. When the "smoke has cleared" these individuals drop out of therapy or treatment. This behavior pattern means either that they are an addict and they are not willing, able, or ready to abstain from their behavior. It may
also mean that they are morally corrupt and have little to no regard for their partner, family, fans, and/or job. The fact that these individuals falsely claim to be sex addicts is really exploitative, manipulative, and dishonest. Therefore, the diagnosis moves more in the direction of a sociopathic process instead of an addiction disorder.

What follows in the Associated Press' Article about Anthony Weiner


GARDEN CITY, N.Y. (AP) - So what's wrong with Anthony Weiner?

The New York congressman says he is seeking professional treatment "to focus on becoming a better husband and healthier person" following a sexting scandal that threatens to drive him from office.

Weiner hasn't specified what type of care he is getting, or where. If he has opted for an inpatient treatment facility, experts say there are just a handful of places where he could be, including a Mississippi clinic where Tiger Woods reportedly sought help for his litany of marital indiscretions. Or perhaps he is getting outpatient advice on sexual addiction.

Experts witnessing the demise of the rising politician's reputation, if not his career, are among those opining from afar. Some say Weiner's actions - making electronic sexual contact with strangers - mimic the characteristics of drug addicts, alcoholics or problem gamblers.

"He's exhibiting behavior of an addict. The secrecy, the risk taking, the denial," said Robert Weiss, founder of the Sexual Recovery Institute in Los Angeles.

"I am sure he understood on some level what he was doing," Weiss said. "When someone like that is not in a state of arousal, they can have a more intellectual, nuanced view of things. But that gets lost in the euphoria. And he begins not thinking clearly."

Weiss, a nationally recognized expert who has appeared on the Oprah Winfrey and Larry King programs, said Weiner probably can't explain his actions because they are on some level inexplicable even to him.

"I have a lot of empathy for him. He really doesn't understand why," Weiss said. "He can't figure out why he made these choices."

Kimberly Young, clinical director of the Center for Online Addiction in Bradford, Pa., said that in many ways, Weiner's online behavior was "very commonplace." Plenty of men and women secretly live out their fantasies on the Internet, sometimes in compulsive fashion.

The treatment for online compulsion, she said is usually twofold. Patients have to first modify their online behavior; that might mean not using the computer during certain hours, or at certain locations, or only communicating with certain types of people online. Next, they must examine what mental health issues might be causing the behavior.

"Is he depressed, is he anxious and stressed out?" she said. "First you need to deal with the behavior, then deal with the reasons why that happened ... It will probably take more than a 28-day rehab program. ... The treatment has to fit the person."

Timothy Lee, a licensed clinical social worker who runs New York Pathways, which treats sexual addiction on an outpatient basis, said Weiner's proclivity for sending photos of himself to strangers likely has escalated over time.

"He didn't wake up and just start sending pictures," Lee said. "I assume this is some type of voyeuristic exhibitionism type behavior. But it does show how delusional one must be to engage in this behavior. To think that the person on the other end is going to get off on it?"

Behavior like Weiner has confessed to, Lee said, usually starts with an innocent joke or flirtation, perhaps with an acquaintance or co-worker, but can quickly escalate.

"The greater the risk, the more excited they get. It's sort of like the high gamblers get," Lee said. "The greater the risk in getting caught, the bigger the high. I would look at his abusing his sexuality like someone else might abuse a drug," Lee said.

Weiner's weekend announcement that he is seeking treatment was short on specifics; he did not explicitly say that he has entered a rehab facility. A statement said only that he requested "a short leave of absence from the House of Representatives so that he can get evaluated and map out a course of treatment to make himself well."

Lee said if the congressman has gone for inpatient treatment, he would likely have to be in a program for 30 days or more, although some facilities offer help in less time. He said Pine Grove Behavioral Health and Addiction Services in Hattiesburg, Miss., where Woods reportedly went, has a 45-day program. The Meadows in Wickenburg, Ariz., has about a 30-day program, The Keystone in Chester, Pa., offers a 14-day program, other experts said.

Calls or e-mails to clinic officials seeking comment were not returned; most boast of offering confidentiality to patients.

As far as Weiner's prospects after treatment?

"People love a comeback story," said Lee. "From a PR perspective, going into rehab is the best thing he can do. Obviously he is also dealing with the humiliation he has brought upon his wife. It's just a sad case."

Dr. Jeffrey T. Parsons, a sex addiction expert and psychology professor at Hunter College in New York City, noted sexual addiction is officially recognized as a mental illness in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. The next edition is due out in 2013 and there has been talk about including a passage on the topic, describing it clinically as a hypersexual disorder, he said.

Taking an alternate view from some his colleagues, Parsons questions whether Weiner indeed is a sex addict in need of treatment.

"I'm not so sure. He certainly has a media relations nightmare and saying he needs treatment sounds a lot better than the alternatives," Parsons said. "It's a lot harder to bash someone who says he is seeking treatment and help."

DSM, Epistemology, and Addictions

The DSM's are developed by mental health and medical practitioners who are guided by “current” research and knowledge. It is a clinical tool that is as good as the times in which it was written, the culture it was written for and the current understanding (the science) of mental illness. It guides our conceptualization, perception and treatment of our clients’ mental/psychological conditions. Even with its limitations, the DSM diagnostic procedures are highly “reliable” and “valid.” As the most widely accepted diagnostic resource manual in our field, we are stuck with it – at least until another one is written.

Epistemology is the study or theory of the nature and grounds of knowledge, especially with respect to its limits and validity. Epistemologically speaking, I believe we have not yet evolved enough to embrace the psychopathological elements of sexual addiction (as well as other process/behavior addictions). As I have said before, we are a part of the evolution of knowledge. What we know to be “true” now, may actually be groundbreaking stuff, or as history may have it, a laughable matter. Lest we forget that the DSM-II famously listed homosexuality as a mental disorder - specifically, it was listed under Personality Disorders and Certain Other Non-Psychotic Mental Disorders, Sexual Deviations (302.0).

The evolution of the DSM doesn’t happen because new disorders are discovered, but instead, because our understanding of mental health continuously evolves. As far as the debate on sex addiction: just because the DSM-IV has not recognized it as a bona fide disorder doesn’t mean it doesn't exist. Our field is in its infancy. Twenty-five years from now, the DSM will look differently than it looks now. Practitioners will scoff at our ignorance - as we do with former DSMs.

As Mark Twain once said, "To a man with hammer, everything looks like a nail." The writers of the DSM utilize a hammer that is “manufactured” by physicians. Their hammer can only be used with special “nails” that work with practitioners who think/conceptualize according to the medical model. Sexual addictions, as we understand them now, don’t conform to the rules of these highly evolved “carpenters.” As a tool of their trade, their hammer doesn’t work well with sexual addition. Sexual addiction, therefore, still isn’t considered a psychopathology or mental health disorder worthy of being placed in our “big book.”

What I’m trying to say is let's not take the DSM-IV (and the future DSM-V) so damn seriously. It is just a guide - a bible of sorts - to be used as we choose to use it. Many of us choose to interpret it loosely. Insurance companies live and breathe it. Some of you may choose to use it precisely without questioning its authenticity or validity. It isn't the "law of the land." Just like with laws disallowing gay marriage: just because it is a "law," doesn't make it right.

Finally, the draft version of "Hyper-Sexual Disorder" looks good to me. It is a good start and I am hopeful they will more fully develop it. I have included it below.

Ross Rosenberg, M.Ed., LCPC, CADC
Clinical Care Consultants, P.C.

Updated October-14-2010

Hypersexual Disorder [14]

A. Over a period of at least six months, recurrent and intense sexual fantasies, sexual urges, and sexual behavior in association with four or more of the following five criteria:

(1) Excessive time is consumed by sexual fantasies and urges, and by planning for and engaging in sexual behavior. [15]

(2) Repetitively engaging in these sexual fantasies, urges, and behavior in response to dysphoric mood states (e.g., anxiety, depression, boredom, irritability). [16]

(3) Repetitively engaging in sexual fantasies, urges, and behavior in response to stressful life events. [17]

(4) Repetitive but unsuccessful efforts to control or significantly reduce these sexual fantasies, urges, and behavior. [18]

(5) Repetitively engaging in sexual behavior while disregarding the risk for physical or emotional harm to self or others. [19]

B. There is clinically significant personal distress or impairment in social, occupational or other important areas of functioning associated with the frequency and intensity of these sexual fantasies, urges, and behavior. [20]

C. These sexual fantasies, urges, and behavior are not due to direct physiological effects of exogenous substances (e.g., drugs of abuse or medications) or to Manic Episodes. [21]

D. The person is at least 18 years of age.

Specify if: [22]

Masturbation
Pornography
Sexual Behavior With Consenting Adults
Cybersex
Telephone Sex
Strip Clubs

Virtual Sex? It's Already Here

Virtual Sex? It’s Already Here
By Robert Weiss LCSW, CSAT-S

Looking beyond the sad mess of Former Congressman Weiner’s recent sexting scandal, today’s as yet under-the-radar, but evolving sexnologies are about to make texing nudie pics to strangers as old-school as focusing a 35-mm camera.

Last fall while researching the effect of social network and smart-phone technologies on sexual addiction, I came across what appear to be some of the first products specifically designed and mass-produced for purchasers to engage in virtual sex. Called Teledildonics, these white plastic gadgets are described by the manufacturer as “hardware components that can, when hooked up the Wii platform, allow remote partners to simultaneously enjoy each others physical stimulations.”

Privately developed as adult accessories for the Wii, Teledildonics consist of a pair of unassuming generic looking rods, one with a ring shaped end designed to fit over the penis, the other more appearing more solidly structured with a wide smooth vibrator-like tip. Again per the manufacturer, “by connecting the two“Wii-motes” to pre-existing Wii hardware, wiggles and thrusts on Wii-mote A are detected and sent via Bluetooth to a nearby computer. From there this information is sent over the Internet and reproduced by Wii-mote B. which acts as a Wii-brator at the other end (virtually reproducing genital movements occurring either next door or half-way across the world).”

At first glance these somewhat plain and generic appearing sex toys, readily available over the Internet for about $300.00, hardly appear to represent the leading edge of the next sexual revolution yet the implications of their development and sale are profound – as they intertwine real-time sex, the Internet and computer technology together in as yet unexplored ways, Teledildonics may represent one of the earliest attempts to mass market sex that is mutually experienced long-distance.

Whether in working in Dubai or visiting the family in Vancouver as long as you and a partner can hook-up to a compatible hardware program with fast-enough Internet service – you can share a rudimentary physical experience of mutual sex in real time. As long as demand and interest remains strong there seems little doubt that virtual sexual will inevitably become more and more sophisticated. Using a bit of imagination by picturing the near full or partial body suits yet to come, individually sized and shaped to fit both in and outside our genatalia, you’ll get the idea of what virtual sex is about to offer.

As with all evolving technologies, virtual sex has the potential for both positive and destructive experiences. The good will likely involve those married military and other long-distance working spouses, separated for long-periods of time, who long to feel the (virtual) caress and intimate strokes of distant loved ones. However as with all developing tech, challenges to relationship intimacy and fidelity will again show up, as they did with web based porn, web-cams, virtual chats and smartphone sex – and we will once more be faced with the question of what actions and behaviors define infidelity and relationship adultery – especially when the virtual sex partner of the future is thousands of miles away.

Robert Weiss is Founding Director of The Sexual Recovery Institute and Director of Sexual Disorders Services at The Ranch Treatment Center and Promises Treatment Centers. These centers serve individuals seeking sexual addiction treatment and porn addiction help.

My Photography

Clinical Care Consultants Welcomes Its Newest Clinician: Catherine Ness

Catherine Ness, M.A., LCPC
Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor
(847) 749-0514 ext.15
nessccc@gmail.com

“No one understands what an individual is experiencing better than that individual.” With this in mind, Catherine utilizes client-centered and cognitive behavioral techniques in working with her clients. Catherine has an exceptional ability to connect and empathize with her client’s experiences and struggles, creating a collaborative relationship in which client and therapist journey together to find a resolution.

Catherine has dedicated herself to her clients and helping them better define where they are in life and where they would like to go in the future. Recognizing that each person is an individual and has personal strengths and struggles is an integral part of her therapeutic technique. Catherine believes that by focusing on known and perhaps “undiscovered” strengths, everyone has the ability to improve personal happiness and over-come life obstacles.

Catherine began her career working with adult survivors of childhood assault and incest. These individuals not only had to work through past traumas, but deal with the depression, anxiety and self-doubt that accompanied these early memories. Motivated by the strength and courage that she saw in these men and women, Catherine developed a therapeutic technique that allowed her clients to discover “unrecognized strengths” and build the self-esteem needed to be confident in life.

Catherine has also had extensive experience working with individuals struggling with substance abuse both as an inpatient and outpatient counselor. These experiences have led to a thorough understanding and development of effective therapeutic treatment of the physical, psychological and emotional consequences of substance abuse.

Catherine has had great success working with adolescents and adults who have struggled with anxiety, depression, OCD (obcessive compulsive disorder), relationship difficulties, grief and psychosis. Despite the particular difficulty one is experiencing, Catherine believes that everyone has the right and ability to find happiness in life.