Specialized Mental Health Treatment Training – Seven Building Blocks For Your Successful Practice

Once you complete your generalist training in mental health practice, it is time to identify your practice niche. The next step after identifying your niche is to seek out specialized mental health treatment training. Specialized mental health treatment training provides the foundation to build your successful practice. When you use the following building blocks, your foundation is solid and the walls surrounding your practice are strong.

Building Block one: Builds confidence in your abilities to treat clients in your niche.

Building Block two: Builds in-depth knowledge in your client’s issues.

Building Block three: Builds skills to work with client issues. Effective mental health training includes interactive skill-building development.

Building Block four: Builds effective approaches to use with client interventions when various client issues arise.

Building Block five: Builds credibility with clients and professional colleagues. You increase referrals. You’re viewed as a specialist with a given body of expertise.

Building Block six: Builds greater competence as your caseload includes more and more clients with similar issues.

Building Block seven: Builds potential to expand your knowledge, skills, and approaches into training other therapists in your specialty niche.

Let’s take a more in-depth look at each building block.

Building Block one: Builds confidence in your abilities to treat clients in your niche. When you carefully select your specialized mental health treatment training, you are prepared to learn what is most beneficial for treating your client niche. You approach the training opportunity with a readiness to learn and leave with greater confidence. Your confidence arises from the knowledge, skills, and attitudes you gain from the training.

Building Block two: Builds in-depth knowledge in your client’s issues. Mental health training in your client niche helps you gain a deep understanding of the issues and dynamics of your clients. This knowledge contributes to your ability to have empathy and patience as you work with your clients to discover resolutions to their emotional pain.

Building Block three: Builds skills to work with client issues. Effective mental health treatment training includes interactive skill-building development. When you select quality mental health treatment trainers, they include experiential or interactive elements in their training. This provides you the opportunity to gain practice in working with the tools the trainer introduces. With appropriate feedback, you hone your skills to work with your clients.

Building Block four: Builds effective approaches to use with client interventions when various client issues arise. You are able to integrate your knowledge and skills to select the appropriate intervention when you apply the approaches you learn in specialized mental health treatment training. Over time, you gain a clear understanding of which interventions are most productive when clients present with similar issues and dynamics.

Building Block five: Builds credibility with clients and professional colleagues that increase referrals. You’re viewed as a specialist with a given body of expertise. Clients stay with you to complete treatment even after their insurance runs out. Your number of self-pay clients increases allowing you to build a more lucrative practice. Managed care referrals increase with your increased credibility.

Building Block six: Builds greater competence as your caseload includes more and more clients with similar issues. Your skills and effective approaches become more refined. You are able to facilitate lasting changes with clients. Your expertise is valued within the larger mental health community.

Building Block seven: Builds potential to expand your knowledge, skills, and approaches into training other therapists in your specialty niche. Leverage your expertise when you provide specialized mental health treatment training to other therapists treating clients in your niche. You move from being trained to being the trainer.

How to Help Children Care for Their Braces

Proper care of braces during orthodontic treatment is an important part of helping them get and keep a healthy smile for their whole lives, as many of the habits they learn will carry with them even after their orthodontic treatment is over. However, young children may not understand the reasons for such a structured cleaning regime. To avoid your child’s frustration, support his or her cleaning efforts through gaining knowledge of the process and ideas to make it enjoyable.

Here are four ways to care for your child’s braces:

1. Brushing. Thorough brushing after every meal and snack will prevent plaque build-up that can cause cavities and gum disease. Children should be encouraged to brush their teeth and braces at all angles to ensure any food hiding behind brackets or wires may be properly dislodged.

Make it fun: Try purchasing a brightly-colored toothbrush or one with your child’s favorite movie character on it. Even better, let your son or daughter pick out his or her own toothbrush. This will empower your child and allow him or her to get excited about brushing. Other children may be spurred to brush more often by using an electric toothbrush at home. This tool may be a great gift if you are getting ready to go Christmas shopping.

2. Flossing. Effective flossing can be a challenge with braces but it is another healthy habit to encourage on a daily basis. As it is nearly impossible to floss normally with braces, using a “threader floss” with a stiff tip or a plastic floss threader will allow the dental floss to get behind the wire. Gently insert the threader between the teeth at the base of the gums, then thread the floss through the oval loop and gently pull it back between the gums. Once the floss is inserted, delicately slide the floss up and down the inside of each tooth.

Make it fun: A quick and easy tool to help with flossing is the inter-dental cleaning brush. The small bristle tip can be inserted between the braces and around the gums for added cleaning on top of brushing and flossing – or used conveniently and subtly when out in public when full brushing may not be possible.

3. Healthy Eating. It is important to eat a balanced diet to support oral care. Sugary foods, and even sweetened beverages such as juice and pop may cling to the teeth and cause cavities around the brackets. Hard and sticky foods, such as caramel, popcorn and gum, have the potential to crack, dislodge or adhere to the braces so they should be avoided.

Make it fun: Look for healthy treat recipes together with your child. Preparing nutritious snacks or baking together makes healthy eating a fun process and also provides an opportunity to talk with your child about the many benefits of eating well.

4. Wire-care. Regular brushing is the first step in keeping your orthodontic wire clean, but these wires have the potential to irritate the skin inside the mouth, causing sores and bleeding. To avoid this, moldable wax can be applied to the braces at the points of friction. This wax will protect the mouth while also remaining flexible for easy removal.

Make it fun: The orthodontist will offer a variety of colored elastics that will loop around the brackets and wires. This is a helpful method for children to personalize their orthodontic treatment and express their personality. Breaking out of the mono-tone metal color of the brackets and wires will encourage children to maintain their braces as they will be proud of how they look.

Cleaning the teeth and braces can become an enjoyable and routine part of your child’s oral care. Parents are a valuable source of knowledge and support for their children and will help set the tone in forming positive habits. Children should be encouraged to clean their own teeth and be praised for their efforts, no matter how small. Making the process fun and supportive will set your child up for success.

Dental Care Services and Plans

Many people usually neglect issues related to dental care such as taking good care of their gums, teeth etc. Dental care also involves treatment and prevention of diseases of the teeth and gums apart from the repair and replacement of defective teeth.

Gone are those days when dental services used to be an expensive option. Let us have a look at a few tips on how to find affordable dental care services:

1. Start by simply inquiring about a good dental plan from your co-workers, friends and relatives. Ask questions such as whether emergency service is provided, how easy it is to get an appointment, how much it costs, the different types of dental services and so on. Also inquire about whether the atmosphere of the dental care facility is reassuring and relaxing, behavior of the staff especially towards children etc.

2. Dental services are also provided at local dental schools at affordable and competitive rates. Some of these schools might offer to check and clean your teeth for free of cost. It should not be a problem to find a list of such schools in and around your area through internet.

3. In case you are new to an area, try checking out the services of the dental specialist who provides his/her services to the local hospitals. You can also search for the best dental care facilities in your area online. You can also use your insurance company’s website to search for dentists who would accept your insurance cover.

Following are the two most popular dental plan options:

1. Dental Insurance:
One of the options for oral health care is dental insurance. Apart from a few dental insurance policies which might cost less than $10 on a monthly basis, most of the available options would be expensive. It is essential on your part to read the entire terms and conditions, excluded procedures and items, what the policy covers, the annual cost for both family and individual policies which ever applies to you.

Most of the people going for such policies do not know that pre-existing conditions are not covered by such policies. Even after the completion of 1 year, most companies pay progressively, such as covering 15% the 2nd year, 30% the 3rd year and so on. Thus, such kinds of dental insurance are usually not recommended by agents currently because of their lack of coverage and high cost.

2. Discount Dental Plans:
Pre-existing plans are not restricted in case of discounted dental care plans. Substantial discounts are offered by such plans on routine dental care like braces, dentures, root canals, X-rays, cleanings, check-ups and more. The membership fees of such dental care plans usually average around $150 for families and $100 for individuals annually. At the time of your appointment, you need to pay for your visit in full.

No permission of any sort is required in case you want to change your dentist. Within the network of the plan, you can visit any provider in any state. It is to be noted that large discount dental plan networks have providers in excess of over 0.1 million dental specialists and dentists worldwide.

You might be surprised to know that over 70% of the families residing in United States do not have any dental plan. Thus, it is important for you to realize that proper dental care is essential for the well-being of your entire body.

Natural Health Medicine

Natural health medicine is a ever growing business which more people are turning to for effective health treatments. Natural medicines cover virtually any type of sickness and medical condition you might suffer with. We pump our systems with so many chemicals from prescription drugs sometimes it can overload us which can lead to more medical problems down the line. With the price of prescription medicines sky-rocketing over the last decade it is literally impossible to afford the medicines you need.

There are some alternatives to over priced medicines and can be just as effective. Some of the natural health medicines include Devil’s Claw which helps those who suffer from chronic back pain by reducing inflammation, Red Yeast Rice which helps reduce the level of your cholesterol, St. John’s Wort which comes in pill or oil form and can help those who suffer from anxiety, depression, Propolis Powder can be used to help maintain a cleaner mouth, Milk Thistle can be used to help quit smoking (keep in mind results may very), Adaptogenic herbs which include ginseng, licorice, maca, holy basil, and goldenroot, which helps treat fatigue and give to long term energy and not just a quick burst. Phototherapy is one of the more interesting natural health medicines because it deals with ultraviolet light to treat diseases.

Not to suggest a conspiracy but it would seems as if more tests and studies were conducted in these natural health medicines it would take away from the prescription drug business, just something to think about. There are natural health medicines out there to be used to help treat your problems so taking the time to do addition research to see which is right for you is highly suggested.

How To Be Sure Your Great-Grandchildren’s Children Care

What will you practice today? Will your great-grandchildren’s children care?

When I began this leadership work many years ago, my focus was a bit different versus today. You could say, quite rightly, I have evolved my thinking.

However, well before I found myself immersed in The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership© and what’s been created since, the foundation was set with seven key principles. I thought I would share those with you today and let you kick them around and, hopefully, respond with your thoughts.

Principle #1: Leaders focus on themselves. Sounds kind of selfish, yes? But hold on a minute. If you are not working on your personal growth, how the heck can you be a leadership role model for others?

Principle #2: Leaders simplify their lives. In today’s fast-paced, multi-tasking world, exasperation is staring at you in the next Tweet, text or email that demands your immediate attention and action. Have you cleared your desk lately? Deleted those emails that have stacked up since email was invented? Tossed files (please recycle)? Clearing the desk really does clear the mind.

Principle #3: Leaders establish priorities for themselves. Keep in mind, that there is no great value in getting things done, if they are not valuable to do. Have you separated yourself from what is least important in your life yet? If not, why not?

Principle #4: Leaders define their destinations. Do you know where you’re going? Do you need a personal GPS (Goal Performance Strategy) guide? Take some time to stretch out and create a personal vision and some stretch goals for the several areas in your life: Personal, Family, Professional, Financial, etc. Jot down just a few ideas in each category, reflect on them a bit and then get busy adding action steps to help you reach those outcomes. New Year’s Day is not the only time to make resolutions.

Principle #5: Leaders plan their time based on importance. All of my coaching clients have heard my suggestion that they take some L.E.A.D time each day. Listen to yourself with a 10 to 15-minute planning/re-planning session; Evaluate how you are doing in each area of your life; and Adjust what needs reconsidering. Finally, Determine, once again, if the destination you set is still correct.

Principle #6: Leaders nurture their creative genius. Are you aware of your creative genius? Or, are you just stomping through each day hoping to make it back home in one piece? Ugh! Every person is a creator. You have created your life to this point. Happy? Yes? No? What are you going to do about it? Robert Fritz, an author/colleague from years ago told me, “The creative process is alive. It is improvisation. And it is one of the most powerful and intimate involvements with one’s life I know.”

Principle #7: Leaders don’t arrive, they evolve. You’ve probably heard something like that before. It’s very true. There is no end point with leadership. It takes constant practice and is a continuing saga. And, keep in mind, depending on your life story, the memory of you takes a while to slip from this Earthly atmosphere.

Live your life with purpose. Create your Masterpiece. You wouldn’t want to disappoint your great-grandchildren’s children would you?

Earn Your Child Care Credentials With An Online Degree

As the number of two-income household increase, more and more working parents are depending on day care centers to take care their children while they go out for work in day time. Parents know that children always come with surprises and they only trust child care providers that are trained to anticipate those surprises. Hence, if you want to success in this business, you need to earn your child care credentials and online education is one way to supplement your knowledge and experience with children to gain the trust of your potential customers.

What You Learn In Child Care Online Degree?

There are different kinds of children care online degree programs available. It’s range from early childhood education, children development to child study for grade 6 – 12 kids. Hence, you need to decide on one that best suit your child care business needs.

Basically, in children care related online degree programs, you will learn about education games, child growth and behaviors, child food nutrition, anticipation of children surprises and help children explore and learn about the world while developing relationships with peers and adults. If you are taking a degree related to business that focus on child care business, you will be taught on children management, activities planning and scheduling, socialization and much more.

Online Universities That Offer Child Care Online Degree Programs

There are a number of online universities that offer child care and children education related online degree programs. Among the online universities are:

  • University Of Phoenix Online University of Phoenix offers Master in Education with a Specialization in Early Childhood Education
  • Rasmussen College If you are interested to focus on children development, then Rasmussen College’s children development online degree program should be able to suit your need.

Choose Your Child Care Online Degree

Beside that, there are other online universities that offer child care online degree program, you could get most of information from internet, make a request to those online universities to send you a more details information of the course that you are interested in; request information from as many online universities as you can to make a comparison purpose on their online degree programs, information requests are free of charge; hence make use of it.

Accreditation

There are a lot of diploma mills offering “fake” degree. Hence, it is important to consider “Accreditation” when you choose your child care online degree. Make sure your selected online degree program is properly accredited by an accreditation agency that is recognized by U.S Department Of Education. Many “fake” degree programs do have accreditation but it is accredited by a “fake” accreditation agency. Hence, watch it of the potential trap of diploma mill when you choose your child care online degree program.

Summary

Your child care career will only be success if you manage to gain trust from parents. And getting an education online is an important way to earn trust or credentials as a child care provider.

Fast Food and Traditional Food

The term “cooking” includes a wide range of methods, tools and combination of ingredients to create the flavor and digestibility of food. Cooking technique, known as culinary art, generally requires the selection, measurement and combining of ingredients in a controlled procedure in an effort to achieve the desired result. Constraints on success include the variability of ingredients, ambient conditions, tools, and the skill of the individual cooking. The diversity of cooking worldwide is a reflection of many nutritional, artistic, agricultural, economic, cultural and religious considerations that impact upon it. Cooking requires applying heat to a food which usually chemically transforms it and changing its flavor, texture, appearance, and nutritional properties. There is archaeological evidence that the primitive human being used to cook their food with fire that was the most important thing discovered by the primitive human being. Cooking food and cuisine culture vary from country to country and from one culture to another and each cuisine has its specific particularity. Nowadays, because of the modern life that changes everything around us and influence our life style and eating habits, people are less preparing their own food. Eating habits tend to unify people from different society. The food production and the process of eating obtain new characteristics. Food available around us seems to be very different from the one that we used to eat.

Eating habits and modern life

Everything is running in high speed, people do not have time for cooking, don`t has the desire and patience to stay longer in the kitchen, and they don`t have the willing to prepare their own food. Old generation still prefer to cook their own food unlike young people who prefer to eat fast food because they don’t want to spend long time cooking and the desire for the cooking. The modern life shapes our eating habits and makes us like slave following its speed. It`s not hard to find fast food restaurant they are everywhere and every corner. Fast food consumption cause damages to the social and economic life of the country and leads to many health problems such as obesity and heart diseases according to many studies. Also, many nutrition experts from different countries have already declared the epidemic character of fast food. The rapid process of globalization and modern life influence our eating habits and gives opportunity to fast food restaurants to grow and flourish. Fast food seems to become very common everywhere, though some positive aspect of the fast food in easy to prepare, available in many places, and it is a substantial meal. But in other hand, we can estimate that its negative aspects are more important and bigger. I think it is easy to understand that fast food is one of phenomenon that is going to be accepted by people. We are going to see the process of disappearance of the traditional culture with the development of fast food restaurants in all countries all over the world.

How to fight fast food addiction

The best example of the fast food success to change the modern life is the invasion of the world’s food market by the giant fast food company such as McDonald, KFC and others. According to McDonald`s web site, McDonald has about 29.000 restaurants in 120 countries all over the world, and serves nearly 54 million customers each day. As well as it indicates the fact of such changing in eating preferences and even in the way of life itself. There is no doubt that right now fast food changes the face of many nations and eating habits around the world. To sum up, unfortunately, it is hard to prevent these global changes that traditional food is going to be replaced by new foods that common for all people in all countries all over the world. But the good news is that, recently there are some people and some movements which try to contrast the process of modern life and ask people to go back to their traditional food. To solve this problem we need restaurants that offers traditional food, and able to attract large amount of faithful customers. Also parents must teach their children how to prepare and cook the traditional food. Many People figure out that traditional food is much better for our health, so they want to preserve and keep the cooking tradition from evaporating. There is enormous hope of people to preserve their food preparation customs and tradition. The major obstacles are the modern life style. Some people might say that it is difficult to preserve our traditional food because it takes a long time to prepare and people today can not spend a long time in cooking. Other people, especially older people might say that, it is unfortunate to destroy culture and tradition. Those people might be right.

Conclusion

In these days, people have more health problems that are related with the new eating habits and fast food consumption. Despite some advantages of fast food the harm caused by fast food does not outweigh its benefit. I think that people should consider the negative fact of fast food consumption and the benefits of preparing their own food at home. It`s unfair that the traditional food which arrive to us from generation to generation we are going to replace it with junk food that will harm us more than benefit us. It`s unfortunate to lose the cooking tradition and eating homemade food prepared by our mothers together around the table. I am sure that all of us must think over this problem and try to find the appropriate solution to save our cultures, our traditional foods, and more importantly our health. So we should take action immediately to preserve traditional food and encourage people to prepare their own dishes, so they can stay healthy and live longer. Even though fast food is cheap, convenient, yummy and available in every corner in our cities, but that does not mean that our health is cheaper than the fast food that we eat.

Effective Mental Health Treatment May Mean Using Alternative Methods

Effective mental health treatment doesn’t have to mean prescription drugs and hours of therapy. There are alternative methods for dealing with things like stress, depression, memory issues and even age related issues like Alzheimer’s and dementia. So why don’t we hear more about them? A lack of understand on the part of many doctors keeps the public from being educated and aggressive marketing by drug companies keeps prescriptions flowing.

This is not to say that there isn’t a time and place for mental health treatments like prescription drugs or therapy. Those can be helpful for certain things, but it may be that we are too quick to turn to them for mild to moderate forms of stress, depression, etc. Often there are alternative mental health treatments available.

While the category of alternative mental health treatments can be broad, the primary method that can be of benefit is natural supplements. Secondary treatment methods would include lifestyle changes such as exercise, altering diet, etc. Research has recently been done in both those areas that has opened the door to new thinking on how to address illness of the mind. Some of the change in thinking involves treatment, the rest prevention. However, it is the primary method of supplements that is the focus of this article.

Mental health treatments that are truly effective deal both with prevention and treatment. Supplements are a powerful tool to address each. Studies have been done showing that many herbal supplements are as effective as prescription drugs in dealing with various aliments. For example, a study on Passion Flower found it to be as effective as a leading anti-anxiety medicine for helping people suffering from anxiety disorders.

Ginkgo Biloba is another example. In a study done on Alzheimer’s patients the results demonstrated that Ginkgo may be as effective as a commonly used Alzheimer’s medication in delaying the symptoms of dementia in people that have the disease. It also seems to be effective as a preventative mental health treatment to delay the onset of Alzheimer’s in those who may be predisposed to it.

The thing about these alternative mental health treatments is that the findings of these studies are not likely to get public press and acceptance of the information by both medicine and the public alike is slow. However, they are far more cost effective and have fewer side effects than most prescription drugs. This is not something drug companies like very much so much is done by them to over emphasize their products.

Newer supplement products containing compounds like huperzine A, choline, L-Tyrosine and 5-HTP are also promising in their ability to support a healthy mind. They work to help the body produce and sustain neurotransmitters, the chemicals your brain needs to function. Many mental issues like depression, anxiety, Alzheimer’s, etc. involve reduced levels of certain neurotransmitters or destroy them outright. These compounds help counter that effect thereby sustaining brain function. Studies have been done on these, but more research is underway.

If You Are Taking Digestive Health Medicine, You Need To Be Careful

It seems that all of us at one time or another feel a need for some kind of digestive health medicine. If by medicine you are referring to a natural treatment then you’re on the right track. If you want to take a prescription drug or non-prescription drug, you need to find out all the facts.

All drugs are unhealthy for you.

Of course, a certain pharmaceutical drug can save a live in an emergency but we as a modern society have become far too dependent on them and they are causing much more damage to some people than they are helping.

Pharmaceuticals are man-made synthetic drugs which leave potentially dangerous toxins in the body. It’s a proven fact that medications are the cause of certain disorders and disease so unless you absolutely have to take a drug for your condition, why not look at a natural alternative?

Digestive health in particular, is a great example of this. We eat a terrible, high processed diet for many years, until finally symptoms manifest because of certain nutrient deficiencies such as digestive enzymes and dietary fiber. Our body eventually needs quality nutrients or else parts of it will start to break down, just like your car if you don’t change the dirty oil and give it clean fuel.

Drugs are not made to cure a disease, only provide temporary treatment of recurring symptoms

Think about it, does a pharmaceutical company want to sell you a cure? Of course not. That would be the last sale they make to you for that problem. Our focus should be on digging a little deeper to find the true cause of the digestive health problem we’re dealing with.

If you have constipation, taking a laxative might give you some temporary relief but it won’t cure your problem for good. Extended laxative use can muscular functions of your bowel, can drain your body’s water, minerals and vitamins. Excessive use can also damage your kidneys.

Now, wouldn’t it be great to naturally cure constipation through the use of diet. Replacing high processed foods, and fast foods which don’t contain many quality nutrients, with real whole foods? Add fresh fruits, raw and steamed vegetables and then replace your processed grains such as white bread and rice with whole grain bread and brown rice. Get the idea?

These wholesome foods will add more dietary fiber, more vitamins, more minerals and digestive enzymes which will help in your body’s digestion and also absorb more of the nutrients from these foods.

Remember, digestive health medicines are a waste of time and money. You need to think about a cure, and that can be done with quality nutrients.

Let food be your medicine and medicine be your food.” – Hippocrates, 400 BC

How to Get Free Dental Care in the Texas State

Today a lot of people never get dental insurance included in their medical insurance policy. In fact a long time back, the thousand dollars of dental fees were not even covered by insurance policies. Nothing seems to have changed in fact the costs involved in dental treatments have now doubled or tripled than before. Now, even if insurance covers dental treatment costs only a small number of people are actually able to afford it. Due to this reason a lot of people have opted for tooth extraction as an alternative of paying for dental care. Many of them even avoid getting dental care treatments on time due to the expenses involved. Tooth decay and gum disease are the common risks involved if oral care is avoided long enough.
Out of all the 50 states in the U.S., according to the Texas Senator Eliot Shapleigh only a minimal number of residents in Texas have overall health insurance and therefore it ranks last in this regard. Free dental care has become a need all over the country and especially in Texas, so now a lot of organizations have started to put an effort to offer free dental services and there are now several places where people can go, to avail free oral care.
If you are in need of free dental treatment you can start by contacting the Texas Dental Association Smiles Foundation. Every year these dental care opportunities are provided by the licensed dentists at this organization for those who are in need of immediate dental care. The Texas Mission of Mercy is a large event which is held every year for two days in variety of cities all across the state. Here hundreds of people are able to receive free dental care from the volunteering dentists. They even offer free dental services on the go by traveling into communities in mobile vans known as ‘Smiles on Wheels’.
A second alternative to receive such schemed care is by applying at a Hill-Burton Facility for free dental care. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Resources runs the Hill-Burton program, where qualified people are allowed to avail free or low-cost dental and medical care. To be eligible the income level of each patient should meet the current HHR Poverty Guidelines. All you need to do is to go to a facility near you where a Hill-Burton obligated facility is accepted and apply for the free treatment and care. In Texas there are now 11 Hill-Burton facilities and by visiting the HHR website you can find more information about them.
Lastly searching online for a free or low-cost dental clinic will also help you to receive free oral care. To find the right program and service all you need to do is type the term ‘free dental care’ into a search engine with the city closest to you. You can find a comprehensive list of free and low-cost medical and dental care services listed by state and city at Free Dental Work.org.