CurrentMom

Take Me Out To The Ball Game

Truth Thursday

For the most of this summer, my 11-year-old son has had the unique pleasure of living in a city with a winning baseball team. This has coincided with his own desire to play the sport a little more seriously. So almost every night for the past number of weeks, he has parked himself in front of the television, swinging a bat at the screen. Half the time he also wears his baseball uniform.

As far as I’m concerned, there is simply nothing cuter than an 11-year-old boy in a baseball uniform.

We’re in the final, nail-biting games before the end of the season, with our young team still with the best record in baseball, but nervous about actually making it to the big time. It’s kind of like this year’s presidential election – you know in your heart that the best candidate has the edge, but you just don’t want to jinx it by thinking it is so.

What is it about baseball that makes someone like me, who doesn’t know a hockey puck from a lacrosse stick from a touchdown from a free throw, actually like it?  I went to a few games as a kid, saw the Mets at Shea and the Yankees at Yankee Stadium. I always liked the Mets because they were the underdogs, and I lived in New York in ’86 and felt the love. 

But it certainly wasn’t enough to make me a true fan of the game.  And for years I have lived in a house where basketball has been king, and all of my male children (including the one I married) are glued to the set during the entire NBA season. Not to mention football season, hockey season, and of course, now, baseball season. 

The Myths of Psychotherapy

Therapy Tuesday
Photo by: Various sites

Who has considered at some point in their life to seek out psychotherapy treatment? OK, who is able to admit that they sought out these services? Interestingly, in the year 2012, there is still stigma around seeking out counseling services for fear that doing so makes you "crazy." This couldn't be further from the truth. Psychotherapy has a wealth of benefits that are scientifically validated, or as some of my clients like to say, "It just makes me feel better."

You might be surprised to learn about who might benefit from therapy. Most everyone. And not just for severe disorders (yes, those can be treated too) but for everyday kinds of issues like stress, life transitions, or changing behavior patterns. So myth #1 is busted: therapy is not just for crazy people.

Onto another myth about psychotherapy: therapy is like paying for a friend. While it can seem that the clinician you are working with is a friend that you pay to talk to, this can't more different than the actual role of the mental health professional. Typically, clinicians undergo a minimum of two years of post-bachelors training (a Masters degree in counseling or social work or a doctorate in clinical psychology). They are trained to not just hear, but to listen and query. Psychologists have education in research and training to help discern behavior patterns that might be getting in your way. Additionally, psychologists and other mental health professionals use empirically validated methods as their therapy tools in order to help you feel better.

Myth number 3: Therapy takes years.  This is just untrue. Depending on what you are entering therapy for and what your goals are, therapy can take as few as 6 sessions, and symptom relief should be noticeable by the 12th. If it isn't, this is an area to talk to your provider about. Finding the right clinician is all about "fit"--or your gut reaction. Most clinicians are trained, and if they are not versed in what you are seeking assistance for, they will provide you with a more appropriate referral.

Myth number 4: Therapy is too expensive. Most health insurance plans cover psychotherapy as both an in-network benefit or an out-of-network benefit. If you are unable to find a practitioner that is in-network, your plan must cover the cost of an out-of-network one that is an expert in the area you need assistance.  Additionally, most plans will reimburse you partially for expenses incurred in therapy. FLEX spending and Health Savings Plans also are ways to pay for therapy.  But the biggest consideration is what does it cost you to NOT be in therapy? How might it impact your relationships and employment?

Myth number 5: If I'm in therapy, I'll only be allowed to talk about my mother or my childhood. This is a common misconception that can be seen perpetuated through movies. No, you don't have to go into your childhood, although that can serve as a helpful context in some types of therapy. There are other types of therapy where one's past is never even spoken about. (Cognitive Behavior Therapy)

It is my hope that I've "busted" some myths and misperceptions about psychothearpy. There are several places where you can go to find a licensed professional in your area.

 

American Psychological Association: http://locator.apa.org/index.cfm?event=search.text

National Association of Social Workers: http://www.helpstartshere.org/find-a-social-worker

American Counseling Association: http://www.counseling.org/Resources/CounselorDirectory/TP/Home/CT2.aspx

Turkey Chili with a Mole Twist

Meal Monday

I can never relate to all those goody two shoes happy homemaker articles that exhort readers to "prepare for the week by cooking ahead" and "spend Sunday afternoon baking ahead." Really?

I consider it a major victory to get dinner on the table every night. Cooking ahead is definitely not a house specialty over here.

So it is purely serendipitous that I now have a freezer stocked with handy dandy glass food storage containers filled with one of our family favorites: turkey chili.

List Serve Hysteria

Truth Thursday

Over the past decade, list serves have become a fact of life. Any community to which you belong, any school your children attend, any team on which they play – there’s a list serve for that.

For a long time, I thought it was critical that I follow every list serve. I thought that I might miss some really important information, or a crucial discussion about an issue that was facing my community.

There are really important reasons to pay attention to the list serves. I am grateful that my children’s schools have this mechanism by which to inform and remind parents both about big school events (back to school night, finals, when the sports forms are due) and immediate emergencies (power outages in the school, tornado evacuations, safety issues of all sorts.)

I also am grateful that our schools understand that there is still a digital divide, and that many of our families still don’t have regular access to computers and therefore list serves, and offer up all this information by robo-call as well, even if it does interrupt our dinner on a regular basis.

The school list serves are such an important link to everything that is happening in the schools, in fact, they are divided into two – information and discussion. But this past week, the school discussion list serve got a little out of hand.

Sweet, sweet Strudel -- Who Knew it was so Easy?

Meal Monday

Forgive the day's delay, but I've been busy cooking. We celebrated Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, Sunday night and Monday and of course, the observance involved considerable amounts of food.

We were honored to be included in the family dinner of some very close friends. This family has lots of extended family in the area, and approximately 30 of them get together for almost every holiday. Needless to say, I wanted to make sure whatever I brought to their party would pass muster! As the only unrelated guests, our little family of four needed to make an understated, but valuable contribution.