Psychology and Psychotherapy Information & Resources
General Mental Health Information For a very deep running resource of mental health links and useful local information, check out San Diego County's Network of Care - for Behavioral Health site.
Brain Physics is a site which provides an accessible way to learn about a lot of common mental health issues with treatments, stories, blogs, and much more to rummage through.
Have you been a victim of a crime which has resulted in mental health issues? Consider the Victims of Crime program for help.
Besides the listing above for Network of Care, which is full of useful information and services for parents, here are a couple more: KidsHealth. This site has a wealth of information subdivided for Parents, Children, and Teens to use. Helpful and user friendly. In addition this site has a lot of information for college students struggling with mental health issues.
Sometimes a simple behavior modification chart system will do the trick to change some bad habits and behaviors your school-age child has. The internet has a number of resources for this, and here is just one to get you started. Remember, its often a good idea to do some therapy along with behavior modification to get at any feelings or thoughts that are behind the bad behaviors.
Here are two very interesting and well made documentaries from Frontline on children: The first is about the upsurge of psychiatric medication for children called "Medicating Our Kids". The second is a fun and helpful documentary called "Inside the Teenage Brain", which hopes to shed some light on why teens are the way they are. Another great Frontline episode goes indepth on raising boys: its called "Raising Cain" and can be rented from Netflicks. This describes the differences between boys and girls and how we fear boy's aggression unnecessarily.
Practical Recovery is based in La Jolla. A collaborative recovery program.
Anxiety, Depression, & Bipolar Issues This site gives a nice overview of Bipolar Disorder, and lots of links to go more in depth. See DrugCoupons.com (thanks K)
Here is a free on-line test to see if you might have a mood disorder, and something you can share with your Doc.
Dr. Jim Phelps' Psycheducation.org site gives a much more nuanced and realistic view of mood disorders and the combinations of anxiety, stress, depression, and bipolar symptoms. This is an important read for therapists and those who have struggled with these symptoms and the medications usually provided to help.
The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) has some great new work going on regarding mood disorders at the molecular level. See this interview with Dr. Manji of NIMH regarding medications, effects of stress and depression on the brain, and Bipolar disorder.
Here is another interesting and thoughtful interview on Bipolar spectrum issues with Dr. Kiki Chang who is the director of the Pediatric Bipolar Disorders Program at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital in Palo Alto, Calif., and is an associate professor of child and adolescent psychiatry at Stanford University School of Medicine.
And yet another good resource for Bipolar and other mood problems information is at Healthline.com. Check it out.
Supplements Dr. Ray Shahelian is a medical doctor who has taken a special interest in supplements for improving memory, decreasing depression, sleep improvement, etc. If you are interested in substitutes for prescription medications, I recommend this site. Dr. Shahelian gives a balanced and considered view of many popular supplements.
Please remember to always check with your Primary Care Doctor or Psychiatrist before taking any non-perscription suppliments which might effect your mood or mental state. Supplements may adversely interact with other medications you may be taking, or may have negative effects on your particular physiology.
This site does not recommend any supplements for treating any medical or psychiatric condition and provides the above site for educational purposes only.
The information offered on this website is to be used for educational purposes only and not as a substitute for psychotherapy. Please consult a mental health professional to address your specific needs. If you are experiencing an emergency, call the San Diego Crisis & Access Line at 1-800-479-3339.