ADHD Seminar Handouts in PDF Format with Images, Ready to Print Out Douglas Cowan is a Marriage and Family Therapist providing professional counseling to Tehachapi and Bakersfield, CA. What is ADHD? “What is ADHD ?” ADHD is the short abbreviation for “Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder”, which is one of the most common childhood behavior disorders. It is estimated that somewhere between 5% and 9% of all children have ADHD. Of all children referred to mental health professionals, more are … Read More
Internet Addiction : Technology Time Bomb
But there are some things that are new – and they are potentially dangerous. And they are so new that often parents are unaware of their dangers, or unable to take action until it is “too late.” Technology has completely raced past our wisdom or experiences as a culture or as families. Parents are often stuck like deer in the headlights. And our teenagers are often in serious trouble. Just ten years ago the major problem from technology was … Read More
Teenagers
The teenage years can be very difficult for some. As our children become young adults they begin to ask questions like, “Who am I?” and “What is the purpose to life?” One of the most common of these questions is, “Where do I belong?” or rather, “Who do I belong to?” All too often they try to find the answers to these questions in people or places that are not good for them. As parents we may see this, but … Read More
Guilt and Shame
Note to Pastors: Whether as a pastor, or as a therapist, the most common condition that I have addressed in counseling has been helping people to overcome feelings of “guilt” or “shame” that they have carried for years. These thoughts can be tormenting, and these feelings can influence both important life-decisions and everyday choices. They distort the way that we see God, and ourselves. It is painful to see people struggling through life without any sense of legitimacy or dignity. … Read More
Depression vs. Anxiety Disorders
Depression vs. Anxiety Disorders What Are Some Similarities, and Differences? Here is some brief information for Pastors and Lay-Counselors to help in seeing the differences and similarities in Depression and Anxiety Disorders. Here are some symptoms that are common to see in both Depression and Anxiety: Sleep Disturbances: often waking up early, normal sleep cycles don’t happen to one rarely wakes up refreshed, rarely deep sleep, often awake for hours. Poor Concentration: trouble focusing, brain fog, scattered. Increased Fatigue: Cannot … Read More
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is an all too common result of being a service man or woman who has experienced combat. When in combat, it’s natural to feel afraid. This fear triggers many split-second changes in the body to prepare to defend against the danger or to avoid it. This “fight-or-flight” response is a healthy reaction meant to protect a person from harm. But in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), this reaction is changed or damaged. People who have … Read More
Anxiety, Worry, or Fear
Anxiety, Worry, or Fear Note to Pastors: Whenever there is stress, a certain amount of “anxiety” is expected. But for some people the anxiety can become excessive, and come at unpredictable times. When this anxiety becomes uncontrollable, and negatively impacts their day to day lives, we call this an “anxiety disorder.” For Christians, having an anxiety disorder is more than just disabling. Because our Lord tells us “not to worry…” many Christians will also interpret their anxiety, or excessive worry, … Read More
Depression
Depression is one of the most pervasive and crippling of all diseases. Fifteen-percent of all people world-wide will suffer from a Major Depressive Episode at some point in their lives. That means that of the 35,000 people living in the zip code 93561, over 5,000 of them will suffer from a serious case of depression during their life-times. How will you and your church minister to them? A Brief Description of Depression Depression is more common than cancer, diabetes, and … Read More
I Have No One… Abandonment, Rejection, Orphan Heart
The Impact of the Fear of Abandonment or Rejection Looking through the first five chapters of the Gospel of John we meet four people who are each so very different from one another. And yet Jesus spends time with each one. First is Nicodemus, an influential leader of the Jewish religion. He comes representing a group of religious leaders to interview Jesus. “We know that you have come from God…” This leads to Jesus talking to this great teacher about … Read More
ADHD : A Brief Introduction
A Brief Description of ADHD: ADHD is the abbreviation for a long medical term, “Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.” It is very broad in scope and covers both “Hyperactive and Impulsive” and “Hypo-active (moves slowly) and Inattentive” types of ADHD. Yes, they need to rename this. ADHD is a neurological – biological disorder. Yes, it is a real disorder. There are hundreds of brain studies that demonstrate this. There are both genetic factors and neurological differences. Their brain simply is different, … Read More