Interface Consultation Services, PLLC

A study by Dr. Vijay Upreti indicates that Prozac and the other SSRI class anti-depressants increase the effects of Ecstasy a "club drug". Ecstasy increases feelings of euphoria, decreases inhibitions and increases energy. After the use of Ecstasy there is often a depressive withdrawal and people are taking the SSRIs to contradict this effect. The SSRIs increase the half -life of the Ecstasy making the combination more toxic and increasing the risk of overdose and death. Link article about the study to learn more.

For those of us that work in the field this will be no news flash that clients are pay on average 31 % out of pocket cost for mental health to 21% out of pocket for medical health. This has been a disparity that has been occurring for a long time, despite laws that require mental health care reimbursement to be comparable to medical. What does this mean for people with are struggling with mental health issues? People wait longer before seeking help, symptoms are more acute when they do and there for it can take longer for recovery to begin.

Someone is in a mental health crisis – and it’s up to you to appropriately assess and intervene. What do you do? Do you avoid and have someone else step in? Second guess yourself? Grasp for an avenue that is safe but less than optimal? Don’t let feelings of anxiety, frustration and helplessness impede your professional effectiveness. Craig Judd , a nationally-know author, practitioner and speaker will draw on more than 20 years of mental health experience to hone your skills and make you feel more confident as you respond, plan and detail the intervention strategy. Craig, co-founder of Interface Consultation Services , will be presenting this seminar in the Fort Wayne and Indianapolis area on October 26 & 27. This day-long seminar is suited to mental health clinicians, school counselors, social workers, case managers, addiction counselors, nurses, emergency responders and all others that directly encounter mental health emergencies. Check PESI for seminar details, exact locat...

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) reduced suicide attempts by half compared with other types of psychotherapy available in the community in patients with borderline personality disorder, an NIMH-funded study has found. DBT also excelled at reducing use of emergency room and inpatient services and more than halved therapy dropout rates compared to the mostly traditional approaches, report Marsha Linehan, Ph.D., University of Washington, and colleagues in the July 2006 issue of Archives of General Psychiatry . Borderline personality disorder is a difficult-to-treat mental illness affecting up to two percent of adults, 5.8-8.7 million Americans, mostly young women. Although they account for at least 20 percent of psychiatric inpatient admissions, and frequently seek mental health services, patients with the disorder often fail to respond to commonly available treatments. Noting that DBT is the only psychosocial treatment shown in multiple randomized clinical trials to be effective for ...

People with a personality trait called "high novelty seeking" are more likely to develop an addiction to alcohol -- especially if they have an alcoholic parent , a new study finds. These types of less cautious, more impulsive personalities include risk-takers or thrill-seekers, experts said. In contrast, more cautious individuals considered to be "low novelty seekers" have a very low risk of becoming alcoholics, even if they have a parent with the addiction , the study found. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis studied data on the adult siblings of 1,111 individuals who received treatment for alcoholism. They also studied personality test results relating to novelty seeking for patients and parents, as well as the parents' history of alcohol use. "Our key finding is the interaction between ‘novelty seeking’ and parental alcoholism," study author Richard A. Grucza, an epidemiologist at the university, said in a prepared ...

Asperger syndrome (AS) is a developmental disorder. It is an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), one of a distinct group of neurological conditions characterized by a greater or lesser degree of impairment in language and communication skills, as well as repetitive or restrictive patterns of thought and behavior. Other ASDs include: classic autism, Rett syndrome, childhood disintegrative disorder, and pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (usually referred to as PDD-NOS). Unlike children with autism, children with AS retain their early language skills. The most distinguishing symptom of AS is a child’s obsessive interest in a single object or topic to the exclusion of any other. Children with AS want to know everything about their topic of interest and their conversations with others will be about little else. Their expertise, high level of vocabulary, and formal speech patterns make them seem like little professors . Other characteristics of AS include repetitive...

Hey, it's Friday and it's a holiday weekend coming up and who wants to work? Let's sit back, drink lattes, read poetry, delve deep into a philosophical stupor, ponder, dream the big questions and maybe come up with some answers or just more questions...... Focusing on the past is only to look at how we can do things differently or to dream of fond memories...regret, guilt, obsession only brings negativity, self-hatred and fear. Have a wonderful Labor Day! We hope you create some fond memories is weekend, ENJOY...