When some people experience a traumatic event, they repress that memory far back in their mind so they don’t have to think about it. This can result in not even remembering the trauma for most people. Unfortunately, repressing a bad event in the back of the mind can result in a lot of future problems. Each person is different, but the mind normally works in similar ways for most people. Hypnotherapyfor remembering a traumatic event can be very useful.
Suppressed memories could manifest themselves into making an adult obese, untrustworthy or even a criminal. Sometimes traumatic events can subconsciously change the way a person thinks, which is why these issues arise. There are a lot of people who walk around having absolutely no idea that they had a traumatic event happen in their past. Getting help is important for anyone that wants to recover from issues they are having in the present.
How Hypnotherapy for Remembering a Traumatic Event Works
When someone goes to therapy like this, otherwise known as regression therapy, they will be put in a relaxed state. This isn’t like hypnosis that is seen on television when someone has to walk around and act like a chicken. The Hypnotherapist will gradually work up to accessing different memories. This works much like a tape recorder does since most memories will be played back with vivid detail. The patient will still be awake and able to respond, but they will be accessing different parts of their memory.
Normally these memories are huge events that happened during childhood. This could mean being raped, being abused, having a family member die or a number of other things. The therapist is going to ask questions that will lead to the patient remembering these things from their past. Sometimes it can be too much for them to handle; which means it could take several sessions to fully get the entire story. When the patient is woken up out of the relaxed state, they will be able to remember all the memories they pulled from their past.
How Hypnotherapy can help Someone?
This therapy can help people navigate through their past and find out why they act the way they do today. For example, some people who are dangerously obese eat their feelings because they were raped in the past. Instead of dealing with the emotions of being physically abused, they repressed all of them and started eating. Normally this is a gradual weight gain that is obvious from right after the abuse happened. This is just one example of how trauma can affect someone without them even knowing it. There are a lot of other ways this can affect each individual and change their life. In fact, many serial killers have pasts that involved traumatic events. These events and not dealing with their emotions are what make them so violent and unhinged.
Being able to work out feelings with a therapist is extremely important. Once all the memories have been brought to the conscious mind, they can start to work themselves out. The therapist is going to work with their patient to determine what needs to be done. It is going to take many sessions for most people to come to terms with the events that happened in their past. Talking out these things can make a big difference with the way someone acts in the present and future. Most patients end up shedding a lot of tears and feeling relief by letting these memories come to surface.
Therapy can result in a person having a better attitude, not being violent, quitting certain behaviors and so much more. The patient is able to talk out memories and feelings, which is probably something they weren’t able to do in the past. The therapist is going to ask a lot of questions and become an active role in their life. Having a safe space where the patient can talk about their trauma is extremely important when it comes to the healing process. After the emotions from the past have been worked out, the future can become a lot brighter. It does take a while to re-build, but it can be done with the help of a therapist. Without hypnotherapy it might be impossible for some individuals to remember any trauma at all.
Interested in learning more, click this link: Hypnotherapy
Legal Nurse Consulting: The Nurse as Expert Witness
Exploring The Nurse As An Expert Witness
It is not unusual for an attorney to utilize a nurse as an expert witness when the malpractice issue involves another nurse. There was a time when the attorney would have sought this information from a physician, but times have changed, and many states have ruled that expert testimony about a nurse should come from a nurse. The need for expert nurse witnesses is growing, and the job is not as easy as some might expect. The requirements to be an expert witness are many, and the job responsibilities are even more demanding once received. Let us explore the journey to becoming a nurse as an expert witness.
The Nurse
The registered nurse is a highly sought after profession that involves providing personal health care to patients in a wide range of health care applications. To be a nurse one must complete the educational requirements necessary for specific specialties and degrees. There are various levels of credentials that can be earned in nursing that cover some 200 areas of certification. The more credentials a nurse have the better should they desire to become an expert witness.
The Nurse As An Expert Witness
Some believe that an Expert Witness Nurse must be credentialed as a Legal Nurse Consultant. However, the two are not necessarily the same. The legal nurse consultant may well be an expert nurse witness. But, conceivably, any nurse may serve as an expert witness in a malpractice case and deliver an expert opinion. An expert witness must maintain all of their existing credentials, qualifications, and be clinically active at the time of testifying. It is best if the nurse is certified, and current on the most recent procedures and related information. The basic mission of the expert witness is to conduct a review of the case and decide if the case should be pursued.
Should witness testimony be required from the nurse, they would utilize their experience, training to provide a scientific and technical opinion on whether or not there were deviations in the heath care standards surrounding the issue involved. Some malpractice areas where the expert witness nurse might be required include falls, misuse of medication, bedsores, or any deviation in the nurses function of adhering to applicable health care standards.
The expert witness is often used to show that the patient was not protected because a colleague administered substandard care. They may also determine if charts were accurately filled out, and to report incompetence by the nurse involved in the issue.
The Role Of A Nurse As An Expert Witness
The expert nurse will review all records associated with the medical issue in question, and then provide their professional opinion to the retained attorney, as to whether or not the given case should be pursued. This requires a great deal of research to ensure the expert can see all aspects of the case clearly. In most cases the expert will review the Administrative Code of the Board of Nursing for the state in which the issue occurred. Any pertinent information discovered by the expert witness should only be provided to the attorney on the case.
Many states ask that a Certificate of Merit be filed by the expert witness. This will be used by the state to determine if the case should be pursued. The expert will either need to deliver a written or oral report on their opinion. They may need to gather information involving the relevant standards regarding the issue in question. All information must be handled with care. Court decisions have been decided all too often because paperwork was mishandled or filing dates were not met. The expert must be prepared for extensive questioning on the stand in reference to their credentials and professional opinion.
It can easily be determined that the responsibilities of an nurse as an expert witness is not easy in any form or fashion. These expert witnesses can earn a lot of money for their efforts, but they develop a sound reputation for honesty, and sustain the credentials to back up their testimony. Whether they work for the defense or the prosecution, it is imperative that their homework has been done. A malpractice decision may very well rest on the expert opinion they provide.
Registered Nurses may learn more about doing expert witness work as well as legal nurse consulting by access information: click here.
HIPPA stands for Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. This act, which was passed into United States law in the year 1996 under the mandate of President Bill Clinton, is intended to do several things at the same time. HIPPA is a very complex act that can seem inaccessible and difficult to understand to patients, entities and even some physicians. HIPPA privacy rules for health care are simply, when it comes down to it, a federal law used to protect patients from their information being used or released without their consent to other entities. This article discusses issues related to HIPPA as a review for practicing legal nurse consultants.
What Is Covered Under HIPPA
All your medical charts, your medical history, any conversation you might have with a medical professional, your billing information and any information on your insurance company’s computer systems are all protected by HIPPA from being shared to anyone unless it is necessary to do so.
When Is It Necessary?
When it comes to your care, if you are ever in an emergency, HIPPA allows for your medical history and information to be shared. Your information can be shared with your family or other caretakers, but you can stop this by putting a request in writing. Health professional are also allow it to be shared for billing, to protect the public’s health (if they think you might have an infectious or highly contagious disease, like the virus that causes SARS) or for the police to make reports on wounds. Doctors are not allowed by law to share any of this information with your employer and the information cannot be given to third parties that would use it for marketing or advertising.
Who Is Governed by HIPPA?
Not all health organizations that you are involved it will answer to HIPPA. Doctors, hospitals and insurance companies will, but if any other companies have your information like the place where you purchased life insurance, your employer, your school or even state agents, they do not have to abide by HIPPA.
What Are You Entitled To?
You can see your health records whenever you want, but you must submit a written request to get this done. You must say how you are going to use this information and who is going to see it. You may be charged for copies of your records.
What is a HIPPA form?
Health care providers need to inform patients how their information will be used and could possibly be shared. Health care providers must also ensure that the patient is always aware of his or her rights. This would usually be done in a HIPPA form. This is a document written in simple and straightforward language and it should ensure that the individual knows of his or her right to complain about any information being shared regarding medical records.
What Constitutes As A HIPPA Violation?
You might be accidentally violating HIPPA if you show your own medical records to a friend after having obtained them. Doctors and health insurance companies might be committing one if they are discussing your condition verbally or in a written form without your consent. A good indication of a HIPPA violation is if your medical records have been accessed too many times – this can happen due to curiosity and patients with very rare conditions are particularly vulnerable to this type of HIPPA violation.
Since its start, The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) has been a rather controversial law. Although many patients like the protection it provides, it can be difficult for physicians to make the right judgment calls when they do not have all the information available to make a difficult decision. There can be a court summons of someone’s medical records, but this is a complicated and very long process that hinders how effectively doctors can do their job.
It has also affected some medical researches because they are no longer allowed to look at statistical data on medical charts to provide a historical sample of significance in their studies. This means that doing a historical study of a particular type of disorder or disease could be near impossible.
Additionally, HIPPA is very complicated and it can be quite difficult to follow. That is why many people in the health industry need to have extensive training when it comes to it. Many legal nurses are well versed in HIPPA and provide consultations to health care organizations regarding the many issues involved in the Act. They also provide staff education and training seminars related to HIPPA issues. To learn more about legal nurse consulting, access here.
The final ending of life is death. This concept may be easy to grasp but its effect may leave people devastated. The bond between children and their pets are unique and special. For a child his pet may provide companionship, love, entertainment, friendship etc. A child may consider his pet to be the closest living thing with which he can share his secrets, emotions, thoughts and such other feelings. Pets for children may be a perfect example of unconditional love, affection and loyalty. Children generally spend a lot of time with their pets, like playing with them, going for a walk with them, sleeping with them, watching television with them and so on. When the beloved pet of a child dies the special bond that they shared is broken and the child does not know how to tackle the situation. This article offers some suggestions for how to deal with grieving children when a pet dies.
Parents may ask how to deal with grieving children when a pet dies? The reality is there is no definite answer to this question as different children may react in different manner, depending upon the depth of the relationship that they shared with their pets, their age, and personality. A child on the death of his pet may feel sad, guilty, depressed, lonely, angry, betrayed and anxious, all at the same time. Such a situation is very tough for a child to handle and parents must provide the utmost support, understanding and sympathy.
Feelings of Grief
In order to comfort their children parents should not give them false hopes, or try to replace the old pet with a similar looking one. The death of the pet may be a good time to reveal the true facts about life. The example of changing seasons can be a good way to make a child understand about life and death. The spring season can be compared with birth and winter season with death. Small children at first may not be ready to accept the truth and they may ask numerous questions. It is very important to answer these questions with patience and honesty.
After the death of their pets some children may exhibit drastic behavioral changes like getting angry regarding trivial matters, isolation from friends and family etc. Parents should note these changes and take time to talk with their children. Children should be encouraged to speak about their emotions, to express their fears and sorrows. Criticizing or judging a child for his reactions may not give favorable results. Grief is the natural outcome of the death of a loved one; therefore children should not feel ashamed to cry as it is a natural process to vent such feelings.
Parents must involve their children and ask for their suggestions regarding the funeral or memorial service for their pets. Family members and friends can write special massages regarding the good moments that they had spent with the pet. The child whose pet has died can be encouraged to write a good bye letter to his pet. It is very essential to make the child realize that the pet was loved by the entire family and everyone is sorry about the loss. Parents often have video recordings of special times that their children have spent with their pets. Showing such recordings can bring back the sweet memories which can be comforting for the child.
Strategies to Deal with Pet Grief
Drawing pictures of the pet, placing a headstone at the site of burial, planting small plants in memory of the pet, donating money to charity for animals etc. are activities that a child can do in memory of his dead pet. Children may have their own ideas of what would give peace to the spirit of their dead pet. Parents should not ridicule should ideas. As a way of comforting their children parents can also share their stories of how they reacted to the death of their favorite pet or how they dealt with the situation.
Time is the biggest healer and this is the foremost point that should be considered while answering the question of how to deal with grieving children when a pet dies. With time the child will learn to live without his pet but the memory will always stay. Sympathy, love and compassion of parents can quickly heal the wounded heart of a child who has lost his or her beloved pet. To learn more about pet loss grief counseling, access here.
What is the difference between hypnosis and hypnotherapy? This is a common question that most of us ask while seeking options to better our health and our lives in general. Although these two terms sound just about the same, each stands for an entirely different meaning, with the common relationship between the two being that they both refer to ways of altering the state of the mind. So, what exactly is the difference between these two terms?
The Difference between Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy
The simplest way to go about expressing the actual difference between hypnosis and hypnotherapy is by defining them. The definitions provide a hint for the different meanings of these two terms in relation to the mind and consciousness.
To start with, hypnosis is simply a consciousness state where your mind becomes receptive and open to suggestions. It is a state of mind that most of us go through on a daily basis, for instance when daydreaming, when watching a movie, or when you fall asleep while reading a book!
Hypnotherapy, on the other hand, is a therapy form whereby a hypnotherapist and you both apply the hypnosis technique to try and identify your false beliefs with an intention of changing them so that you may move on in life.
Using a garden analogy to explain the difference in the above definitions, hypnosis is like sowing the seed and watering it so that it can germinate and grow in to a healthy plant. Hypnotherapy, on the other hand, is like weeding the garden so that you can remove any unwanted plants, the weeds.
What do each of these techniques do?
With hypnosis, there is an induction process, just like the process of sowing a seed, where you move in to a state of consciousness and through positive affirmations and suggestions, you change the things in your life that you are ready to change. You can get in to this conscious and relaxed state yourself or through the help of a therapist. The end result is a relaxed mind, a pleasant feeling, and openness to thought and behavioral changes.
Though not a substitute to professional medical and health care but a complimentary procedure, hypnotherapy is used to help people improve their lives through a number of ways. These include simple stress reduction and relaxation, helping individuals to withstand and manage pain, helping with trauma, coping with medical procedures, reducing functional disorder symptoms and the general well being of a person. It is a therapy option used to help people cope with emotions and trauma.
Who practices these techniques?
Anyone can go through hypnosis without the assistance of a second party. It is a relatively simple technique that can come in to play even when one is doing the simple daily activities like watching movies or reading books, with better effects being achieved if it is practiced consciously. However, a person who practices hypnosis on others is called a hypnotist.
With hypnotherapy however, you need the help of a hypnotherapist, who is a trained person to assist others with this technique. Besides hypnotherapy, a hypnotherapist usually has certifications and qualifications in some other professional training like mind science, counseling and therapy.
These qualifications allow a hypnotherapist to provide very in-depth inquiries and consultations before the actual therapy sessions so that they can tailor the most appropriate care procedures for a particular patient. Actually, most of these hypnotherapists work together with physicians where they receive referrals for patients who need such care.
Good to note here is that hypnosis should not be confused with the kind of hypnosis employed in entertainment, otherwise called stage hypnosis. This discussion focuses on the therapeutic hypnosis that helps a person to improve on a certain area of their life by clearing their mind and concentrating on activities and a mindset that may lead to possible solutions to their problems, which is more like meditation.
Are these techniques right for you?
Truth be told, hypnosis and hypnotherapy have had their share of controversies. However, they have been proven, time and time again, to produce much better results in resolving some disorders and diseases. For instance, hypnotherapy has been shown to be more effective than medication at treating irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). These methods are safe, side effects free, and if anything, they lead to a better sleep and a more relaxed you.
To answer the question of what is the difference between hypnosis and hypnotherapy, we can simply conclude that it is the approach and the intended purpose, with the basics being almost the same. For information on hypnotherapy courses,access here.
One of the most difficult things that a family member can go through is having to make a important medical decision regarding a loved one who is unable to speak for himself or herself. The stress of making such a decision in a hospital or nursing home can be overwhelming to those making the decision. Additionally, if there is any disagreement within the family about what course of medical action to take regarding the loved one, the situation can only become worse. The living will can help relieve some of the burden in difficult times when a difficult medical decision is required.
The living will is a type of advanced health care directive used to instruct medical personnel about what measures to take on a patient who is incapacitated and unable to make informed decisions about his or her healthcare. Two other forms of advanced health care directives include a power of attorney and a health care proxy. The various directive forms work alone or in tandem to provide instruction to doctors and nurses. It is important not to confuse a living will with a living trust, which is a form of estate planning that distributes a person’s assets after his or her death. This information is brought to you by our legal nurse consultation post on our blog.
It is essential to have a living will because it informs medical personnel and your family of what kind of medical treatment you want in case you are unable to speak for yourself. This can include instructions for what you want to happen in the event of an accident that leaves you in a permanent vegetative state or instructions how to handle your medical care if you have a terminal illness which progresses to the point of you being incapacitated. A living will should be written by a lawyer to ensure that it is legal and will serve its purpose if the need arises.
Understanding the Living Will
A living will generally describes the types of treatment you desire in the event you become incapacitated. For example, if you are in a vegetative state after an accident or other medical event, a living will can instruct your doctors whether or not to keep you alive through the use of ventilators, feeding tubes or other medical means. Other treatments often described in a living will include whether to administer pain relief, perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or provide hydration.
The living will only becomes effective if a doctor certifies you as being terminally ill or otherwise permanently incapacitated. For example, if you have a heart attack and are unconscious laying in a hospital, but expected to recover and regain consciousness, your living will does not come into effect. You will still receive life saving medical treatment even though your living will stipulates that you do not want life prolonging medical procedures. That is an important distinction and essential to understand. A living will only comes into effect if you are terminally ill, in a permanent vegetative state or permanently mentally incapacitated.
If the situation ever arises where you are incapacitated and unable to speak for yourself, but your medical condition is not terminal or permanent, you should use a health care power of attorney or a health care proxy. Either one of these documents allow you to provide a third party, usually a family member or close friend, the legal authority to make health care decisions on your behalf in the event you are unable to express your wishes.
Being proactive and having both a health care proxy and the living will is both a responsible and loving thing to do. It removes the burden of making extremely difficult decisions from your family members if and when the time arrives. You do not need to be terminally ill to have the living will.
Creating a Living Will
To set up the living will and health care power of attorney, consult a lawyer who specializes in these documents in the state where you live. But before you consult with a lawyer, talk to your doctor about the different scenarios when a living will might be needed and what your options are for each scenario. It’s important to make an informed decision now, so your wishes are known in the event the living will becomes effective. Each state has slightly different variations in terminology and living will laws so a lawyer’s help is crucial. Additionally, once your living will is written, keep it in a safe place. Make sure your doctor and the person you select to have health care power of attorney know of its existence. Your living will does no good to you if nobody knows that it has been written. For more information on health care directives, you may want to consult a legal nurse consultant.
A sympathy letter is a formal and sincere way of sending your condolences to a grieving family member, friend, or colleague. It is usually sent or emailed during the first few days after the death of an individual. Sending a sympathy letter is a great way to empathize and give comfort to a person who has just lost a loved one. Dealing with grief is a challenging journey. Those who grieve are generally very appreciative of the notes of condolences they receive.
How to Begin the Letter
A grief sympathy letter often opens up with the writer acknowledging the death of the person. The writer may do this with lines such as “I am so sorry to hear of your loss,” or “I was shocked to hear about X’s death.” If the writer is writing on behalf of a group or company, he or she may write something like this: “I am writing on behalf of Y company or X’s friends to express our condolences for X’s passing.” These lines not only serve as an appropriate opening for the letter, but also set the tone for the entire sympathetic theme.
Acknowledge the Loss
After acknowledging the death of the person and the loss of the grieving party, the writer then expresses sympathy in the succeeding sentence or paragraph. The writer may say “Please find comfort in the love and good memories we have of X,” or “I want to express my sincerest sympathy for your sad loss.” In this part of the letter, the writer condoles with the grieving party and offers words of comfort to the bereaved family.
Share Wonderful Memories of the Deceased
A sympathy letter should also have a few lines about the deceased person as described by the writer. These lines usually enumerate the good qualities that the writer admires and will miss about the deceased. The writer may say, “X was such a sweet and hardworking colleague, and I will miss him dearly,” if the deceased was a colleague, or “X was a sincere, loyal, and trusting friend,” if the deceased was a friend. In the next line, the writer shares a wonderful memory of the deceased to the grieving party. This is an opportunity to highlight the good qualities of the person who has passed away. The writer may cite how he or she met the deceased, their friendship, working relationship, or how the late person spoke affectionately about his or her family.
How to End the Letter
Grieving families will appreciate hearing words of love from just about anyone, particularly from people they know. This may be as simple as words of encouragement. One rule of thumb, though- never make any offer that you can’t fulfill. Some lines that writers can use for this part are, “If there is anything that I can do, I am just a phone call away,” or “Don’t hesitate to call me up if you need anything from me during these tough times.” As a closing line, writers may end their letter with phrases such as “love,” “truly yours,” and “affectionately yours.”
Here’s a sample of a short but sincere sympathy letter:
“I am saddened by X’s death. No words are adequate to describe just how special a person he was. He always had kind words to say about everyone in the office. He also often told us how he loved you and his children. If there’s anything we can do for you, just give us a call. Our thoughts are with you and your family during these difficult times. Sincerely, John.”
Oftentimes, when one is faced with a friend who is grieving, it is hard to know what to do. Knowing how to write a formal sympathy letter can help one organize one’s thoughts and feelings in a coherent manner. For someone who is mourning the loss of a loved one, reading a simple sympathy letter is sure to make the loss a little easier to bear.
If you would like to learn more on how to become certified in grief counseling, then please review.
Stress management therapy in it’s various forms, has the potential to do a lot of good in people’s lives. This is because stress can adversely effect our overall health for long periods of time, and have a large detrimental impact on our health during the course of our whole lives.
Many illnesses and ailments can be traced back to stress as a significant underlying cause. Increased stress levels can be a contributing cause or exacerbating factor to heart disease, irritable bowel syndrome, high blood pressure, frequent colds and many other illnesses.
Not only does stress effect us physically, but also mentally. The symptoms can limit people’s lives by causing them to avoid situations where triggers for their stress might arise. If an individual suffers from anxiety attacks or panic attacks, this can lead to them avoiding public places and becoming prisoners in their own homes.
Stress management therapy may not completely cure all the symptoms, or the underlying causes of the stress factors for everyone, but it can help people get to a stage where the effect of stress on their lives is diminished to levels where it is minimal. This will mean the impact on their lives from stress is vastly reduced, and both their physical and mental well being can improve dramatically.
It can encompass many types of proven techniques to help people suffering from stress to control and reduce the amount of stress they feel.
Stress Therapy Interventions
Relaxation therapy is one of the main forms of stress management therapy. This can help individuals feel relaxed in their normal daily lives, but it can also give the individuals a set of techniques that may help reduce their stress once the symptoms have been triggered. When a person feels a panic attack or an anxiety attack starting to occur, they can use relaxation techniques to head-off the problem before the symptoms culminate into a full-on attack.
Just as emotional stimulation can cause these attacks, there are relaxation techniques that can help manage them and prevent them from becoming a problem.
As mentioned earlier, these therapies do not only help at the time of the attack, but also help the patient be more relaxed during the course of their daily lives. A person who is in a relaxed state of mind is far less likely to suffer from these attacks. Relaxation therapy helps people reach this state of mind by simply teaching them how to relax. It sounds very simple, but during modern living we often forget how to relax. These therapies can give a person techniques to practice at home to help them maintain a relaxed and healthy state of mind.
There are many different therapies that come under the umbrella of relaxation therapy, some will be of far more benefit to one individual than to another, so different techniques can be used to tailor relaxation therapy to the individual.
Aversion therapy can also help. Some people self-medicate with various substances to help them cope with their stress. Aversion therapy helps them by forcing the mind to associate the addictive substance with a negative stimulus.
Therapy which uses a positive stimulus to help someone associate that with desirable behavior can also help. This is similar to aversion therapy in the way it works, but rather than a negative stimulus being used to prevent undesirable behavior, a positive stimulus is used instead to reinforce desirable behavior or feelings. This can help the mind change the way it feels about the triggers of your stress, and associate them with something pleasant.
Hypnosis can also help, this causes the mind to be “reprogrammed” on a subconscious level, which can both reduce stress and reduce the symptoms and frequency of the attacks themselves.
There are many more techniques that can be used. All of them can help a person manage their stress to prevent it becoming a problem. Some people turn to a pharmaceutical solution for their stress, this can help but it is only a short-term fix. It does not teach people how to manage their stress. Prescription drugs also often have serious side effects that can cause problems in other areas of your life, as well as health problems.
A comprehensive program to help people with their stress, is the best solution to the problem. If you suffer from anxiety attacks, panic attacks or other forms of stress, stress management therapy can make a major positive influence on your life. To learn about stress management education courses, access here.
Pastoral care of the dying is a special type of counseling by chaplains, pastors or other religious leader to dying persons and also their friends, families and relatives. The pastor or the chaplain provides comfort, hope as well as assurance during a time of uncertainty. We all know that death is the ultimate conclusion to our earthly life and it is a phase that every living being has to go through some day or the other.
However embracing one’s own natural death or accepting the loss of a dear one is much difficult and so in such a situation we turn to religious teachings and religious leaders to find solace. The subject of death, both physical and theological has been the center of attention in the Bible. The main essence of pastoral care of the dying is showing spiritual love for fellow humans and forms an integral part of Christian teaching.
For a professional person who provides emotional and spiritual support to the dying it is very important to have a proper understanding and realization of thanatology. A person who is in his death bed looks to the chaplain or pastor for spiritual assurance and company to overcome loneliness and fear. The pastor or chaplain should help the dying person to communicate with his loved ones. The minister should also help the dying man to reflect on the quality of life that he has lived and at last prepare the person to face the final transaction of leaving the earthly body. The duty of the minister or pastor does not end here as he also needs to act as a pillar of support for the dear and near one of the dead person. The pastor can also help the bereaved family members to make various arrangements like burial, funeral planning etc.
The question of when to call for pastoral care of the dying may arise in our mind. There can be no single definite answer to this question. Pastoral care of the dying can be called for when a patient is informed of having some serious illness like cancer, AIDS etc. This type of help can be called for if a patient is in his death bed or is worried about some surgery that is going to take place in the near future. Pastoral care of the dying can be called for if the family member of a patient who is seriously ill wants spiritual guidance and support.
In the western countries pastoral care ministers constitute the health care departments of most hospitals so patients as well as their families can easily ask for their guidance. Different people have different point of view regarding death. Some view death as an unwanted intruder that hampers the natural process of life while some view death, suffering and pain as integral and unavoidable aspects of living life and a suitable ending to the journey of life. The view of a person regarding death is largely molded or shaped by different factors like social customs, religious faith or belief, cultural background, personal way of thinking etc. People who believe in the existence of God or are followers of Christianity generally call for pastoral care when they or some of their loved ones are nearing death.
For a dying man and his family a pastor or chaplain is not only a spiritual bridge with God and after-life but also a social supportive agent. When a man nears death his opinion of life can greatly change, all the materialistic things that seemed very important to him at one point of his life may then seem to be of no great importance. The person may feel a great desire to purge himself of all the sins that he has committed in his life time and so getting pastoral care for the dying can be of great help. In such critical situations friends and family of a dying man feel very close to the pastor. They start relying on the pastor for his guidance and help. The pastor may be requested to give his opinion regarding crucial matters like family, medical, moral and ethical issues. Many people believe that religious faith can work miracles where medical science fails and so they can call for pastoral care of the dying during such situations.
Grief counseling is in high demand today. The loss of someone close to you is a painful experience and can create many emotions such as anger, shock, sadness and guilt. Within this period, you may feel as if these emotions may never let up and come to an end. Loss is a tough thing to handle but it is something that most of us will have to face several times within our lives. These feeling are often categorized as grief and you may find it challenging to move past this phase alone. For such instances, it is recommended that you seek grief counseling.
What is grief counseling?
Grief counseling is a type of theory that focuses on a person or people suffering from the feelings of grief and helps them get through their feelings. Often, grief counseling takes place with a group of people as opposed to individually as working through this process with loved ones will often help this process. The most common reasons that require grief counseling come after a death of a loved one; however it is not uncommon for people to seek this form of therapy after a divorce, the loss of a job, or the diagnosis of a serious disease, such as cancer and more. In any of these situations, grief counseling works to help that person or people cope with their emotions.
Grief counseling in groups
As mentioned, grief counseling often takes place in a group setting. This is because the involvement of your peers, who can better understand what a person is going through, will minimize the feelings of isolation that is prevalent among grief stricken people. An added benefit is also that your friends and family will be able to stay with you outside of the sessions, something that a counselor is not able to do.
What are the goals of grief counseling?
The main intent of this therapy varies depending upon the person and situation. The end goal is to best help that person recover emotionally from the particular situation. This form of counseling does not attempt to change what that person feels they want or need, however they do attempt to console and support that person as they are dealing with their intense emotions. More often than not, the simple act of talking about the situation will go a long way in helping a grief stricken person recover. For this reason, a therapist’s main intent is to accompany that person and encourage them to talk about what is going through their head. Getting that person to talk about it and having someone listen and converse with them about is the main role of a grief therapist.
I am suffering from grief, how will counseling help me?
When a person looses someone close to them, or they go through an emotionally intense situation, they will often receive a lot of attention from their friends and family. After a few weeks, however, those people will be ready to move on with their lives even though that person may not yet be ready to. This is where grief counselors play an important role. Today, most of the theory behind grief counseling is based on the work of Elizabeth Kubler Ross, a famous Swiss psychiatrist who was able to identify the different stages of grief that a person will go though. Her findings showed that grief is not a straight line process and is not easily understood by the people who are not also going through the same feelings. This makes it difficult for a grieving person to find the full support they will need from friends and family members alone. Grief therapists are trained to work with and identify the stages of grief that a person may be going through and is better able to walk them through the entire process over the course of several weeks or months.
If you are suffering through feelings or grief, or know someone that is, it is important to seek some form of grief counseling as it is the best way to get through your emotions in the most healthy way possible. It is important to surround ones self around loved ones and continuous communication between the two parties will go a long way in helping that person recover from such emotions. You may also consider learning more about grief and strategies to deal with it. There are online grief counseling courses you can take to expand your knowledge in this area of specialty care.
Everyone deals with death in their own way, but children are a bit different. Most young children really don’t understand death, even those who do can have a hard time dealing with their feelings. It’s important to make sure kids are getting the care they need during a time when they lost someone close to them.
Child grief and bereavement counseling is something that any parent should seriously consider. This is a great solution since most kids don’t want to talk to their parents or other family members about their feelings. Most parents don’t even know what questions to ask to make sure their child is dealing with their feelings in a healthy manner.
How Counseling can Help Children through the Grieving Process
Professionals have the educational background to help children deal with this sort of situation. Each child is going to grieve differently depending on their age and experience with loss in the past. If a child doesn’t feel like they have support they could end up keeping their emotions bottled inside, which could have really dire effects in the future. When kids have a third party to talk to they will be able to let their emotions out and talk about what they are dealing with on the inside. At first these visits might be difficult if the child is resistant, but in time they will get better. Some kids might end up speaking freely; it varies from each different person.
Counselors are going to ask questions to the child that do not scare them. Their main goal is to get an idea of what is going on in their head. The answers that the child gives will help the counselor tailor their questions and conversation for the appointment. Professionals do understand that each child is different, so they don’t handle each one in the same way. When a kid feels comfortable with someone, they will be more encouraged to speak with them about what is going on. No matter what type of death is being dealt with, a child needs to speak with someone about it. Child grief counseling can make all the difference with how someone grows up and deals with other situations. When parents aren’t able to get a child to talk, counseling is a great option to consider. This is a sensitive subject that many parents are uncomfortable dealing with since they aren’t sure what they should do or say.
What Children Will Learn by Going to Child Grief Counseling
Losing a parent, grand parent, sister, brother, or other family members is going to be really difficult for any child. When they go to see a professional counselor they can actually come out of the experience a lot stronger than they were before. This can help them deal with death in the future, since it’s inevitable. Most kids will cry and talk about their feelings, but they need to have a well-rounded idea of what death is and how it will change their life forever. A counselor will be able to explain what death really is and help them learn tools for dealing with grief. A child needs to know that it’s alright to cry and that they should talk to someone about their feelings. When they know that it’s alright to let their feelings show, they are less likely to bottle them up inside. If they don’t feel comfortable talking with a family member, a counselor is a great alternative.
Some tools that can help any child grieve include: to be honest about their feelings, realizing that death is a part of life, crying is good and memories can help out a lot. Children can easily learn how to cherish memories and feel good about them instead of feeling sad. Some kids end up keeping a journal filled with their emotions while others find a friend they can talk to. Either of these are great to have when it comes to grieving. These tools are going to help any child deal with death instead of constantly feeling depressed. Child grief and bereavement counseling is something that any parent should consider for their child. This will give their son or daughter a safe space where they can talk with someone about what they are feeling. They will learn tools that help them feel better about the situation. Although it’s a sensitive subject, it has to be taught to kids to give them a brighter future.
The role of a nurse educator is growing in importance today. A nurse has several different imperative roles in today’s health care system, one of which is to inform patients and their families of the diseases that they are faced with. A step above that is a nurse educator. This nurse is using all of their clinical experience and skills to properly prepare their students. They also do a great job of mentoring and teaching fellow nurses who may be new or have less experience. A nurse mentor leads a very active and fulfilling life as they are both informative and emphatic.
Nurse educators are traditionally in charge of structuring, implementing and revising the type of educational materials that fellow nurses receive. This material fits a wide range of uses, from a more academic and scholarly feel to a more concentrated and specific approach for individualistic issues. Nurse educators are often a great sounding board for issues that arise for another nurse that they may be unfamiliar with and have not dealt with in the past. Nurse educators are the keys to assuring quality and factual based content is taught to the entire department.
Practice and Goals
Because health care is such a diverse and constantly changing field, it is important that those in this position are comfortable with constantly learning and growing. New information and changes in procedural patterns are inevitable so a nurse educator must be willing to easily adapt. Being a leader is usually at the forefront of a nurse educators job. They practice in all type of health care facilities and are generally working with fellow nurses and patients alike.
A nurse educators primary goal is to create a set of curriculum and material that is all encompassing and helpful for their students. Because of their involvement in teaching and being of service to fellow nurses, future nurses and patients, nurse educators often experience a high level of job satisfaction. They take pride in their role of helping another person learn, grow and ultimately succeed in the nursing field. Being of service to others is why many people become nurses in the first place, this just adds to that principle by helping and encouraging others who have that same deeply engrained belief.
There are tremendous benefits for those who choose a career as a nurse educator. The medical field is one of the most stable markets because certain ailments are inevitable. So no matter how badly the economy is doing, surgeons, doctors and nurses will still be around to take care of the sick and dying. Because of this, nurse educators will also always be needed. Another huge benefit of choosing this particular work as a career is the cutting edge technology and information that will be available to you. Wouldn’t it be great to be one of the first people to know about a certain procedure? What about being able to read information about a unique and rare disease? These are the types of things nurse educators do on a daily basis.
Nurse educators are always learning something new and interesting. They are apart of an ever changing and growing workplace that is perpetually knowledge based and intellectually stimulating. Usually nurse educators work in a specific field of study. They often have specialties similar to those that doctors have. These fields can range from cardiology, family health, pediatrics and much more. A general comprehensive background is necessary but usually whatever concentration you are most familiar with is the one you teach. The type of qualifications needed to become a nurse educator usually require a master’s degree but there are some exceptions to this rule.
As a nurse educator you are also entitled to a pretty flexible schedule. Many choose to teach just part time in junction with their other work. Whether that be clinical work or actually working in hospitals directly with patients. Assessing the learning and knowledge of nurses is also a duty that many nurse educators carry out. Making sure that the nurses in the field and those who deal with patients every single day are well informed and knowledgeable is imperative to the quality of care that the patients receive.
There are many different things that nurse educators do but one of the most important is that they are there to teach, answer questions and to really listen to their students and patients. The role of a nurse educator is an important one and those who are willing to do the job are needed. To learn about becoming a nurse educator, access here.
Spiritual counselingconsiders the soul, instead of the body and mind, as the commencing point for the sense of your true self. It has an enhanced view of life, acknowledging that this world is often confusing mystery. It considers self-belief systems, universal and personal energy systems, karmic interplay, instinctive psychic realities, subconscious states of mindset, spiritual theology, metaphysical experiences, spiritual existence and higher self-cosmic relationships.
Spiritual counseling views why life is instinctively personal and why individuals want to develop their own distinctive, graceful relationship with it, naturally and without forcefulness. As the soul is considered as the beginning point, consciousness comes from the heart, while not overlooking the head or brain, and from this heart space care for the blessed interdependence of all living existence comes to the surface.
What does Spiritual Counseling involve?
Spiritual counseling involves a process where one person reevaluates who he or she feels about and themselves and about other persons. Care for self and care for others is the primary concept of the personal and combined growth. As the spiritual counseling is holistic, there is no separation and division, no dichotomy between individual or collective opinions and response, all is fundamentally correlated. Spiritual counseling brings about a realization that life experiences grow into the supreme tool, with the incorporation of personal problems and personal venture. The main objective of taking spiritual counseling is to convey themselves and their own world with long cherished wisdom, spiritual consciousness and personal realism using integrity.
Spiritual counseling involves the process of developing consciousness of a spiritual identity. It does so by reminding the fact that all the human beings are more than their personalities and their problems.
It gives faith in oneself so that people have within themselves the knowledge and understaning to make the right decisions in life.
Spiritual counseling also ensures that people have faith in their potentials. That means each situation has a prospect of growth for them.
It enables people to have belief in the journey which indicates human lives haves some deep meanings.
Spiritual counseling also makes people realize that that all people are in fact spiritual beings.
Why might one seek out a Spiritual Counselor?
A spiritual counselor helps people to learn how to handle the challenges of daily life in relationship with the spiritual world. Most of the people are accustomed to thinking of themselves as alone in the world. People tend to think that they need to figure things out on their own, and fight for survival.
After spiritual counseling, people would begin to understand that spiritual togetherness is real. Then they would start to see that life can be different. They will learn that they are not alone, because everyone belongs to one world – but during the times of stress or difficulties they may forget this. That is why spiritual counseling is so important, as the long years of habit can be difficult to undo all by oneself.
A Spiritual counselor helps people to meet the challenges of life from a new consciousness of collective existence. It offers support to be a whole person – the soul and spirit, emotions, mind and body, and the practical life here on the Earth.
What are the qualities of an expert Spiritual Counselor?
A spiritual counselor needs the cross cultural consciousness, a deep understanding around spiritual sphere and other matters of spirituality. They are well aware of, and they are devoted to a spiritual passage in their own lives as well as the lives of others. By concentrating on their deep inner relationships, forming an open connection and a unique mindfulness state, they produce a holding and blessed space for the individual and collective growth of their clients.
Finally it can be said that the divine journey can be delightful and arising, however it can also be demanding, frightening and solitary. Anyone might have the spiritual experience; however holistic self-consciousness is a completely different thing. Spiritual development best happens at the point while the soul is strong enough to take a little bewildering.
As a result, spiritual counseling can be a great tool to rediscover the potentials one have and find greater meaning of the life. However, as it deals with the deep consciousness of the mind and soul of a person, an experienced and qualified counselor can make things much easier and comfortable. To find out more about spiritual counseling and to preview online courses, you may access here.
Crisis intervention counseling is short term counseling that addresses emergency situations for people in crisis. A counselor will either speak to a person on the telephone (emergency hotline situation) or face to face, but it is better for people in crisis to have the one on one counseling, which allows the counselor to get a better gauge of the client’s demeanor.
It is difficult for a counselor to deal with a crisis over the phone because they cannot read the client’s body language or see the expression on their face; however, hotlines are important because they are a means in which to calm a person down and stop them from taking drastic and irreversible action.
There are many situations that can be considered a crisis for people. These could include:
• A woman who has been beaten once or repeatedly by her spouse. She takes the opportunity to call a crisis line while her partner has left the home, or possibly while he is pounding on the door to try to get to her and hit her again. The counselor can offer telephone support while contacting 911 and dispatching them to the address, if the counselor can manage to extract that information from the client;
• Someone who lives with a person who has a drug or alcohol problem, and they need someone to speak to because they do not know what to do about the problem;
• A person who has lost their job and is facing financial problems, including foreclosure, debt collectors and bankruptcy. Perhaps this person is unable to train for a new job and has no other prospects for employment;
• A teenager who is being bullied at school and is either terrified to go to school, or is thinking of taking their life;
• A man has just found out he has terminal cancer and has two weeks to live. He is unable to tell his family about the situation and needs to speak to someone about it. He is worried about his family and how they will get by in the future without him.
While it is not the role of the crisis counselor to “fix” the problem, they do have an obligation to provide support and explain to the client that the feelings that they are experiencing are completely normal. It is also important to point out to the client that the situation is temporary and that the crisis will eventually pass.
Crisis counselors can help their clients to develop certain skills that allow them to better cope with a situation. By open dialogue and careful discussion, they can help the client to explore various solutions to the problem while helping them to deal with the stress and think in a more positive way. The problem in a crisis situation is that people have complete tunnel vision, and they forget that there are other aspects to their life that are positive.
When a person is suicidal, they are only thinking of the current situation and how to get out of it. They are probably not thinking very clearly, and they are certainly not considering the effect that their death would have on others around them, such as guilt and remorse. The counsellor would point out all of those things to the client and help them to think of other ways to work through the situation.
People in crisis can learn skills that give them the ability to recover from their situation, but it is up to the crisis counselor to provide them with the guidance and resources to accomplish this. One important aspect of the process is for the counselor to have the client face the crisis head on, and try to move past it. The longer that the situation is prolonged, the less chance that the client has of dealing with it. Sometimes it may be necessary for some sort of confrontation to take place in order for the client to move on with their life. This can be very frightening and difficult, but the counselor is there to assist with the process.
If there is a cycle of behavior that continues to lead to crisis, it is up to the counselor to encourage the client to recognize and change that behavior. One very good example of this would be a drug or alcohol addiction and the cycle of destruction that goes with the addiction. The client is routinely causing extreme emotional pain to those around them, but they refuse to take responsibility for their part in the crisis. The counselor works with the client to break those cycles and heal the pain between the client and their family members and friends. To learn more about crisis intervention, click here.
With life becoming more busy and hectic these days, it is important to take the time to care for yourself, center your body and your mind and your spirit, and the best way to achieve this is when you learn to meditate. Meditation is the process of clearing your mind of all thoughts and clutter, and relaxing into a state of clarity.
Many of us are constantly on the go, with work, children and activities outside of the home, and we tend to get extremely stressed out which has a very negative impact on our body. The body is designed to withstand a certain amount of stress; however, when we are under “attack” from every angle, our bodies can start to give in to the effects of stress. This makes us more open to disease and illness, and it is simple to avoid this by learning meditation techniques.
There is no big secret to mediation, and if you want to learn to meditate, you simply need to have an open mind. There is a certain spiritual aspect to this activity which you will tap into even if you are not the least bit spiritual. You need to find a space in your home that is quiet and well ventilated where you can sit alone for as much time as you need without being interrupted.
All that you need to do is sit in a quiet area, in a comfortable position, usually on the floor with your legs crossed. Closing your eyes, you will deep breath for several seconds, up to one minute. You will then tense up your body and then allow it to relax, letting the tension leave you with the breath you exhale as you relax. While you have been concentrating on your breathing, you can now just put that aside and let it happen naturally. You will simply think of one single thought and nothing else. Some people smile when they are meditating, while others may weep. It is a state of complete relaxation that is time you take for yourself.
If you want to learn to meditate, you must practice each day for as much time as it takes for you to feel relaxed. Taking this time for yourself will allow you to feel more peaceful and give you a much more positive outlook on life.
Benefits of Meditation
There are so many benefits to meditation, and it is free and takes less than 20 minutes per day. Your body will reap many wonderful benefits from this practice, including:
• Increased blood flow and a slower heart rate;
• Slows down the aging process;
• A known cure for headaches and relief from migraines;
• Weight loss benefits and the normalization of your weight;
• A significant reduction in free radicals, reducing damage to tissues;
• Beneficial and lasting changes to the electrical activity in the brain;
• A significant decrease in muscle tension
• Lowers your consumption of oxygen;
• Can improve and speed up post- operative healing;
• Decreases perspiration (for those who sweat excessively);
• Can dramatically improve your immunity.
The brain is an extremely powerful organ, and when you learn how to relax it and provide it with much needed rest, it can use that reserved energy to heal other parts of your body. Stress increases the presence of free radicals and speeds up the aging process. This is why people who are under intense stress all of the time just look that much older.
In addition to the physical changes you will experience when you learn to mediate, you will also find yourself with more confidence, a greater ability to focus and concentrate and better moods. When you are in a better and more positive state of mind with good moods all of the time, you will simply feel like participating in life more. This is why mediation is a good solution for people who find themselves susceptible to depression. Meditation can also help you to develop your creativity if you are artistic, help you to retain more (memory), help you to develop your intuition and help you to feel rejuvenated. You will gain the ability to react more effectively to stress, instead of absorbing all of the stress, you will be able to redirect it and expel it through meditation.
If you are person who worries a lot, meditation can help you to deal with your worries and fears. By centering your thoughts and focusing on yourself and positive things, you will be able to dispel all of the negative feelings and replace them with peace of mind and happiness.
Attention Deficit Disorder is a behavioral pattern characterized by hyperactivity or hyperkinesias of brain activity resulting in inattentive and impulsive behavior. Officially, Attention Deficit Disorder is called Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (A.D.H.D.), but commonly people use the term A.D.D. to refer to the disorder.
Typically A.D.D. is a psychiatric disorder diagnosed and treated in children. This is important because it is a developmental disorder that can have unhealthy effects into adulthood. Many people that have been diagnosed in childhood with A.D.D. tend to lead chaotic lifestyles and become much disorganized at times. Most of these symptoms go untreated which can lead to unhealthy choices such as reliance on non-prescription drugs and impulsive behavior, especially under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
It remains unclear how many adults are diagnosed with A.D.D. because many people were not diagnosed as children. It is known however that boys have A.D.D. three times as much as girls according to the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. It’s also known that A.D.D. crosses all ethnicities and countries in about the same numbers.
The causes of A.D.D. are still relatively unknown, but the Professional Group for Attention and Related Disorders have noted that scientific studies show that the disorder is genetically transmitted and result in a chemical imbalance and deficiency in neurotransmitters. A study completed by the National Institute for Mental Health concluded that the rate that the brain uses glucose, its primary source of energy, is lower in children with A.D.D. Although it is not officially known the direct cause, a number of detailed studies have shown A.D.D. is not environment based, and therefore not caused by parents or teachers.
What are the symptoms of A.D.D.?
The three main signs of Attention Deficit Disorder are inattentiveness, hyperactivity, and impulsiveness. While usually focused on a child’s behavior, these signs can apply to adults as well.
Inattentiveness
– Does not pay attention to detail and make careless mistakes in schoolwork or menial tasks.
– Does not listen when directly spoken to.
– Does not follow through with instruction and fails to finish schoolwork or assignments.
– Has difficulty organizing tasks
– Easily distracted by small stimuli
– Forgetting tasks in a daily routine
Hyperactivity
– Fidgets with hands and feet
– Talks excessively
– Always “on the move” to do something new
– Restlessness in adults and excessively running and movement in children
Impulsiveness
– Often intrudes and interrupts
– Acting before thinking
– Difficulty waiting one’s turn
– engaging in risky behavior
It is important to note that most people experience these symptoms from time to time. Some people many exhibit this behavior consistently. It does not mean these people have A.D.D. People including parents and teachers, should not be making any diagnosis themselves. Those concerned with the potential of the disorder should seek a medical professional.
How is A.D.D. treated?
Standard treatments for Attention Deficit Disorder are medication and counseling.
Medications
Medications are only prescribed when diagnosed by a doctor. If needed, a doctor will prescribe either a stimulant, non-stimulant, or anti-depressant based on the person’s condition and medical history. As with any medication there can be side effects but with A.D.D. medications they are rare if taken properly.
Counseling and Social Training
There are various types of counseling available to treat A.D.D. sufferers and their family members. These include family therapy, behavioral therapy, psychotherapy, parenting skill training and social skills training. All of these treatments tend to be successful as it involves all members of the family working with mental health professionals.
Support Groups
These can be a great source of comfort for parents or adults with A.D.D. to bond and sort out issues affected by the disorder. Fears, concerns and other problems can be addressed in a compassionate environment where everything can be voiced and no one feels alone. Attention Deficit Disorder is a real concern for parents with children that excessively display the signs of the disorder. At a crucial developmental stage, this disorder can have lasting effects. It’s important to seek a mental health professional if the behavior is unmanageable.
If you are curious about hypnotherapy and hypnosis, wondering how they work, this article will give you a basic understanding of the subject and enable you to decide whether it’s for you.
Hypnotherapy is an effective method of resolving some psychological problems and assists in personal development. As the term suggests, hypnotherapy is a combination of hypnosis and therapy. Hypnosis is used to induce relaxation and make the mind more receptive to therapeutic suggestion. It is not associated in any way with stage hypnosis which has different aims.
Is Hypnotherapy for You?
People who choose hypnotherapy are seeking to change the way they feel, think, or behave. They may wish to lose weight, quit smoking, be more confident or perform better. They might want to develop particular personal qualities or change unhelpful patterns of behavior, which they see as necessary to move forward in life. If this strikes a chord, hypnotherapy may well be for you.
How Does Hypnotherapy Work?
Having a clearly defined goal is the first stage in the process and provides the direction your therapy will take. If, for instance, your goal is to be more assertive it should include how you will feel, and the ways in which your life will be different, once you have achieved it. Hypnotherapy can be used to overcome the blocks to achieving your goals, in a number of ways. It builds self confidence and esteem, can help you change limiting beliefs, and resolve underlying issues. The roots of any block lie beneath conscious awareness. Hypnosis enables access to the unconscious mind so therapy can be applied to the problem at this fundamental level.
The therapeutic process may involve direct or indirect suggestion, visualization or imagery, story-telling metaphor and a range of other techniques designed to bring about psychological change.
Hypnotherapy re-programs your mind and modifies feelings and behavior in alignment with your goals and wishes. The internal changes produced then need to be grounded in real-life situations for the process to be complete. If your goal was to lose weight, you will need to weigh and measure yourself, and buy smaller clothes to know how much lighter and slimmer you have become. If your goal was to overcome your flying phobia, you will need to experience a flight to know you are now a confident air traveler.
What is Hypnosis?
Hypnosis is an altered state of consciousness experienced as deep relaxation with a focused awareness. It is induced by shifting the activity of the brain from the left, more logical side, to the right side. Here the unconscious mind can be accessed, and creative solutions to problems sourced. This shift can be achieved in a number of different ways including the use of relaxing music, descriptive imagery, rhythmic phrasing, suggestion, or plays on words to induce the hypnotic state.
While you are in hypnosis you may have useful insights or recognize truths which help you change in the way you desire. However, healing can take place and problems be resolved without you being aware of such processes.
How is Hypnotherapy Delivered?
There are three ways to receive hypnotherapy. You can visit a qualified therapist who tailors the therapy to your individual and specific needs. You can buy and listen to hypnotherapy audio recordings which deal with your particular problem. The therapy content is necessarily generalized to suit the majority of users, but it can still be effective. You can also learn self hypnosis and apply your own therapy.
Will it work for You?
Hypnotherapy has much to offer as a tool for healing and personal development. If you have a clear goal, are motivated to change and willing to try something new, you have the ideal conditions for it to work for you. This may be the life-changing catalyst you are looking for. You may also search out hypnotherapy courses that you can take from a qualified provider of education.
Whenever some medical-related litigation cases occur, it is often the job of the legal nurse consultant to work hand in hand with attorneys to be able to review and evaluate the case. They usually deal with medical and nursing malpractice, personal injuries or almost any medically-related case which calls for a sufficient medical knowledge from the field. But before anything else, perhaps you might be wondering what these legal nurse consultants are and what they tend to do for a living. To provide insight into their practice, let us take some time to understand this practice specialty.
A legal nurse consultant is a registered nurse and will be the one to perform such tasks as critical analysis of clinical and administrative practice and deal with any other healthcare issues. They act as the bridge between the medical and legal system. They often possess professional insight in both health and medical aspects and legal guidelines at the same time. However, you have to take note that these consultants are nursing experts and not merely paralegals. That is, they specialize more on the field of nursing and health care and are often considered to be experts in these fields.
What are the roles of a legal nurse consultant?
There are indeed a lot of important roles of the legal nurse consultant. To provide you with a deeper understanding of the various important roles that a legal nurse consultant plays, let us review them.
1. Reviewing and Researching Medical Records
Medical records are among the most important things to consider in any medical-related case. As legal nurse consultants, it is their responsibility to review and research medical records which are relevant to the case. This will help in determining the type of medical negligence as well as to identify any medical records which might possibly have been missing or else tampered. The medical records in turn will also provide the legal nurse consultant additional knowledge regarding the type of service being provided to the client. They will often develop time-lines for the incident of care in question so that attorneys may better understand the process of care and determine issues of negligence.
2. Investigation and Thorough Analysis of the Case
It is very vital for a legal nurse consultant to make several investigations and analysis of a particular case. Being a case investigator, there are in fact a lot of services which a legal nurse consulting should be able to provide to his/her clients. These may include such services as the investigation of any fraud within the government funded agencies and also researching whether or not the victim is applicable for compensation and claims. They particularly focus on standards of care related to the case they are working on. They provide expert analysis on defining the appropriate standards of care and assisting the legal team to identify the types of testifying experts to call into the case for deposition and trial testimony to support allegations of deviations from standards of care.
3. Expert Witness Testimony
Attorneys frequently hire legal nurse consultants to provide actual expert witness testimony. In such cases, the legal nurse will provide a deposition and actually testimony in trials. In these cases, the legal nurse may only testify to deviations from standards of nursing practice and not issues of medical standards of care. They may be retained to provide testimony for either defendants or plaintiffs. Their testimony can be invaluable to the outcomes of such cases.
4. Deposition and Trial Consultant
It will be somewhat challenging for an expert attorney doing all of the tasks themselves regarding a particular case. That is why retaining a legal nurse consultant can be extremely beneficial. Legal nurses assist in the preparation of depositions for trial. They assist attorneys in developing appropriate questions to ask in depositions related to the medical and/or nursing aspects of the case. They are frequently seen with the attorney’s team in the court room during a malpractice or personal injury trial.
5. Research and Education
One of the primary roles of the legal nurse is to conduct extensive research for the legal team. Along with this role they also function as primary educators for the legal team. They will review and study many sources of standards of care and then educate the team on how the standards related to the case in question. They teach the legal team the meaning of important medical terms related to the case as well. The legal nurse is the health care expert on the team and her/his knowledge and research and teaching abilities are central to the legal team pursuing a litigation or a defense.
Where do they Practice?
There are many areas that legal nurse consultants practice in today. Some include the following:
In their own practices as independent contractors
In legal firms
In hospital risk management departments
In personal injury and malpractice insurance organizations
In nursing education and staff development
In government agencies
In firms specializing in trial consulting
In legal research departments
The role of the legal nurse consultant isn’t just an ordinary practice. It is a high-level practice that merges the legal world with the health care world. Over the years more and more registered nurses are choosing to enter this specialty practice. While the stress in this position is very high, the rewards and economic benefits can be excellent. Do you want more comprehensive information about legal nurse consulting? Access here
Case Management in nursing is an evolving practice specialty. The role of nurses in case management is to supervise and coordinate healthcare for patients with long-term illnesses. Such patients require long-term therapy and careful planning of all aspects of treatment. For instance if there is a patient suffering from cancer , the nurse who is assigned the role of the nurse case manager must arrange for doctor’s appointment, drugs, radiation, surgery or chemotherapy. A nurse case manager usually works in a specific practice specialty such as cancer, pediatric or cardiovascular disease.
Among the goals of case management nursing is to coordinate the care of patients. Since there are other specialists involved such as therapists, surgeons and other doctors, a nurse in case management will coordinate and keep the records of all their activity while updating the patient accordingly on the progress. According to the health problem at hand, the nurse can also decide what the other specialists should examine the patient so that there is collaboration of efforts by all. The nurse also ensures that all the procedures performed on a patient are at the highest level, increasing the chances of the expected outcome. In so doing, all the resources are used efficiently without any wasted or over usage of care resources.
Case Management in Nursing
The role of the nurse in case management can be defined in 3 basic ways, or a combination of any, according to the individual hospital setting as follows:
Quality Management
In larger hospitals, this aspect of quality management may be separated from the normal case management. The nurse is assigned the role of ensuring that all the services provided are of high standards. In smaller hospitals though, the finances may not allow for separation of duties and the case management nurse does all the work involved. The nurse is responsible for the general quality of health care being delivered, and can also assist in the risk management office when legal matters arise during a patient’s treatment.
Utilization Review
This type of case managers review different elements of the various hospital systems, guided by the terms of the hospital or the insurance company that is in charge. Prompt service delivery as well as adequate and safe utilization of the service is also a responsibility under this docket. The nurse is specially of essence in relation to insurance, because he/she approves and certifies acute and non-acute admissions. This information is then passed on to the insurance company under which the patient is covered. The nurse uses what is known as ‘InterQual Criteria’ which is a standardized method of identifying diagnoses, probable complications, procedures required and the timelines during which to account for a shifting diagnoses.
The Utilization Review nurse coordinates with the quality manager physician to administer high quality services to the patient. For instance if the patient has improved and no longer needs acute care, the nurse can consult the QM physician to see if the patient can be transferred to outpatient care or other suitable services. Before making a decision, the physician will review the patient’s chart, current situation and discharge plan. If in agreement the recovering patient can be moved to a lower level of care. To qualify for a post of Utilization Review Manager nurse, a three-year experience in an acute hospital setting is advisable.
Discharge Planning
The role of this nurse in case management is to coordinates all the elements of admission or discharge of a patient. According to the InterQual Criteria, this nurse deals with the high risk patients with chronic diagnoses such as complicated pneumonia or stroke. The nurse combines all the available social and financial services to come up with a viable and safe discharge plan. A discharge planning nurse can cover up to forty patients at a time depending on the individual hospital policy. It is ideal however to have no more than twenty patients. Past experience together with assessment abilities are used to review the patients current situation, medical history and family support before formulating a discharge plan. A discharge planner should be familiar with Medicare guidelines, InterQual Criteria as well as fees for service items that enable a patient to be given a different level of care. These are some of the important things that should be known.
Nursing case management is a growing practice specialty. Many registered nurses are taking advanced case and care management programs to increase their knowledge and skills to practice in this area. As health care continues to reform, we will see this nursing specialty increase in demand and in importance.
Holistic nursing is a type of nursing in which the care and wellness of the patient as a whole being is provided. This means that the nurse will provide healing for the full body and not just one part that regular nurses may attend too. This type of nursing encompasses the full body and all of its functions including the body, mind, spirit, relationship and environment. A holistic nurse is an instrument of healing for the patient and they will ensure that the patient is being treated from all aspects including the inner and outer body. The mind and spirit will also play a large part in the therapeutic healing that a holistic nurse will provide.
Holistic nursing has been around for many years but was first recognized as a valid nursing practice in 2006 by the American Nursing Association. The training for a holistic nurse is similar to that of a regular registered nurse in addition to having training of other types of therapies that may be experimental. These can include several types of complimentary alternative modalities such as acupuncture and aromatherapy. The training of this type of nurse will also involve understanding the connectedness of the body, mind, spirit and environment and it’s effects on a patient’s health and well being.
Holistic Nursing and the Body-Mind Connection
One of the most important aspects of being a holistic nurse is understanding your patient and the way that their body and mind interact with each other. This is one of the most important aspects of understanding what types of treatments will best work for the patient. They will also ensure that the basic care and medical procedures are completed and used to ensure that the patient is receiving the best care and attention that they need in addition to offering healing and care for the mind and consciousness. It is a well documented fact that healing and health is entwined and an important part of the healing process is believing that the treatments in which you are receiving will work for you. This is why a holistic nurse takes the time to get to know her patient’s body, mind and soul. They will use many alternative therapies in a patient’s care like the use of water therapy.
Nearly all types of patients and diseases can benefit from the care of a holistic nurse. They take the level of care and attention to their patients back to the first days of medicine. They offer the attention and understanding that a lot of doctors these days do not have. They also provide the patient with someone that understands what they are going through and is there to lend a calming hand to them during the treatments that they are receiving. Holistic nursing is available for all types of patients including children and the elderly.
But it is not all alternative therapies and understanding that this type of nurse provides. They also understand and administer all the normal aspects that a registered nurse would do for a patient. The level of care that they provide is half alternative methods such as water therapy and understanding the patients needs and half approved medical care such as setting bones and taking vitals and updating patients charts. There is a balance of medical and alternative methods that you will receive from this type of nurse and they are on the same level as receiving care from a registered nurse. They just provide some added alternative therapies like acupuncture that may also aid in the wellness of a patient. Some of the more common therapies that they will use are massage, water therapy, acupuncture, meditation, relation and exercise therapies.
Integrative Care
Providing both medical care and alternative therapies for patients makes the job of a holistic nurse the overall best type of care for any patient. No matter if the disease is new or in a well advanced stage the level of care that is provided will help to calm the patient and keep the spirit of the patient intact. This is one of the most important parts of being a holistic nurse. A holistic nurse not only treats the body but also treats the mind and the consciousness by offering other ways to administer medicine and care to their patients.
If you are thinking about becoming a holistic nurse it is important that you understand to be successful it is vital that you have the right mindset. This will include high levels of patience, understanding, a great bedside manner, and great organization and critical thinking skills. To learn more about holistic nursing, click here.
Thank you for visiting our AIHCP web blog. This category of the blog focuses on the specialty practice of Substance Abuse Addiction Counseling. Our blog provides our visitors and professional members and students an ever expanding platform for related articles, information, discussions, event announcements and much more. We invite your participation by posting comments, information, sharing and authoring for our blog. Please visit us often and be sure to book mark us!
Thank you for visiting our AIHCP web blog. This category of the blog focuses on the specialty practice of Stress Management Consulting. Our blog provides our visitors and professional members and students an ever expanding platform for related articles, information, discussions, event announcements and much more. We invite your participation by posting comments, information, sharing and authoring for our blog. Please visit us often and be sure to book mark us!
Thank you for visiting our AIHCP web blog. This category of the blog focuses on the specialty practice of Spiritual Counseling. Our blog provides our visitors and professional members and students an ever expanding platform for related articles, information, discussions, event announcements and much more. We invite your participation by posting comments, information, sharing and authoring for our blog. Please visit us often and be sure to book mark us!
Thank you for visiting our AIHCP web blog. This category of the blog focuses on the specialty practice of Pet Loss Grief Support. Our blog provides our visitors and professional members and students an ever expanding platform for related articles, information, discussions, event announcements and much more. We invite your participation by posting comments, information, sharing and authoring for our blog. Please visit us often and be sure to book mark us!
Thank you for visiting our AIHCP web blog. This category of the blog focuses on the specialty practice of Pastoral Thanatology. Our blog provides our visitors and professional members and students an ever expanding platform for related articles, information, discussions, event announcements and much more. We invite your participation by posting comments, information, sharing and authoring for our blog. Please visit us often and be sure to book mark us!
Thank you for visiting our AIHCP web blog. This category of the blog focuses on the specialty practice of Nurse Patient Educator. Our blog provides our visitors and professional members and students an ever expanding platform for related articles, information, discussions, event announcements and much more. We invite your participation by posting comments, information, sharing and authoring for our blog. Please visit us often and be sure to book mark us!
Thank you for visiting our AIHCP web blog. This category of the blog focuses on the specialty practice of Meditation Instruction. Our blog provides our visitors and professional members and students an ever expanding platform for related articles, information, discussions, event announcements and much more. We invite your participation by posting comments, information, sharing and authoring for our blog. Please visit us often and be sure to book mark us!
Thank you for visiting our AIHCP web blog. This category of the blog focuses on the specialty practice of Legal Nurse Consulting. Our blog provides our visitors and professional members and students an ever expanding platform for related articles, information, discussions, event announcements and much more. We invite your participation by posting comments, information, sharing and authoring for our blog. Please visit us often and be sure to book mark us!
Thank you for visiting our AIHCP web blog. This category of the blog focuses on the specialty practice of Hypnotherapy. Our blog provides our visitors and professional members and students an ever expanding platform for related articles, information, discussions, event announcements and much more. We invite your participation by posting comments, information, sharing and authoring for our blog. Please visit us often and be sure to book mark us!
Thank you for visiting our AIHCP web blog. This category of the blog focuses on the specialty practice of Holistic and Integrative Health and NursingCare. Our blog provides our visitors and professional members and students an ever expanding platform for related articles, information, discussions, event announcements and much more. We invite your participation by posting comments, information, sharing and authoring for our blog. Please visit us often and be sure to book mark us!
Thank you for visiting our AIHCP web blog. This category of the blog focuses on the latest health care news from around the world. Our blog provides our visitors and professional members and students an ever expanding platform for related articles, information, discussions, event announcements and much more. We invite your participation by posting comments, information, sharing and authoring for our blog. Please visit us often and be sure to book mark us!
Thank you for visiting our AIHCP web blog. This category of the blog focuses on the specialty practice of Health Care Life Coaching. Our blog provides our visitors and professional members and students an ever expanding platform for related articles, information, discussions, event announcements and much more. We invite your participation by posting comments, information, sharing and authoring for our blog. Please visit us often and be sure to book mark us!
Thank you for visiting our AIHCP web blog. This category of the blog focuses on the specialty practice of Grief Counseling. Our blog provides our visitors and professional members and students an ever expanding platform for related articles, information, discussions, event announcements and much more. We invite your participation by posting comments, information, sharing and authoring for our blog. Please visit us often and be sure to book mark us!
In the meantime, please review our program in Grief Counselingand see if it matches your educational and academic needs.
Thank you for visiting our AIHCP web blog. This category of the blog focuses on the specialty practice of Christian Grief Counseling. Our blog provides our visitors and professional members and students an ever expanding platform for related articles, information, discussions, event announcements and much more. We invite your participation by posting comments, information, sharing and authoring for our blog. Please visit us often and be sure to book mark us!
Thank you for visiting our AIHCP web blog. This category of the blog focuses on the specialty practice offuneral services. Our blog provides our visitors and professional members and students an ever expanding platform for related articles, information, discussions, event announcements and much more. We invite your participation by posting comments, information, sharing and authoring for our blog. Please visit us often and be sure to book mark us!
Thank you for visiting our AIHCP web blog. This category of the blog focuses on the specialty practice of Forensic Nursing. Our blog provides our visitors and professional members and students an ever expanding platform for related articles, information, discussions, event announcements and much more. We invite your participation by posting comments, information, sharing and authoring for our blog. Please visit us often and be sure to book mark us!
Thank you for visiting our AIHCP web blog. This category of the blog focuses on the specialty practice of Crisis Intervention Counseling. Our blog provides our visitors and professional members and students an ever expanding platform for related articles, information, discussions, event announcements and much more. We invite your participation by posting comments, information, sharing and authoring for our blog. Please visit us often and be sure to book mark us!
Thank you for visiting our AIHCP web blog. This category of the blog focuses on the specialty practice of Child and Adolescent Grief Counseling Education Program. Our blog provides our visitors and professional members and students an ever expanding platform for related articles, information, discussions, event announcements and much more. We invite your participation by posting comments, information, sharing and authoring for our blog. Please visit us often and be sure to book mark us!
To become certified by the Child and Adolescent Grief Counseling Education Program, one needs to take the core courses. Those qualified can become certified. Certification lasts three years and must be renewed.
Also keep in mind, the program is for certified grief counselors who wish to make child grief a specialty area.
Thank you for visiting our AIHCP web blog. This category of the blog focuses on the specialty practice of Case Management. Our blog provides our visitors and professional members and students an ever expanding platform for related articles, information, discussions, event announcements and much more. We invite your participation by posting comments, information, sharing and authoring for our blog. Please visit us often and be sure to book mark us!
Thank you for visiting our AIHCP web blog. This category of the blog focuses on the specialty practice of Attention Deficit Consulting. Our blog provides our visitors and professional members and students an ever expanding platform for related articles, information, discussions, event announcements and much more. We invite your participation by posting comments, information, sharing and authoring for our blog. Please visit us often and be sure to book mark us!
Thank you for visiting our AIHCP web blog. This category of the blog focuses on the specialty practice of Christian Spiritual Counseling. Our blog provides our visitors and professional members and students an ever expanding platform for related articles, information, discussions, event announcements and much more. We invite your participation by posting comments, information, sharing and authoring for our blog. Please visit us often and be sure to book mark us!
Christian Spiritual Counseling is a specialized form of counseling that focuses on Christian morals and theology to handle personal problems. The Bible and Christ are the sources to this type of counseling.
To become certified in Christian Spiritual Counseling at AIHCP, one must be qualified as a minister, in ministry, or have the proper academic background. After completion of the courses, one can become certified.
In the meantime, if you have any questions please let us know. Enjoy the blog!
Rogerian and Person Centered Therapy focuses on the client and emphasizes unconditional positive regard and empathy. Please also review AIHCP’s Healthcare Certification Programs
Real standards for treating severe transit trauma aren’t tested in textbooks. They’re tested in the first ninety seconds after a patient rolls through the trauma bay doors, vitals crashing, and someone has to make a call. This piece walks through what actual protocol adherence looks like at the bedside — where it saves a life, and where a shortcut quietly costs one.
The First Ten Minutes After Impact
Multi-vehicle collisions rarely produce a single, obvious injury. A patient arrives tachycardic, mildly confused, complaining about rib pain and the temptation is to chase the loudest symptom first. That’s exactly where a rigid primary survey protocol earns its keep.
Take a real-world pattern seen in Level II trauma centers across the Southwest: a 34-year-old rideshare passenger, GCS 14, ambulatory at the scene, insists she’s “just bruised.” Standard ATLS sequencing — airway, breathing, circulation, disability, exposure — catches a slowly expanding subdural hematoma that her normal-sounding speech was masking. Meanwhile, a FAST exam picks up free fluid suggesting a splenic laceration nobody would’ve guessed from her calm demeanor. Without the standardized secondary survey and mandatory repeat neuro checks at fifteen-minute intervals, that combination gets missed until she’s crashing in radiology. That’s the whole argument for protocol over instinct: instinct reads calm patients as stable patients, and sometimes it’s dead wrong.
There’s also a financial reality tangled up in all this clinical decision-making, and it’s worth naming plainly. CT panels, serial imaging, extended observation beds — none of it is cheap, and insurance disputes over “medical necessity” for multi-system trauma workups are common. When accident victims in California have a Palm Springs bus accident lawyer sorting out liability coverage and claims early, hospitals face fewer reimbursement fights down the line, which means clinicians aren’t quietly pressured to trim the workup to what a payer will pre-approve. That breathing room matters more than most administrators admit out loud.
What the Primary Survey Actually Catches
Tension pneumothorax masked by adrenaline-driven normal-seeming vitals
Pelvic fractures with retroperitoneal bleeding that don’t show external bruising for hours
Cervical spine instability in patients who are talking, walking, and insisting they’re “fine”
Compartment syndrome developing silently under a splint applied too early in the workflow
Where Standards Meet the Real Floor
Here’s the thing about protocols — they’re written for the chart, but they live or die in how two departments talk to each other at 3 a.m.
Surgery and Neuro Aren’t Always on the Same Page
Picture a 52-year-old motorcyclist with a femur fracture requiring fixation and a small subdural bleed that neurosurgery wants to observe rather than evacuate. Ortho wants him in the OR within six hours per fracture-fixation timing standards. Neuro wants forty-eight hours of stable imaging before clearing him for anesthesia. Without a documented, jointly-signed care plan — not just a verbal hallway agreement — one team ends up operating on outdated information. Best practice at high-functioning trauma centers is a shared progress note, updated by both services, with explicit sign-off thresholds written in: “Cleared for OR if repeat CT at 0600 shows no bleed progression.” That single line in the EHR prevents a scheduling conflict from becoming a malpractice exposure.
The Paperwork Problem Nobody Wants to Talk About
A missed repeat neuro check doesn’t just risk a bad outcome clinically — it creates a documentation gap that insurers exploit ruthlessly. Consider a patient discharged after a rear-end collision with a diagnosis of “mild TBI, resolved.” Three weeks later she’s back with post-concussive symptoms and cognitive deficits. If the chart shows only one neuro exam at admission and nothing at the mandated four-hour and eight-hour marks, the payer can — and often will — argue the deterioration is unrelated to the original accident. That’s not a hypothetical. It’s a recurring reason for denied coverage on delayed-complication claims. The fix isn’t complicated: nursing staff need a hard-stop alert in the EHR that won’t let a shift close out until reassessment vitals are logged. Boring? Sure. But it’s the difference between a covered claim and a six-month appeal process.
Pain Control, Rehab, and the Handoff Nobody Likes
Standardized pain protocols get criticized for being too rigid, but the good ones build in room for judgment.
Case in point — an elderly pedestrian struck by a vehicle, multiple rib fractures, on a standard opioid-sparing multimodal regimen. Her pain scores stay high because standing orders don’t account for her mild renal impairment limiting NSAID dosing. A pharmacist-led med reconciliation catches it on day two, swaps in a regional nerve block instead. Pain drops, she’s out of bed and doing incentive spirometry within hours, which matters enormously for rib-fracture patients since immobility is what kills them via pneumonia, not the fractures themselves.
Rehab Starts Before Most People Think It Should
Bedside range-of-motion exercises begin within 24-48 hours for stable patients, even those still on monitors
Occupational therapy evaluates ADLs before discharge planning even starts, not after
Home-care coordination happens in parallel with acute treatment, not as an afterthought tacked on at discharge
Family training on wound care and mobility aids is scheduled as its own appointment, not squeezed into a five-minute hallway conversation
The Handoff Gap
Transferring a patient from trauma surgery to rehab medicine is where continuity often quietly breaks. A patient stabilized after a severe pelvic fracture gets handed to a rehab team that receives a summary note but not the granular pain-response history that guided dosing decisions for two weeks. Result? The rehab team restarts trial-and-error pain management, the patient regresses, and family members lose confidence in the process. Structured handoff templates — not free-text notes, but standardized fields covering pain response, mobility status, and psychosocial flags — close that gap. Makes sense, right? The information already exists; it just needs a format that survives the transfer.
What This Means for Frontline Teams
None of this is about adding more paperwork for its own sake. It’s about making sure the protocol that exists on paper actually shapes what happens in the room — because the patients who do best after severe transit trauma aren’t the ones treated by the most brilliant individual clinician. They’re the ones treated by a team that followed the same standard, consistently, from the ambulance bay through the last outpatient rehab appointment.
Author Bio: Sarah Mitchell is a seasoned law copywriter with 10 years of experience in personal injury law and healthcare-related legal content. She specializes in transforming complex legal and medical concepts into clear, practical guidance that helps readers understand their rights, navigate the claims process, and make informed decisions after an injury.
Please also review AIHCP’s Managed Health Care Certification program and CE courses see if it meets your academic and professional goals. These programs are online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a four year certification
Healthcare keeps moving. New treatments arrive. Clinical guidance changes. Familiar therapies gain new uses. Peptides are part of this shift. Nearly 100 peptide medicines have now received approval worldwide. Insulin remains the best-known example. However, peptide therapy now reaches far beyond diabetes. Some medicines support cancer care. Others help manage pain. Peptides also play roles in bone health. They can support rare disease treatment and diagnostic imaging.
Why should healthcare professionals pay attention? Simple. Peptide research may affect prescribing and monitoring. It may also shape administration and patient education. Advanced chemistry training is not required. Still, professionals need a clear understanding of the evidence. In a changing field, continuing education matters. It helps clinicians recognize new benefits, risks, and limitations.
How are peptide medicines used across healthcare?
Peptides are short chains of amino acids. Proteins also contain amino acids. However, proteins are usually larger. They are also more complex.
Many natural peptides act as hormones. Others work as chemical messengers. Therapeutic peptides can copy these natural actions. Some block them. Others change a biological pathway’s response.
Their clinical uses vary widely. Examples include:
Exenatide for type 2 diabetes care
Teriparatide for osteoporosis
Teduglutide for short bowel syndrome
Ziconotide for severe chronic pain
Other medicines serve different specialties. Enfuvirtide blocks HIV-1 entry into cells. Lutetium-177 dotatate targets certain neuroendocrine tumors.
These examples show an important point. Peptide treatment is not limited to one specialty. It can affect medication reviews in many clinical settings.
Healthcare professionals may encounter these medicines during routine care. A nurse may manage administration. A pharmacist may review interactions or storage. A case manager may coordinate follow-up care. Basic peptide knowledge can therefore improve team communication.
How is better design changing peptide drug development?
Peptide research once relied on slower laboratory methods. Modern design has changed that process. Solid-phase peptide synthesis is one major advance. It lets researchers build amino acid chains in sequence. The process is carefully controlled. Robert Bruce Merrifield developed the method while researching peptides. His work later earned the 1984 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
Automation has improved the process further. Modern systems can increase speed. They can also improve accuracy and consistency. Researchers can now screen large peptide libraries. Each library may contain many possible candidates.
Small structural changes can also make a difference. One amino acid change may improve stability. It may also strengthen biological activity. Healthcare professionals can better assess treatment effects by understanding them at a practical level. Cyclization can make a peptide more rigid. Fatty-acid attachment may extend its activity. Liraglutide provides a clear example. It contains a C16 fatty-acid chain. A glutamic acid spacer connects the chain to the peptide. The result is longer activity (Wang et al., 2022).
These modifications affect more than laboratory performance. They may change dosing intervals. They can influence storage needs and treatment adherence. They may also affect how adverse reactions develop. Promising? Yes. Even so, every candidate needs careful clinical testing. Successful molecular design does not guarantee a useful medicine.
How is artificial intelligence changing peptide discovery?
Artificial intelligence can review huge amounts of peptide data. It can compare sequences and structures. It can also assess electrical charges. Possible target interactions can be studied too.
What can that achieve? Faster screening.
Some systems estimate binding strength. Others predict:
Toxicity
Solubility
Stability
Certain models can also create new peptide sequences. These sequences follow selected research goals. This process may help teams reject weaker candidates sooner. It may also reduce early development costs.
However, AI predictions are not clinical proof. Every model depends on its training data. Incomplete data can produce weak results. Biased datasets may create misleading patterns. An algorithm may identify a promising structure. However, it cannot prove that the structure will help patients.
Laboratory testing remains essential. Animal studies may follow. Human trials must then confirm:
Dosing
Safety
Effectiveness
AI can support discovery. It cannot replace evidence. Similar concerns shape the use of AI diagnostic tools across healthcare.
Healthcare professionals should keep this difference clear. Early research can sound impressive. However, it may still be far from clinical use.
Careful interpretation becomes especially important in public media. Patients may confuse computational promise with an available treatment.
Why is peptide delivery still so difficult?
Peptides often break down quickly inside the body. Digestive enzymes may damage them before absorption. Their size can also restrict movement across cell membranes. Electrical charge may create another barrier.
As a result, many peptide medicines still rely on injections (Xiao et al., 2025).
Researchers are studying other routes. Options include:
Nasal systems
Transdermal systems
Oral formulations
Extended-release formulations
Can oral peptide treatment work? Sometimes. Even then, absorption may remain low or inconsistent.
A formulation must protect the peptide during digestion. It must also support movement through the intestinal wall.
These challenges explain an important problem. A promising peptide may still lack a practical delivery method.
Delivery affects several areas of care:
Comfort
Storage
Adherence
Dosing frequency
Staff training
A new formulation may change the entire patient conversation. For example, extended release may reduce dosing frequency. However, it may create new storage needs. It may also require different monitoring.
Healthcare teams need to understand these tradeoffs. Only then can they advise patients clearly.
What are the main benefits and limits of peptide medicines?
Peptides attract attention because they can bind targets precisely. Their structures can also cover larger protein surfaces. Many small-molecule drugs cover smaller areas. That difference may matter clinically. Protein interactions may involve areas between 1,500 and 3,000 square angstroms. Small molecules often cover only 300 to 1,000 square angstroms (Wang et al., 2022).
This larger contact area may help peptides influence difficult protein interactions. Still, precision does not remove every limitation. Some peptides break down quickly. Others cannot cross cell membranes well.
Structural modification may also change their performance. Therefore, treatment benefits must be considered with practical barriers.
Certain products may require:
Refrigeration
Sterile preparation
Injection training
Safety also differs between products. GLP-1 receptor agonists commonly cause gastrointestinal effects.
Ziconotide requires intrathecal administration. It also needs neurological monitoring.
Is there one general peptide safety profile? No. Each product needs its own assessment.
That review should consider:
Its mechanism
Its delivery method
Its clinical evidence
Patient factors matter too. Kidney function may influence decisions. Liver function can also affect care. Other medicines require consideration. The patient’s treatment goals also matter. Healthcare professionals should avoid broad claims about peptide safety. Evidence for one product cannot automatically support another.
How could targeted peptide therapies change future care?
Peptides can help direct treatment toward selected receptors. They may carry:
Medicines
Imaging agents
Radioactive materials
Peptide-drug conjugates use this approach. They combine a targeting peptide with another treatment. Researchers are studying these systems extensively in cancer care. The DCTPep cancer database contained 6,214 peptide-related entries in 2024 (Sun et al., 2024).
Those records covered:
Approved therapies
Clinical candidates
Experimental sequences
Cell-penetrating peptides offer another approach. They may carry drugs into cells.
Some can transport genetic material. Others may carry nanoparticles. However, reliable tissue targeting remains difficult.
Peptides already support diagnosis too. Gallium-68 dotatate can identify certain neuroendocrine tumors. Lutetium-177 dotatate can then target the same receptor system. This pairing may improve patient selection. It may also support more focused treatment. This relationship combines diagnosis and therapy. It can show whether a tumor expresses the relevant receptor. Treatment may then target that same feature. However, these approaches need specialist imaging. They also require careful patient selection and coordinated follow-up.
How can regulatory knowledge protect patients?
Not every peptide product has the same regulatory status. That difference matters.
Investigational products follow another path. They remain within regulated research programs.
Compounded preparations follow separate requirements. However, they do not receive standard FDA premarket approval.
Some products carry the label “research use only.” These products are not approved for patient treatment.
Can online availability prove safety? No. A product may look professional. Yet it may lack dependable clinical evidence.
Healthcare professionals should first identify the exact product. They should also confirm the manufacturer.
Next, they should review:
The intended use
The dose
The regulatory status
Trial evidence deserves equal attention. Important details include:
Study phase
Participant numbers
Follow-up periods
Adverse events
Study endpoints
These decisions involve professional responsibility. Therefore, legal ethics in healthcare remain relevant. They matter when clinicians assess uncertain or unapproved products.
The FDA has highlighted several peptide-specific concerns:
Liver impairment
Drug interactions
QTc prolongation
Immunogenicity
These concerns do not apply equally to every product. However, they show why each therapy needs specific evaluation.
Regulatory awareness helps clinicians avoid unsupported assumptions. It also supports clearer documentation. Informed consent may become safer too (U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 2023).
How can peptide knowledge improve patient conversations?
Patients now encounter peptide claims in many places. Sources include:
Clinics
Social media
Product websites
Online sellers
Some promotions use appealing terms:
“Recovery”
“Wellness”
“Healthy aging”
These phrases may sound reassuring. However, they do not prove safety or effectiveness. Healthcare professionals need enough detail to explain the difference. Semaglutide has approved indications. It also has standardized formulations. Clinical trial data support its regulated uses.
A research chemical bought online may offer none of those protections.
Medication reviews should include:
Injections
Compounded products
Online purchases
Clinicians should record:
The product name
The dose
The source
The patient’s treatment goal
In practice, careful medication planning for patients can reveal duplication. It can also identify unsafe combinations or unclear goals.
Teams should watch for duplicate therapies. Similar products may affect the same receptors.
Clear communication can reduce confusion. It may improve monitoring. It can also prevent avoidable harm. Professionals should explain what is known. They should also explain what remains uncertain. Product quality matters too. This approach respects patient interest. It does not validate unsupported claims. These conversations may involve several healthcare roles. Pharmacists can review formulations and interactions. Nurses may identify administration problems. Case managers may notice access or adherence barriers. Shared information helps the entire team respond consistently.
Why does staying current matter for responsible care?
Peptide medicines already influence many areas of healthcare. They support diabetes treatment. They also help with cancer imaging. Some products support pain management. Others address bone loss or rare diseases. Meanwhile, the field keeps expanding. New delivery systems are emerging. AI tools are supporting discovery. Targeted therapies are also becoming more advanced. Understanding advances in peptide science supports stronger clinical judgment. It helps professionals interpret new evidence. It also helps them avoid overstating findings. Current knowledge supports safer monitoring. It also leads to clearer patient conversations.
Author bio
Daniel Carter is a health and science writer. He covers clinical research, medical innovation, and patient education. His work makes complex healthcare topics clear for professional audiences. Outside of writing, Daniel enjoys hiking, reading history, and cooking for family and friends.
References
American Institute of Health Care Professionals. (2024, March 14). Case manager’s role in medication planning for patients. https://aihcp.net/2024/03/14/case-managers-role-in-medication-planning-for-patients/
American Institute of Health Care Professionals. (2025, January 10). The role of legal ethics in healthcare. https://aihcp.net/2025/01/10/the-role-of-legal-ethics-in-healthcare/
American Institute of Health Care Professionals. (2025, February 25). Lifelong learning in healthcare: Why continuing education matters. https://aihcp.net/2025/02/25/lifelong-learning-in-healthcare-why-continuing-education-matters/
American Institute of Health Care Professionals. (2025, July 1). Emerging trends in AI diagnostic tools shaping the future of accessible healthcare. https://aihcp.net/2025/07/01/emerging-trends-in-ai-diagnostic-tools-shaping-the-future-of-accessible-healthcare/
Sun, X., Liu, Y., Ma, T., Zhu, N., Lao, X., et al. (2024). DCTPep, the data of cancer therapy peptides. Scientific Data, 11, Article 541. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-024-03388-9
U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (2023, December). Clinical pharmacology considerations for peptide drug products: Draft guidance for industry. https://www.fda.gov/regulatory-information/search-fda-guidance-documents/clinical-pharmacology-considerations-peptide-drug-products
Wang, L., Wang, N., Zhang, W., Cheng, X., Yan, Z., Shao, G., Wang, X., Wang, R., & Fu, C. (2022). Therapeutic peptides: Current applications and future directions. Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy, 7, Article 48. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41392-022-00904-4
Xiao, W., Jiang, W., Chen, Z., Huang, Y., Mao, J., Zheng, W., Hu, Y., & Shi, J. (2025). Advance in peptide-based drug development: Delivery platforms, therapeutics and vaccines. Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy, 10, Article 74. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41392-024-02107-5
Please also review AIHCP’s Case Management Certification program and our CE courses as well, to see if they meet your academic and professional goals. These programs are online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a four year certification
Addiction is a powerful thing. Addiction is a habitual need to keep doing something despite negative outcomes for the taste of a positive reinforcer. Ironically addiction can be almost anything in excess in life. It can pertain to an action, such as gambling, gaming, or even sex and sexual acts. Usually addiction is correlated with substances, food, or drugs. In this blog, we will focus on substance abuse disorders and eating disorders described in the DSM-V-TR and review diagnosis and etiology of these disorders.
Substance abuse is a big problem affecting millions of people. Please also review AIHCP’s Substance Abuse Practitioner Program
Substance use is the involvement and partaking of a particular substance. Substance use within itself does not entail a disorder. It can lead to a dangerous outcome or a lesson learned due to a onetime DUI or fine, or severe hangover to never be repeated. In this case, substance abuse occurred, but a disorder was not existent (Barlow, et al., 2023). Substance abuse is usually associated with substance intoxication in which the levels of the substance exceed safe and social norms of it. Obviously some substances within moderation are legal, while other substances are illegal even in moderation. Unfortunately, substance abuse even once can be a life altering choice when it harms oneself or others.
Substance Abuse Disorders
The DSM-V-TR lists 10 separate classes of substances and drugs with subcategories. Within these categories include, alcohol, caffeine, cannabis, hallucinogens, inhalants, opioids, sedatives, hypnotics, stimulants and tobacco (2022). In addition the disorders include the behavioral and psychological craving of the substance, intoxication of the substance and the withdraw of the substance (DSM-V-TR, 2022).
Addiction in general to these substances involves a general and universal footprint that transects the various substances. Within this general diagnostic criteria, the DSM-V-TR lays out these guidelines for a Substance Abuse Disorder
A. A problematic pattern that leads to significant impairment with at least 2 of the following occurring within a 12 month period.
substance is ingested in larger amounts that intended
unsuccessful efforts to control or limit intake
great deal of time and energy to obtain substance
cravings or strong desires or urges to use substance
recurrent uses of substance resulting in failure to fulfill obligations at home, work or school
continued use despite negative personal, legal and social issues
reduction of occupational or recreational activities in place of substance use
recurrent use in hazardous situations
continued use of substance despite knowledge of the physical and physiological problem
presence of tolerance
presence of withdrawal
The disorder can be specified as mild if 2 or 3 symptoms are present, moderate if 4 to 5 symptoms and severe if 6 or more symptoms present (DSM-V-T, 2022).
This presents the basic blueprint for all addiction with substances. Intoxication or withdrawal differ from substance to substance. For purposes of brevity, we will just review a few substances and encourage those with particular interests to review particular substances in the DSM-V-TR.
Alcohol Intoxication
With recent ingestion of alcohol (depressant), clinical problematic behavioral and psychological changes include inappropriate sexual or aggressive behavior, mood lability, and impaired judgement. Physical symptoms include one or more of the following, slurred speech, incoordination, unsteady gait, nystagmus, poor attention and poor memory, and stupor or coma (DSM-V-TR).
Alcohol Withdrawal
Alcohol addiction is very common and can exist at numerous levels
Two or more of the following issues develop after cessation of heavy and prolonged drinking. Autonomic hyperactivity, hand tremor, insomnia, nausea or vomiting, transient visual, tactile or auditory illusions, psychomotor agitation, anxiety and generalized tonic-clonic seizures (DSM-V-TR, 2022).
Cannabis Intoxication
With recent ingestion of cannabis, clinical problematic behavioral and psychological changes include impaired motor coordination, euphoria, anxiety, sensation of slowed time, impaired judgement, and social withdrawal. Two or more of the following symptoms can manifest including conjunctival injection, increased appetite, dry mouth and tachycardia (DSM-V-TR, 2022)
Cannabis Withdrawal
Three or more of the following issues develop after 1 week of heavy or prolonged use of cannabis. They can include irritability, anger or aggression, nervousness or anxiety, sleep difficulty, decreased appetite, restlessness, depressed mood, or at least one physical symptom of abdominal pain, tremors, sweating, fever, chills or headaches (DSM-V-TR, 2022).
Opioid Intoxication
Common Opioids- Heroin, hydrocodone, oxycodone, fentanyl (Barlow, et al, 2022)
With recent ingestion of opioids, clinical problematic behavioral and psychological changes include initial euphoria followed by apathy, dysphoria, psychomotor agitation, retardation and impaired judgement. Pupillary restriction can occur. In addition drowsiness, or coma, slurred speech and impairment to attention and memory (DSM-V-TR, 2022).
Opioid Withdrawal
Three or more of the following issues develop after cessation of heavy or prolonged opioid use. These include dysphoric mood, nausea or vomiting, muscle aches, lacrimation or rhinorrhea (tears or runny nose), pupillary dilation, sweating, diarrhea, yawning, fever or insomnia (DSM-V-TR, 2022).
Stimulant Intoxication
Common Stimulants- Amphetamines ( crystalized-Methamphetamine), (Adderral), Cocaine (Crack in crystal form) (Barlow, et al, 2022)
With recent ingestion of stimulants, clinical behavioral and psychological include euphoria or affective blunting, changes in sociability, hypervigilance, interpersonal sensitivity, anxiety, tension, anger, and impaired judgment. Two or more symptoms include tachycardia or bradycardia, pupillary dilation, elevated or lowered blood pressure, nausea or vomiting, weight loss, psycho motor agitation, muscular weakness, respiratory depression, chest pain, confusion, seizures or coma (DSM-V-TR, 2022).
Stimulant Withdrawl
Two or more of the following issues develop after cessation or reduction of prolonged amphetamine use that include fatigue, vivid and unpleasant dreams, insomnia or hypersomnia, increased appetite, and psychomotor retardation or agitation (DSM-V-TR, 2022).
Tobacco Withdrawal
Tobacco withdrawal can occur after daily use for at least several weeks and with abrupt cessation include irritability, frustration or anger, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, increased appetite, restlessness, depressed mood and insomnia (DSM-V-TR, 2022).
Hallucinogen Intoxication
Common Hallucinogen- Phencyclidine or Angel Dust, LCD or Acid (Barlow, et al., 2023).
With recent ingestion of hallucinogens clinical behavioral and psychological changes include belligerence, impulsiveness, unpredictability, psychomotor agitation, and impaired judgement. Symptoms include two or more of the following within an hour such as vertical or horizontal nystagmus, hypertension, numbness, ataxia (Uncoordinated motor movement, dysarthria (impaired speech), muscle rigidity, seizures or coma, hyperacusis (hearing). (DSM-V-TR, 2022).
Eating Disorders
Eating disorders stem from anxiety, body dysmorphia, depression and low self esteem and sometimes even control
Substance misuse can also include how one eats and what one consumes. In ways, it can become a impulse and compulsion as well due to anxiety, or poor self concept that leads individuals to eat certain ways or binge eat, or to starve oneself or attempt to control one’s weight through purging. These disorders are very dangerous to overall nutrition and health but also have deep psychological issues. Among the numerous eating disorders listed by the DSM-V-TR, there are Pica or the eating of nonnutritive or nonfood substances, rumination disorders, binge eating, as well as the most common Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa disorders. These disorders usually are tied to control issues, anxiety, low-self esteem, and body dysmorphia (Barlow, et al. 2022).
In regards to the BSM-V-TR, Anorexia Nervosa meets these diagnostic criteria
A. Restriction of energy intake leading to significant body weight loss.
B. Intense fear of gaining weight or becoming fat and behavior that interferes with weight gain
C. Lack of recognition of the severe loss of weight.
Specifiers include restrictive type in which one has not binge ate or purged within the last 3 months but has severely dieted, exercised or fasted. The second specifier is binge-eating/purging type in which the person within the last 3 months has self induced vomiting or utilized laxatives, diuretics or enemas (DSM-V-TR, 2022). Based on one’s weight loss determines mild, moderate, severe or extreme.
Bulimia Nervosa
The DSM-V-TR points out that diagnosis of Bulimia does not occur exclusively during episodes of anorexia nervosa. In addition, many individuals with bulimia do are average weight and do not appear thin or weakly (Barlow, et al., 2022). The DSM-V-TR lists these criteria:
A. Recurrent episodes of binge eating which include eating within a certain 2 hour period of time of an amount of food that is larger than most individuals would eat and a sense of lack of control during that period
B. Recurrent and inappropriate measures to prevent weight gain through self-induced vomiting, laxatives, diuretics or other medications and excessive measures.
C. These behavior occur at least on average at least once a week for a three month period
D. Self evaluation of the body is unduly founded regarding shape and weight
Specifiers can include mild, moderate, severe or extreme (DSM-V-TR, 2022).
Binge Eating
Binge eating leads to guilt and disgust
Binge eating is recurrent episodes of eating large quantities of food to find some type of reduction of anxiety or comfort. These recurrent binges are defined by the DSM-V-TR within the following parameters.
A. Eating in a discrete period of time within a 2 hour period of an amount of food larger than what would be consider appropriate with a sense of lack of control.
B. The binge eating is associated with three or more of the following feelings
eating more rapid than normal
eating until uncomfortably full
eating large amounts when not hungry
eating alone because embarrassed for others to see the amount consumed
feeling disgusted, depressed and guilty with oneself after consuming the meal
C. Marked distress regarding binge eating is present
D. The binge eating occurs once a week for three months
E. The binge eating is not associating with Bulimia or Anorexia
The specifiers include mild, moderate, severe and extreme (DSM-V-TR, 2022)
The Problem and Etiology of Addiction
Addiction is not only psychological and behavioral but also genetically and biologically based. Please also review AIHCP’s Substance Abuse Practitioner Certification
Addiction looks for quick fixes. It looks for pleasure in place of happiness. The dopamine high is sought at the expense of the serotonin stability of life. Many are looking to escape life’s problems and maladaptively cope via escapism. This coincides also with more than stressors and problems but also comorbidity with other mental disorders such as depression and anxiety (McRay, et al., 2016). In addition, addiction is many times tied to impulse control disorders as well (Barlow, et. al, 2023).
In addition, the activation of genetic and biological markers are passed down from generation to generation. Individuals can face more than merely a psychological and mental addiction but also develop a physical addiction and disease. Obviously some substances are more objectively addictive, but for some, genetic predispositions play a key role in whether someone can become addicted to a certain substance (Barlow, et al., 2023).
One reality is addiction is not always about substances, albeit the DSM-V-TR only lists gambling as a disorder, but addiction can take the form of many things if one considers actions to be repeated for purpose of positive reinforcement but with negative consequences. All three qualities must be present for an addiction. Hence, one can include activities that exceed moderation and in some way become harmful. This could include gaming, pornography, or any type of obsession that takes away from quality of life. Balance and temperance are key factors in maintaining healthy outlooks on things we do in life.
Addiction Treatment
Addiction treatment depends on a person’s willingness and the level of addiction itself. For many it is a life long cross that involves will power, peer support, avoidance of the substance and its occasions, as well as developing better coping strategies for stressors, as well as anxiety and depression. For some, it also involves finding deeper meaning in life and finding a spiritual anchor. AA utilizes a spiritual based plan that holds one accountable to a higher power (Barlow, et al., 2023).
Depending on the depth of the disorder also plays a large role. Abuse of a substance is different than a disorder itself. Disorders can be mild, moderate or severe and the level of chemical dependency is subjective upon individuals. Also, the nature of the substance plays a large. Substances such as nicotine and opiates are far more addictive than other substances. Some individuals may require medical treatment during the detox phase and require in patient care at a addiction facility. Others may require gradual reduction and doses to avoid withdrawal under medical guidance. Others with less severe conditions may just need intensive out patient care and psychoeducation, but others may require more peer support, as well as psychotherapy that includes CBT, motivational interviewing or even contingency management (rewards for sobriety). Others may require medications to curb cravings (Naltrexone for drinking) or even cause nausea or discomfort in drinking (Disulfiram)
AA and the emphasis on spiritual meaning and finding something more than addiction is possible. Many spiritual traditions see addiction as more than merely a physiological problem but also a spiritual one that involves bad sinful habits and sometimes even forms of spiritual oppression. The practice of virtue over vice is essential in creating a healthy spiritual balance. The virtue of temperance is key in implementing a long term solution against the vice of immoderation and addiction. Understanding addiction in all its forms, just not substances, is an important aspect of spirituality and finding a healthy spiritual life.
Conclusion
Whether addiction is a substance or a practice, it involves maladaptive coping to face life and issues. It involves a habitual need to engage or indulge oneself in something that has negative consequences for the small price of brief positive reinforcers. For some addiction is mental and behavioral, but for others it can be inherited and activated. It is important to never allow something to become so powerful over oneself as to destroy everything in one’s life. Addiction is not fast, it is insidious and slowly seduces and entraps the victim but individuals can escape it with a strong will and peer support. Finding meaning in something greater than oneself is key to overcoming habitual vice and addiction.
Dopamine and Serotonin in Addiction Process: Access here
References
American Psychiatric Association. (2022). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorder” DSM-5-TR (5th ed., text revision). American Psychiatric Association Publishing.
Barlow, D.H., Durand, V.M., & Hofmann, S.G. (2023). Psychopathology. An integrative approach to mental disorder (9th ed.). Cengage Learning
McRay, B.W., Yarhouse, M.A., Butman, R.E., & Kiple, C. (2016). Modern psychopathologies: A comprehensive Christian appraisal. (2nd, ed.) IVP Academic
Additional Resources
Addiction and Substance Abuse Disorders. APA. Access here
Telehealth has totally changed the nature of care delivery. Now, many seriously ill patients can receive much of the care they need without ever entering the four walls of a hospital.
This model, known as remote palliative care, uses video calls, phone check-ins, and monitoring devices to deliver care planning straight into a patient’s living room. And nurses are a key part of it.
Nurses easily build trust with patients and their families. They’re also quite skilled at picking up on subtle changes.
These skills are vital in remote care. A 2025 review in the Journal of Medical Internet Research puts it succinctly: nurse-delivered telehealth boosts palliative care access and cuts unplanned hospitalizations a lot. That’s how effective nurses’ role is in remote care.
So, what exactly is the nurse’s role in remote palliative care, and how does it improve outcomes? Let’s discuss.
Why Remote Palliative Care Is Growing
Remote palliative care is growing for many key reasons. One of the biggest is age. The population is growing old at a fast rate, and a lot of these older adults live with a myriad of health challenges, including heart failure, COPD, and cancer.
Some of these people may not be able to go to the hospital often, and so need long-term, home-based support. Another key driver of remote palliative care is the increasing popularity of telehealth. What was a workaround for the pandemic is now something patients genuinely expect.
New data from the American Medical Association shows that telehealth use has more than doubled since pre-pandemic times. In fact, as of 2024, 71.4% of medical practitioners use it in their practice. For context, telehealth use in 2018 was just 25.1%.
Don’t get this wrong. Remote palliative care is now the norm, yes, but it isn’t meant to totally replace in-person visits. The goal is to extend specialist care to those who, without it, won’t have access to the care they need because of very poor health or location.
The Responsibilities of Nurses in Remote Palliative Care
Let’s now take a closer look at what nurses actually do in remote palliative care.
Conducting Virtual Patient Assessments
Virtual patient assessments are structured video check-ins where clinicians evaluate a patient’s overall physical and mental state.
You’d think that assessing someone through video is easy. It isn’t. Doctors who see up to five patients per hour may not have time for lengthy assessments. Nurses, while just as busy, often have more opportunities to monitor patients closely.
They evaluate the patient by asking targeted questions. They also monitor changes in how they describe their symptoms and watch for non-verbal cues. Even without physical touch, a skilled nurse can spot changes over a screen.
Managing Symptoms Between Physician Visits
Between scheduled appointments, nurses are often the first to hear, “Something feels off.” That’s because they regularly check in on patients remotely between doctor’s visits. Sometimes it’s via video.
Sometimes, it’s just a phone call. And because of these frequent check-ins, it’s a lot easier to catch worsening symptoms before they turn into emergencies.
Maybe a patient’s pain medication isn’t working, for example. This information often comes up during a remote consultation. The nurse can then relay these concerns to the physician who’ll decide which medication to increase, which to reduce, or which to put on hold until the next physical examination.
Coordinating Care Across Multiple Providers
Nurses often act as the central hub of communication between every professional involved in a patient’s treatment. The goal is to make sure everyone is working toward the same long-term goals.
In larger health systems, this may also involve partnering with experienced chronic care management companies. These are licensed companies that help clinicians monitor patients and coordinate ongoing care remotely, making it possible for healthcare teams to serve more patients.
This approach makes logistical sense. There’s only so much a hospital’s digital health center can handle, especially when caring for growing numbers of older adults living with complex chronic illnesses.
Some of these services reduce cardiac hospitalization rates by 50%, according to data from CoachCare.
Providing Emotional Support
Emotional support is a key part of nurses’ role in remote palliative care. To provide this support, nurses listen deeply to patients and their loved ones, offering reassurance and compassionate guidance as they navigate everyday health challenges.
It is incredibly heavy work. We already know that the demand for end-of-life care is rising rapidly. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development says the number of people needing this care will likely reach 10 million by 2050.
Nurses help families work through planning this process, especially those difficult conversations about what kind of care someone wants if things get worse. They also help families understand treatment goals so everyone is on the same page.
It might be heavy work, but it’s also one of the biggest help nurses can give patients and their families.
Technology Helping Nurses Deliver Better Remote Care
None of this works without the right tools. Video equipment, remote monitoring devices, mobile health apps, secure messaging, and EHRs all give nurses a fuller picture of how a patient is doing between visits.
Some of these tools are now powered by AI and machine learning. In fact, there are AI-powered daily symptom check-ins that get automatically risk-scored, so the care team can step in quickly when something looks off.
According to a peer-reviewed publication in JMIR, “These symptom checkers prompt clinicians to consider diagnoses that may not be immediately apparent, thereby improving the overall diagnostic process.”
Technologies and tools like these are especially useful for chronic care management, which can’t happen without ongoing monitoring and frequent communication.
But it’s important to remember that they are there to support clinical instinct, not replace it. A nurse or some other clinician still has to interpret what the data is actually saying.
Challenges Nurses Face in Remote Palliative Care
Let’s be honest, remote palliative care comes with real challenges. Here are some of the top recurring ones:
Some patients lack reliable internet or struggle with video visits.
Digital literacy varies, and not many patients know how to use telehealth tools.
Some clinical signs can’t be assessed remotely.
Supporting seriously ill patients can contribute to burnout, which currently affects 11.23% of nurses worldwide.
Regulatory challenges can be a problem, especially when the patient is in another state.
Of course, a lot of these problems can be managed. This includes better training for patients, caregivers, and clinicians. But more importantly, it means more support for nurses’ mental health.
FAQs
What is remote palliative care?
Remote palliative care uses telehealth tools to provide healthcare support for the seriously ill at home. While this approach does a good job of reducing the need for in-person visits, it doesn’t eliminate them.
What role do nurses play in remote palliative care?
Nurses play key roles in remote palliative care. They handle patient assessments, symptom monitoring, medication management, and care coordination. They also educate and provide emotional support to patients and families.
Can remote palliative care replace in-person visits?
Not entirely. While remote palliative care complements face-to-face care, patients still have to go to the hospital for physical exams and during emergencies.
Nurses in Remote Palliative Care: Key Stats
The following key points highlight the palliative landscape and the key role nurses play in it.
Details
Statistics
Number of practitioners using telehealth in 2024
71.4%
Telehealth adoption growth between 2018 and 2024
25.1% — 71.4%
The number of people that’ll need end-of-life care by 2050
10 million (OECD)
The total number of nurses affected by burnout worldwide
11.23%
Final Words
As you’ve seen throughout this guide, in the world of remote palliative care, nurses aren’t just clinical helpers.
They play very important roles that might otherwise remain unmet without them. And if the current trend is anything to go by, these roles will only keep on expanding. Nurses will remain increasingly vital to remote care as the population gets older and technology improves.
Author Bio
Agwalogu Bob believes great content doesn’t just inform; it resonates and then sticks. For over eight years, he’s been helping agencies across four continents craft just that kind of content: sharp, engaging cut-through-the-noise copy across SaaS, finance, tech, health, and lifestyle.
When he’s not putting pen to paper, you’ll likely find him scouring the internet for funny memes.
Osteoporosis is often called a “silent disease.” It’s called that because it can progress from one stage to the next without any noticeable symptoms. For older adults, it typically affects; however, the consequences are anything but silent.
For years, the treatment has always followed a fairly predictable path. Patients are encouraged to take calcium and vitamin D, stay active, or may be given an oral bisphosphonate. Those recommendations still work. But advances in healthcare mean that there are now different osteoporosis medications and therapies, which can be tailored to each patient.
This couldn’t come at a better time. As the population ages, the number of fragility fractures also rises. It is actually one of the biggest challenges facing geriatric care today. In fact, a 2025 BMJ study reveals that more than 10 million Americans over age 50 have osteoporosis. Another 43.4 million have low bone mass, and so are at a high risk of it.
This article discusses these leading treatment options, including some of the key factors that should guide your next prescribing decision.
The Growing Clinical Challenge in Older Adults
As we said earlier, osteoporosis is possibly one of the most common problems in geriatric care. Nearly 1 in 5 women over 50 have it, compared with about 1 in 25 men. This number climbs to 27.1% and 5.1% for women and men, respectively, after 65 years. That’s how common it is.
And the clinical stakes can be quite high. A hip fracture, the most devastating complication, comes with a 20% to 25% chance of being fatal within the first year. And it can rob people of their independence, leading to reduced mobility and a significant decline in quality of life, while at it.
Many clinicians have seen it happen: a patient goes from living independently to needing full-time care after a fall. And that’s just the health and personal impact. The economic toll is also staggering, with estimated direct costs in the USA alone reaching around $25.3 billion in 2025. The figures may have changed today, but the overall picture is the same.
Because fracture prevention is really the whole point of treatment, choosing the right therapy for the right patient is one of the most important clinical decisions you’ll have to make in cases like these.
Understanding Modern Osteoporosis Treatment
Modern osteoporosis treatment begins with fracture prevention, which can only happen when you match the right medication to the right patient.
A few years ago, you would simply prescribe the same drug for everyone with low bone density. Not anymore. The preferred approach now is to treat patients based on their fracture risk and potential health benefits.
Doing this involves two major categories:
Antiresorptive therapies. These are medications that slow bone breakdown by reducing osteoclast activity. Examples include bisphosphonates, Prolia (denosumab), and Reclast (zoledronic acid). These medications work by preserving existing bone and reducing future fracture risk.
Anabolic therapies. These are bone-building medications. Instead of slowing breakdown, they actively stimulate new bone formation. Examples include Evenity (romosozumab), as well as the teriparatide and abaloparatide families of drugs.
So, how do you choose between antiresorptive therapy and anabolic therapy? Definitely not by considering bone mineral density alone.
You have to evaluate:
Their fracture risk
Bone mineral density (BMD)
History of previous fractures
Kidney function
Their ability to adhere to treatment
Let’s not forget the elephant in the room. It is the cost and insurance considerations, which play a huge role in patient adherence.
Take antiresorptive therapies, for example. They’re a great fit for patients with a moderate to high fracture risk, which is why they’re so common among older adults. The problem is that out-of-pocket costs can be really high, and your patients may want to know if the treatments are covered by insurance. The short answer is yes.
Coverage of part of the Prolia cost with Medicare, for example, only happens under Part B when given in a clinic, and under Part D. That’s the rule, and even so, coverage isn’t automatic.
Documented medical necessity is needed to qualify for coverage, according to LIFE143. This means that you, as a doctor, must confirm that the patient has osteoporosis or is at high risk for fractures. You may also have to confirm that oral treatment failed or that the patient showed side effects of oral therapy. This confirmation ensures that Medicare processes the claims without delays or denials.
Comparing Today’s Leading Osteoporosis Medications
The biggest advance in osteoporosis treatment for older adults isn’t just in the arrival of new drugs and therapies.
It’s also the fact that doctors can now tailor treatments to the patients. No more using the same one-size-fits-all approach for someone with mild osteopenia as for an 82-year-old who recently sustained a hip fracture.
In the table below, we’ll summarize some of today’s leading therapies and the key considerations for each.
Medication
Drug Class
Typical Candidates
Key Advantages
Limitations
Prolia (denosumab)
RANKL inhibitor (antiresorptive)
High fracture risk. Intolerant to oral meds.
Twice-yearly shot. No renal dosing.
Must continue treatment. Costly. Long-term data limited.
GI upset. Strict schedule. Poor adherence. Avoid in severe renal disease.
Reclast (zoledronic acid)
Antiresorptive
Prefers yearly IV. Can’t tolerate oral.
Yearly infusion. No GI issues. Extensive data.
Flu-like symptoms post-infusion. Needs IV access. Avoid in severe renal disease.
Evenity (romosozumab)
Anabolic (dual-action)
Very high fracture risk.
Rapid BMD gains. Builds bone and cuts breakdown.
12-month limit. Expensive. Assess cardiovascular risk before prescribing.
Choosing the Right Therapy for Different Patient Profiles
The table above summarizes some of the top medications for osteoporosis today. The question now is: How do you pick?
Simple, really. For a patient with moderate risk, a generic bisphosphonate is usually a solid, cost-effective starting point. But if you have a patient with a prior vertebral or hip fracture, you need to think bigger and potentially start with an anabolic agent. Expert opinion is actually shifting from a “step-up” approach to a “top-down” one for these high-risk individuals. This means initiating therapy with a potent anabolic agent for rapid protection.
But beyond the clinical problem, you also have to think about the person. This means looking at their life expectancy, functional status, and personal goals, not just their T-score. Following this approach, if a patient has renal impairment and can’t take oral bisphosphonates, Prolia becomes an obvious choice.
At the end of the day, the best medication to choose is the one the patient will actually take. Adherence is everything.
Emerging Trends in Osteoporosis Management
Osteoporosis management has moved from vitamin D and calcium to antiresorptive and anabolic therapy, but that doesn’t mean it’s not going to evolve further, because it is.
A good example is the research into sequential therapy, which is gaining steam. In a study published in Osteoporosis International, researchers found that sequencing treatments works. The combination of a bisphosphonate followed by romosozumab boosted spine bone density by over 10%. Romosozumab followed by denosumab (Prolia) also delivered solid gains, with spine BMD increasing by 4%.
Research is also looking at repurposing existing drugs, like with the antihistamine fexofenadine, which is showing great promise in promoting bone formation.
But over and above all of this, we’re moving towards increasingly personalized treatment plans. Dr. Gianina Flocco, a resident at the Cleveland Clinic, said at ENDO 2025, “The results of our study support the need to enhance the individualized initiation of treatment of osteoporosis, even in people who are older than 80.”
FAQs
What’s the main difference between antiresorptive and anabolic osteoporosis drugs?
The difference between antiresorptive drugs and anabolic drugs is in how they work. Anabolic drugs like romosozumab actively stimulate new bone formation, while antiresorptive drugs like Prolia slow down bone breakdown.
Is Prolia safe for patients with kidney disease?
Yes, it is. Prolia doesn’t require renal dose adjustment, which is why it’s common to recommend it for patients with reduced kidney function. However, even though it’s a twice-yearly shot, any benefits disappear rapidly if a dose is missed.
Does Medicare cover osteoporosis medications?
The short answer is yes. However, Medicare coverage is based on how the drug is administered. Part B means that it has to be administered in a clinical setting. Part D means it has to be administered as a prescription. Even then, the patient has to prove that the treatment is a medical necessity.
Final Words
Osteoporosis treatment has come a long way, and you can see just how far in this guide. With the antiresorptive and anabolic therapies now available across multiple drug classes, we now have more opportunities to give older adults a second chance at independence. The key is knowing how to match the right agent and the right sequence to the right patient.
Author Bio
Agwalogu Bob believes great content doesn’t just inform; it resonates and then sticks. For over eight years, he’s been helping agencies across four continents craft just that kind of content: sharp, engaging cut-through-the-noise copy across SaaS, finance, tech, health, and lifestyle.
When he’s not putting pen to paper, you’ll likely find him scouring the internet for funny memes.
Connect with him on LinkedIn or Medium.
Please also review AIHCP’s Certification program and CE courses see if it meets your academic and professional goals. These programs are online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a four year certification
Falls are one of the biggest challenges in geriatric care. Today, a patient is independent, walking about and doing fine. A week later, they’re in the hospital with a fracture and a long road ahead.
The problem? Not every senior who falls gets away with just a hospital stay. Some can be fatal. In fact, the CDC reports that more than 78% of falls among 100,000 older adults in 2024 ended up fatal. That’s roughly 11,000 fall-related deaths out of the 14 million falls every year.
Thankfully, most falls are preventable once you know what to look for. That’s what this guide is for. Read on as we walk through practical strategies for fall prevention that clinicians can use to help older adults stay active, independent, and safer for longer.
Why Are Older Adults at Greater Risk of Falls?
Older adults usually fall as a result of vulnerabilities like muscle loss, slower reflexes, and a less reliable sense of balance, lining up at the wrong moment.
Add in the illnesses that become more common as people age, and you’ll begin to understand how walking can become difficult as people get older.
Let’s also not forget commonplace hazards like poor lighting, loose rugs, uneven flooring, and clutter.
The CDC’s 2026 “Facts About Falls” clearly emphasized that falls rarely have a single cause. The more of these risk factors a person has, the higher their risk of falling.
Identifying Patients at High Risk of Falls
Good fall prevention starts with catching fall risk factors on time before they become injuries.
How can you do this? By starting every appointment with a simple question: “Have you fallen in the past year?” A past fall is the single best predictor of future falls.
But that’s not all. A thorough fall risk assessment will also include:
Gait and mobility observation
Balance testing
A full medication review
Functional status and activities of daily living
Vision screening
A foot exam
Home safety questions, when relevant
You should also use standardized tools like the Timed Up and Go (TUG) Test or the Morse Fall Scale to complement your clinical judgment.
According to Very well Health, a TUG of 13.5 seconds or more means that your patient has a higher risk of falling. A TUG of 10 seconds or less is normal.
Evidence-Based Strategies to Reduce the Risk of Fall Among Older Adults
Let’s now look at some evidence-based strategies for reducing falls among older adults.
Encourage Safe Mobility
Safe mobility means helping patients move confidently using physical therapy, strength building, and the right assistive devices.
You can get them started in the right direction by suggesting exercises like sit-to-stands, standing on one leg, or heel-to-toe walking.
If your patient is frail or has significant mobility challenges, then refer them to a physical therapist while you address any underlying clinical issues. The PT can develop a safe and effective individualized exercise program for the patient.
Optimize Foot Health
Optimizing foot health starts with identifying problems early and treating them appropriately.
Unfortunately, many clinicians often overlook this area. But it’s very important because even a routine foot assessment during a geriatric visit can expose issues that can alter a patient’s gait and increase their fall risk.
Probably the simplest intervention is recommending appropriate footwear. Discourage worn-out slippers, high heels, or shoes with poor support.
For patients with abnormalities, flat feet, or gait instability, you may also consider custom orthotics.
According to Oak Bay Family Chiropractic, this tech is designed to address the underlying biomechanical causes of foot problems rather than simply cushioning symptoms.
Of course, orthotics aren’t a cure-all. But for the right patient, they can improve foot alignment, reduce discomfort, and promote a more stable gait.
Review Medications Regularly
Certain drug classes, including sedatives, anticholinergics, loop diuretics, and medications that can cause orthostatic hypotension, deserve extra scrutiny in older adults because they may increase the risk of falls.
Review medications regularly and deprescribe those that are no longer necessary whenever it’s clinically appropriate. In some cases, discontinuing a single unnecessary sedative may be enough to prevent a serious fall or fracture.
Reduce Environmental Hazards
Sometimes the biggest improvement comes from reducing hazards in and around the home.
This makes sense when you realize that up to 50% of adult falls are caused by environmental factors. In fact, up to 60% of falls occur inside the home, often because of clutter or other preventable hazards.
Think about how your patient can make their home less of a fall risk. Focus on:
Lighting: Ensure hallways, staircases, and entryways are well lit.
Bathroom safety: Install grab bars inside and outside the shower or bathtub.
Trip hazards: Secure loose rugs, organize electrical cords, and keep walkways free of clutter.
These conversations are especially valuable before hospital discharge, when patients are transitioning back to environments that clinicians may never see firsthand.
Educating Patients and Caregivers
Patient education means giving older adults and their families the practical knowledge they need to reduce fall risks while maintaining independence.
Provide caregivers with simple checklists covering home safety, footwear choices, physical activity, and chronic disease management. Encourage regular vision and hearing exams, and remind patients to report new balance problems, dizziness, or changes in the way they walk.
As a healthcare informatics professional and Doctor of Pharmacy, Dr. Vaishnavi Gudupalli recently wrote on LinkedIn, “Educating patients and their families about fall risks and prevention strategies empowers them to actively participate in their own care.”
As you can see, preventing falls is not the job for clinicians alone. It’s a problem that requires a team. This means doctors, nurses, physical therapists, podiatrists, chiropractors, and even caregivers.
This coordinated approach isn’t simply good practice. The European Geriatrics Society emphasizes comprehensive, multidisciplinary assessment and individualized intervention for dealing with geriatric safety.
FAQs
What are the most common causes of falls in older adults?
The causes of falls in older adults are wide and varied. Top on the list are muscle weakness, mobility problems, chronic diseases, and the side effects of certain medications. Vision issues and environmental hazards are also risk factors.
How can healthcare professionals identify patients with a higher risk of falling?
Healthcare professionals can identify patients who have a higher risk of falls by looking at their recent history, including past falls. But don’t rely on this alone. Use screening tools to support your clinical findings.
How does foot health affect fall risk in older adults?
Foot pain, deformities, or even a simple injury can reduce sensations and affect a person’s balance. This can lead to falls and injuries. Routine foot exams can catch this risk on time for proper intervention.
Preventing Falls in Older Adults: Key Points
Area
Main Takeaway
Identifying High-Risk Patients
Falls usually result from multiple factors. Screen for past falls, medications, and foot problems to identify the patients who might be at risk.
Promoting Safe Mobility
Encourage patients to do strength and balance exercises. Also refer to physical therapy when needed.
Optimizing Foot Health
Perform routine foot exams, and if there’s a need to, recommend custom orthotics for appropriate patients.
Reviewing Medications
Regularly evaluate medications that may cause dizziness and discontinue them if necessary.
Improving Home Safety
Recommend that patients improve the lighting in their home, remove clutter, and, as much as possible, eliminate other common trip hazards.
Educating & Collaborating
Teach fall prevention strategies, encourage the patients to come for regular check-ins, and involve caregivers in ongoing care.
Final Thoughts
Falls happen to older adults, a lot. But they shouldn’t be accepted as just one of those consequences of aging. Most of these falls can be prevented, and doing so can spare patients from serious injuries, reduce financial burden, and, most importantly, save lives.
If there’s anything you take away from this guide, it’s that prevention isn’t about doing just one thing right.
It’s about combining practical, evidence-based strategies with effective prevention plans. Hopefully, from this guide, you can see exactly what that looks like in clinical practice.
Author Bio
Agwalogu Bob believes great content doesn’t just inform; it resonates and then sticks. For over eight years, he’s been helping agencies across four continents craft just that kind of content: sharp, engaging cut-through-the-noise copy across SaaS, finance, tech, health, and lifestyle.
When he’s not putting pen to paper, you’ll likely find him scouring the internet for funny memes.
Connect with him on LinkedIn or Medium.
Please also review AIHCP’s Life Coach Certification program and Life Coach Courses see if it meets your academic and professional goals. These programs are online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a four year certification
The DSM-V-TR and many psychopathology texts group Somatic and Dissociative disorders together. In the DSM-V-TR somatic disorders are listed after dissociative disorders which are tied to stress and PTSD. They both share created realities that are not true but they also differ in direction. Somatic disorders attach to physical symptoms without no correlating reality or pathology from a physical sense but find their origin in the mind. Likewise, many are tied to anxiety, or fear of possessing the actual disease associated with the symptoms. Dissociate disorders are tied to breaks from reality that do not exist as well but more so in the mind and one’s surroundings. They are tied to trauma and stress. This leads to derealization and depersonalization, various amnesias and dissociative identity stemming from trauma. In this short blog, we will review the basis and criteria of diagnosis for different somatic disorders as well as dissociative disorders.
Somatic disorders contain symptoms of a disease created by the mind with no real existence of the disease within the person. Somatic means coming from the mind and manifesting physiological manifestations of a particular physical disorder (Barlow, et, al., 2023). Similar to Somatic Symptom Disorder is Conversion Disorder. Freud believed that the energy associated with mental illness could manifest as physical disease in other parts of the body causing motor control issues that were only a product of the mind (Barlow, et al., 2023).
Hypochondria or Illness Anxiety Disorder can leave a person impaired socially constantly seeking professional and medical help costing the health system millions of dollars
The biggest difference between Somatic Disorder and Conversion Disorder was the the type of physical manifestation and mental state. In Somatic Disorder there are a broad range of persistent physical disorders including pain and fatigue. These irks and pains cause discomfort throughout the day and lead to intense anxiety within the individual as the person attempts to understand the nature of their illness. Conversion differs in the manifestation and reaction. The manifestation effects motor control and cause paralysis, blindness, or other body movement. It usually follows an immediate stressor and can resolve itself quicker. Hence individuals do not deal with it longer over a chronological period (DSM-V-TR, 2022).
The DSM-V-TR lists these criteria Somatic Symptom Disorder for diagnosis .
A. One or more somatic symptoms that cause significant disruption in life
B. Excessive thoughts or behaviors tied to the somatic symptoms with at least one of the following:
1. disproportionate and persistent thoughts about the seriousness of the issue
2. high levels of anxiety about the symptom or overall health
3. excessive time and energy directed to these symptoms and concerns
C. These symptoms persist for 6 months.
Somatic Symptom Disorder can be specified with predominant pain, persistent symptoms, and as mild, moderate or severe.
(DSM-V-TR, 2022).
The DMS-V-TR lists this criteria for Conversion diagnosis
A. One or more of the symptoms have altered motor or sensory function
B. Clinical findings discover no correlation between the symptoms and recognized neurological disorder
C. There is no rational explanation for the disorder
D. The symptom causes clinically significant distress or functioning
It can be specified as acute, chronic, with psychological or without psychological stressor, with various symptom types such as weakness or paralysis, abnormal movement, swallowing symptoms, speech symptoms, seizures, sensory loss, special sensory loss or mixed symptoms.
(DSM-V-TR, 2022).
Another Somatic related disorder is Illness Anxiety Disorder which deviates from Somatic Symptom Disorder in regards to mild to no symptoms with the fear of disease existing in the mind. In the past it was referred to as Hypochondria (Barlow, et al., 2023). The DSM-V-TR lists the following diagnostic criteria for IAD.
A. Preoccupation with having a serious illness
B. Somatic Symptoms or not present or very mild. Other symptoms related to a different disorder are ignored.
C. High level of anxiety about health
D. The individual performs excessive health related behaviors for checkups
E. Illness preoccupation exceeds 6 months
F. The illness preoccupation has no other mental health disorder explanation
The DSM-V-TR specifies them as either care seeking or care avoidant
Ultimately within all of these disorders, individuals refuse to believe experts and fall more so upon their own anxiety ridden logics. They tend to seek their own information and insist they know more than medical professionals.
Tied closely to this are other disorders resulting in faking symptoms or purposely re-creating the symptoms for medical help or attention. Some do this for mental reasons, while others seek financial reward via malingering. Obviously those who seek medical attention and cause symptoms for no logical or financial reason suffer a deeper issue. Factitious Disorder results in this deception to gain attention or aid. Some may also look to keep attention on a person under one’s care by causing or lying about symptoms. In the past this was referred to as Munchausen Syndrome (Barlow, et al., 2023).
It is interesting to see the power of the mind to cause physiological symptoms. Yet if one simply realizes the power of worry to cause a stomach ache, then one can see on a large scale how somatic symptoms can manifest in individuals with greater anxiety and distorted beliefs about health.
Dissociative Disorders
Dissociative Amnesia can be general or selective
While the mind can create physiological symptoms, it can also create separations from reality due to traumatic events or high levels of stress. Many of the dissociative disorders are closely tied to PTSD and trauma induced orders and directly follow the DSM-V-TR’s chapter on Trauma and Stress Related Disorders. The DSM-V-TR points out that many dissociative disorders are frequently in the aftermath of severe trauma. Their symptoms include “unbidden intrusions into awareness and behavior, with accompanying losses of continuity in subjective experiences (2022). This leads to depersonalization, derealization, amnesia and dissociative identity. They can all play roles in the more general umbrella of PTSD but also be a diagnosis within itself.
Depersonalization/Derealization Disorder
According to the DSM-V-TR, depersonalization is the experience of unreality, detachment or being outside or external from one’s own thoughts, or feelings or even sensations of the body. One senses a distorted senses of time and feels absent from self as if almost outside of one’s own body (2022). Similar and also shared frequently between the two is the subjective experience of derealization. Within derealization one experiences unreality and detachment from one’s surroundings as if reality is dreamlike or foggy or distorted (2022).
Dissociative Amnesia
Loss of memory due to trauma leaves the person with an inability to recall or remember. The loss of memory can be localized or selective only to the event, or in more severe cases generalized and effecting one’s identity (DSM-V-TR, 2022). In some cases, it can be specified with dissociative fugue where the individual travels or wanders and cannot relate where they came from (2022).
Dissociative Identity
Dissociative Identity Disorder, formerly known as Multiple Personality Disorder, is a trauma reaction usually formed in early childhood after a traumatic event
One of the most wild and bizarre forms of dissociation is multiple personalities. The DSM-V-TR now labels it as Dissociative Identity in which the person creates different identities when faced with intense trauma. These identities are formed at a younger age and usually add new ones as the person needs to adjust to the unresolved trauma. The DSM-V-TR lists the following criteria for diagnosis
A. Disruption of identity by two or more distinct personality states. The disruption marks a distinct discontinuity in sense of self which displays changes in behavior, memory, perception, consciousness, cognition and sensory-motor functioning.
B. Recurrent gaps to recall events and personal information are inconsistent with normal forgetfulness
C. The symptoms cause significant distress to all elements of social functioning
D. The disturbance is not part of a cultural or religious practice
E. The disturbance is not associated with other substances or medical conditions
(DSM-V-TR, 2022).
Barlow states that most experience an average of 15 different personalities or alters. These alters merge from the host identity (2023). It is believed that under severe cases of trauma, younger children who may possess a genetic and biological vulnerability can develop DID. Diagnosing DID should be done with great care as not to lead an individual to bias or place falsememories regarding a person’s past. Ultimately, it is very difficult to fake DID although criminals in the past have attempted to use a DID defense (Barlow, et, al. 2023).
Some identities are classified as possessive identities which can be mistaken for demonic manifestation. If existing within the religious traditions, one must be careful of cultural and religious beliefs regarding this. In fact, the Catholic Church goes to great lengths and diagnosis within itself to determine a difference between a possessing identity with what it considers to be an external source in its manual of exorcism. Obviously before the era of modern science, many DID were considered possessions and did not meet the current diagnosis within the Catholic Church. Those who are not religious still doubt any form of possession within itself but that is a debate for another day.
Conclusion
Please also review AIHCP’s Healthcare Certifications as well as its Trauma Informed Care program
Physiological symptoms can be very real. The brain can shut itself off for its own defense and create different realities. These are all things that modern psychology has discovered. Many of these issues stem from trauma, anxiety and stress. When a person has the biological vulnerability, the recipe for the manifestation for these disorders become a reality for the person. Therapy and medication can play large roles in facing past issues and traumas. With the exception of DID, many of these mental issues can resolve quickly with proper care. Obviously DID deals with a far deeper trauma and requires deeper psychotherapy to unify the person. That involves identifying triggers, reliving trauma, and carefully realigning the past without causing more damage (Barlow, et al., 2023).
Please also review AIHCP’s Behavioral Health Certifications. AIHCP offers Trauma Informed Care as well for professionals seeking additional training and credentials in this field.
Additional Blogs
Disruptive and Impulse Control Disorders. Access here
American Psychiatric Association. (2022). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorder” DSM-5-TR (5th ed., text revision). American Psychiatric Association Publishing.
Barlow, D.H., Durand, V.M., & Hofmann, S.G. (2023). Psychopathology. An integrative approach to mental disorder (9th ed.). Cengage Learning
Additional Resources
Goodman, B. 2024. “Somatic Symptom and Related Disorders”. WEBMED. Access here
“What is Somatic Symptom Disorder?” APA. Access here
Aging does a lot of not-so-great things to your body, and one of them is the decline of hand-eye coordination.
This, much like everything else, happens slowly. It’s not like you’ll wake up one day and not be able to catch your keys. You probably won’t even notice it’s happening, especially at first. But sooner or later, you’ll find yourself taking a little pause before you pour your coffee.
You’ll type a little slower, regardless of how fast you could do it for most of your life.
This isn’t something to get depressed about. It’s normal, and it happens to everyone.
But that doesn’t mean you need to sit back and let it happen. Loss of hand-eye coordination is something that happens across more than one system in your body, and it actually starts earlier than you think. The silver lining is that you can interrupt this chain.
If you practice and train this ability, it’ll behave like a muscle when you exercise.
Why Hand-Eye Coordination Changes Over Time
Hand-eye coordination sounds like something relatively simple, doesn’t it?
But actually, it’s one of the more complicated things in the human body.
There’s a lot more to it than just seeing clearly or having your hands be steady. This kind of coordination is what happens when several of the systems in your body ‘talk’ to each other, and if any part of that chain slows down even for a little bit, the whole thing doesn’t work as well as it should, and you’ll notice it. And when you know that it all happens in a matter of milliseconds, it gets even more impressive.
What happens when you reach for a glass on the counter? Think about it a bit. First, your eyes have to see where the glass is, including how far away from you it sits. That information then travels to your brain, where it gets interpreted. The brain then figures out what angle and force you need to reach it.
Once it has that figured out, it sends signals down to your arm and hand, which tells them when to fire and how hard to squeeze.
At the same time, your joints and tendons are sending the feedback back up to the brain about where your hand is, which is why you’re able to adjust your movements as you reach for that glass. In the end, the sensory receptors on your fingertips make the final tweaks the moment they make contact with the glass.
This all happens before you can even blink, and every single step needs a different part of your body to work PERFECTLY. Imagine. All this just to grab a glass.
As you age, every part of this system changes a little.
The nerves can’t send the signals as fast as they used to, and the eyes can’t detect contrast and judge the depth as accurately. The time you need to react prolongs for just a fraction of a second, but that fraction is enough for you to notice that something isn’t quite right.
As humans get older, their reaction time/processing speed tends to decline due to slower neural transmission. – National Institutes of Health
Older adults usually have weaker vision because of lower contrast sensitivity and lower depth perception, which negatively affects hand-eye coordination. – National Institutes of Health
Muscles get less flexible and weaker, and cognitive processing (the part that happens in the brain) also takes a little longer to do its job.
The interesting thing about all this is that this doesn’t happen on some sort of set schedule for everyone. You could have 2 people of the exact same age who have completely different coordination abilities. It might just be luck up to some point, but for the most part, this difference comes down to lifestyle.
If you stay physically active and pay attention to your health in general, you’ll probably have better coordination than someone whose idea of exercise is watching football on TV. To be clear, you don’t have to punish yourself at the gym every day in order to stay active enough.
A recreational sport such as padel or pickleball will do the trick, and all you need for it are good shoes and a standard Bread & Butter paddle to level up your game.
Weaker muscles and reduced flexibility in older humans are directly linked to reduced hand-eye coordination. – National Institute of Aging
But any sport that forces you to activate all your muscles and is very intensive, and requires constant high focus, will do the trick. The thing to remember is that your body adapts to what you ask of it on a regular basis, which means that a lot of these changes related to aging aren’t inevitable.
But if you don’t use your ‘system’ enough, then they’re a lot more likely to happen.
Everyday Habits That Can Speed Up or Slow Down the Decline of Coordination
You could say that a (small) part of how your coordination changes with time has to do with genetics or even luck, but the way you live your life every day impacts it a lot more.
Physical Activity Keeps Neural Pathways Active
You know how a muscle atrophies when you don’t use it?
Well, if it atrophies enough, your body will literally resorb it. But if you exercise, your muscles stay strong, and so do your neural pathways.
Exercise keeps them active; it reinforces the actual lines of communication between the brain and the muscles and makes sure those signals stay fast and clear.
Daily physical activity benefits neuroplasticity, which helps maintain motor coordination and neural communication pathways. – National Institutes of Health
When you exercise, your brain works out, too. It constantly sends and receives information about your position, force, and timing. That keeps neural pathways on track. But if you lead a sedentary life, well… You can imagine how things go.
The exact opposite happens, and you don’t want that.
If you sit for too long and don’t move around, those connections get weaker because they’re not being used. Kind of like how a path in the woods gets covered with grass when nobody walks on it.
Any kind of activity will do. Sports, dancing, walking, as long as you’re moving. The most important thing is to be consistent because neural pathways need regular use to stay active.
Vision Is More Important Than Most People Realize
Nobody thinks about vision being something they could train, but in the sense of being a component in the hand-eye coordination, it absolutely is. If the data coming from vision is blurry or incomplete, every other step in the system suffers.
Vision is how the brain gets information on distance, speed, and position, which is how you’re able to make precise movements.
What most people don’t realize here is that changes in prescriptions or early signs of some conditions (e.g., cataracts) could show up years before they’re able to notice that something’s wrong. Environment is a factor here, too.
Having good lighting means that your eyes don’t have to strain too much, plus it becomes easier to judge distance and depth.
Sleep, Stress, and Mental Fatigue Affect How Quickly You React to Speed
If you’re tired or stressed, the brain can’t work as well. That’s a huge problem for coordination because it needs the brain to perform perfectly.
Not getting enough quality sleep is an issue that affects a lot in your body, including your attention span and how quickly you’re able to react. If you’re tired, you might feel clumsy, and that’s not something you’re imagining. It comes from actual neurological delays. Chronic stress works pretty much the same.
Sleep deprivation impairs cognitive and motor performance in humans. – National Institutes of Health
It keeps the brain on alert at all times, which messes up focus and fine motor control.
Basically, your brain can’t do everything at once.
So, if it’s occupied with worry or tension, it doesn’t have enough resources for the calculations that precise movements need or for concentration. You can probably notice that your coordination is worse at the end of the day. That’s normal because your brain has gone through a whole day of cognitive load, and now it’s low on energy.
This is why quality sleep is so important.
Eating Well and Drinking Enough Water Helps the Brain Function Efficiently
What you eat and drink affects how well your brain is able to process information and send signals to your body. Even if you’re mildly dehydrated, your cognitive performance will go down a little. In other words, your brain will need more time to figure out the information coming from vision and then coordinate your response to it.
Drink water all throughout the day and remember that being thirsty isn’t a ‘reminder’ to drink water but a sign of dehydration.
Mild to severe dehydration negatively affects motor and cognitive skills/performance. – National Institutes of Health
Also, be careful with what you eat. Junk food is okay here and there as a treat, but your nervous system needs a steady supply of nutrients like B vitamins, omega-3 fatty acids, proteins, etc. Your diet should include vegetables, fruits, lean proteins, and healthy fats.
Supplements can help, but they’re not a way for you to cheat on your diet.
Conclusion
Hand-eye coordination isn’t like a bulb that gets dimmer and dimmer until it goes out and there’s nothing to do about that.
You have a say in this. Yes, your vision will change, reaction times get longer, yadda yadda. But you still have some control over how fast that happens.
As you can see, the advice on how to stay healthy and sharp is pretty boring and basic. You’ve heard it a million times – eat well, drink your water, get enough sleep, and exercise regularly. But the reason why you keep hearing it over and over is that it works.
In fact, these are the only things that truly work when it comes to being healthy and keeping your hand-eye coordination on point.
Author Bio
Marko is an adamant and eager content writer with a decade of experience in various niches, with healthcare being one of them. With his way of implementing storytelling, comparisons, and examples into hard-to-grasp topics, Marko’s able to make complex things sound interesting and relatable – key ingredients to make something understandable. As a hobby, Marko enjoys offroading, board games, and spending time with his family and his dog Cezar.
Please also review AIHCP’s Nurse Patient Education Certification program and CE Courses see if it meets your academic and professional goals. These programs are online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a four year certification
Some patients always seem to say that everything is “fine”, but any healthcare professional worth their salt knows that that simply can’t be true.
Nobody is fine all the time, and the ones who say they are simply can’t express how they feel or don’t feel comfortable doing so. It’s obvious that it’s up to the doctor or the nurse to dig a little deeper and understand what’s truly going on, but not many of them do that. So, what ends up happening is that the clinical record gets updated with a checkmark that really shouldn’t be there, and from then on, everyone ends up working with faulty data.
The truth is uncomfortable, and most medical providers don’t want to admit it, but the fact is that our entire medical system is trying to catch diseases only. That’s it.
Daily life isn’t anybody’s concern, which is far from ideal because that’s where treatments succeed or fail. Patients aren’t leaving stuff out to be annoying, but because they think that what they’re going through outside the doctor’s office doesn’t mean anything to anyone but them.
Unfortunately, in doing so, they risk getting prescribed the wrong treatment because the doctor can’t consider what they don’t know exists.
Luckily, no healthcare professional has to become a mind reader in order to handle this.
Why Patients Don’t Always Share Their Biggest Concerns
There are some patients who always seem to stay quiet, and that could seem like they have nothing to say.
Silence can mean a lot of different things, but usually, it doesn’t mean that the person is comfortable or totally prepared for what’s to come. Most people walk into the doctor’s office already anxious and worried, and they have their own reasons for why they don’t want to mention all of them. That’s perfectly understandable, and every medical professional has to respect that.
It’s really important not to look at these kinds of patients as people who are deliberately trying to be difficult. Most of them assume that doctors are busy and/or don’t care enough to dedicate 100% of their attention to them, so they’d rather stay quiet.
If someone already thinks they’ll be brushed off, why bother saying anything other than the basics?
Another thing to remember is that asking for help isn’t exactly pleasant.
In fact, it’s incredibly difficult for some because adults think they should be able to handle their own problems, and if they can’t, they’ve failed.
And even the ones who talk focus only on the diagnosis they came about, not necessarily on how that diagnosis can be connected to the medications they’re already taking, forgetting to take their pills on time, etc. What they also do is assume that some problems simply aren’t something a doctor or a nurse needs to hear about, like the trouble they’re having with their mental health or finances. They figure that a doctor doesn’t care about the fact that they’ve had to think about selling a life insurance policy to cover the costs of treatment, and how much that’s been stressing them out.
It comes down to how a patient sees themselves. That’s what determines how much they’re willing to share.
Let’s say a person has been independent their entire adult life, and they value their independence above all else.
It’ll be incredibly difficult for them to say that they need help because that feels like betraying who they are. Or maybe the patient has spent the last 15 years taking care of their aging parent. After such a long time, they’ve almost forgotten to think of themselves, so when they get sick, it’s like they hardly know how to act. In their case, it’s easier to bury their head in the sand and pretend that everything’s okay.
Yet another reason why patients keep their mouths shut is fear. And this one is probably the easiest one to comprehend.
People are terrified of asking certain questions because they’re afraid of the answers. Living without really knowing what’s going on feels safer than facing the truth, especially if the truth could mean that their life as they knew it would fall apart. They’ll worry on their own, but they won’t mention anything to their doctor because they’re too scared of the consequences.
Naturally, all of this can cause some serious problems down the line.
These reasons are all understandable, but just because the reason is valid doesn’t mean that it can protect a patient from being misdiagnosed or being prescribed the wrong medication. Besides, even if the treatment is right, it’ll still be a struggle if things at home are stressful.
Why Better Questions Reveal Better Information
When a doctor asks a question, the patient answers.
And it seems like that would be good enough, but the problem with this approach is that patients answer ONLY what they’re asked, and the questions they’re thinking about don’t get said out loud. So, if the question is, “Are you okay?” the answer is usually yes or no. That’s not a lot of information, though, and it says nothing about what goes on in the patient’s life.
When a patient is asked if they’re okay, they’re not thinking about the fact that they haven’t slept in days or that they forgot to take their meds on time.
If they’re walking and talking, they’re fine, so they say “yes.” They’ve already imagined all kinds of horrific scenarios in their head, and compared to that, they truly are fine. So, the conversation moves on to something else. The issue here is that patients usually have to be nudged in the right direction, and they won’t say anything specific until they’re directly asked to do so.
They feel like if the doctor wanted some kind of specific information, they’d ask. Since they didn’t, there’s no reason to bother them with it.
This is why it’s so important to word the question just right. “Are you managing?” is vague and doesn’t really require a real answer. But “What’s become harder since you were diagnosed?” will make the patient share specific information that could actually be useful when it comes to the treatment.
Also, it lets the patient know they’re not just another number on today’s schedule, and the doctor wants to see how they’re doing.
Another good question is “Outside of your medical symptoms, what worries you the most?” That opens the door to a whole lot of information. It shows that the doctor knows the patient has a life outside this office, and they want to hear about it. That’s incredibly reassuring for the patient, and it’s a tremendous help when it comes to opening up.
But asking questions isn’t the only part that matters; it’s only half. The other half is listening, especially to what happens after the first answer they give.
Let’s say the patient just said they’re “okay.”
Did they hesitate at all before saying that? Was there a change in the tone of their voice? Details like these say a lot more than “okay” does, and it means that the doctor should follow up with another question. Something like “You don’t sound so sure. Tell me more about that.” That can sort of pull out something important that the patient wouldn’t have mentioned otherwise.
It honestly doesn’t take much, just paying closer attention.
How to Create an Environment Where Patients Are Comfortable Enough to Be Honest
Asking better questions and taking the time to actually listen is only the beginning. The best thing for everyone involved would be to create an environment where patients feel comfortable enough to share whatever’s bothering them, no matter how trivial they may think it is.
Here are some steps towards that goal.
Trust Starts With Everyday Interactions
Patients notice everything, even if they don’t say anything.
From the moment they walk through the door, they notice how they’re greeted, whether the doctor remembers something from their last appointment, whether the nurse is respectful, etc.
If the answers to these questions are positive, it builds trust.
It Should Be Clear That Life Stuff Still Counts
Patients have to know that the doctor is here to listen to WHATEVER troubles them because it could indirectly affect their health and recovery. But they won’t bring any of that up unless they’re asked properly. Invasive questions are a huge no-no in other settings, but to be frank, they need to be asked in a doctor’s office.
However, it helps to offer an explanation along with them, like “The reason I’m asking is that it can help me understand what’s getting in the way of your treatment.”
Every Person on the Team Has a Role to Play
There’s no single healthcare professional who can catch absolutely everything, which is why teamwork is everything.
Nurses are the ones who spend the most time with patients (usually), so they’re good at noticing things like issues with mobility or someone being confused about medication. Counselors pick up on the emotional side of the issue, and case managers can help patients with finances and logistics.
When all of them share what they know with each other, they get a better picture of the patient, and with that, they’re able to provide better care.
Conclusion
A lot of what patients bring to the appointment never makes it into the chart, or even out of their heads. And although they have very good reasons why they refuse or forget to share some things, it’s important to let them know that none of those problems should be pushed to the side. They could have a big effect on their treatment and recovery, meaning the doctor should know about them.
Yes, it seems nosy, but if sharing more information can help make care better, then withholding it means causing more trouble for everyone involved.
The thing is, this has to be a joint effort. The patient will open up if they feel like the doctor actually listens, and the doctor will ask better questions if they understand what results those can produce.
Author Bio
Marko is an adamant and eager content writer with a decade of experience in various niches, with healthcare being one of them. With his way of implementing storytelling, comparisons, and examples into hard-to-grasp topics, Marko’s able to make complex things sound interesting and relatable – key ingredients to make something understandable. As a hobby, Marko enjoys offroading, board games, and spending time with his family and his dog Cezar.
Please also review AIHCP’s Nurse Patient Education Certification program and CE Courses see if it meets your academic and professional goals. These programs are online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a four year certification
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