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July 1999 What's New from The Family Clinic

7/8/99 10:55 p.m. Nicholas Hartley, M. ED.- School Violence prevention

7/10/99 8:35 a.m. Daniel T. Moore, Ph.D. -We come to you with Workshops

7/10/99 10:09 p.m. Daniel T. Moore, Ph.D. -Our most recent Newsletter

7/17/99 10:54 p.m. Daniel T. Moore, Ph.D. -Our new Educational Products Store

7/25/99 12:19 a.m. Nicholas Hartley, M. ED.- The Family Clinic Forum is now operational!

7/27/99 10:00 p.m. Daniel T. Moore, Ph.D. - Book review on the effects of Violence on infants

7/29/99 11:25 p.m. Nicholas Hartley, M. ED.
Great book for teaching autistic children.

This is a call to anyone who has an opinion on how school violence may be prevented through the use of counseling services. The recent Columbine High School shootings highlighted the fact that it is difficult, even for professionals, to identify individuals who will act out with extreme violence. The two youths responsible for the shooting had been in a therapeutic program for juvenile offenders 3 months prior to the shooting. The idea that "Someone should have known" has come up in the popular press frequently. As a therapist, I know only what my clients and their families allow me to know. The rest is quessing. Though, I think I may be getting better at quessing, I am still guessing. Are there reliable predictors of the type of violence we have seen in schools recently? While violent behavior is general is sometimes easy to predict, what indicators would reliably allow someone to predict the homocidal behavior we have encounetered recently. It is my opinion that, as of now, there are none but, I am more interested in our readers thoughts. The fact of the matter is that these events are rare and represent only a small amount of the total violent incidents that occur among young people. We would like to invite your opinions on the matter. Please send your thoughts to the Family Clinic.

Yes, we are now offering a new service! If your agency or organization would like training on any topic related to Holistic Psychology, Psychotherapy, Psychiatric Nursing, Juvenile Delinquency, Violence, ADHD treatment, or Learning Disorders, think of us. We will design a training program to meet your needs. We present to parent groups, schools, and professionals. Our presenters are entertaining as well as informative. For more information, click here.

After banging my head against the wall for several hours, I have finally gotten the Forum to work. If you have questions, comments, want to vent your concerns or frustrations (related to counseling, psychology, mental health, or learning disabilities please), or just leave us a note about the site, then do so at the Forum. The staff of the Family Clinic will monitor the Forum so "Post away". Discussion forums offer the oppurtunity to get feedback from many different people and thus many different perspectives. We have been taking quesitons via email and will continue to do so, but we thought it would be a better service to our readers to allow for many different points of view. Please make a post, if just to tell us who you are. To enter the Family Clinic Forum, click here.

Hardly a week goes by without a headline screaming out the details of another heinous crime committed by an adolescent or young child. A 14-year-old massacres his classmates at a school prayer circle, two even younger boys fire into a crowd of middle school children killing five people, a student kills his teacher at the school prom. There is no doubt that crimes committed by children are increasing at an alarming rate and the big question is why? The authors of Ghosts from the Nursery produce compelling if not controversial evidence that violent behavior is learned and cultivated in the first few months of childhood development. Even more startling, the authors Robin Karr-Morse and Meredith S. Wiley believe that a predisposition to violent behavior can be learned before birth. A "chemical wash" of toxins such as drugs and alcohol, combined with a mother's stress hormones generated from rage or fear can directly effect the babies brain development. Illustrative case studies and anecdotes make for a fascinating and factually "fat" read. Lacking in the book is an acknowledgment of the larger picture--not all children raised in violent homes will become violent, and on an even larger scale, there is no mention of other contributing factors leading to teen violence. Would crimes be cut if guns weren't so readily available? Still, Ghosts from the Nursery is an engrossing book, which is bound to generate hot debate in the scientific world. --Naomi Gesinger (This text refers to the hardcover edition of this title.) Click here to order the book or obtain more information.

Communication-Based Intervention for Problem Behavior : A User's Guide for Producing Positive Change by Edward G., Ph.D. Carr, and Len, M.A. Levin contains a wonderful method of teaching autistic children requesting behavior and vocalization. In using this method with autistic children, I can bear witness to the power of the technique in dropping out self-injurious and aggressive behavior. The technique involves teaching requesting behavior beginning with a simple hand touch and shaping that request to a sign and eventually to vocalization. Give it a read. Click here to order the book or obtain more information.

What do you think? We want to know. If you have comments about our site, please let us know by contacting us via E-mail.