Tinnitus Discovery Could Lead to New Ways to Stop the Ringing

New findings, published online by the National Academy of Sciences, suggest several new approaches to treatment, including retraining the brain, and new avenues for developing drugs to suppress the ringing. The cause of tinnitus is damage to nerve cells in the innner ear. In response to this damage, the brain generates "phantom sounds." In this respect, tinnitus resembles phantom limb pain experienced by many amputees.
For more information: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110912144247.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Latest+Science+News%29&utm_content=Google+Feedfetcher

Ex-players Sue NFL over Concussions

Seventy-five former players are suing the NFL, claiming the league intentionally withheld knowledge of the damaging effects of concussions for 90 years.

The plaintiffs claim that "the NFL knew as early as the 1920s of the harmful effects on a player's brain of concussions"

For the full story in ESPN NFL
http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/6785702/seventy-five-ex-players-sue-nfl-concussions?campaign=rss&source=ESPNHeadlines

VT Psych Practicum

PHR continues to sponsor a Practicum for VT Psychology students. Jennifer Davis offers comments on her experience below.

This past semester I was given an incredible opportunity to intern at Psychological Health Roanoke. The clinicians were always so willing to help and taught me so many things that I never would have learned in school. Getting to sit in on different therapy sessions each week was one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve ever had. The rest of the staff was always pleasant to be around and so helpful with everything. The internship made me positive that Clinical Psychology is what I want to do for the rest of my life.

http://www.psychhealthroanoke.com/resources.html

Consumer Reports on Psychotherapy

Consumer Reports, the largest independent consumer and product testing organization world-wide, has taken a look at psychotherapy. The July 2010 issue reports on a survey of 1,500 people who had sought help for depression and anxiety. Results indicate that those who completed at least 7 psychotherapy sessions reported as much improvement as those who had taken medication alone. The best outcomes were found when medication and "talk" therapy were used in combination.

The same article also reports on the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (that should be fully in effect by 2014) which is expected to increase the afforability of mental health care.

Reported by Dr. Bruce Sellars

For more information: http://www.consumerreports.org/

Winter Olympics

The quadrennial Winter Olympics are here again for a brief wisp of time as athletes curl, swirl, ski, skate and slide their way to joy and glory. These Games continue to move to the forefront of sport consciousness swept along by a growing Gen X & Y mentality. The most recent tag of "NASCAR on Ice" speaks to their expanding reach. The higher, stronger faster dimension of the snow and ice games is palpable and an inherent part of their appeal.

For insight on the risk taking mentality in sport & efforts to help athletes compete safely, go to:
http://www.psychhealthroanoke.com/Resources/risktakingfinal(3).pdf

Remembering Michael Jackson

Following the untimiely death of Michael Jackson, Sam Rogers spoke with Joy Sutton of WDBJ-7. He offers insighs on the out-pouring of grief across the world at the passing of this iconic musicical artist.
People connect with artists because they express ideas and emotions that we all experience and struggle with. That is the essence of art. That is the reason art is important. This may be especially true for musicians and singers. The music that Michael Jackson produced helped millions of fans to experience and, at some level understand their own emotions. Most of us, if we hear the music of our adolescence, will remember with nostalgia or pain the emotions of that period of our lives. When an artist dies, especially if it is sudden and unexpected, it will touch us, and we will experience a sense of grief and loss. Without the tension of day to day associations, we place our idols on a pedestal. They seem greater than they are. Although we only knew that artist through his or her medium (music in this case), we are moved. The more that artist touched us, the more that artist expressed our own emotions, the stronger that loss will be. Although Michael Jackson had a somewhat uneven life, his music touched the hearts of many, and they grieve his passing..
The interview appears on the WDBJ-7 web site. (www.wdbj7.com) in the "Local Health" section under the title, "Why do the death of celebrities move us to tears?"

Katie Overstreet

The clinicians and staff here would like to congratulate Katie Overstreet on her graduation, cum laude, from Roanoke College - with a major in Psychology and a minor in Education. Katie will be starting on her Master’s degree in the Counseling Education program at Virginia Tech, and is looking forward to a career as a child psychologist.
Katie has been with us about 2 years. Among other duties, she has been serving as our EAP Newsletter editor. This Newsletter presents psychological matters for the general public. At this point, she has produced a nice body of work. You can take a look on our web site in the Resources section. We are all very pleased to have Katie continue to work with us as she begins her graduate career.

ART & PSYCHOLOGY

Bill Beamer is a former patient with us who sought treatment to help deal with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome. While participating in biofeedback, he was able to experience a trance-like state, that provided relief for a time from pain. When he realized that he was able to produce this same state of mind through a methodical repetitive drawing technique, his longstanding interest in art took on a new meaning and purpose. Bill’s career has since blossomed.

John Yimin of Outsider Art has written that his work "lies in a world, somewhere between what you see and what you think” and describes it as “staggeringly forceful.” You can find out more about Bill and his art at http://www.outsiderart.info/ (Follow the link to U*Space Gallery in Atlanta, GA).

Bill notes that although he still has these disorders – but thanks to his art, the disorders don’t have him.

Dorene Fick

After 10 years in suburban NYC as a clinical social worker in a Psychiatric Hospital, Dorene has relocated to the Roanoke Valley and joined Psychological Health Roanoke. Her practice focuses on adult, adolescents, women's and family issues. As part of her work, she serves as an on-site counselor at William Fleming High School, through a program developed by the Roanoke Adolescent Health Partnership. This position brings Dorene full circle to the beginnings of her interest in Social Work. As she notes: I had been an inner city teacher for 3 years (1 in Pittsburgh and 2 in Manhattan). I realized that I needed more skills to help these kids with the many struggles that went above and beyond classroom learning. This prompted me to enroll in Social Work School.
After a whirlwind indoctrination into contemporary urban youth culture and some adjustments in her treatment style, Dorene feels at home and fully a part of things at Fleming HS.

At the encouragement of her students this spring she attended the school production, Urinetown. Dorene describes this as a satirical musical comedy in which the minority poor attempt to overthrow the rich overlords. Urinetown challenges the authority of bureaucracy, corporations and small town politics. The poignancy of a not so happy ending is an unfortunate reflection of the reality of everyday life for many of these students, however, many of them rise to accept real life challenges with maturity and perseverance beyond their years.

For more about the Roanoke Adolescent Health Partnership check out their website at http://www.rahpteens.org/

Virginia Tech Psychology Practicum

PHR has been providing a practicum for VT undergraduate psychology majors. We asked Kristin to offer some comments on her experience

For the last 4 months, I have had the pleasure of interning for Psychological Health Roanoke. This rewarding experience has given me the chance to observe the inner-workings of a private practice and actually contribute to its daily operations. Being a senior psychology student at Virginia Tech, days away from graduation, I will be taking much of what I have learned at the practice with me. Not only was I able to get a grasp on the ever-confusing insurance and billing issues, but I was also able to observe a wide variety of therapy sessions. But I can say that what I will miss most are the people, everyone from the experienced psychologists I worked closely with to the staff who were always so kind and helpful. Overall, I think this rare opportunity has ultimately confirmed exactly what I want to be one day: a licensed psychologist working for a private practice like Psych Health Roanoke!

*Kristin Knihnicki

Officer Bryan Lawrence, Roanoke City PD

Getting Roanoke City recertified as a Crime Prevention Community, introducing Project Lifesaver to the Roanoke Valley (for Alzheimers and other “wanderers”), Officer Bryan Lawrence makes it clear how closely the well being of a community is tied to the quality law enforcement.

Like so many in law enforcement embracing the job 24-7, Officer Bryan Lawrence, responding to an assault call off duty, blindsided by a perp, disabled with a spinal cord injury.

Well respected by his fellow officers, he is a finalist for America’s Most Wanted All Star Officer.

You can vote at www.amw.com/allstar/2009/

*John Heil

We Remember the Virginia Tech Shootings April 16, 2007

We remember the shock & horror, the trauma to the Virginia Tech community, our personal losses & professional lessons learned.

We also remember the many acts of courage, the rapid response by police and rescue, the exceptional quality of medical care, the outpouring of support, the solidarity of the community and its psychological resilience.

Our professional perspective is detailed in the technical report: Psychological Intervention with the Virginia Tech Shootings: Lessons Learned and Recommendations for the Hospital Setting, which can be found at our website.

*John Heil

Who We Are

We are Psychological Health Roanoke, a group practice of 22 counselors, psychologists and social workers serving the western triangle of Virginia. Our clinical catchment reaches north and south along the Blue Ridge Mountains, with consulting services extending eastward into the Piedmont and Tidewater areas of Virginia. On any given day, you may find us at work in any of our 3 office locations in Roanoke, Blacksburg and Alleghany County.

You may also find us lecturing in a University classroom, a medical school, a police academy or a community organization… counseling in a high school, a nursing home, or a hospital medical unit…conducting evaluations in a jail or public safety agency…consulting to regional businesses and sports organizations …ministering in a church, testifying in court, conducting research or sitting in Board room. We are also Advantage EAP, PHR Police and Public Safety Assistance Program, and a training site for the Veterans Affairs Medical Center Doctoral Psychology Intern Program and Virginia Tech Undergraduate Psychology Practicum. In the words of our Clinicians we are “committed, compassionate and resourceful.”

We are our administrative staff, our point of contact with the public, who cheerfully multi-task their way through the day answering the phones, sending out the mail and tending to the millions of details that come between. They are, in their own words “compassionate, courteous and detail oriented.” –for which the rest of us are grateful.

At work we make our own coffee and recycle our cans and plastic. In our free time, we play music and write poetry, sail the lake and hike the mountains, read books and sell cookies, fret about the economy and the state of health care, follow the bouncing ball of our childrens’ lives, mow our lawns and tend to our gardens, and debate the merits of UVA and VT sports.

*John Heil


You can visit us at http://psychhealthroanoke.com/