Acacia Counseling

 

           Gene Douglas, M.Ed. LPC LMFT

TAPAS ACCUPRESSURE TECHNIQUE (TAT) 

To treat a problem using TAT, follow these instructions:
1.) Rate the strength of your feeling you are experiencing right now, on a scale of 1-10, when you think of the problem.
That number is the SUD (Subjective Units of Discomfort.)
2.) Put your thumb against the inside corner of one eye. Place the ring finger against the inside corner of the other eye.
3.) Place the middle two fingers against your forehead, about a quarter inch above a line between the eyebrows so the
two fingers are lined up with the upper part of the eyebrow.
4.) Cup the other hand, and place it behind your head, with the thumb against your neck, right where it meets the base of the skull.
The little finger will be pressed against your head where it rests. Don't lay your hand flat against your head.
5.) Close your eyes and think of the feeling or event or person that bothers you. Continue for one minute, or until you feel a "shift"
in your body before that. This may be a reflexive sigh.
6.) Keep your pose, and repeat a statement reminding you of the problem in your mind. It may be a person's name,
a phrase about what happened, or the name of the feeling. Continue repeating for one minute, or until you feel a shift.
7.) Keep the pose, and repeat in your mind a statement which is opposite of the problem -- even if you don't believe it.
This might be "I will feel comfortable when I do that," or "I will feel calm and relaxed," whatever is opposite to what has been the case.
Continue repeating for one minute, or until a shift occurs.
8.) Keep the pose, and concentrate your attention on the part of your body where you feel your feelings. That will be different for different people.
Continue for one minute, or until a shift occurs.
9.) Rate your SUD again.

TAT Links:
Learning and Using TAT
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcNlj2SdzmM
How To Do TAT
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rDF_qUntDg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcxaZW57ymY

Testing -- Psychological Evaluation

I can perform psychological testing, including personality testing,

IQ and substance abuse testing.

Personality testing includes the MMPI-2 and some others,

including the Beck Depression Inventory.

The IQ test is the Shipley-2

The substance abuse testing includes the SASSI and the ASI.

In addition, there is a psychosocial interview involved.

When you request testing, if you were referred by an authority, 

please specify exactly what kind of testing you want done.  

Some referrers may be unclear as to what they want.  

If they say "psychiatric exam," please know that an actual 

psychiatrist (a medical doctor) does not have time to do all the

above testing, and also is typically not trained to do that.  

S/He generally sees a new patient for 30 minutes, and then 

sees him/her once a month, for 15 minutes, generally prescribing 

medications, for which time he receives a high price.  Spending 

two or three hours with a patient would be cost prohibitive.  

Then spending 8-12 hours scoring the tests would be very costly.

However, he may ask "Who are you?  Where are you?  

What day is this? Why are you here?  What did you have for 

breakfast?" Name three presidents, and other such questions.  

I generally do not ask that, if I know you could make and keep
an appointment, and find the office on your own.  

But I could if requested.

Some employers require an MMPI without concern about where 

it came from.  An MMPI should include a psychological interview.  

Without that, the MMPI doesn't tell much.  Some MMPI's are given 

by people never trained on the MMPI, and who provide a very 

sketchy result.  

Possibly they are not licensed therapists, or even therapists at all.  

If they are, they should show you a wall certificate or a card, and 

state their license and their license number in the report. 

This can be verified on the internet.  

Some are scored by a computer, which produces an even sketchier 

result.

Of course, to the prospective employee, it's just paperwork, and he 

wants to get it behind him  If to the employer or training school 

it is just paperwork, then the quicker and the cheaper the better.  

One-size-fits-all is not seen as a problem.

If the employer cares about getting a thorough workup, then s/he 

should know that the work was done by a licensed therapist, and 

that the test was scored by the therapist and not a computer, and 

a psychological interview was included in the workup and report.

Article on cost of testing  (Click here.)