Chris Aiken – Complex Mood Disorders

Therapy is taking front-and-center stage in the treatment of bipolar and depression, and this seminar will bring you up-to-date on the advances your clients need most.

Chris Aiken – Complex Mood Disorders

The Mood Spectrum

• The three faces of mood: depression, hypomania, and mixed states
• Psychological and social effects of the three moods
• Working with each mood in the therapeutic relationship
• All too common: the role of other disorders (eating, personality, anxiety, trauma and addictions) in mood disorders
• Finding normal
• Flowers in the weeds: six strengths that come with mood disorders

Circadian Rhythms

• Mood disorders and the biological clock
• Four key events that set the clock
• Social interactions: from deprivation to overstimulation
• Brisk awakening
• Light therapy
• Dark therapy
• Flow, engagement, and behavioral activation
• Seasonal moods

Sleep and Mood

• Sleep drive and circadian rhythms
• Normal vs. abnormal insomnia: the role of anxiety
• Sleep hygiene: a modern take on the basics
• Advanced moves: sleep restriction and CBT-insomnia
• Modifications for bipolar and depression

Mood and Health

• When the body impedes the mind: inflammation, head injury and obesity
• Exercise: how much, how often?
• Technology and mood
• Food matters: tea, dark chocolate, and the Mediterranean diet
• Air quality: from negative ions to aromatherapy

Medication

• Update on psychopharmacology of mood disorders
• Update on natural treatments of mood disorders
• Minimize side effects and maximize adherence

Cognition: The Silent Symptom

• Recognize cognitive deficits
• How cognition impacts therapy
• Functional remediation: a new paradigm
• Three ways to enhance cognition: restoration, compensation and optimization
• Take it home: Seven exercises to restore the mind

Mood Disorders in the Family

• Four ways to help: warmth, empathy, positive comments, and optimism
• Five things to avoid: critical comments, scrutiny, conflict, over-involvement and hostility
• Three overlooked ingredients: timing, frequency and regularity
• Adult children in the home: boundaries and limits
• Managing crises
• Protecting young children

Would you like to receive Chris Aiken – Complex Mood Disorders ?

Description:

• Get an all new “Mood Toolbox”
• Learn about the quiet revolution in therapy for mood disorders
• Translate these NEW advances into practical therapeutic strategies….
• Brisk awakening
• Dark therapy
• Social rhythm therapy
• Expressed-emotion regulation –and more!

Therapy is taking front-and-center stage in the treatment of bipolar and depression, and this seminar will bring you up-to-date on the advances your clients need most. We’ll draw from over half a dozen evidenced-based therapies, including:

• Interpersonal Social Rhythm Therapy (IPSRT)
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Bipolar (CBT-B) and Insomnia (CBT-I)
• Family-Focused Therapy for Bipolar
• Group Psychoeducation
• Functional Remediation
• Behavioral Activation

We’ll pull together the common elements in these therapies to create a single, flexible toolkit that you can adapt to the unique needs of each client.

You’ll learn how modern-life is contributing to mood disorders by changing the environment we live in. Blue-light from electronic devices can alter neurohormones in ways that cause depression, insomnia, and obesity. We’ll explore the effects of diet, seasons, light, temperature, and air-quality on sleep and mood. We’ll also look at ways that technology can aid recovery, including dawn-simulators, blue-light filters, sleep actigraphy, and specific apps for mood disorders.

We’ll explore the unique ways that bipolar and depression impact relationships and how to address those in therapy. Finally, you’ll learn how to work with families to reduce conflict and foster a more supportive environment for recovery during mood episodes.