Blogcritics Author: Dr. Juliann Mitchell, PhD

How To Choose A Mental Health Professional

Dr. Juliann Mitchell, PhD — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 11:50:47 EST

Know your rights when selecting and working with a mental health professional.
Choosing a mental health professional can be confusing and challenging. Usually by the time people contact one, they have exhausted all their other avenues of symptom relief and emotional support. Before buying a new product or a new car, many consumers try to read as much as they can before making the purchase. The same is true for mental health...

Jennifer Hudson's Family Tragedy: Murder and Mayhem

Dr. Juliann Mitchell, PhD — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 17:03:12 EDT

Jennifer Hudson and other surviving family members have to deal with a triple homicide. What challenges do they face?
Jennifer Hudson and her family are in shock and mourning. Coping with three homicides at one time is exquisitely brutal to their bodies, souls, and spirits. A feeling of horror, anxiety, and vulnerability may prevail for her and her surviving family members for many months to come. Her mother, Darnell Hudson Donerson, brother, Jason, and nephew,...

Who Would You Put In Your Lifeboat?

Dr. Juliann Mitchell, PhD — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 10:27:33 EDT

Who would you choose to be in your lifeboat of life, and why?
This Lifeboat exercise is not an original idea that I can claim germinated in my creative unconscious. Unfortunately, I don't know whom to give the credit to. It's been a part of my knowledge base for a long while. Kudos to the creator!Once or twice a year I recreate the Lifeboat experience in my journal. Over time, some of the individuals...

Casey Anthony: Profile Of A Sociopath

Dr. Juliann Mitchell, PhD — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 22:29:20 EDT

Why is Casey Anthony so coldhearted and cavalier about her missing daughter Caylee?
Casey Anthony has finally been indicted for the first-degree murder of her daughter, Caylee Anthony. Casey is a sociopathic, superficial sensationalist. To a mental health professional, she fits the description of someone with an antisocial personality disorder - just a fancy name for "sociopath." The disorder is recognizable by a lack...

Blogging: Addiction Or Conviction?

Dr. Juliann Mitchell, PhD — Thu, 2 Oct 2008 20:15:28 EDT

Blogging can be useful and rewarding, but it can also become a harmful addiction.
As as psychologist and an avid fan of both blogging and reading blogs, I think it is important to address the psychological challenges bloggers can face. All is not always rosy in Blogger Land. Believe it or not, it is possible to become addicted to this social medium. In this article I examine some of the myths, behaviors, personality...

A Slice of Monday Morning

Dr. Juliann Mitchell, PhD — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 09:03:06 EDT

A typical conversation with a teenage daughter on the drive to school results in the typical score: Daughter 1, Mom 0.
Monday mornings are not too popular in our household. Today as my teenage daughter and I were walking out the door I said, "Please pull the door shut." Her response: "As opposed to leaving it open?"Ah, the first workday of the week's verbal marathon had begun. Walking to the car, I asked, "So why was your Health book laying on the floor inside...

Paul Newman and the Demons Of Death

Dr. Juliann Mitchell, PhD — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 20:33:53 EDT

Sometimes when a famous person dies it taps into our own feelings of loss and sadness.
One of the great icons of our time has died. Paul Newman left this world on September 26, 2008, after a lengthy battle with cancer. A day later, Barbara Barnett, Jen Johans, and Diane Saenger, all Blogcritics writers, paid tribute on our website to this legendary movie giant, social activist, race car driver, and philanthropist.Grief is the...

The Last Five Minutes

Dr. Juliann Mitchell, PhD — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 17:45:00 EDT

Discover what others have shared in "the last five minutes" of therapy sessions.
As a psychologist, I love what I do and cannot imagine another profession that I would choose. Everyone has a story, and people are infinitely interesting. It is humbling how much I have learned in the last two decades, by listening and being present for the person and all that he or she is sharing. The resiliency of the human spirit, too, is...

Salvia Divinorum: The Choice Hallucinogen of Generation Y

Dr. Juliann Mitchell, PhD — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 13:48:36 EDT

Should salvia divinorum, an herb used extensively for centuries in Mexico, be outlawed in the United States?
Salvia divinorum is not an unknown or new herb. It has been used extensively for centuries by the Mazatec Indians of Mexico in shamanic rituals. The shamans chew the leaves or make an infusion as a way to lead them towards spiritual enlightenment.At the 2008 World Psychedelic Forum in Basel, Switzerland, ethnobotanist Kathleen Harrison described...

Polygamists, Predators, and Prevaricators: Part One

Dr. Juliann Mitchell, PhD — Thu, 15 May 2008 12:16:40 EDT

The first of three articles discussing the allegations of child sexual abuse at the Yearning For Zion Ranch in Eldorado, Texas.
Polygamy, a Greek word meaning 'many women,' has existed for millenniums. Many cultures and societies have embraced polygamous lifestyles. The early Hebrews (King Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines), Chinese, African, Polynesian, and Indian cultures also practiced polygamy. Members of The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints (LDS)...