Behavioral Disorders

Anxiety

A feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome.

Individuals with anxiety typically analyze a situation over and over, with a distorted sense of reality. They continue to explore the situation trying to rationalize their irrational thoughts…a continuous circle going round and round. No real sense is made from this cycle, but it continues in most cases until the individual gets the help he or she needs or decides to live life alone in fear.

Agoraphobia

An extreme or irrational fear of entering open or crowded places of leavings one’s own home or being in places from which escape is difficult.

The more one decides to avoid specific situations, i.e., social activities, there is a likelihood of an increase in isolation. Making excuses as to why one should not or cannot attend a function becomes easier as time goes on. It then becomes problematic and debilitating as one loses sight of what is real and what is perceived as fear. Unfortunately, the longer one engages in isolation and getting out of social situations, the harder it will be to regain confidence.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

A disorder in which a person feels compelled to perform certain actions repeatedly to alleviate persistent fears or intrusive thoughts, typically resulting in severe disruption of daily life.

Often when a couple comes to see me, the relationship has been built on “helping” one partner/significant other get through the day, minute, or hour without going through a ritual. Unfortunately, this type of “help” contributes to the problem at hand. In fact, it often makes the problem behavior worse. As a partner of a loved one who suffers from ritualistic behavior, it is hard to view behaviors objectively. The partners see themselves as helping. During treatment both individuals will learn new behaviors. As a couple, they are both affected by the situation, as is their quality of life.

Excoriation

A compulsion to damage or remove part of the surface of the skin.

Typically, when clients come in to see me concerning skin-picking, they are referred to me by a physician. The clients sincerely believe there is something wrong with their skin, psychologically. For example, they have a blemish or pimple on the skin and are adamant it is tied to a medical issue. After discussing a brief history of the problem behavior, they collect data. Then we analyze the data together to find a possible connection or triggers within their past about when the picking might have begun. From there, we begin the treatment.

Fetishism

A form of sexual desire in which gratification is linked to an abnormal degree with a particular object, item of clothing or part of the body.

Fetishes are very personal, secretive, and not often shared by the individual. Frequently, the person with the fetish feels ashamed and hides his or her desires. When individuals with a fetish begin to take more chances, engaging in “risky” behavior, they put themselves in jeopardy of being shamed, or worse, arrested for inappropriate behavior. The person with the fetish must change his/her behavior or learn to manage the behavior as not to affect or harm other people.

Conversion Disorder

Exhibiting psychosomatic symptoms including blindness, the inability to speak, numbness and paralysis.

Each family member plays an intricate role when living with an individual who suffers from a debilitating disorder: Blaming yourself, partner, or the sufferer is common but not productive. It is difficult to step outside your role and look at the situation objectively. Working as a family, a team, will help. Often, the role each person plays within the family contributes to the problematic behavior. Parents or partners may realize their relationship is at risk due to disagreements on how to best handle the situation. Seeking outside help to assist individuals in viewing the situation objectively and from multiple perspectives can be beneficial.

Learn More--Visit Laurie Singer Behavioral Services

REVIEWS FOR YOU'RE NOT CRAZY

A therapist offers advice to readers with troubling behavioral problems in this self-help book.

Singer begins her wide-ranging overview of various mental problems—from anxiety to obsession and more pronounced issues like assorted forms of self-harm—with a simple encouragement to readers who may be experiencing such things or love somebody who is: You can do this. In her own practice helping patients, the author has employed a combination of cognitive behavioral therapy designed to help with the mental aspects of the problem and behavioral therapy calculated to change issue-causing environments. And in both cases, the initial aim is the same: to address the feeling of “stuckness” that exacerbates the anxiety from which so many of these thorny states arise. The goal, as the author winningly puts it, is to remove the need for her readers to see her or her professional colleagues at all. The main approach Singer takes to breaking down her material is inspired. She dramatizes patient experiences and encounters, using dialogue and other novelistic touches that succeed marvelously in making all of these problems seem at once more human and more treatable. These embellished case studies are then followed up with quick diagnostic discussions that feel more pointed because they’re dealing with fleshed-out individuals rather than clinical abstractions. One chapter shows readers a patient with an urge for ritualistic behaviors that accompanies obsessive-compulsive disorder, after which Singer addresses both the individual and the person’s partner. “As a partner of a loved one who suffers from ritualistic behavior, it is hard to view behaviors objectively,” she writes. “During treatment both individuals will learn new behaviors.” Whether the topic is agoraphobia, fetishism, or any number of different, unhealthy outgrowths of anxiety, the author provides an empathetic analysis without moral judgment, and always with an eye toward progress instead of stagnation. People experiencing some of these behavioral issues will find this book invaluable.

A sharply observant and richly sympathetic guide to conquering some persistent mental demons.

Kirkus Reviews

"Picking up this book means you are brave and self-aware enough to want to take charge of an anxiety-rooted issue."

This exciting new self-help book is aimed at individuals struggling with unhealthy behaviors associated with anxiety. It's a highly positive and inclusive approach that enlists family and other loved ones to help support the practical therapeutic techniques outlined. Combining cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and applied behavior analysis (ABA) techniques, Singer provides time-tested observations to offer quick and effective relief for troubling behaviors associated with anxiety, such as agoraphobia and social phobia as well as conversion disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and fetishes, among a list of many other conditions that can be alleviated with her system. In fact, the techniques outlined here include the same self-monitoring charts and steps that Singer uses in live therapy with her clients. She assures readers that they can also achieve successful results using only the book as a guide to understanding and working with their behavior disorders in what she calls a "Stop-Choose-Start approach."

Singer came to her career, as many therapists do, because she was troubled by an unhappy childhood. In her case, she was abandoned by a drug- and alcohol-addicted mother. She thus brings a deep understanding of trauma and dysfunctional behaviors to her work and writing and exhibits great compassion and empathy. She succinctly outlines case examples of the more serious disorders that she treats and the steps necessary to overcome them. These therapeutic steps are easy to understand and to implement, making this book a valuable tool in the quest to launch oneself or a loved one from the doldrums of emotional unease into a healthier, more vibrant lifestyle. The author cautions that though many people experience relief with her no-nonsense system, not everyone will find immediate transformation. The good news is that for those who don't progress, analysis of the treatment plan often reveals what is needed to move forward.

RECOMMENDED by the US Review

Kate Robinson

US REVIEW

Those who either suffer from such afflictions or who are family members of someone in desperate need of help will find hope in these pages as they read the stories of patients who discover empowerment, newfound confidence and, most importantly, the burst of freedom that comes with a rapid correction of maladaptive behaviors.

Critique: A disclaimer in You're Not Crazy warns the reader that its information is intended for educational purposes only, and emphasizes "Please consult your healthcare practitioner for questions related to your personal health concerns." Essentially, no book can replace the care of a trained and licensed mental health care professional. That being said, You're Not Crazy: Living with Anxiety, Obsessions and Fetishes is an invaluable resource for learning more about certain psychological problems, with the positive message that issues such as anxiety, agoraphobia, or fetishism do not have to ruin one's life. Chapters describe techniques for personal empowerment, including behavior-modification therapy, in plain terms thoroughly accessible to readers of all backgrounds. You're Not Crazy is especially recommended as preparation reading before or during professional therapy, in order to better understand some of the techniques used by professionals in the field. It should be noted for personal reading lists that You're Not Crazy is also available in a Kindle edition ($2.99).

Editorial Note: Laurie Singer is a licensed marriage and family therapist, board-certified in applied behavior analysis. Motivated by the tragic death of her son in the late 80s, she devoted her life to the field of mental health, starting her own company, Laurie Singer Behavioral Services, with a clear vision in mind: to create a team approach for helping individuals resolve behavioral and other mental health issues by applying a combination of behavioral and cognitive behavioral therapy. In 2010, Laurie was recognized by the Autism Society of Ventura County with the Service Provider of the Year Award. Laurie continues to serve families and individuals in her thriving practice today. In memory of her son, Jacob, she founded the Child Life Program at Children's Hospital of Los Angeles.

Midwest Book Review

A wonderful guide to anxiety and its manifestations, for example social phobia or obsessive compulsive disorder. You are in control of your thoughts, is the message here. The author uses a combination of Cognitive behavioral therapy and behavioral therapy to achieve results, and there are case studies involved as well.

Mary Hawkes

Net Galley

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