All Posts Archives - Page 5 of 7 - Psychiatrist and Psychologist in San Diego | Ketamine Treatment in San Diego

Therapeutic Alliance as a Predictor of Outcome in Treatment of Cocaine Dependence

by Barber, et al. A Review by Julie Myers, PsyD, MSCP There has been an increasing interest in outcome measures in therapy. Although there is a school of thought that technique is the primary predictor of outcome, some therapists…

How Decision Fatigue Can Affect Your Recovery

All Posts

Recent research on the topic of willpower shows that we, as human beings, have limited decision making capacity. That is, in any given day, we may simply run-out of the mental energy that is required to make decisions. Researcher Roy Baumeister,…

What’s Your Caffeine IQ?

All Posts, Diagnoses & Conditions, Herbs and Vitamins

Caffeine Facts For most people, moderate caffeine (200 – 300 mg, or about 2-3 cups of coffee a day) aren’t harmful. But heavy caffeine use (more than 500 mg) can cause insomnia, nervousness, restlessness, irritability, nausea…

What is Biofeedback?

All Posts, Diagnoses & Conditions, Psychotherapy, Side Effects

Biofeedback is a therapeutic technique that uses technology/computers to help you become more aware of the subtle changes that occur in your body. Once you are more aware of them, you can control them better. How does Biofeedback…

A Terrified Man

All Posts, Diagnoses & Conditions, Psychotherapy

Winston came to see us when he was 58, with the diagnosis of health anxiety, which in the old days would have been called hypochondriasis. He became terrified when, after he complained to his primary care physician about some clumsiness in…

What’s in your Genes?

All Posts, Medications, Side Effects

Carl was 47 years old when he first came to see me. He had his first depressive episode in his mid-twenties. It responded well to an antidepressant, which he continued to take even after he felt better. When he started to feel stressed out…

Ketamine Dreams 2: Travels through Memories of Land and People

All Posts, Ketamine

It is immensely gratifying for us to see the robust response to ketamine in some patients, especially since many of them had struggled with depression for years, trying one medication after another, with only partial success at best, while…

Through the Stomach to the … Brain!

All Posts, Diagnoses & Conditions, Science

Discovery of the Gut-Brain Axis: What Mouse Research Revealed It has become increasingly clear that there is a two-way connection between the bugs living in our gut and the activities occurring in our brain. This interconnected system…

Ketamine Dreams 1: Visions of Sand and Stars in Patient Narratives

All Posts, Ketamine

One type of feedback we collect from our ketamine patients is a narrative description of their experiences during the “trip”. It is hard to remember, let alone put in words, psychedelic experiences and many of our patients leave empty…

Taking Control of Your Cravings

All Posts, Diagnoses & Conditions, Medications

What Triggers Drug and Alcohol Cravings? Environmental Cues and Mood States Cravings for drugs or alcohol are controlled by a variety of brain chemicals, including norepinephrine, dopamine, and glutamate. Many people describe their…