Some treatment facilities are funded by the state or county and are more affordable. This includes community mental health hospitals. These facilities often offer group therapy, which can be very affordable. There is the discomfort of sharing your issues with a group, but you also receive feedback and encouragement from multiple people, not just a therapist, and this feedback can be quite helpful.
In sum, cost is a very real concern, but thinking that you can’t afford therapy often prevents people from getting help they really need. Certainly cost is important, but so is your mental well-being. So, call private practices and community mental health centers and see what you can work out. Not having insurance makes receiving services a bit more challenging and does require more legwork, but there are still options out there if you persevere.
References: Appendix Two
1.W., Bill. (1976). Alcoholics Anonymous: The Story of How Many Thousands of Men and Women Have Recovered From Alcoholism. New York, NY: Alcoholics Anonymous World Services.
2.Patton, P., L. (1992). Rational Behavior Training: A Seven Lesson Sequence for Teaching Rational Behavioral Skills to Students with Social and Emotional Disabilities. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED350807.pdf
3.Center for Disease Control. (2018). Physical Activity and Health. Atlanta, GA: Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/basics/pa-health/index.htm
4.Sharma, A., Madaan, V., & Petty, F. D. (2006). Exercise for Mental Health. Primary Care Companion to The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 8(2), 106.
5.Callaghan, P. (2004). Exercise: a neglected intervention in mental health care? Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, 11, 476-483.
6.Blumenthal, J. A., Smith, P. J., & Hoffman, B. M. (2012). Is Exercise a Viable Treatment for Depression? ACSM’s Health & Fitness Journal, 16(4), 14–21.
7.Strauss Cohen, I. (2017). 7 Unexpected Mental Health Benefits of Exercising. Psych Central. Retrieved on June 12, 2018, from https://psychcentral.com/blog/7-unexpected-mental-health-benefits-of-exercising/
8.Fossas, A. (2015). The Basics of Mindfulness: Where did it come from? Retrieved from https://welldoing.org/article/basics-of-mindfulness-come-from
9.Henriques, G. (2015) What is Mindfulness and How Does It Work? Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/theory-knowledge/201502/what-is-mindfulness-and-how-does-it-work
10.Kabat-Zinn, Jon. (1994). Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation In Everyday Life. New York, NY: Hyperion.
11.Cortman, C., Shinitzky, H. (2010). Your Mind: An Owner’s Manual For A Better Life. Franklin Lakes, NJ: Career Press.
Acknowledgments
In the words of Nelson Mandela, “Courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”
I’ll begin my list of acknowledgments with the bravest person I know personally, my wife, Stephanie, who is raising three children and a childish husband, all while grappling with stage four breast cancer. Thank you, Steph, for supporting me through yet another book. Maybe I’ll write the next one on “How to become the perfect husband.”
Thank you also to my children, Cameron, Melina, and Dylan for sacrificing “Daddy time” so I could work on this project. I promise I’ll never do this again until mommy says it’s time to write another book.
Much gratitude to our literary agent, Giles Anderson, who believed in the project right from the outset and sought to find the perfect publishing company. I’d like to also thank that perfect publishing company, Mango Publishing, especially Brenda Knight, a woman with the personality to make you think that you are doing things out of your own free will, when in fact, you are actually under her spell. Although we have never met, I’d like to thank you for your patience with us and your ability to find laughter in every situation. And although we may have contributed to your desire to opt for an early retirement, I would work with you again without reservation!
A word of gratitude to my brave “work wives,” Lexi and Smeather. I salute you for your daily patience and your long suffering with me, exacerbated by the deadline of publishing a book. I appreciate your encouragement, kindness, and consistency. There, that’s better than a raise any day! No?
To my co-author, Dr. Joseph Walden, thank you for your many insights and contributions to this book. May you enjoy a long career that is every bit as fantastic as you are.
A heartfelt thank you to Bruce, my extraordinary editor, and Dr. Roger Davis, my unpaid but brilliant psychologist editor. You are a gentleman and a true friend!
My thanks to Fritz Perls, Albert Ellis, David Burns, Donald Michenbaum, Lenore Terr, Syd Simon, Charles Whitfield, Judith Herman, Robert Ackerman, Martin Seligman, E. Sue Blume, and so many other psychologists and mental health professionals who have contributed to my knowledge in treating patients with trauma, grief and “unfinished business”.
Most importantly, I tip my hat to the scores of broken people who have allowed me into their lives to help them recover from the worst of what life has to offer. Don’t tell the above psychologists, but you all have taught me more about how the mind heals than all of the psychologists combined. I am grateful to you, my teachers/students for helping me to put together a paradigm for treatment that truly works. May you always feel the joy of contributing to the healing of others. God bless each one of you for your remarkable recovery, continued courage, and faith moving forward. To each of you, you humble and inspire me.
Christopher Cortman
I’ll begin my acknowledgments with the person who got me interested in the field in the first place and pushed me (sometimes kicking and screaming) into pursuing my doctorate, my dad. Though you are no longer here in person, your influence on my life has been undeniable, and I know you’re looking down on me and that you are proud. My mom has been my biggest supporter of late and has encouraged me to strive for excellence. Without her strength over the past few years, none of this, including working on this book, would have been possible.
To my fiancé, Tricia, you are the sunshine in my life and have been throughout our relationship. Whenever I need support, you’ve been there, and while writing this book, it was no different. I am looking forward to marrying you and am excited for our wedding and our future together.
To my supervisor, colleague, and friend Chris Cortman, I am truly blessed to have the opportunity to work for, learn from, and write this book with you. The wisdom I’ve been able to absorb from someone who has run a successful practice for thirty years and has helped thousands of people will be put to good use throughout my career in the near and distant future. Not many people get to publish a book in their twenties, but with your help I have gotten there, and I couldn’t be more thankful.
I’d also like to thank Dr. Roger Davis for his knowledge and excellent editorial skills and Jessica Reyka for selflessly giving me this opportunity to work on the book.
As mentioned above, a big thank-you to the clients who have worked so hard with me to heal from the worse experiences known to man. And a special thank-you to our veterans, because war truly is Hell, and healing from it is challenging. To all the people I’ve worked with, I am always in awe of your resilience, and your continued strength motivates me to be the best psychologist I can be. The journeys that you have gone through with treatment are daunting at times, but the healing that can occur is so profound it helps me stay grounded, stay humble, and stay motivated to help more and more people.
Joseph Walden
About the Authors
Joseph Walden
Dr. Joseph Walden graduated from Florida State University with his Bachelor’s degree in psychology and graduated with his Doctorate of Psychology from the Florida School of Professional Psychology. Dr. Walden has a wide variety of experiences including working in a crisis center and an inpatient drug and alcohol center in Bradenton, a college counseling cent
er in and the C.W. Bill Young VA Medical Center in St. Petersburg, and Park Center, a community mental health hospital, in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Dr. Walden has worked with children, families, adults, and the geriatric populations in individual and group therapy. He offers treatment for anxiety, depression, addictions, trauma, interpersonal skills, phobias, and stress management. “I am personally and professionally invested in the treatment of the military population. My father was an Army veteran and was the one who originally sparked my interest in the treatment of trauma. While on practicum at the Bay Pines VAMC, I worked in the Substance and Posttraumatic Integrated Recovery (SPIR) unit where I worked with veterans who were dually diagnosed with an alcohol/drug addiction and PTSD. There I spent time completing trauma-specific training for my entire tenure there. I also completed my dissertation using an empirical study regarding differences in PTSD symptom expression across war era involvement.”
Christopher Cortman
Chris Cortman, PhD has been a licensed psychologist for 28 years. He is a much-sought-after speaker, has facilitated more than 60,000 hours of psychotherapy, and has provided psychological consultation at five hospitals in the Sarasota/Venice area. Dr. Cortman is the co-creator of a youth prevention and wellness program called The Social Black Belt.
Keep Pain in the Past Page 22
