Happy Thanksgiving

      Canada celebrates Thanksgiving this Monday.  I shall spend Sunday with family and Monday with my mom.  I won’t be eating the turkey as I became a vegetarian after seeing a rabbit being killed.  Initially, I thought it was one of my pets, so no turkey for me.  I am thankful that I am a Canadian who was and is educated here, work here and play here.  I am thankful that I was offered the opportunity to serve my country, given the opportunity to travel and see parts of the world and to return home with a new found appreciation of what I had left behind.  I am thankful for everyone who is in my life and touches my soul.  So, before I bore you all with my thankfulness, I wish to thank you for checking out my blog and wish you a Happy Thanksgiving where ever you are!

     I am now in the process of trying to design my own web site www.redigondapsychothrapy.com   I should have it finished by Christmas.  It is fun taking a course just for fun with no intense readings, papers and exams.  The world of the web is quite fascinating but I am more people orientated and very social preferring face to face contact.  However, the internet is a very important facet of society and an extension tool for providing counselling and psychotherapy for people who would not be able to get it otherwise or are too shy to meet in person.  Check out my blog regarding the paper I wrote for internet counselling.  You will see the cons and pros of internet counselling.  It is a matter of time before we all enter the realm of the internet for providing counselling/psychotherapy.

    Why not take the time to examine what you have to be thankful for?  Thanksgiving as with all holidays can be a very stressful time for many.  Perhaps this is a good time to examine who is positive in your life and who is not.  Why is that so?  Who makes you happy?  Who makes you sad?  Why?  What can you do to change this?  What can you change in yourself to make life a bit more for yourself?  Thanksgiving is a time of reaching out to someone who may have no one in their lives.  Why not a friendly visit to an elderly person?  Why not reconnect with that special person?  Why not just say Happy Thanksgiving to someone who may not have heard of it in sometime?  Why not celebrate in your own way today?

Happy Thanksgiving  

Relationships tid bit, psychology notes

Theories of Relationships - Erickson

Erikson’s psychosocial theory emphasizes the necessity of developing intimate long term relationships.  Intimacy may take a romantic form as well as be of a deep friendship sort.  In mid-life what may be lacking in terms of quantity in friends for example, may be made up in quality of relationships.  Quality is especially important for the meaningfulness of friendships as well as a buffer in times of stress.

Kohlberg’s Moral Stages - psych notes......cont...

Kohlberg’s Moral Stages

Pre conventional is an emphasis on avoiding punishment and getting rewards

0 – pre-moral     (no moral)

Stage 1      - Heteronymous morality:  punishment and obedience orientation (physical consequences determine what is     

                    good and bad. 

Stage 2         Naïve hedonistic orientation – what satisfies one’s own needs is good).

Conventional (emphasis on social rules)

Stage 3         Interpersonal conformity – ethics of peer opinion, good boy – good girl orientation (what pleases or helps others is good)

Stage 4         Social system orientation, conformity to social system; ethics of law and order- social order (maintaining social order; doing one’s duty is good)

Post Conventional – emphasis of moral principals

Stage 5         social contract orientations- ethics of social contract and individual rights - legalistic orientation (values agreed by society determine what is right)

Stage 6         universal ethical principal (what is right is a matter of conscience in accordance

                     with universal principals.  Ethics of self chosen universal principals.

Note:   One may not reach all stages and/or one may move back and forth along the stages.

  Piaget studies of children’s moral reasoning revealed that children’s moral schemata develop out of existing cognitive structures.  From moral co-operation to autonomy.  The child moves from a reliance on authority to socially developed rules.  In the interest of others to a recognition that there are other rules of personal responsibility, a higher personal morality.

   

Moral Reasoning: How does it occur?

According to Kohlberg’s work, people arrive at moral levels in an independent manner, not merely mirroring the socialization experiences in a particular cultural content.  They pass through well defined stages as their morality moves from an emphasis on consequences to one of intention of the doer.  Kohlberg, like Piaget was interested in reasoning behind morale decisions and tied this reasoning in part to Piaget’s stages of cognitive development.

to be continued .........with the inclusions of the stages 

     

Read me please. Please read me.

      I attended a seminar last year and we were informed by a man from Washington that if we were therapists and not on the internet we would be out of business in ten years.  This was not good news for one patiently waiting for her college to get going.  So I started this blog immediately.  I recently enrolled in a course where I am supposed to learn how to do a web site.  The night was a bit slow which is probably good since I am more suited away from computers.  However, we will only be learning how to upload and design our web which will be up and running by Christmas.  I will probably have to take another course on how to charge people for telephone, email etc….counselling.  It would be nice to extend my services worldwide, if I can figure it out and my mentor permits it.  I have also enlisted with psychology today as advised.  That was fun because I connected with another previous classmate who is doing nicely there.  Starting a new business costs money and more money and more money.  Our College of Psychotherapy has also been delayed a year.  That means that many people who are not educated or trained in counselling continue to do so and make big bucks at it legally.  Fortune tellers?  Let us not even go there.  But I do want to help people, help themselves for life.  So even though I am not an ambitious 20 anymore, I am sure and steady and resilient, like fine aged wine.   I will be considerate and patient.  After all I have the rest of my life to look forward to, as long or short as it may be.  I have had a good life and I am right where I want to be with perhaps more funding.  I have a place to sleep, I have lots of food and hopefully some of that is food, that does not slowly kill me and I have lots of love.  What more can I want?  Where I do start?   

     In my class of web designers wanna bees there are all sorts of interesting people some of who want to sell nice and yummy things such as chocolate.  I would much more like to know about what they do than stare at a computer and keep paying for registration, service etc….which was all we seemed to be doing on our first night.  So wish me luck on this venture.  I also have to prepare a speaking engagement for a group of people next week and I have not even begun to prepare for that.  Actually, I have thought about it.  Fortunately, when I start to speak it all comes out easy so I only have to prepare a bit of background for this.  Speaking engagements are few nowadays, but I have extensive experience in that department.  With experience and the gift for gab, I can go a long way in a short time, in front of a group.  Just a tinny bit of research, I still need to do. 

     Sunday I will be at Queen’s Park selling “Hey Guy Buy Me.”  I had so much fun writing that little book.  There are even cartoons included.  Not all appreciate it.  Now I have to try to sell it.  So if you are at Queen’s Park this Sunday come and buy one.  I even bought candies.  I noticed when people sell things, they get candies, pens etc….to attract people to their booth.  I will see how this works.  For a big bag of candies from Costco, it may just do the trick.  “Do you want a candy, sir?  Huh, perhaps your wife, girlfriend does?” 

………….”No, I understand.  Candies make you fat.  At least they don’t cause cancer.  Not that I heard of yet. Maybe it will cause cancer tomorrow?  Why do you think our governments allow big corporations to poison us legally?  Did you hear about popcorn and rice?  Should I throw out my rice?  I stopped eating the popcorn.  Maybe I should send out all that I eat to a lab to see how safe it is to eat, before it kills me?   No I cannot afford to do that.  Maybe Bill Gates does that?  Do you think he will share the news with us?  He was right on with the environment.  I would have voted for him.  They don’t let Canadians vote in the States.  We are not Americans, we have our own problems.  No I cannot afford to provide chocolates.  Yup, I heard it makes you feel good.  No it is not a garage sale, I cannot give you two books for the price of one.  Please sir, bring that book back.  It does not say steal me.  It says buy me”.    

      Hopefully, I will see you Sunday and some of you will buy my book without trying to steal it (like the last street festival in my neighborhood).  If you are somewhere far away from Canada, notice that I rent a post office box (see my profile) so if you may send me $9.95 Canadian or American (we keep playing tag with the dollar and we are winning at the moment ever so slightly),  I will send you my book and since I cannot send you a candy, I will cover the postage and handling.  You have to send the money first because I am honest and I don’t know if you are.      

      If you can’t come Sunday, maybe you can come to York University on the 21^st of November.  I will by then know if having candies is a selling booster or not.  In the meantime, I will try to get all this computer stuff started so I can return to what I should be doing, helping people, return to writing my second book (still on page 161) and catch up with a lot of reading.  I am reading my second book of dream interpretation for fun and trying to catch up with journals.  Maybe if I sell some books, I can afford to take a more indepth study of dreams.  What am I thinking?  I am still paying off tuition and let’s not even start with the 16 year old car?

     Well, this blog is the only place where I will have fun.  The rest of my stuff is all serious.  Not everyone appreciates my humour. 

 What do you think?       

Alzheimer’s Disease

     My first experience with Alzheimer’s was with the mother of a friend of mine who I knew for most of my life.  As she began to experience forgetfulness, she shared her experiences and fears with me.  Eventually, she would no longer recognize me and the last time I saw her, she cowered away from me in fear.  That is my last memory of her in life.   I was very young at the time, as I watched this incredible intelligent woman suffer as she realized what was happening to her.

  Alzheimer’s is one of the topics in Family Therapy Magazine, Jul/ Aug 2012 which I shall share some information with you.

  Alzheimer’s disease is one type of dementia and accounts for half of dementia cases.  5.4 million Americans live with it.  An estimated 500,000 Canadians have the disease or related dementia.  A small percentage of those with Alzheimer’s disease will have the symptoms as early as their 40’s.  One in eight people 65 and over have it and the amount of those afflicted doubles every five years thereafter.   Early onset occurs in people age 30 to 60 and represents less than 5% of all who have the disease.  Most develop the disease after 60 years of age.

The disease is due to harmful accumulation of proteins in key areas of the brain that link to the creation and maintenance of mult-sense and rich memories and the sense of confidence in the accuracy of these memories. 

It is estimated that 54 % of Americans will be touched by the disease.  Free educational series on the disease may be found at www.alzheimers.org.uk and www.alzheimer.ca   (England and Canada Alzheimer’s societies.

Fear, impatience, confusion and anger are all normal reactions to witnessing the progression of this disease (pp 7, 8, 11). 

      What do you think?

Word on the Street - Book and magazine festival at Queen's Park

I will be selling my book from 1100 -  to 6:00 pm on Sunday, September 23 at Queen's Park  (Bay Wellesley area).  My hair will be layered, short and blonde.  I should update my picture but I keep changing my hair colour and style, otherwise I get bored looking at myself.  The Book is Hey Guy Buy Me which is dating advice, utilizing lots of humour for men.  Women like it too.  So if you are a friend of mine and did not buy one yet, please come and do so.  I am now 160 pages into my second book which I am writing with my whole heart and soul.  Hey Guy was written in pure fun,though I understand it has been handed out to some guys who really need to read it.  Buy it for fun or buy it for a reason but please buy it.  Of course if you are not in Toronto, you can order it via my post office box.  I have not sold one yet to anyone who reads my blog.......quite sad.  Anyhow, for anyone going to the Festival, I will be at Booth WB12 for the day.  It will be (if I am reading my map correctly) on the east side of Queens Park, South of Wellesly and maybe slightly South of Grosvenor.  Hope to see you there and hope to sell one book or more.   

     I will also be selling "Hey Guy Buy Me" at York University, Showcase, Wednesday, 21 Nov.  Hopefully I can sell a few there.  Take care and thank you for reading my blogs.

     Anyhow, I hope to see some of my FRIENDS there for support.  Feel free to bring me a strong tasting coffee if you are my FRIEND.  And if you are a real good FRIEND,  you can bring me a bavarian cream donut or apple fritter as a second choice.   All others no coffee please, nor donuts, but do please buy a book.   Hope to see you there.