Continuing Education - Western State Hospital Internship Program

July 07 2022

Friday Facts: Exercising in Winter Months (Originally Published 11/6/2018)

Ugh. It’s *that* time again…

As we begin to head into the winter months, it is important to consider how our exercise and fitness habits might change, and the benefits of exercising.

Exercise can be weather-dependent for many people, as they may not want to exercise out in bad weather (i.e. rain, cloudy, snow, etc.) and they may not want to exercise when it is dark outside (i.e. early morning or late evening. This can leave limited amounts of time to exercise during the winter months when the length of the days becomes shorter and there are more possibilities for rain or snow.

<Nooooo, not jogging in snow!>

<But…>

There are many benefits to exercising other than just an increase in endorphins, and these benefits just might nudge you toward exercising even during the winter months, up to and including, yes, jogging in the snow. The Mayo clinic reports that physical activity can “reduce your risk of chronic disease, improve your balance and coordination, help you lose weight, and even boost your self-esteem.” The Mayo clinic also recommends a combination of strength training and aerobic activity and they even provide examples and videos of various exercises to help get individuals started!

So as we enter in these next few months of decreased sun exposure, sunny days, and lower temperatures, consider looking for exercises to do inside your home! Below are some resources to help you get started.

References
https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/basics/fitness-basics/hlv-20049447

Hannah Sutherland, MA, LPA (Temp)
WKPIC Doctoral Intern

July 07 2022

Friday Facts: Screen Time Controls (Originally Published October 12, 2018)

When was the last time you looked at your phone? How recent was it? Do you remember what you were looking at or did you just check it out of habit?

Many technology companies are starting to come out with more controls to monitor how much we look at our phones, or our “screen time.” The companies are designing these controls for both adults and kids to help reduce the amount of time we use our electronic devices without thinking about it. The new monitors will even help set limits for the amount of time we can use for different apps. The monitors can also use a password to set, in case you do not have much self-discipline and keep adding extra time.

It can also be helpful to set limits for how much time kids are on their phones or tablets. These screen time controls may become a naturalistic, non-invasive way of reducing children’s obsessions with their devices, and model healthy limits for younger users of electronics.

So the next time you see yourself checking your phone for the 30th time today, remember that you can set limits for yourself to help improve productivity!

References
https://www.mynbc5.com/article/too-much-screen-time-new-phone-controls-for-you-and-kids/23301326

Hannah Sutherland, MA, LPA (Temp)
WKPIC Doctoral Intern

June 06 2018

Friday Factoids Catch-Up: Having FUN on Internship

Congrats!!! You have officially matched with your internship placement for next year and that means one more stressful process cannot be taken off your long to-do list before graduation. But just like other portions of your graduate school career, the actual internship can be stressful. As clinicians we teach our clients a variety of coping skills to manage stress and instruct them to engage in self-care activities. However, we usually don’t take our own advice and I know this has been a personal struggle for be during my internship placement. That is why for the month of June the Friday Factoids are going to focus on how to survive your internship while not only growing as a professional, but also having fun at the same time.

There are a variety of articles online that give tips on how to have a successful internship and most of these articles incorporate the same aspects. Tartokovsky (2016) composed a list of “8 Tips for a Successful Internship.” Some of the tips from this were to learn as much as you can during internship, because you will most likely have a chance to do things you have never done before. Something new you learn on internship may even become your specialty in the future. Other tips discussed were talking with staff members and getting to know your cohort. Internship can be stressful at times and you are going to need people to talk to both at work and in your personal life.

As I near the end of my internship placement, I got to thinking about things I did over the last nine months to ensure internship would be a memorable experience. So over the next few weeks, I am going to show you some things I did as an intern that kept me calm including creating friendships, going on lots of Starbucks runs, and wearing unicorn shirts and headbands throughout the hospital. Yes, you read that correctly unicorn shirts because sometimes you need to a good laugh when things get stressful (There is picture proof this happened).

References:
Tartakovsky, M. (2016). 8 Tips for a Successful Internship. Psych Central. Retrieved on June 8, 2018, from https://psychcentral.com/lib/8-tips-for-a-successful-internship/

Anissa Pugh, MA, LPA
WKPIC Doctoral Intern

June 06 2018

Friday Factoid Catch-Up: The Porcupine Dilemma

Having a loved one with a mental illness can sometimes feel a lot like trying to love a porcupine. Schopenhauer and Freud have used a metaphor called the Porcupine Dilemma to describe what they feel is the state of the individual in relation to others.

This dilemma suggests that despite goodwill and the desire to have a close reciprocal relationship, porcupines cannot avoid hurting others with their sharp quills for reasons they cannot avoid. This typically results in cautious behavior and unstable relationships.

To work through this dilemma, if you have a loved one suffering with mental illness, consider the following strategies:

Get involved in a community support program for emotional support and camaraderie.
Engage in self-care.
Encourage your loved one to initiate mental health services.
Communicate openly about your feelings, wants, and needs.

Georgetta Harris-Wyatt, MS
WKPIC Doctoral Intern

June 06 2018

Article Review: Sun, H., Takesian, A.E., Wang, T.T., Lippman-Bell, J.J., Hensch, T.K., Jensen, F.E. (2018). Early Seizures Prematurely Unsilence Auditory Synapses To Disrupt Thalamocortical Critical Period Plasticity

New research from Sun et al. (2018) has discovered a link between seizures early in development and autism. Notably, these seizures occur during a critical period for the primary auditory cortex, a section of the brain important to language development. It is hypothesized that these seizures disrupt the brain’s development, preventing typical language formation, and since these seizures are occurring during a critical period, this language does not develop unless acted upon (Sun et al., 2018). Fortunately, Sun et al. (2018) found that acting upon the auditory cortex with activity dependent AMPA receptor (AMPAR) following the seizure but before the critical period allowed the brain to develop as expected, suggesting there is a remedy for these seizures if identified early enough.

This study does well in identifying the co-morbid diagnoses of autism or intellectual disabilities and epilepsy or other seizure disorders. By recognizing this correlation, the team was able to recognize the possible connection between seizures interfering with the critical periods of neurodevelopment. With this new research, autism and intellectual disability may become signficnatly less prevalent, however, research will need to continue developing the knowledgebase to assure this outcome. Most notably, it will be important to help determine how best to identify these seizures prior to the critical period. Additionally, research will need to find if other factors contribute to the presentation of autism and intellectual disability to continue our understanding of these causative factors and how they contribute to the development of these disorders.

References:
Sun, H., Takesian, A.E., Wang, T.T., Lippman-Bell, J.J., Hensch, T.K., Jensen, F.E. (2018). Early seizures prematurely unsilence auditory synapses to disrupt thalamocortical critical period plasticity. Cell Reports, 23 (9), 2533. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2018.04.108

Michael Daniel, MA, LPA (temp)
WKPIC Doctoral Intern

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Category Archives: Continuing Education

Friday Facts: Exercising in Winter Months (Originally Published 11/6/2018)

Friday Facts: Screen Time Controls (Originally Published October 12, 2018)

Friday Factoids Catch-Up: Having FUN on Internship

Friday Factoid Catch-Up: The Porcupine Dilemma

Article Review: Sun, H., Takesian, A.E., Wang, T.T., Lippman-Bell, J.J., Hensch, T.K., Jensen, F.E. (2018). Early Seizures Prematurely Unsilence Auditory Synapses To Disrupt Thalamocortical Critical Period Plasticity

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