Counseling in Chicago with Bill Martin, LCSW

Read about it here.

A video of Reynolds talking about his gullibility and feelings of betrayal by James Arthur Ray. Watch it here.

Read his article here.

If you carefully evaluate the structure of his words and sentences, you will see that he is appealing to the ultra conservative, wealthy Americans who probably hate people on welfare.

Ray takes some very, very cheap shots at people on welfare, as well as people who are sick, need healthcare, or obese.

To him, these are all lazy people

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Would you stay in a sweat lodge where people around you are vomiting, passing out, and you are beginning to feel yourself losing consciousness?

It’s easy for us to say “no”, but people just as smart as us did not out in Arizona. Three of them died, and almost half of the other participants became very ill.

Mind control. These people weren’t taken into a room and hypnotized. They still had the ability to think and make decisions.

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You may know by now the police are treating the three deaths in the Arizona sweat lodge led by James Arthur Ray as homicides.

Ray is not a licensed therapist of any kind, so he did not have the help of any professional ethical code to guide his behavior.

Whether he will ultimately be viewed as a huckster operating a sweat lodge wildly out of control or a thoughtful professional who led an experience where three people were killed accidentally remains to be seen.

There seems to be a lot of evidence right now pointing to the former possibility. Here are just a few of the ethical principals (see NASW Code Ethics) he may have violated:

• Helping people in need to solve problems

• Respect for the integrity and worth of human beings

• Acting with integrity and competence as a professional

Also, here are a few ethical standards which he may have violated:

• Commitment to the well-being of clients

• Provide full explanation of services so client can make an informed decision about their participation

• Competence in whatever service offered as demonstrated by completion of educational, training, and professional experience

Based on the information gathered from police, participants, James Arthur Ray and his

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It’s pretty simple. The research shows us that when people feel discouraged and helpless, they are more likely to become depressed. There are several landmark studies conducted by Martin Seligman and Steven Maier describing the phenomenon of learned helplessness using dogs and the effect of exposing the dogs to unpleasant electrical shocks while in a harness.

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There are many psychologists and other behavioral health professionals concerned about the use of torture by the United States during the last decade. For a 10 minute video by Roy Eidelson, PhD., President-Elect, Psychologists for Social Responsibility, summarizing these concerns, click here.

When I do an initial assessment, I ask many questions about family history. Although it is always an ongoing process, after a few sessions, I will usually understand how long parents were married, any divorces or major illnesses, parenting styles, length and quality of clients relationships, educational and career history, and importantly any experience of abuse and/or neglect. Why is this important?

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Now is now and then is then. I hear this often in my work with clients. I understand their concern and try to help them determine the relevancy of their family history to their current life situation. This is called “family of origin” work within the field of family therapy. What does this work look like?

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