"Readers may be interested to hear of a new, highly controversial form of behavioral therapy called Exposure Response Prevention. It exposes addicts to simulated versions of drugs of choice and to the equipment used to prepare and consume them. Exposure to these catalysts (bongs, rolling papers, coke spoons, etc.) can elicit powerful cravings that addicts are taught to handle without giving in to them."

"The exposure to these catalysts elicits powerful cravings that the addict is taught how to handle without giving into them."

"The exposure to these catalysts – such as bongs, rolling paper, coke spoons, and lighter elicits powerful cravings that the addict is taught how to handle without giving in to their addiction. In this way, they are exposed to their triggers but prevented from getting high."

"SLS Health is in the process of developing and Exposure Response Prevention program to treat compulsive gamblers, similar to those already used to treat alcohol and drug addictions."

"As a child and adolescent psychiatrist, I see many children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) of all varieties. During the course of treatment, I very often find parents who also suffer from the same condition...In my opinion, primary-care physicians play an important role in identifying adult patients with ADHD."

"This morning, I told one of my patients her homework is to start getting her nails done on a biweekly basis, because it inspires social contact, and it provides a time where the person has an opportunity to forget about what's going on, basically to relax. We all need to relax right about now."

"When we're under stress, the sympathetic system is turned up to such a degree that the internal organs, if stressed long enough, may become damaged."

"Although Poundstone is not the first person to lose her kids to a drinking problem, she is a celebrity who had to be tried twice – once by the courts and then by the public. Celebrities have the same problems as everyday people, but it's tougher to cope, because all of their private issues are thrown out for the public to see."

"The compulsive shoplifter does not want to get caught. She [Winona Ryder] wants the stuff she's stealing – that's part of the compulsion. Shoplifting is nothing more than an irrational expression of whatever the shoplifter's psychiatric problems are. Shoplifting means something negative is going on inside."

"When people get away with shoplifting they feel tremendous pleasure and tremendous relief. From a physiological standpoint, the pleasure centers of the brain have been stimulated. Before the incident, adrenaline starts rushing through the body and the heart rate increases. Those who shoplift often get acclimated – even addicted-to the tension and release."

"We now understand that no one, no matter what their vocation, can be 100 percent safe...We can lose our sense of community in that we can't even trust our priests, a sixth grade teacher or a baseball coach."

"The most important thing is to understand that the death experience is unique to the individual."

"What September 11th did was accelerate the decision-making process as to whether or not to commit to the marriage or file for divorce."

"Any time there is a child or adolescent that gets national attention [because of suicide], parents have to be concerned about copycat suicide. The drama – that's what the adolescent identifies with. It may give a child with suicidal proclivities the idea of dramatic suicide."

"It was a romantic and chivalrous attempt at creating a true tragedy."

"They have the discretionary income to buy cocaine. They can withdraw $800 from an ATM without their wife knowing. Part of their job is taking clients out drinking or partying. And they have a natural tendency to believe they can control their dependency."

"A lot of recovering alcoholics are feeling shaky over [ 9/11]. Being vulnerable is a hard thing for people with addictions."

"Growing up in an alcoholic family has long-term consequences on the development of the person."

For example, Dr. Joseph Santoro, a psychologist who helped found a residential treatment facility for personality disorders in Brewster, New York, and who authored "The Angry Heart: Overcoming Borderline and Addictive Disorders" (New Harbinger Publications, $14.95), believes that the roots of BPD are environmental rather than genetic.

"They're apprehensive about having to compete for positions with younger workers who may be more technologically advanced."

"You can't make blanket statements about gender. Every individual is unique. If a woman is interested in a man, and she's the kind of woman who asks men out, she should feel confident and assertive enough to do so."

He's part shrink, part coach, part salesman, part one-of-the-guys. And while Alden Cass' mission might be to "normalize mental health on Wall Street," his approach is more Dr. Phil than Dr. Freud.

As president of Catalyst Strategies Group Llc, he coaches traders and investment bankers - those who, when they're feeling vulnerable, may not be the first to dial up the company's employee-assistance programs. They're too worried in that raw-meat culture that they'll be found out and seen as cinnamon buns.

But still, as the third anniversary of Sept. 11 approached, "everyone's been a little on edge," he says, facing the "double whammy" of the remembrance, as well as government warnings of another possible attack...go to the complete article

...All of this has led some experts to conclude that the rate of depression among brokers and traders is related more to the grinding pressures of a rapidly changing industry than to the vicissitudes of the markets.

"Brokers have little control over their jobs or the outcomes of their trades," said Alden M. Cass, a licensed clinical psychologist who wrote the study and now coaches Wall Street traders and brokers on coping with the psychological travails of their professions. "These frustrations can lead to a form of 'learned helplessness,' or a feeling that you are in a prison with no way out. Such feelings have been linked to levels of clinical depression."...go to the complete article

The IRAQ WAR drove Wall Street to drink, says Dr. Alden Cass. In a July 28 study, the president of consultancy Catalyst Strategies Group says that during and just after the war, 32% of his 51 respondents - mostly brokers and analysts - had six or more drinks on at least one occasion a week.

While traumatic events often lead to drinking problems, Cass says that bankers took to the bottle earlier than usual because of "open wounds" from September 11. It may be time to consider more healthfull coping skills.

"People feel better themselves in spring. It may not be in their best therapeutic interests to cancel appointments, but people are getting outside."

"Many individuals go to their primary care physician when they're not suffering from medical conditions. They're suffering from depression and as part of the signs if symptomatology of depression, they will feel as if it is a medical condition."

"It's amazing to think how much suffering there is right now, but the symptoms of major depression existed well before September 11" said Alden Cass. [Dr.] Cass believes his findings should interest not only stockbrokers but all concerned about the health of the market. Retail brokers, after all, play a key role in attracting the new money that helps push up share prices. When they feel down, the volume sales calls they make to potential investors can fall by as much as half....

"A typical 7-year-old certainly has the cognitive comprehension to understand the consequences of his actions, that fire is hot and dangerous and causes pain. What they don't have the capacity for is to understand the moral implications, such as the long-term consequences, like that his brother could die or suffer physical scarring."

"The best course of action is preventative education. Every child should be taught decency and respect, and that going along with the rest of the crowd by making fun of other children is not good."

"From the moment we are born, we strive for recognition and acceptance. The drive to be the best is part of the drive toward procreation. So it's no different really between Alec Baldwin and a turkey with the biggest feather in the forest, the principal is the same."