An article on medication's role in treating mental illness

Dear everyone:


This month's Awakening Minds update features my article, "Taking Medication is Just the Beginning", that empowers sufferers of mental illnesses to go beyond taking medication to take an active role in their own treatment and recovery. I would also like to highlight the availability of hourly mental wellness consultations at my new place and Sebastien's artwork.

1. "Taking Medication is Just the Beginning": For sufferers who feel disempowered because they feel that their lives are in the hands of pills and doctors, this article will inspire them to recognise the important role they play in their treatment. Caregivers can also benefit by helping their loved ones take on a more proactive approach.

Below is an excerpt:
Taking Medication is Just the Beginning

By Choo Kah Ying

Medication, counseling, and in serious cases, ECT – this is the conventional treatment protocol prescribed for mood disorders in psychiatry. Unfortunately, for sufferers who are resistant to taking medication, there is nothing more disempowering than thinking that your mind – the sanctum of your being – rests in the pills you hold in the palm of your hand.

However, through my experiences, I have found that this perspective is a grossly limited conception of the role of medication for the treatment of mental illnesses.

In reality, taking medication is just the beginning – your courageous admission that you need professional assistance to help you get back on your feet. For those of you suffering from depression, or manic depression, medication can stabilise your moods sufficiently for you to think and feel well enough to get your life back in order. It provides a critical foundation for you to build on your treatment and recovery.

At the same time, it is important for you to adopt a realistic conception of the role of medication. In my consultation work and at my talks, many sufferers will lament about their lives on medication. For them, taking medication has not transformed their lives, nor has it helped them to resolve their problems and challenges. In their minds, these sufferers believe that popping their pills should transform their perceptions of themselves, others, the environment and the world in general into a bed of roses. Steeped in their struggles with their vacillating moods, they cultivate an idealised notion of normalcy that does not in any way resemble the lives of typical human beings. Then when they open their eyes and see that their fantasy has not come true, they declare with self-righteousness that medications do not work...

To read more, please go to: http://www.awakeningminds.sg/article_taking_medication_is_the_beginning.html

2. Mental wellness consultations: I will be offering affordable mental wellness consultations (one-hour session) at my home in Ang Mo Kio (Singapore), in lieu of the two-hour consultations I used to conduct at the clients' homes. I work with sufferers and their caregivers in customising a life programme to supplement their conventional treatments of medication and therapy. We will also practise wellness and cognitive strategies. Only evening sessions are available (from 8 p.m.) on selected weekday evenings.

3. Sebastien's artwork: I have just moved to my own flat with Sebastien. It is nice to finally properly display the artwork of Sebastien, my autistic son, in Ikea frames. Check them out at: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=259433&id=720254922&l=bc9bce9737

That's it for this month's update. Please feel free to share this information with others.

Thanks for all your support and interest.

Thanks,

Kah Ying

8163-4509

One-on-One Learning Support/Tuition Sessions for Children with Special Needs and/or Learning Difficulties

Hi everyone:

I am pleased to announce my new service as part of Awakening Minds: One-on-One Learning Support/Tuition Sessions in Literacy/English/Writing for students with special needs and learning challenges, as well as typical learners in my home.

For those who do not know me:

My name is Choo Kah Ying. I am a homeschooler of my son, Sebastien, who is now 14 years old. I was formerly an academic researcher in the U.S. for eight years. Through this work and my homeschooling journey with my son (last 5 years since my return to SIngapore), I have developed learning materials and workshops targeted at caregivers and teachers of special needs children, as well as children who are difficult to teach due to various reasons. If you would like to learn more about me, you can go to my website (www.awakeningminds.com.sg).

As I have just moved to a flat (my own space), I have decided to conduct ONE-ON-ONE LEARNING SUPPORT/TUITION sessions (one-hour) for children and adolescents with special needs at my home in Ang Mo Kio (Singapore). As I do other work, I am only allocating one hourly timeslot in the day time per student (Monday to Friday within the range of 1:30-3:30). I am available for two hourly timeslots starting from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Mondays.

My sessions cover:

a) Basic literacy for young children or individuals who still cannot read/write.
b) Basic numeracy for young children or individuals who cannot count, add, subtract, etc.
c) Development of language and writing skills in English (for all ages).
d) Creative writing skills (story writing).
e) I am open to any suggestions.

I will be customising the learning programme and the work for each student. Each hourly session is $50. For a new student, I will need to do a concise assessment with caregiver and child; this will help me to design the learning session that will fit with the learning objectives and functioning level of the the caregiver and child.

If you are interested or need more information, please contact me at 8163-4509.

Best regards,

Kah Ying