By: Larry F. Waldman, Ph.D., ABPP In mid-May I completed a two-year yoga certification program at age 77. I was super fit. Also around that time, I began to experience problems with my prostate—urinary frequency and leakage—as is common in senior men. I saw a urologist who prescribed medication and ordered some testing. In June the urologist reviewed the [...]
By: Larry F. Waldman, Ph.D., ABPP Psychologist The reasons for the current opioid epidemic are due to the following, largely unspoken, reasons: Physicians don’t have the time (and training) to effectively deal with their patients’ pain. Insurance companies prefer the quick, simpler treatment through medication over other longer, more complex non-medical interventions. Our nation’s health insurance and drug companies [...]
When we enter a grocery store or our primary care physician’s office we generally know what kind of service we will receive. For most of us this is not the case when we begin treatment with a mental health provider. Over my 45-+ year career I met many frustrated clients who complained that their previous mental health practitioner failed [...]
By Larry F. Waldman, Ph.D., Phoenix-based psychologist Depression and anxiety are, by far, the most common mental health problems. Nearly 20% of the U.S. population struggles with or will struggle with one or both of these problems. The most common treatment today for these issues is medication — typically prescribed by the primary care physician (not a psychiatrist). This [...]
Larry F. Waldman, PhD, ABPP Clinical, Forensic Psychologist When I began counseling parents in the early 70’s, then as a school psychologist, it was often necessary to warn of the harmful effects of spanking and/or paddling as a common discipline method. Today, the pendulum has swung to the other extreme, as parents are not effectively addressing their children’s inappropriate [...]
By Larry F. Waldman, PhD, ABPP Psychologist, Trainer Resistance training (weight lifting) is far more popular than yoga. It is rare, especially among men, to find people who do both. Having spent thousands of hours in the gym for the past 50 years and a hundred hours on a yoga mat this past decade, it is unfortunately clear [...]
A major revelation to me from the current virus is the sad state of our digital system. Because many of us are house-bound, we are using the Internet more often for information, entertainment and socialization. Presumably due to this significantly increased demand, I regularly experience sites that don’t work, buttons that don’t function, pages that freeze or disappear, and [...]
As an experienced clinical child psychologist, I believe the ultimate goal of any parent is to rear an independent and responsible child. While at first glance this may appear obvious, if we observe most parents in action on a day-to-day basis, it becomes evident that many parents have no idea how to achieve this objective. Most parents never take [...]
Schools today are required to provide more services than ever before. For example, many schools across the nation offer a free hot breakfast and lunch to students. Some schools serve as a community mental health center and some even supply medical services to the neighborhood. One service I believe schools can and should provide is parenting training. Most parents [...]
The parent-teacher conference can be an efficient tool to communicate with your child’s teacher. Below are a few tips on how to make that meeting more productive: 1) Show up: My wife, now retired from teaching fourth grade for 28 years, often said that the parents with whom she most needed to talk rarely scheduled a conference. Children perform [...]
Social Contact