Our Journal Club

Written by: Marie Chesaniuk, PhD What is Habit Reversal Training (HRT)? HRT is a behavioral therapy that helps people reduce or eradicate unwanted habits or behaviors. The type of habit in question is often a repetitive behavior that people engage in automatically, without awareness, and are often unhelpful or even harmful in some cases. HRT ...

From Impossible to Possible: A Breakthrough in Treatment Written by: Marie Chesaniuk, PhD Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders: What are they? Schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSDs) is an umbrella term that refers to schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders including brief psychotic disorder, delusional disorder, schizoaffective disorder, and schizophreniform disorder. These conditions have some similarities and some differences. Notably, ...

Written by: Dan Mortenson, PhD Dan, the Man Some time ago, I discovered that I’m a bit of an anomaly in my field: a male psychologist.  For whatever reason, mental health providers tend to be predominantly female and I found myself to be in the minority which put me in a unique position when starting ...

Written by: Bernardo Loiacono, PhD The Extinction Burst It’s important to note that using new behavioral strategies requires setting clearer boundaries consistently – boundaries that the child is not yet familiar with. This change in the caregiver response will likely lead to an extinction burst, as should be expected.2 An extinction burst is when a ...

Rachel Weisbecker, M.A. & Marie Chesaniuk, Ph.D. Sometimes, in the course of trying to help a school age client, there are missing pieces of their case. Children are not always good reporters of their situation due to limitations of their verbal skills, understanding of social and academic contexts and the school system at large, or ...

Written by: Dan Mortenson, Ph.D. What is a “manualized treatment”? And why do people have strong opinions of it? I have a complicated “love/hate” relationship with the topic I’ll be discussing today: manualized therapeutic treatments.  This is when a more structured manual is used to help guide therapy using a more regimented, chapter based approach ...

Written by: Bernardo Loiacono, Ph.D. The house is still dimly lit as the morning light filters through the blinds. The clock on the wall reads 7:15 AM, and a parent is rushing through the kitchen, trying to juggle getting ready for work, making breakfast, and getting the kids out the door by 8:00 AM. There’s ...

“Dyslexia & ADHD: Comorbid and Not a Coincidence,” by Marie Chesaniuk, Ph.D. About 10% of school children are estimated to have ADHD (i.e. attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) (CDC, 2023). Separately, it has been estimated that as much as 20% of the general population has dyslexia (also referred to as Specific Learning Disability in Reading; Wagner ...

Written by: Katherine “Kayce” Hyde Brott, PhD The accompanying handout for this article can be found here. It is well documented that personality disorders are among the most highly stigmatized mental health disorders even among mental health professionals (Commons-Treloar, 2009; Masland et al., 2022; Ociskova et al., 2017). Evidence suggests that this is perpetuated by ...

“Why do I keep having this negative thought?,” by Marie Chesaniuk, PhD Everyone experiences negative thoughts sometimes, but there are some negative thoughts that are difficult to shake. For example, one person struggles with some version of, “I’m not good enough,” for years. Another person struggles with, “What if I hurt those I love?” over ...

Written by: Colleen Miller, PsyD Every child deserves access to mental health care that recognizes their lived experience—but for LGBTQ+ youth, mental health disparities are alarmingly prevalent. Studies show that LGBTQ+ youth are four times more likely to attempt suicide and three times more likely to experience depression compared to their heterosexual, cisgender peers. These ...

“So You Want to Recommend Yoga to your Client with Depression,” by Marie Chesaniuk, PhD By now, yoga has become ubiquitous in American culture. Over 33 million Americans are estimated to have participated in yoga in 2023. The conversation about yoga has long referenced its relaxing nature, low key physical activity, and positive influence on ...