Peer Relationships
in Lexington, Richmond & Frankfort KY
Do you or someone you know have challenges with peer relationships or in social situations? Are you a parent concerned for your child who has difficulty making or keeping friends, being social in various settings, or thinking of others with a social lens? Are you an adult, who often feels awkward in social situations and does not know how to interact effectively with others? If so, there are communication skills, appropriate interaction strategies, and therapeutic interventions to improve these challenges.
Signs and Symptoms
Peer relationships, whether adult or child, are influenced by reciprocity in the relationship. Reciprocity means matching kindness with kindness, angry or hurtful acts with angry or hurtful acts, or being able to decipher another person’s intentions with body language, communication, or actions of another and responding accordingly. Sometimes, these communication skills are overlooked or misinterpreted, which results in social challenges.
Executive Functioning is part of the brain that influences decision making, ability to pay attention, avoiding or doing the right or wrong thing, remembering details, and even forgetting social norms. Executive Functioning can we weakened by a mental health disorder like ADHD, depression, or brain or head trauma. The good news is that, even though it can be weakened, it can also be strengthened. Go to http://www.webmd.com/add-adhd/guide/executive-function
for more information on Executive Functioning.
Treatment
There are many strategies and skills to improve Executive Function and to improve Peer Relationships and Social Interactions. The following video illustrates strategies to improve executive functioning and improve social interactions with others http://wn.com/executive_functioning.
Social Thinking is an intervention and treatment that works to address the complexities of social relationships and peer interactions. Their mission http://www.socialthinking.com/
is to: Our mission is to provide practical frameworks, strategies and products to teach social problem solving, social emotional interpretation and social skills across schools, homes, communities and workplaces across the lifespan and around the globe.
Through role-playing exercises, games, peer groups, addressing the expected versus unexpected social norms, and creating a vocabulary of social expectations, Social Thinking concepts can be learned and implemented in daily life for both children and adults.
Ways to Get Help
If you or a loved one has difficulty forming or keeping friendships, has difficulty recognizing social expectations, and who may have difficulty reacting appropriately in a variety of social contexts (home, school, work) then there is help for you. Working alongside a qualified mental health professional can help strengthening Executive Functioning and improve peer relationships and social challenges.
Seeking treatment for Peer Interactions and Social Challenges is easy. Select a professional, we recommend a psychologist, LPCC or LCSW first, and have an assessment performed. Individual or Group Therapy (group therapy for children only) may be what will make the difference! Several therapists have been trained in the Social Thinking treatments and have many resources to utilize for treatment. If you need help, call us at 859-338-0466 or contact us
today!
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Lexington, KY
Darby Creek Location
501 Darby Creek Road
Suite 11
Lexington KY, 40509
Phone:
859-338-0466
Fax:
859-294-0802
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- Darby Creek Lexington, KY 501 Darby Creek Road, Lexington, KY, United States
- Duval Street Location Lexington, KY 1092 Duval Street, Lexington, KY, United States
- Frankfort, KY 105 Diagnostic Dr, Frankfort, KY 40601, United States
- 1043 Center Dr, Richmond, KY 40475, United States 1043 Center Dr, Richmond, KY 40475, United States
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Lexington Counseling and Psychiatry Updates
Substance use is a growing health concern. 47.7 million Americans reported the use of illegal substances according to a study conducted in 2023 by The National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics. A Substance Use Disorder (SUD), defined by The American Psychiatric Association, is ‘a complex condition in which there is uncontrolled use of a substance despite harmful consequences.’ The American Psychiatric Association recognizes that someone who has a SUD has an intense urge to engage in any of the listed substances - alcohol, tobacco, or psychoactive substances that impact daily functioning, interpersonal relationships, and overall health. Another term well known for SUD is addiction. There is no single cause for a SUD but rather, a combination of factors can contribute to its development. Self-medication, genetics, peer pressure, curiosity, performance enhancement, and medical use turned misuse can all lead to someone engaging in problem use with substances and even addiction. Another study conducted in 2023 by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, showed that 70% of people who sought out treatment for substance abuse/misuse reported improvements to their overall health and functioning within the first year of treatment. There are several available options for treatment, including outpatient care, intensive outpatient care, and in-patient care treatment. It is also important to have a collaborative approach when it comes to treatment for a SUD to have the best outcome, which can include medication management, individual therapy, group therapy, peer support, AA/NA meetings, sponsor, and a healthy support system within interpersonal relationships. It's important to remember that addiction is not a moral failing, it's a complex medical condition that can affect anyone. Compassion, understanding, and proper treatment are essential to recovery and can lead to successful outcomes. Some treatment modalities that have shown success in therapy when treating SUD include Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Contingency Management (CM), Motivational Enhancement Therapy (MET) and Motivational Interviewing (MI), as well as a facilitated 12 step program and a trauma focused lens. Whether you're concerned about your own substance use or worried about a loved one, help is available and healing is possible! Call our office at 859.338.0466 to schedule an appointment to work with one of our providers to start your healing journey to recovery. Our current offices are located in Lexington, Frankfort, and Richmond, KY. We have been trusted mental health professionals in Central Kentucky for over 22 years! Articles and Resources: https://drugabusestatistics.org/ https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/addiction-substance-use-disorders/what-is-a-substance-use-disorder https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6175215/ https://www.pyramid-healthcare.com/blog/2019/02/12/self-medication-and-addiction/ https://americanaddictioncenters.org/therapy-treatment
What is therapy?
Therapy is more long-term than counseling and focuses on a broader range of issues. The underlying principle is that a person's patterns of thinking and unconscious awareness affect the way that person interacts with the world. The goal is to uncover those patterns and become aware of their effect and then learn new, healthier ways to think and interact.
