Talking about Stalking and Cyberstalking

Cyberstalking

Stalking, while it may not seem as harmful as other forms of abuse, can be just as dangerous, and even harder to stop. Generally defined as a course of conduct directed at a specific person that causes fear, stalking may include harassing, annoying, alarming, abusing, tormenting or embarrassing an individual through obscene communication, threatening bodily harm, falsely reporting another person’s death or injury, or repeatedly calling by phone or sending electronic messages. Message and threats can also extend beyond the victims to include their families or households, or partners.

According to research from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Crime Victims Institute (CVI), nearly half of all stalking victims experience at least one unwanted contact per week, with nearly one-quarter reporting harassment on a daily basis. Further, the majority of victims express that the stalking behaviors have occurred for more than six months, with more than one in ten victims reporting occurrences for more than five years. More than half of stalking victims express fear for themselves, their children or other family members, and victims frequently miss work for fear of being stalked.

Research also indicates that stalking victims experience various economic, social, physical and mental difficulties as a result of this crime, including increased anxiety, flashbacks and nightmares, suicidal ruminations, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

And according to research done by Matt Nobles of Sam Houston State University, along with Bradford Reyns of Weber State University, Kathleen Fox of Arizona State University and Bonnie Fisher of the University of Cincinnati, the outcomes are even worse for the victims of cyberstalking.

Defining cyberstalking as repeated harassment or threats facilitated by technology, including electronic communication using the internet, email and social media, Nobles and his team found that while victims of both stalking and cyberstalking use many similar self-protective behaviors, a greater proportion of cyberstalking victims reported that they had to take time off; change or quit a job or school; avoid relatives, friends or holiday celebrations; and change their email address when compared to victims of traditional stalking.

The financial costs associated with victimization, which could include legal fees, property damage, child care costs, moving expenses or a change in phone number, were also found to be much higher for cyberstalking victims, with an average dollar value of more than $1,200 spent compared to about $500 for traditional stalking victims.

Finally, there were interesting differences in how stalking and cyberstalking victims responded to their experiences. Fear at the onset of victimization was related to adopting self-protective behaviors for both groups, but fear over time was associated with adopting more self-protective behaviors for cyberstalking victims only. This suggests that the stalking episode may provoke an immediate reaction for many victims, while the cyberstalking condition tends to build and becomes more severe over time (Nobles et al., 2014).

In addition to the differential impact on victims, the study also revealed differences between age and gender of cyberstalking versus stalking victims. In cases of stalking, approximately 70 percent of the victims were women, while female victims only represented 58 percent in cyberstalking cases. In addition, the average age for stalking victims in the sample was 40.8 years old, while cyberstalking victims averaged 38.4 years old (Nobles et al., 2014).

Beyond the effects on the victims, stalking presents unique challenges in the criminal justice system because there generally isn’t much evidence to investigate, law enforcement must rely heavily on the victim to investigate and collect evidence and, when stalking occurs after a romantic relationship, it often become a battle of anecdotal evidence.

Clinicians, psychotherapists and counselors, however, can play a pivotal role in helping victims of stalking. Through recognizing the signs of stalking, addressing the common emotions and taking steps to restore a sense of safety, skilled clinicians can help victims reclaim their life, and recover their sense of self.

Click here to learn more.

Stalking: Recognizing and RespondingStalking: Recognizing and Responding is a 1-hour online continuing education (CE) course that examines the prevalence of stalking and provides therapists with the means to identify and assist victims/survivors.

Stalking is a crime that is far more prevalent and more dangerous than most people realize. It is a crime that is not well understood and that often goes unrecognized. Findings from various studies examining the prevalence of stalking suggest that community-based interventions are critical to raising awareness about this crime and promoting prevention efforts. Mental health professionals have an important role in identifying and treating victims/survivors of stalking through educating themselves about this crime.

Researchers have found that stalking victims have a higher incidence of mental disorders and comorbid illnesses compared with the general population, with the most robust associations identified between stalking victimization, major depressive disorder, and panic disorder. Additionally, intimate partner stalking has been identified as a common form of IPV experienced by women veterans that strongly contributes to their risk for probable PTSD. These findings indicate that it is important to assess for these symptoms and diagnoses when working with victims/survivors of stalking.

This course is designed to enhance your understanding of stalking by reviewing key findings from research on stalking, identifying common tactics used by stalkers, and exploring the intersections between stalking, intimate partner violence, and sexual violence. This course will also examine common reactions experienced by victims/survivors of stalking and discuss ways to assist victims/survivors in clinical practice. Course #11-17 | 2018 | 18 pages | 10 posttest questions

This online course provides instant access to the course materials (PDF download) and CE test. After enrolling, click on My Account and scroll down to My Active Courses. From here you’ll see links to download/print the course materials and take the CE test (you can print the test to mark your answers on it while reading the course document).

Successful completion of the online CE test (80% required to pass, 3 chances to take) and course evaluation are required to earn a certificate of completion. Click here to learn more. Have a question? Contact us. We’re here to help!

Professional Development Resources is a nonprofit educational corporation 501(c)(3) organized in 1992. We are approved to sponsor continuing education by the American Psychological Association (APA); the National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC); the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB); the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA); the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA); the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR); the Alabama State Board of Occupational Therapy; the Florida Boards of Social Work, Mental Health Counseling and Marriage and Family Therapy, Psychology & School Psychology, Dietetics & Nutrition, Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, and Occupational Therapy Practice; the Ohio Counselor, Social Worker & MFT Board and Board of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology; the South Carolina Board of Professional Counselors & MFTs; the Texas Board of Examiners of Marriage & Family Therapists and State Board of Social Worker Examiners; and are CE Broker compliant (all courses are reported within a few days of completion).

Target Audience: PsychologistsCounselorsSocial WorkersMarriage & Family Therapist (MFTs)Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs)Occupational Therapists (OTs)Registered Dietitian Nutritionists (RDNs)School Psychologists, and Teachers

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Narcissism: A Deficit of Empathy?

Narcissism: A Deficit of Empathy?

Narcissists capture our attention with their larger-than-life presence, inflated sense of self, grandiose accomplishments, achievements, and status. But that is only one reason we can’t seem to stop focusing on them.

Narcissists also defy a fundamental principle of any relationship – reciprocity. Reciprocity is the act of responding in kind to oneanother. In a friendship, reciprocity occurs where the contribution of each person meets the expectations of the other.

The problem with narcissists is that they don’t have the empathy required to understand or respond to the needs of another person.

Part of the reason for this, suggests a study done by a team of scientists led by Privatdozent Dr. Stefan Röpke from the Charité Department of Psychiatry and Director of the personality disorders working group, is that that people suffering from narcissistic personality disorder were found to have structural abnormalities in the cerebral cortex, which is involved in the processing and generation of compassion. For patients with narcissism, this region of the cerebral cortex was markedly reduced in thickness compared to the control group (Röpke et al., 2013).

Explains Dr. Röpke, “Our data shows that the amount of empathy is directly correlated to the volume of gray brain matter of the corresponding cortical representation in the insular region, and that the patients with narcissism exhibit a structural deficit in exactly this area” (Röpke, 2013).

Research to date has also shown that narcissists’ empathy deficit, feelings of entitlement, and perceptions of being deprived of ‘deserved’ admiration and gratification can make them prone to aggression and vengeance – particularly toward heterosexual women (Keiller, 2010).

Even working for a narcissist can have detrimental effects. One study showed that those who work for leaders who display narcissistic traits had lower job satisfaction and scored higher on a clinical measure of depression. Also not only did employees’ well-being suffer, but incidents of counterproductive work behavior and workplace bullying were higher (Phillips et al, 2017).

It is not surprising then that, according to Abigail Phillips of the University of Manchester’s Business School, narcissistic bosses are also more likely to be workplace bullies and engage in power and control tactics to take advantage of others.

The good news is that there are constructive ways to interact with narcissists, set boundaries and mitigate the damage narcissists often cause to the well-being of those around them.

Click here to learn more.

Narcissism & Empathy DeficitsNarcissism & Empathy Deficits is a 2-hour online continuing education (CE) course that examines narcissistic personalities and the traits that affect their ability to maintain satisfying personal relationships with others.

This course will address key ideas emerging from neuroscience about empathy and empathy deficits, because narcissism is essentially a problem of lack of empathy. Emotional intelligence, heritability, and factors thought to influence the onset of narcissism are also discussed. Diagnostic considerations for narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) are reviewed along with signs and symptoms, prevalence, characteristics, subtypes, comorbidity, and treatment options.

What’s more, it will help you discover constructive ways of interacting with destructive narcissistic traits, drawing on the latest international scientific research. Case examples illustrate scenarios of individuals with narcissistic personalities and show how their behavior, when left unchecked, impacts the lives and wellbeing of other people. Advice on setting interpersonal boundaries, dealing with verbal hostility, and finding ways to effectively deal with narcissists are also provided. Course #21-21 | 2018 | 35 pages | 15 posttest questions

This online course provides instant access to the course materials (PDF download) and CE test. After enrolling, click on My Account and scroll down to My Active Courses. From here you’ll see links to download/print the course materials and take the CE test (you can print the test to mark your answers on it while reading the course document).

Successful completion of the online CE test (80% required to pass, 3 chances to take) and course evaluation are required to earn a certificate of completion. Click here to learn more. Have a question? Contact us. We’re here to help!

Professional Development Resources is a nonprofit educational corporation 501(c)(3) organized in 1992. We are approved to sponsor continuing education by the American Psychological Association (APA); the National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC); the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB); the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA); the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA); the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR); the Alabama State Board of Occupational Therapy; the Florida Boards of Social Work, Mental Health Counseling and Marriage and Family Therapy, Psychology & School Psychology, Dietetics & Nutrition, Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, and Occupational Therapy Practice; the Ohio Counselor, Social Worker & MFT Board and Board of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology; the South Carolina Board of Professional Counselors & MFTs; the Texas Board of Examiners of Marriage & Family Therapists and State Board of Social Worker Examiners; and are CE Broker compliant (all courses are reported within a few days of completion).

Target Audience: PsychologistsCounselorsSocial WorkersMarriage & Family Therapist (MFTs)Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs)Occupational Therapists (OTs)Registered Dietitian Nutritionists (RDNs)School Psychologists, and Teachers

Earn CE Wherever YOU Love to Be!

Florida School Psychologist Renewal Approaching

Info from the Florida Board of School Psychology

Florida-licensed school psychologists have an upcoming license renewal deadline of November 30, 2015 (license renewal due 11/30 of odd-numbered years).

The following continuing education (CE/CEU) requirements must be met prior to renewal:

CE Required: 30 hours every 2 years, of which:
2 hours on Preventing Medical Errors are required each renewal
2 hours on Domestic Violence are required every 3rd renewal
Online CE Allowed: No limit if APA-approved
License Renewal Deadline: November 30, 2015

Florida school psychologists can earn all 30 hours required for renewal through online courses offered by Professional Development Resources, an APA-approved provider of online CEUs.
Click here to view APA-approved online CEU courses.

Preventing Medical Errors in Behavioral Health
Domestic Violence
Building Resilience
Show All CEUs

PDR reports all course completions to CE Broker within 7 days. Now that CE course completions must be reported to CE Broker before you renew, taking courses through an approved-provider who quickly reports is more important than ever.

Florida school psychologists can now Save 20% on all continuing education (CE/CEU) courses @ PDR – over 50 courses to choose from. The discount should automatically apply at checkout – but if for any reason it doesn’t, just enter code PDRPC250 and click apply to redeem.

Professional Development Resources is approved by the American Psychological Association (APA) to sponsor continuing education for psychologists and school psychologists. Professional Development Resources maintains responsibility for all programs and content. Professional Development Resources is also approved by the Florida Board of Psychology and Office of School Psychology (Provider #50-1635) and is CE Broker compliant (all courses are reported within 1 week of completion)

20% Off Illinois SLP CEUs

From the Illinois DPR

Happy Illinois SLP

Illinois SLPs Save 20% @ PDR!

Illinois-licensed SLPs have an upcoming license renewal deadline of October 31, 2015. 20 hours of continuing education are required to renew and there is no limit on hours earned from online CEUs (distance learning) if ASHA-approved.

Professional Development Resources is approved by the Continuing Education Board of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA Provider #AAUM) to provide continuing education activities in speech-language pathology and audiology.

Illinois SLPs can earn all 20 hours for renewal through online courses offered @ www.pdresources.org. A 20% discount will automatically apply at checkout for all Illinois-licensed SLPs (use coupon code PDRPC236 if not).

Detailed continuing education requirements can be found @ http://www.ilga.gov/commission/jcar/admincode/068/068014650000850R.html.

9 DIY Ways to Improve Your Mental Health

By Stephanie Pappas, Live Science Contributor

9 DIY Ways to Improve Your Mental HealthLet’s be upfront: Sometimes, achieving better mental health requires professional help. People may need a therapist, or even medication, to deal with disorders like depression or anxiety.

But those serious diagnoses aside, we could all do with a little brain tune-up. Fortunately, science has some suggestions for how to overcome personality quirks or unhealthy patterns of thinking that leave people functioning less than optimally.

Here are some things that studies have found may improve people’s mental health:

1. Set goals, but don’t take failure personally

Most people are at least a little bit of a perfectionist in some area of life. Aiming high can be the first step to success, but studies have found that high levels of perfectionism are linked to poor health and increase the risk of death. Perfectionism is also linked to postpartum depression.

The problem is that perfectionism has two facets: Perfectionists tend to set high goals for themselves, but they also tend to worry about it if they fail to reach extreme levels of performance. The high goals are not the problem as much as the so-called “perfectionist concerns,” or feelings of failure and worthlessness that come with falling short of reaching them, which can wreak havoc on mental health.

The trick to getting around this perfectionism trap might be to set goals without taking failure personally, said Andrew Hill, a sports psychologist at York St. John University in England.

One strategy, Hill told Live Science in August 2015, is for perfectionists to set small, manageable goals for themselves rather than one big goal. That way, failure is less likely, and so is the self-recrimination that can keep a perfectionist down. In other words, perfectionists should force themselves to think about achieving success in degrees, rather than in all-or-nothing terms.

2. Go outside

The indoor environment protects us from heat, cold and all manner of inclement weather. But if you don’t get outside frequently, you might be doing a number on your mental health.

A June 2015 study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science found that spending 90 minutes walking in nature can decrease brain activity in a region called the subgenual prefrontal cortex. This area is active when we’re ruminating over negative thoughts. Walking alongside a busy road didn’t quiet this area, the researchers found.

This latest study is only one of many that suggest that spending time outdoors is good for the mind. A 2010 study in the journal Environmental Science & Technology found that 5 minutes in a green space can boost self-esteem. In a 2001 study published in the journal Environment and Behavior, time in green space even improved ADHD symptoms in kids compared with time spent relaxing indoors — for example, watching TV.

3. Meditate

Meditation may look like the person is sitting around, doing nothing. In fact, it’s great for the brain.

A slew of studies have found that meditation benefits a person’s mental health. For example, a 2012 study in the journal PLOS ONE found that people who trained to meditate for six weeks became less rigid in their thinking than people with no meditation training. This suggests that meditation might help people with depression or anxiety shift their thoughts away from harmful patterns, the researchers suggested.

Other studies on meditation suggests that it literally alters the brain, slowing the thinning of the frontal cortex that typically occurs with age and decreasing activity in brain regions that convey information about pain. People trained in Zen meditation also became more adept at clearing their minds after a distraction, a 2008 study found. As distracting and irrelevant thoughts are common in people with depression and anxiety , meditation might improve those conditions, the researchers said.

4. Exercise

Next we’ll tell you to eat your vegetables, right? (You should, by the way.) It’s not fancy advice, but moving your body can benefit your brain. In fact, a 2012 study in the journal Neurology found that doing physical exercise was more beneficial than doing mental exercises in staving off the signs of aging in the brain.

That study used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to scan the brains of Scottish participants in their early 70s. Among the 638 participants, those who reported walking or doing other exercises a few times a week showed less brain shrinkage and stronger brain connections than those who didn’t move. People who did mentally stimulating activities such as chess or social activities didn’t show those kinds of effects.

Exercise can even be part of the treatment for people with serious mental disorders. A 2014 review in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry found that physical activity reduces the symptoms of depression in people with mental illness, and even reduced symptoms of schizophrenia. A 2014 study in the journal Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica found that adding an exercise program to the treatment plan for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) reduced patients’ symptoms and improved their sleep.

5. Be generous in your relationships

A giving relationship is a happy relationship, according to a 2011 study published in the Journal of Marriage and Family. In the study, couples with children who reported high levels of generosity with one another were more satisfied in their marriages and more likely to report high levels of sexual satisfaction.

Moreover, studies show that keeping a committed relationship strong can be a big boon for your mental health. People in the early stages of a marriage or a cohabitating relationship experience a short-term boost in happiness and a drop in depression, according to a 2012 study published in the Journal of Marriage and Family. And among same-sex couples, the official designation of marriage appears to boost psychological functioning over domestic partnerships (though domestic partnerships provided a boost, too).

Being generous in nonromantic relationships can provide a direct mental health boost, too. A 2013 study in the American Review of Public Administration found that people who prioritized helping others at work reported being happier with life 30 years later.

6. Use social media wisely

In general, having social connections is linked to better mental health. However, maintaining friendships over Facebook and other social media sites can be fraught with problems. Some research suggests that reading other people’s chipper status updates makes people feel worse about themselves — particularly if those other people have a large friend list, which may lead to a lot of showing off. Those findings suggest that limiting your friend list to people who you feel particularly close to might help you avoid seeing a parade of peacocking status updates from people who seem to have perfect lives.

Time on social networking sites has been linked to depressive symptoms, though it’s not clear whether the mental health problems or the social media usage comes first. A study presented in April 2015 at the annual conference of the British Sociological Association found that social media is a double-edged sword: People with mental health conditions reported that social media sites offered them feelings of belonging to a community, but also said that Facebook and other sites could exacerbate their anxiety and paranoia.

The best bet, researchers say, is to take advantage of the connectivity conferred by social media, but to avoid making Facebook or Twitter your entire social life.

“You have to be careful,” University of Houston psychologist Linda Acitelli told Live Science in 2012.

7. Look for meaning, not pleasure

Imagine a life of lounging by a pool, cocktail in hand. When you aren’t sunning yourself, you’re shopping for cute clothes or planning your next party.

Paradise? Not so much. A 2007 study found that people are actually happier in life when they take part in meaningful activities than when they focus on hedonism. University of Louisville researchers asked undergrads to complete surveys each day for three weeks about their daily activities. They also answered questions about their happiness levels and general life satisfaction.

The study, published in the Journal of Research in Personality, found that the more people participated in personally meaningful activities such as helping other people or pursuing big life goals, the happier and more satisfied they felt. Seeking pleasure didn’t boost happiness.

8. Worry (some), but don’t vent

Everyone’s had the experience of worrying about something they can’t change. If constant worrying becomes a pervasive problem, though, science suggests you should just put it on the calendar.

Scheduling your “worry time” to a single, 30-minute block each day can reduce worries over time, according to a study published in July 2011 in the Journal of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics. Patients in the study were taught to catch themselves worrying throughout the day and then postpone the worries to a prearranged block of time. Even just realizing that they were worrying helped patients calm down, the researchers found, but stopping the worrying and saving it for later was the most effective technique of all.

Venting about stresses, however, appears to make people feel worse about life, not better. So set aside that worry time — but do it silently.

9. Learn not to sweat the small stuff

Daily irritations are part of life, but they can also wear us down. In a 2013 study in the journal Psychological Science, researchers used two national surveys to look at the influence of minor annoyances on people’s mental health. They found surprisingly strong links.

The more negatively people responded to small things like having to wait in traffic or having arguments with a spouse, the more anxious and distressed they were likely to be when surveyed again 10 years later, the researchers reported.

“It’s important not to let everyday problems ruin your moments,” study researcher Susan Charles, a psychologist at the University of California, Irvine, said in a statement when the research was released. “After all, moments add up to days, and days add up to years.”

Follow Stephanie Pappas on Twitter and Google+. Follow us@livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on Live Science.

Related Online CEU Courses:

Anxiety: Practical Management Techniques is a 4-hour online continuing education (CE/CEU) course that offers a collection of ready-to-use anxiety management tools that can be used in nearly all clinical settings and client diagnoses.

Depression is a 1-hour online continuing education (CE/CEU) course that provides an overview to the various forms of depression, including signs and symptoms, co-existing conditions, causes, gender and age differences, and diagnosis and treatment options.

Eliminating Self-Defeating Behaviors is a 4-hour online continuing education (CE/CEU) course that teaches you how to identify, analyze and replace self-defeating behaviors with positive behaviors.

Nutrition in Mental Health & Substance Abuse is a 3-hour online continuing education (CE/CEU) course that discusses how good nutrition impacts a person’s mental health and well being.

Professional Development Resources is approved to offer continuing education by the American Psychological Association (APA); the National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC); the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB); the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA); the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA); the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR); the California Board of Behavioral Sciences; the Florida Boards of Social Work, Mental Health Counseling and Marriage and Family Therapy, Psychology & School Psychology, Dietetics & Nutrition, Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, and Occupational Therapy Practice; the Ohio Counselor, Social Worker & MFT Board; the South Carolina Board of Professional Counselors & MFTs; and by theTexas Board of Examiners of Marriage & Family Therapists and State Board of Social Worker Examiners.