geek therapy

Capturing the Inner Mind Through Comics: Marbles by Ellen Forney

October 7, 2013 · Discuss on the GT Forum

Ever want to know what it’s like to be bipolar? Yeah, probably not, but now that I’ve mentioned it, I bet you’re curious.

One thing about being in school and learning about all the things that can possibly go wrong in the brain is that it makes you wonder what it’s like to be in that person’s skin. Or at least it makes me wonder.

Art is one of the ways that we can get closer to someone’s experience. It has a way of communicating emotion and thought in a way that just words can’t. Comics make it even easier, being able to use language but emphasize it in just the right way as to make the creator’s world come to life.

(Image via MarblesbyEllenForney.com)

Recently I had the chance to read Marbles by Ellen Forney. Her art style makes the book an easy read that is also pleasing to the eye. The book is very informative and presents the information in an easy to digest way, but it is also a doorway into her struggle with being diagnosed with bipolar disorder. At times it feels like you’re right there with her.

She brings in drawings from her sketchbook when she was first diagnosed with bipolar as well as snippets from therapy sessions with her psychiatrist to really capture her experience. Her ups and downs, her struggle with being an artist on medication, her “coming out” as bipolar to her friends and family are all captured beautifully in her art.

(Image via JS Online)

As a clinician, it really helps to have an insider’s view into the experience of a disorder (I don’t like pathologizing people, but for the ease of communication, I use the word disorder here). Only having my own internal experience, it can be hard to put myself in a client’s shoes. Yes, there are autobiographical books out there about almost every condition you can think of. However, there is something about seeing it graphically that makes the story really sink in. For this reason I appreciate cartoonists like Ellen Forney, Darryl Cunningham (Psychiatric Tales), Allie Brosh (Hyperbole and a Half) and Alison Bechdel (Fun Home, Are You My Mother?) who are brave enough to put their story out there for everyone to see.

Marbles is a book anyone interested in understanding the bipolar experience should pick up. Any clinician working with someone who is bipolar should read this book, in order to better understand their clients. It could also be helpful for friends or family members who have someone who is bipolar in their lives, especially if they are having a difficult time understanding their loved one’s behavior.

(Image via The Guardian)

Forney makes it clear that her experience is her own, and that there are many different types of bipolar disorder, and that each person’s experience is different. She had it easy in someways, in others, it was like her world fell apart.

The bottom line is, you should read this book if you have had contact with, or plan on working with, someone who is bipolar. Even if you aren’t somehow connected to someone who is bipolar Forney’s “Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo & Me” her book is worth every page.

It will give you a rare glimpse into a world that can be particularly difficult to understand.

Amazon Wish List: Geek Therapy Essentials

September 23, 2013 · Discuss on the GT Forum

With my birthday being today, I was tasked over the past few weeks with creating an Amazon wishlist of all the things I wanted. On the list went a bunch of video games, some camping supplies, a LEGO Millennium Falcon set, and a bunch of books. (As if I didn’t have enough to read!)

I was surprised to find in my stroll through Amazon, a bountiful amount of geek x psych. The idea of doing geek therapy just truly became apparent to me this past summer and the Geek Therapy podcast had just begun last summer. I wanted to share my “discovery” in the hopes that the existence of these tomes becomes less surprising and more well read:

Batman and Psychology: A Dark and Stormy Knight by Travis Langley, Dennis O’Neil and Michael Uslan

The now Walmart Best Seller (I’m not kidding, look it up) has everyone wondering who is the Bat, really. The book promises to answer what seems like more obvious questions like “Does Batman have PTSD?” to more mysterious ones like “Why does this superhero without superpowers fascinate us?” and “What does that fascination say about us?” I’m looking forward to finding out what it means about my bat-obsessed fiance before I get myself in too deep. (j/k)

(Image via GoodReads)

Using Superheroes in Counseling and Play Therapy by Lawrence Rubin PhD

Rubin’s book covers a couple of different tropes from Batman to Star Wars, the Incredible Hulk and back around to Superman. What I am looking forward to is the theory that he believes that, “not only can superheroes assist in clinical work with children, but Rubin demonstrates how they can facilitate growth and change with teen[s] and adults.” Play therapy is often defined as allowing younger clients to act and play out the thoughts and emotions that they can’t put words to. In reality the practice of using our actions to tell more than words is something that has no age limit.

Diagnosis and Treatment Planning Skills for Mental Health Professionals: A Popular Culture Casebook Approach by Alan Schwitzer and Lawrence Rubin

I’m really looking forward to having some guidelines for how to actually apply all of my musings about therapeutic geekery to my future practice. This larger tome is not for the faint of heart. It’s a legit text book. Rubin goes much broader to discuss in depth both a wider range of skill sets for practicing therapists including,“diagnosis, case conceptualization, and treatment planning.” Being able to translate geek therapy through these skill sets is absolutely essential to running your own practice as a geek therapist. Unfortunately I may have to wait until after I’m done with school to devour this book during my internships.

Reset: Psychotherapy and Video Games, 2nd Edition by Mike Langlois

Both the most targeted towards my personal interests as well as the least expensive, this e-book only text is actually the first up to bat on my personal reading list. It reveals some pretty significant findings like that the “military has discovered that video games decrease symptoms of PTSD in veterans” and others. I don’t have a kindle, but I do have the kindle app on my phone and will be sneaking in a few pages…er…screens between client work, school work and vigilante-ing…er…gaming…er…house cleaning.

(Image via GamePolitics.com)

If you’ve read, or heard rumour of any of these books please leave your thoughts about them in the comments on the individual page for this post! Thanks.

WoW: World of Zencraft?

September 19, 2013 · Discuss on the GT Forum

Last week, Blizzard Entertainment released their latest patch in World of Warcraft, called the Siege of Orgrimmar. With it came a lot of new content (including a new island to explore, and a new raid), interesting storyline, and a lot of excitement.

Most people were excited just to be able to be the first to run through the new content, show it who’s boss, and get the new achievements and mad loots.

For me, it has been a different kind of exploration that started when the Mists of Pandaria expansion came out last year.

The WoW storyline has always interested me (enough that I’ve read a few of the novels) and has been able to hold player’s attention for years. The Pandaria expansion added a whole other level to how we think about storytelling.

In Pandaria, a person’s negative emotions (no matter how deeply buried) manage to manifest themselves in a very physical way in the form of Sha.

(Image via WoWWiki.com)

In a sense, throughout the expansion, you have to fight your own demons. You take charge and purge yourself, others, and the land of these negative emotions that can take over such as anger, despair and fear.

In the new patch content, you have to save others’ souls by purging them of the influence of the sha and save them from being possessed by sorrow, gloom, misery, sorrow and anguish.

There’s even a guardian who blocks your path. When you tell him that you’re trying to cleanse the world and save everyone, he says that you are too prideful to pass. This is where you really have to face yourself, as your pride manifests and you must defeat it to move on.

This is as far as I have made it into the new raid, but I’m intrigued. I feel that most people just move past this deep, potentially powerful, content as though it’s just something else to hack away at. If you look closely, this storyline has some potential to heal. My guildmate even joked about the game turning into a cheap self-help book.

If a therapist played with their client, think about how healing it may be to work through negative emotions and literally grapple with them, and eventually take them down. How awesome might it feel for a teenager dealing with depression to take out the Sha of Despair (who yells out comments about giving up). How empowered might someone struggling with controlling their temper feel when they’ve defeated the Sha of Anger? Those are only a couple of examples.

(Image via AdventuresInPoorTaste.com)

The last piece I wanted to touch on is the way the game handles good and evil. In general, most people think of the Alliance as the good guys, and the Horde as the bad guys (well, most people who haven’t played WoW or only play a little). In actuality, both sides have their faults and their virtues. They fight against the same evils again and again. They just don’t see eye to eye on how to get it done, and let old wounds get in the way.

In Mists of Pandaria, both sides are put in their place by the Pandaren, who feel them both arrogant and war hungry. The final boss in the new expansion is the Horde’s leader, Garrosh Hellscream. The Horde is rebelling to take him out because they’ve seen him do some horrible things. They team up with the Alliance to try to put someone more honorable and wise in his place.

(Image via Polygon)

I don’t know how it turns out, but the fact is that even the “bad guys” can have some humanity. And some acts are just too far past the line to accept.

I’m excited to see what happens…if my guild can ever make it past the second boss.

New Theraputic Code Every Monday and Thursday

September 18, 2013 · Discuss on the GT Forum

Ever get the feeling like you’ve bitten off more than you can chew? Yeah…that’s how I’m feeling right now.

With working full time and keeping up with school, my time has been pinched a bit lately. So to keep myself sane, and keep this blog going (cause it’s been a lot of fun and really eye-opening), I’ve got to make a couple of changes.

First!

I’m cutting back on my original posts. While I love doing them, I feel like I need more time to fully think them through. So for now, those will be rolling out on Mondays and Thursdays, every week.

Second!

In between those posts, I may post links to awesome geeky articles I’ve found, just to keep the ideas flowing.

Hopefully this gives me more time to come up with ideas, link concepts together and put together some quality (or crazy) stuff. If anything major comes up during the week that just has to be commented on, I’ll probably do it. So keep an eye out.

The gist of it all is, check back on Mondays and Thursdays when new content rolls through. Check back any day you want for older stuff and possibly awesome articles I’ve found or hot topics in the nerd world. And follow me on Twitter @TherapeuticCode and on the Therapeutic Code Facebook page for announcements on new posts!

The life of a working grad student is crazy, and blogging on top of all that is crazier. I love it, and I hope you enjoy it. Thanks for reading, it means a lot.

(Image via Kaplan)

Countdown to Identity Crisis

September 12, 2013 · Discuss on the GT Forum

As I listened to my professor lecture on human development, I had flashes back to different panels and discussions I’d heard at conventions. Everything seemed to click, and I had an “aha!” moment.

She was lecturing on Erikson’s stages of development, and came to the stage of Identity vs. Role Confusion. Essentially, during adolescence we all come to a place where we are figuring out who we are and how we fit into the world. If we don’t figure it out, or at least have some grasp on who we want to become, role confusion (also called an identity crisis) can arise and cause problems throughout life (if they are never resolved).

So how do I get from listening to teenage issues to thinking about the conventions I went to?

What my professor said that really got my mind going was that role confusion can happen without anything being wrong with the individual. Finding your identity also has to do with how you fit into society and who society expects you to be. So if you don’t find yourself represented in society somehow, you have a hard time figuring out how you fit into the world and then end up with an identity crisis on your hands!

That brought me back to the Gays in Comics panel at San Diego Comic Con. During the panel, many of the panelists mentioned that gays (and people of color…and women…) were underrepresented in comics. That they felt like there was no one they could look up to in comic books and say “They’re like me!”

During the Q&A session, a guy came up and said that he was new to comics, and said that he thought that there was more diversity in comics today. The panelists’ responses? “We can tell you’re new to comics!” It was lighthearted though, and they admitted things were changing, but that they needed to continue to change.

(Image via Comics Beat)

After that panel, I remember thinking “Okay, I get that there aren’t enough gay/women/people of color in comics (or in media in general), but to say that you can’t see yourself in any of the characters out there is a bit much.” I find ways to relate to characters I love whether they are male or female, gay or straight, young or old, blond or redhead, good or evil. There is something to relate to in their experience of the world. This being said, it does make it easier to relate to a character when they look like you or have a similar culture or background as you. It also feels good to feel acknowledged and seen.

Then I remembered how at GaymerX, everyone was talking about how safe and inclusive it felt to be in a hotel conference area filled with people like them who had the same interests. One of the big topics was how the video game industry tends to ignore gays and focus on their “straight white male” demographic. It came up at multiple panels, and the discussion usually led to how women are also ignored, or if they are represented, they are overly sexualized to appeal to men. Women are rarely given a lead role, and queer characters are even more rarely written into games at all.

While I was browsing the interwebs, I found out that Assassin’s Creed is launching a new game for consoles with a woman of color as the lead role! This is amazing. From what I’ve read, originally it was just going to be a side piece of DLC (downloadable content), but the audience spoke and now they are creating a full game coming out next year.

(Image via Giant Bomb)

When the people (and their wallets) speak, the companies will listen.

Bringing it all back to the development concept: I wonder, if any given minority were represented more in comics, games and other media (much of which adolescents are glued to) would they be less likely to have issues later on in life? Would it give them more confidence in who they are? Make them feel more secure and valued? Help them find their role in society? It’s something to consider.

Something else to consider is an important topic brought up at both conventions. Things have been moving forward. It is exciting that there is a female lead (who is also bi-racial and not scantily clad!) in Assassin’s Creed. It’s exciting that Assassin’s Creed III had a Native American lead. It’s exciting that Batwoman (who is a lesbian) has her own comic book. It’s exciting that Kevin Keller (who is gay) went into the military and got married. While all these things are true, they’re very rare (and it took me a while to think of a few of them).

(Image via Geek Style Guide)

While these things are exciting, they shouldn’t be. In geek culture, a culture that traditionally has been looked down on by others in society, these milestones should just be another day in the life. When things like this aren’t exciting anymore, that’s when we know things have changed.

Media is often how we explore societal themes in the world around us. When there is a diverse population represented across a variety of roles, it will be much easier for us to identify with the characters in our media of choice. When it’s easier for people to identify with a greater diversity of roles in society as represented in media, it’s easier for to understand how society views us in relation to how we view ourselves. Identity crisis averted!

(Being a teenager will probably still suck…just less so!)

Sick Day Entertainment

September 11, 2013 · Discuss on the GT Forum

With me being stuck in bed with a nasty virus, I haven’t been able to bring myself to write. Coughing and sneezing takes priority, y’know? So I felt as though I should leave you this hilarious video in my absence. (Note, this is not what I want to do someday. This is not geek therapy. It is a pretty funny parody though). Enjoy!