The Dysregulated Adult

Dedication

Preface

Acknowledgments

Chapter 1. Problems of Self-Regulation in Adults

1 The Concept of Self-Regulation and its Development

2 What is a Regulatory Disorder in an Adult?

3 Clinical Significance of Regulatory Problems in Children and Adults

4 Detailed Description of Regulatory Problems in Adults

5 Types of Regulatory Problems in Adults

6 Identifying Problems of Self-Regulation In Adults

Summary

Chapter 2. Mood Dysregulation

1 What is an Emotion?

2 Cognitive Appraisal

3 Physiological Aspects of Emotion

4 Expression of Emotion

5 The Socialization of Emotions

6 Modulation of Emotion and Mood States

7 A Developmental Structuralist Approach to Organizing Sensory and Affective Experiences

8 Application of Developmental Structuralist Model

9 Identifying Causes of Mood Dysregulation

10 Treatment Approaches

Summary

Further Reading

Chapter 3. Anxiety Disorders

1 Symptoms of Anxiety

2 Neurobiological Mechanisms Underlying Anxiety

3 Types of Anxiety Disorders in Adults

4 Strategies to Alleviate Anxiety

Summary

Further Reading

Chapter 4. Dealing with Depression

1 Types of Depression

2 What Causes Depression?

3 Three Portraits of Depression

4 Effective Treatments for Persons Suffering from Depression

Summary

Further Reading

Chapter 5. Eating Disorders

1 The Many Facts of Eating

2 What Can Go Wrong?

3 The First Step: Getting Evaluated

4 The Assessment

5 Treatment Intervention

Summary

Further Reading

Chapter 6. Sleep Disorders

1 Sleep–Wake Cycles

2 Stages of Sleep

3 Sleep Problems in Adults

4 Impact of Sleep Problems on Everyday Functioning

5 The Sleep Environment, Cultural Beliefs about Sleep, and Family Sleep Patterns

6 Sleep Disorders in Persons with Dysregulation

7 Evaluating Sleep Problems

8 Management of Sleep Problems

Summary

Chapter 7. Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder

1 What is Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder?

2 Is There a Difference Between Healthy Rituals and Obsessive–Compulsive Behavior?

3 What Causes Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder?

4 How Can Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder Be Treated?

5 Common Pitfalls: Things to Avoid

Summary

Further Reading

Chapter 8. Attentional Problems in Adults

1 Types of Attentional Problems

2 Processes that Underlie Attention

3 What is Attention? Historical Perspectives

4 Arousal, Alerting, and Sensory Registration

5 Sustained Attention: Attention-Getting and Attention-Holding

6 The Role of Effort in Attentional Tasks

7 Selective Attention: Screening and Selection

8 Motivation, Persistence, and Self-Control

9 Treatment Applications

Summary

Further Reading

Chapter 9. The Sensory Defensive Adult

1 What is Sensory Integration?

2 Treatment of Developmental Dyspraxia

Summary

Chapter 10. Addressing Attachment and Problems of Intimacy

1 Overall Philosophy of Treatment

2 Attachment Patterns of Persons with Dysregulation

3 Assessment

4 Treatment Approaches

Summary

APPENDIX 1. Self-Soothing

APPENDIX 2. Activities for Problems of Touch

APPENDIX 3. Moving for Mood Regulation and Sleep

APPENDIX 4. Improving Your Attention Span

APPENDIX 5. Distractions for Emotional Regulation

APPENDIX 6. Positive Self-Talk

How to Help Change Your Thoughts from Negative to Positive

APPENDIX 7. Mindfulness: Stilling the Mind

APPENDIX 8. Systematic Relaxation: Stilling the Body

APPENDIX 9. Giving and Receiving Validation

How to Give and Receive Validation

APPENDIX 10. Finding Pleasure and Making Connections

APPENDIX 11. Creating Positive Life Experiences

APPENDIX 12. Changing How You Think

APPENDIX 13. Increasing Personal Effectiveness

1. What are You Doing that is Ineffective that You Want to Change?

2. Listen to the People in Your Life to Get Feedback

3. Observe Your Limits

4. Avoid All Categorical Statements

5. Consequences

6. Natural Consequences

7. Doing a Repair

APPENDIX 14. Observing Your Own Limits

APPENDIX 15. Taking Control of Your Own Behavior

Meeting

Target the Behavior You Want to Change

Action Steps

Repair

APPENDIX 16. Keeping Track of Positive Behaviors

APPENDIX 17. Eating Habits and Nutrition

APPENDIX 18. Strategies for Improving Sleep

APPENDIX 19. Installing Structure and Organization in Your Life

APPENDIX 20. Communicating Effectively with Others

Index

People experiencing disorders in regulation are highly sensitive to stimulation from the environment, emotionally reactive, and have difficulty maintaining an organized and calm life style. They are impulsive, easily frustrated, and as a result make decisions that lead to an overwrought state-or who conversely retreat entirely from the world. This disorder is most likely to accompany diagnoses of bipolar or mood disorder, anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, Asperger’s syndrome, eating or sleep disorders, and/or attention deficit disorder. This book instructs therapists how best to treat the dysregulated adult, providing diagnostic checklists, and a chapter by chapter inventory in approaching treatment of dysregulation in a variety of life skills.

• Informs the therapist how dysregulation relates to multiple disorders
• Includes clinical observations and case studies
• Gives the therapist tools and techniques for the client to understand his behavior, reframe problems in a positive way, and take responsibility for behavior change
• Encompasses sensory integration therapy and mind-body techniques for the therapist to guide the client toward self-calming
• Emphasis on effective relational dynamics between the client and significant persons in his or her life
• Separate chapters on how to treat dysregulation effects on multiple behaviors, including mood regulation, behavioral control, inattention, sleep, feeding, and social interactions

Practicing clinical psychologists, therapists, and counselors