Kent State Interns

Here are 5 simple steps to aid your clients in achieving a successful long term lifestyle change! 1.        Recognize a need for change – Do you currently have a health condition, or are at risk for developing one? Is running a marathon on your bucket list? Or do you just want to look great at the beach this summer? There are many reasons for wanting to make a lifestyle change, and none of them mean that what you are currently doing is wrong – only that it may be improved. 2.        Establish a goal – When making goals, remember that many small, short term goals lead to larger, long term goals. Psychologist Paul Meyer has developed the acronym SMART to help you create good goals. Keep these in mind when creating your health goals! S pecific – Answer questions “how”, “when” and “where” M easurable – Use numbers to easily measure your accomplishments A chievable – Are your goals attainable? Remember to start small! R ealistic – Is this reasonable for you at your PRESENT c

I found this article  in the recent Academy journal and thought it could be a good resource for improving counseling skills.  The use of open-ended questions is the basis of motivational interviewing, but some fail to facilitate discussion. For example a poor open-ended questions would be "What foods that you normally eat are high in calcium?"  A better question would be "How do you make sure you are getting enough calcium in your diet?"  This article explains how to develop successful open-ended questions that will encourage clients to share their thoughts, opinions, feelings, experiences, and hesitations. -KC

At my current rotation, I led a weight management class on body image. In my preparation, I found a great article written by a psychotherapist who specializes in eating disorders who interviewed a sociologist who studied the body images of black and white female adolescents with different degrees of weight loss. Important in any population with disordered eating habits, I think that body image and the psychology of food is especially interesting in the overweight and obese population.  It is the same old "chicken or the egg" argument - which came first? Disordered eating or poor body image. Even while leading the class, one student who had lost a significant amount of weight admitted that when she looked in the mirror, she saw herself at her heaviest weight - which is a risk factor for weight regain and therefore increased disease risk.  For anyone who is interested in weight management counseling, I think that this article reiterates the interconnectedness of psychology an