... incest, sexual crimes, and the need for psychotherapy ... (life coach, counselor, psychotherapist, psychologist, psychiatrist, quezon city, manila, philippines)

the crew of tv5's bitag, hosted by ben tulfo, did an interview on incest.

incest is really a combination of child abuse, pedophilia, and rape.   

factors associated with incest include alcoholism, overcrowding and physical proximity, passive or absentee mothers, and a family history of incest in the perpetrator.

boys as well as girls can be victimized.  

the effects of incest manifest as depression, anxiety, substance abuse, tendencies for self-harm, hypersexuality, and/ or conflicted  intimated relationships.  clearly, survivors of incest and other sexual victimization need psychotherapy.  

... spiritual life coaching for the non-religious ... (life coach, counselor, psychotherapist, psychologist, psychiatrist, quezon city, manila, philippines)

the lopez group foundation (abs-cbn) invited me to do a talk on "integrating spirituality in daily life." 

as a psychotherapist who peeks into the lives of my clients, i am simply awed by the diversity of their spiritual lives.  i have an inter-faith practice since i meet clients who are christians, muslims, buddhists, and hindu.  

since the turn of the millenium however, i've been meeting people with non-traditional spiritual persuasions- among them, wiccans, atheists, agnostics, gnostics, and even jedi (knight) spiritualists.   

what i often hear from my clients is that they would like to nurture their spirituality in their own personal and unique way, not necessarily through organized religion or through traditional religious practices.  

as a life coach, i am called to respect each person's spirituality and it is a joy for me to accompany and encourage people in their spiritual journey.

... dealing with the issues of a teenage crisis, quarter life crisis, and midlife crisis ... (life coach, counselor, psychotherapist, psychologist, psychiatrist, quezon city, manila, philippines)

colgate philippines invited me to do a talk on life crises.

it is a rather timely topic because in the recent years, more teens have sought help from me on their own volition and without their parents accompanying them.

this can mean a number of things: it can mean that their problem involves their parents, or given the OFW phonomenon, their parents might not be present, or they may simply want to spare their parents from worrying about them.  

whether the crisis happens during the teenage, young adult, or midlife years, a crisis is a period beset by restlessness, anxiety, angst, and possibly depression. 

people in crisis are lost in some sort of psychological limbo or emotional purgatory- an angst-ridden place between the past which they need to leave behind and a future which is uncertain.  

through psychotherapy and life coaching, they can get the emotional support, respectful guidance, and spiritual direction they need to pass through and survive the "fire."  

... social anxiety disorder/ social phobia treatment in the philippines ... (life coach, counselor, psychotherapist, psychologist, psychiatrist, quezon city, manila)

while group therapy for the GREAT group (a support group for persons with social anxiety disorder/ social phobia) was in progress, doc alistaire "ali" bilas of tv5's alagang kapatid passed by for some sound bites on the disorder.  

the briefest thing i could tell him was that there is a lot of hope for people with social anxiety disorder and that  a higher success rate of treatment occurs with a combination of 


* anti-depressant medication (to correct the serotonin/ adrenalin imbalances which cause anxiety),


* individual psychotherapy ( to resolve psychological/ emotional issues that contribute to the disorder),


* exposure therapy via group therapy (to build social skills and confidence which is sorely lacking in people with social anxiety disorder), and


* relaxation and stress management techniques(which are natural ways of dealing with the anxiety).

having said that, i headed back to the GREAT group therapy session which culminated in an enjoyable anxiety-free lunch at the Omakase restaurant at Il Terrazo Mall. 

... life coach training program at christ's commission fellowship [CCF], glorious hope recovery program ... (life coach, counselor, psychotherapist, psychologist, psychiatrist, quezon city. manila, philippines)

it was a privilege for the philippine society of life coaches (pslc) to do a training program for the leaders of CCF's glorious hope recovery program.  this is a program which aims to help believers in Christ shed off the old self, grow in maturity, and shine God's brightness through service for others.  

truthfully, i was very impressed with all the participants- all 40+ of them. bro. butch mossesgeld, the head of glorious hope recovery program, certainly did a great job in training them as discipleship group leaders.  in fact,  all i did was to augment what they were already good at doing. 

i am truly confident that God is going to finish the good work which he started in all the participants, as they grow in their personal lives and their lives as coaches.  praise God for how them!  

... schizophrenia treatment in the philippines ... (life coach, counselor, psychotherapist, psychologist, psychiatrist, quezon city, manila, philippines)

the tatak tulfo team of tv5 visited for an interview on schizophrenia and hallucinations.  

schizophrenia is basically an imbalance of neurotransmitters in the brain, among them dopamine.  hence, many consider schizophrenia as a dopamine brain imbalance.  

dopamine brain imbalance may be manifested as changes in one's thought patterns, one's moods, and one's behaviors.  visual and auditory hallucinations, paranoia, misinterpretations, strange beliefs, and odd behaviors (like talking to one's self) are common manifestations.

since schizophrenia is a dopamine imbalance, the treatment must involve a dopamine balancer.  these dopamine balancers are also known as anti-psychotic or neuroleptic medications.  with the right medication and the right dosage, there should be considerable improvement within 2-3 weeks.  

the management of schizophrenia should not rely solely on medication.  the patient should receive individual counseling, and family counseling, and must be taught relaxation and stress management techniques.  although 20% of people with schizophrenia get progressively worse, the ultimate goal for the 80% is for them to live productive. meaningful, and joyful lives even if they need to take a lifetime maintenance of medications.  

... acupuncture for the premature ejaculation, erectile dysfunction, and loss of libido in young men ... (life coach, counselor, psychotherapist, psychologist, psychiatrist, quezon city, manila, philippines)

the tv5 crew drops by for an interview on the common sexual dysfunctions experienced by young men.  

in my clinical practice, young men in their late teens and early 20s have been consulting me for acupuncture for their sexual problems, not unlike a decade ago when my patients would mostly be middle-aged men.  

i would consider the main culprit of sexual dysfunction in young men to unhealthy lifestyles, which create more stress, fatigue, depression, anxiety, and medical conditions.  

well, young men or not, the 4 most common dysfunctions are:


* erectile dysfunction:  this is the inability to develop or maintain an erection during sexual performance.  


* premature ejaculation:  also known as rapid or early ejaculation, this is a condition wherein a man ejaculates earlier than he would want to,


* loss of libido:  this refers to the waning or absence of sexual interest or sex drive.  


* penile dysmorphia:  this refers to a preoccupation and insecurity about one's penis size.

besides acupuncture, the treatment for sexual dysfunctions i use is a combination of medication,  psychotherapy, hypnotherapy, sex therapy, and exercises.

... depression and suicide in teens and the first integrative medicine conference at la consolacion college ... (life coach, counselor, psychotherapist, psychologist, psychiatrist, quezon city, manila, philippines)

the very first annual conference on integrative medicine in the philippines was held at the la consolacion college, manila. 

sr. alou cruz and mr. macgerald cueto

dr. jaime galvez tan, the pillar of integrative medicine in the philippines, gave the keynote address.  distinguished practitioners of integrative medicine: dr. homer lee lim, dr. susan balingit, and mr. macgerald cueto served as speakers.  

as an advocate for the practice of holistic and integrative psychiatry, i gave a lecture on "depression and suicide among teens."  

as a former school psychiatrist, let me share with you some clues that your teen might be depressed or even suicidal:

* mood changes: irritability/ anger/ sadness

* being an emo kid

* poor school performance

* conduct problems in school

* social isolation/ withdrawal

* physical complaints

* substance/ alcohol use

and here are the symptoms of depression:


* lingering feelings of sadness
* loss of enjoyment, motivation, and interest
* sleep pattern changes
* appetite changes
* energy level changes
* changes in mental sharpness
* negative thought patterns
* lowered self-esteem
* thoughts of death and/or suicide

congratulations sr. alou cruz and dean andy sorita!  

you did a mighty good job in organizing the event!

... gestalt therapy growth group: my fatal flaw! ... (life coach, counselor, psychotherapist, psychologist, psychiatrist, quezon city, manila, philippines)

u.p. college of medicine students - chimongs doval-santos, siomay domingo, carlo de guzman, jayson de jesus, des dayag visited again for the second round of growth group activities.  

this time, we had new-comer carlos as special guest who talked about his character flaw.  

from the activity emerged personal insights:


chimongs -  "... magulo ang buhay ... pain is necessary and I need to accept it."


siomay - "... some struggles stay and I need to cope with them, sometimes by just being busy ..."


carlo - "... people have weaknesses and I just have to tolerate them ..."


jayson -  "... what's past is past and can't be undone ... it's best that i look forward instead of dwelling on the past ..." 


des - "... i'm a detail than can be overlooked but not by all ..."

... fuerza bruta ... (life coach, counselor, psychotherapist, psychologist, psychiatrist, quezon city, manila, philippines)

fuerza bruta is indeed brute force! 

this show punches you deep in the guts with a vibrant, sensual, invigorating, mind-blowing, jaw-dropping, heart-pounding performance! 

this show is not like any other- it is experiential, interactive, and other-worldly!  simply spectacular!