Articles on Family Problems

Family Therapy in Addictions Work

I would like to offer my observations and recommendations based on my work in Singapore between 2005 and 2011 in the field of addictions. To summarize:

I just finished reading a superb article by Timothy Sim on family therapy in Singapore1. He captures it all. It brought me back to many issues I struggled with while working in Singapore. As an addiction specialist practicing in Singapore for nearly six years (2005-2011), I had personally handled nearly 80 cases in addition to supervising hundreds of cases by other therapists. I expected to involve the entire family when working with a person suffering from an addictive disease. Note, I said “expected” since for a variety of reasons, it was almost impossible to work with families during my stay in Singapore. The counselors I supervised did little better, in fact, probably worse.

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Date Posted: January 10, 2013

Categories: Addictions, Compulsive Spending / Shopping, Drug Addiction, Eating Disorders, Family Problems, Gambling Addiction, Love addiction

How can you help a family member or friend who may be suffering from Depression?

As a practising psychologist in Singapore, I often receive calls from distraught family members asking what they can do if they have a family member or friend who they suspect is suffering from depression but who is reluctant to see a mental health professional. The main goal in this situation, is to make sure the person gets an appropriate diagnosis and then start treatment by a mental health professional if he or she does in fact have depression. This article contains a list of suggestions and possible interventions on how you can help the person achieve this goal.

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Date Posted: January 25, 2012

Categories: Depression / Bipolar, Family Problems