Mind Alive Blog
Monday, August 15, 2011
A school counselor uses AVE in her office to help children manage anxiety. It's great to hear that she uses it herself.
ANXIETY & DEPRESSION
Jeanne, Counselor from Minneapolis, MN
April 2011
We do have an AVE in our office. We have used it with a few of our clients. However, I see the majority of my clients in schools or homes, and find it more challenging to use the AVE in those settings. I have used it more frequently when I was a charter school counselor. I have found it wonderfully effective. One experience was when a student was having flashbacks of sexual trauma. She was falling apart in front of the other students. After using the AVE, she was able to calm, talk about her memories, return to class, and focus.
Many students have reported that it helped them with depression, anxiety, sleep problems, migraine headaches, and concentration. Furthermore, these students were predominately American Indians, and living in very poor families with chronic histories of trauma, domestic abuse, alcohol and drug addiction, I have not done any formal research. I do believe that is an effective intervention. and very preferable to pharmaceutical interventions.
I welcome your research, as I know that this approach is probably an uphill climb, given our current cultural beliefs about interventions, and the reality, that the AVE is not as profitable as medications. However, I have been a therapist for 45 years, and hear stories of the short and long term side effects of psychotropic medications. I do use the AVE myself 2-3 times per week, and experience it's wonderful benefits.
by Sima Chowdhury - August 15, 2011