Franco Psychological Associates: Articles

       With the end of the school year fast approaching, kids everywhere are counting down the days until summer vacation. If you find yourself looking forward to fall already, take heart, help is on the way. (click here to read more)

       It is very much in vogue today to talk about “the three R’s” of education (reading, ’riting, ’rithmatic), of being green (reduce, reuse, recycle), of self-care (rest, reflect, refuel), etc. It is convenient and memorable to reduce complicated concepts to three simple evocative words. At the risk of seeming glib, I’d like to talk about Three R’s of Parenting: Rules, Relationship and Respect. These three concepts, taken together, can reduce conflict and foster more appreciation among family members. Remove any one, and interactions become unbalanced and parents and children become miserable together. Let’s take a look at each concept separately. (click here to read more)

       In our society we often hear, think and read that people are addicted to things, all kinds of things. It is said that people are addicted to work, sex, texting, hand held devices, social networking sites, video games, gambling, caretaking and people pleasing, shopping, food, the internet, chocolate, exercise, etc. When is someone truly addicted? Have we become too free with the use of the word “addicted”? When does something, even a good thing, become too much? (click here to read more)

       With the holidays approaching, it may seem an odd time to read about loss and grief. Yet those who have experienced the death of a loved one, understand that holidays bring poignant and even painful reminders of their losses. So it seems an appropriate time of year to consider what author Judith Viorst calls normal and necessary—the journey of grief. (click here to read more)

       Imagine these scenarios: A young, female college student returning after winter break, requests a ticket from the train conductor. He gruffly tells her that she should have purchased her ticket in the station. Flustered and panicked that the train is almost ready to leave, she reluctantly leaves her seat to follow his instruction. The train pulls out with out her. Another young man, in tears with desperation in his voice, telephones his father from his freshman dorm to express his frustration that he can’t seem to get out of the “triple” he was promised was temporary. The father empathizes with his son’s dilemma, but encourages him to contact the housing manager and work through the problem on his own. The father, a good friend, later confesses it would have been easy for him to help his son, but allowing him to problem-solve is practice for working through life’s real problems. (click here to read more)

       It is estimated that some 26 million people caring for others hold jobs and have children under the age of 18. Aptly named the “Sandwich Generation,” those ages 35-54 feel squeezed by caring for aging parents while raising their own families. In addition, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates that between 2000 and 2030, the population of people age 65 and older will more than double and those 85 and older will increase by 126% during that same time period. Because of this caring for this aging population has become a major public health issue. (click here to read more)

       I once read that all human beings are very much alike: we all have our struggles and we all wish to be happy. Sometimes people identify certain events as having the power to create particular emotional states, such as joy, sadness, or anger. However, we also have an internal capacity to increase our ability to have and sustain positive states of being. To aid us in the quest, I have developed a model I call The Four A’s. (click here to read more)

       So the holidays are over, the kids are back to school, and our lives as parents can return to a state of stress-free bliss, right? Wrong. We find ourselves right back in the whirlwind of work, carpools, homework, music lessons, team practice, orthodontist appointments, deadlines, laundry, groceries, lunches, school obligations, bedtime routines, meal preparations, the occasional sick child – who will stay home with her this time? – and, oh yes, sleep deprivation. We’ve made and broken our New Year resolutions to be more organized, more patient, more this and more that more times than we can remember. We are right back to feeling overworked, underappreciated, and above all GUILTY. (click here to read more)

       Household budgets are tighter and expensive vacations may not be possible for many families this year. That does not mean that your summer will be a bust! With some creative thinking and a positive attitude, you can turn this into a summer packed with cost effective activities and loads of fun filled memories for your scrapbook. (click here to read more)

       It’s that time of year when holiday music, ads for the best presents, and expectations of the “wonderful” holiday times are upon us. And how do many of us end up feeling? A little overwhelmed, facing hectic times with an already busy schedule, concerned with money expenditures, and wanting great holiday gatherings when the reality can sometimes emphasize unresolved family issues. Often we hear about and feel increased stress at this time of the year when we are looking forward to more joy, peace and loving feelings, also known as the holiday spirit. (click here to read more)

Franco Psychological Associates: Relaxation Techniques

       Stress affects our minds and bodies in many ways, leading to reactions such as difficulty making decisions, restlessness, headaches, digestive problems, or perhaps a sense of being overwhelmed. Reactions to stress vary from person to person and have the potential to harm your health and your emotional well-being.

       Stressful situations that we encounter each day (stuck in traffic, loud noises etc.) evoke our primitive fight or flight response. Our muscles tense, our heart rate increases, our blood pressure goes up. Because of the frequency of these events in our modern world, our body can develop a chronic condition of over tensing. We often are not aware of this chronic tension because it goes on outside of our awareness. We only become aware of it at the end of a long day when our neck and shoulders are sore.

       We have recorded three frequently used Relaxation Techniques for your use. We recommend that you listen to all three ( each is about 20 minutes long) and then choose one which seems to work best for you. You may wish to download the audio file and make a cd for your continued use. Choose a time and a place where you will be undisturbed for 20 minutes and begin practicing your selected method on a daily basis.

• Autogenic Training [Listen Now], which was recorded by Dr. Edward Franco is a system of psychosomatic self regulation. Research evidence demonstrates that conscious voluntary regulation is possible (heart rate, blood pressure) and that such self regulation has positive health benefits. On the autogenic relaxation tape you will hear a brief progressive relaxation technique followed by the introduction of the Autogenic phrases. The technique simply involves silently repeating the phrase over and over to yourself and trying to adopt a passive meditative perspective.
• Mindfulness Meditation [Listen Now], recorded by Lori Hogg, MS, is the regular, disciplined practice of paying attention in the present moment. The technique comes primarily out of the Buddhist meditative tradition, which has been practiced for over 2000 years. Have you ever found yourself rushing through your “to do” list , multi-tasking, functioning on automatic pilot, distressed that there is never enough time? Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D., Director of the Stress-Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center, refers to this modern, self imposed dilemma as the “tyranny of time”. He suggests that when your life is driven by doing, Mindfulness Meditation can provide a respite of non-doing, and restore balance and perspective.
• The 16 muscle group Progressive Relaxation Training Technique [Listen Now] was recorded by Dr. Kenneth France . Based on Jacobson’s Progressive Relaxation Training, the goal of this approach is to become more aware of small amounts of tension that most of us carry with us in our muscles, and subsequently learn to let go of unneeded tension.

       By practicing Progressive relaxation we learn to more quickly identify muscle tension and to let it go or reduce it . The long range goal of progressive relaxation is for the body to monitor these tension spots and reduce the unneeded tension immediately.