Author Archives: PsychManila

I attended the 1st VasCog Philippines conference last February 25 at Seda Hotel in Quezon City. VasCog Philippines is part of the International Society of Vascular Behavioral & Cognitive Disorders and one of its aim is to better “understand the non-physical outcomes of cerebral vascular brain injury like cognitive & behavioral impairments”. Specifically, vascular dementia (as against the dementia of alzheimer’s disease) and behavioral & psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD)

Several international and local neurologist gave interesting talks on this topic and one take home message is the importance of controlling diabetes mellitus (DM), dyslipidemia (cholesterol level) and hypertension in keeping our brains healthy (and we only have one!).

In particular, hypertension has been found to cause Small Vessel disease which in turn is the leading cause of White Matter Disease (WMD) (seen in our MRIs as white matter hyperintensities). WMD is caused by thickening of the walls of our blood vessels & narrowing of the lumen. These then lead to loosening of our blood vessel walls & microaneurysm formation.

These then set the stage for cerebrovascular accidents and subsequent vascular cognitive impairment!

Control those risk factors and you will do a great favor for your brain and yourself!

I attended the International Neuropsychological Society mid-year meeting in Prague, Czech Republic last July. I not only learned a lot (that will help me improve my skills in assessment), I also met nice and interesting colleagues.

Attending the conference gave me a bigger view of the field of neuropsych and neuroscience and how people from different areas of psychology are able to use them in their work (e.g. forensics, education, counseling).

In my case, I met Dr. Blanco who spoke about the Boston Approach in the analysis of a screening tool (the MoCa) which I will start applying in my work at the hospital. Listening to him and reading the books I have purchased reminded me and emphasized to me the need to analyze not only the scores my clients obtained during testing but, more importantly, how they arrived at their answers, especially their errors. How they arrived at their answers will give us a window into their minds – how they are working well and how they are not.

This then helps us to understand what is going on, answer the referral question and, more importantly, come up with appropriate and timely recommendations for intervention needed to help our clients function well at school/work/home. That is, after all, the purpose of testing.

When reprimanding, scolding your child (or giving feedback to a colleague or subordinate), it is best to remember the following:

• Always focus on the behavior that is being reprimanded (or discussed in the feedback); Not on the child or adult.

• Please do not make statements like “bad boy/bad girl!”, “tanga ka!”, “stupido ka!”. These are personal attacks that only serve to hurt and diminish your child’s or subordinate’s self-worth and self-confidence.

• These hurtful words often stick in the minds and self-concept of your child and are carried on to adulthood.

• They become the root of many of the cases of depression and anxiety in adolescents and adults that I see in my counseling practice.

• Instead, focus on the behavior in question and explain why it was unacceptable. Then suggest more positive and effective ways of behaving.

• That way your child will develop a healthy and positive self-concept that sees himself/ herself as a capable individual and an effective problem solver!