“Conversational hypnosis, sometimes called covert hypnosis, is a method of subtly guiding a person’s thoughts and behaviors through everyday dialogue without their conscious awareness. By using techniques such as storytelling and rapport-building, it engages the unconscious mind while the individual stays relaxed and fully awake, often with their eyes open.”

Shervan K Shahhian

Early intervention plays a powerful role in preventing substance use because it addresses risk factors before they escalate into full-blown addiction. 

Here’s how it works:

1. Identifying Risk Early

• At-risk youth and adults (those with family history of substance use, trauma, mental health challenges, or academic/behavioral difficulties) can be recognized early.
• Screening tools in schools, healthcare, or community settings help spot early warning signs like experimentation, withdrawal, or mood/behavioral changes.

2. Building Protective Factors

• Early programs focus on strengthening coping skills, emotional regulation, and decision-making.
• Supportive relationships with parents, teachers, and mentors create resilience, making individuals less likely to turn to drugs or alcohol.

3. Education and Awareness

• Teaching people — especially children and adolescents — about the real risks of substances helps them make informed choices.
• Correcting myths (e.g., “everyone is doing it”) reduces peer pressure effects.

4. Reducing Risk Factors

• Addressing mental health issues like anxiety or depression early reduces the likelihood of self-medication with substances.
• Tackling environmental risks (poverty, family conflict, exposure to drug use) makes substance use less appealing or necessary as a coping strategy.

5. Short-term Interventions Prevent Long-term Harm

• Programs like SBIRT (Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment) or school-based prevention programs can stop experimentation from becoming dependence.
• Early help often requires fewer resources than treating full addiction later.

6. Improved Life Trajectory

• By stepping in early, people are more likely to stay in school, maintain healthy relationships, and avoid criminal justice involvement — reducing the social and economic costs of substance use.

In short: early intervention interrupts the cycle before it begins. It shifts focus from reacting to addiction toward building resilience, equipping individuals with tools to thrive without substances.

Shervan K Shahhian

Yes — identifying at-risk patients early is key to prevention before substance use escalates into a disorder. Clinicians and behavioral health professionals often use risk factor screening, clinical judgment, and structured tools to recognize vulnerability.

Here’s a breakdown:

Signs & Risk Factors to Watch For

Personal Risk Factors

• Family history of substance use disorders
• History of trauma, abuse, or neglect
• Co-occurring mental health issues (depression, anxiety, ADHD, PTSD)
• Impulsivity, sensation-seeking, or poor coping skills

Behavioral Indicators

• Decline in academic/work performance
• Frequent unexplained absences or lateness
• Social withdrawal or sudden changes in peer group
• Risky behaviors (reckless driving, unsafe sex, aggression)

Medical: (CONSULT A PSYCHIATRIST) & Social Context

• Chronic pain or frequent medical complaints (risk for opioid misuse)
• Peer or family pressure to use alcohol/drugs
• Financial or housing instability
• Legal issues or prior disciplinary actions

Screening Tools Commonly Used

• CRAFFT (for adolescents)
• AUDIT (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test)
• DAST (Drug Abuse Screening Test)
• ASSIST (WHO Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test)
• SBIRT framework: Screening, Brief Intervention, Referral to Treatment

Early Intervention Strategies

• Provide brief motivational interviewing to raise awareness.
• Encourage healthy coping skills (mindfulness, stress management, peer support).
• Strengthen protective factors: family engagement, community support, structured activities.
• Offer referrals to counseling or behavioral health services if needed.

Bottom line: At-risk patients can often be identified by a mix of clinical screening tools, psychosocial risk factors, and behavioral warning signs. Intervening early with education, support, and referral significantly reduces the chances of escalation into full-blown substance use disorder.

Shervan K Shahhian

Energy psychology is a branch of psychology and psychotherapy that combines traditional psychological approaches with concepts from energy medicine and Eastern practices (like acupuncture, meridians, and chakras). The central idea is that emotional distress and trauma are linked not only to thoughts and memories but also to disruptions or imbalances in the body’s energy systems.

Core Principles

• Mind–body connection: Emotions, thoughts, and physical sensations are deeply interconnected.
• Energy flow: Like in acupuncture, energy psychology assumes the body has meridians or channels of energy that can be blocked or disrupted by trauma and stress.
• Rapid relief: Techniques often aim to quickly reduce the intensity of emotional distress compared to traditional talk therapy alone.

Common Techniques

• Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT): “Tapping” on acupressure points while focusing on a problem or emotion.
• Thought Field Therapy (TFT): A structured sequence of tapping on energy meridian points.
• Tapas Acupressure Technique (TAT): Light pressure on specific points near the eyes and head combined with mental focus.
• Eye Movement methods: Similar to EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), combining bilateral stimulation with energy awareness.

Applications

• Trauma and PTSD
• Phobias and fear
• Stress and anxiety
• Depression
• Addictions and compulsive behavior
• Performance enhancement (sports, public speaking, creativity)

Evidence & Criticism

• Evidence: Research (particularly on EFT and TFT) suggests these techniques can reduce symptoms of trauma, anxiety, and stress, sometimes rapidly. Organizations like the American Psychological Association have noted promising results, but caution that more large-scale, rigorous studies are needed.
• Criticism: Skeptics argue the “energy” model lacks solid grounding in Western medical science, and benefits may be due to exposure, mindfulness, and placebo effects rather than energy shifts.

In practice, many therapists use energy psychology as an adjunct to traditional therapy, especially for trauma and emotional regulation.

Shervan K Shahhian

Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) is the gold-standard behavioral treatment for Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and related anxiety conditions.

Here’s a clear breakdown:

What ERP Is

• Exposure = Gradually and intentionally facing the thoughts, images, objects, or situations that trigger anxiety or obsessive fears.
• Response Prevention = Choosing not to perform the usual compulsive behavior (checking, washing, mental ritual, reassurance seeking, etc.) that temporarily relieves anxiety.

The goal: teach your brain that anxiety can decrease on its own without compulsions, breaking the OCD cycle.

 How ERP Works

Assessment & Hierarchy

• You and a therapist identify your obsessions and compulsions.
• Create a “fear ladder” (from least distressing triggers to most distressing).

Exposure Practice

• Start with mild-to-moderate triggers.
• Example: If contamination OCD is the concern, exposure might be touching a doorknob and not washing hands right away.

Response Prevention

• Resist the compulsion (e.g., no handwashing for a set period).
• Notice that anxiety rises at first, then gradually falls without ritualizing.

Repetition & Generalization

• Practice exposures regularly in different contexts until they feel manageable.
• Move up the hierarchy over time.

 Why ERP Works

• Habituation: Anxiety naturally decreases when you stay in the situation.
• Learning new associations: The feared event doesn’t happen, teaching your brain it’s safe.
• Empowerment: You learn you can tolerate distress without rituals.

 Example (Checking OCD)

• Fear: “If I don’t check the stove, the house will burn down.”
• Exposure: Turn off stove once and walk away.
• Response Prevention: Do not go back to check again, even when anxious.
• Outcome: Anxiety spikes, then fades. Over time, checking loses power.

ERP is usually done with the support of a trained therapist, but self-guided versions exist too.

Shervan K Shahhian

A Holistic Health Psychologist is a mental health professional who integrates psychology with whole-person healing approaches. Instead of focusing only on symptoms or isolated problems, they look at the connection between mind, body, emotions, behavior, relationships, lifestyle, and even spirituality in a person’s well-being.

Here’s what that usually means:

Core Principles

Mind–Body Connection: Recognizes that psychological distress often shows up in physical symptoms (stress → headaches, gut issues, sleep problems, etc.) and vice versa.

Whole-Person View: Sees mental health as interconnected with diet, sleep, movement, social support, environment, and purpose in life.

Prevention and Growth: Focuses not only on reducing illness but also on building resilience, balance, and fulfillment.

Integration: May draw from conventional psychology, evidence-based therapy (like CBT), and complementary practices (like mindfulness, relaxation, yoga, nutrition, or energy psychology).

What They Might Do in Practice

Use psychotherapy (talk therapy, CBT, ACT, etc.) to address emotional and cognitive challenges.

Incorporate stress reduction tools such as meditation, breathing exercises, guided imagery, or biofeedback.

Explore lifestyle factors (nutrition, exercise, sleep hygiene) as part of treatment.

Address the spiritual dimension if the client finds it meaningful (e.g., exploring life purpose, existential concerns, spiritual practices).

Help clients with chronic illness, trauma, or lifestyle-related conditions find balance across multiple areas of life.

Who They Help

People managing stress, anxiety, or depression.

Individuals with chronic pain or illness who want psychological and lifestyle support.

Clients seeking personal growth and life balance.

Those interested in integrating conventional therapy with complementary healing approaches.

Think of it as psychology that doesn’t separate mental health from physical health or life meaning — it addresses them together.

Shervan K Shahhian