By Mike McMahan, LPC
 
Galactic Empire, a metal band that specializes in metalizing (you guessed it) Star Wars soundtrack numbers just released a self-titled, full-length album. Though this is a novelty record through and through, it’s a pretty fun one. Their take on the Cantina Band theme is especially cool. Multiple music critics have made the assertion that heavy metal is rooted in classical music, especially the European classical tradition, and this album makes a pretty strong case. If you’re still not convinced, there’s a whole history of this type of metal/classical stuff, most successfully Apocalyptica plays Metallica.
 
OK, you may be asking yourself, what does this have to do with psychotherapy? Well, it turns out that telling your story in a different fashion can really make a lot of difference. On one hand, the notes, rhythms, chord changes, etc. from the original Star Wars soundtrack are the same when an orchestra performs the score or when Galactic Empire rips it up. But, wait a minute. It sounds almost completely different when Galactic Empire does it. So is it the same, or not?
 
This “retelling in a different way” is something that can be helpful for postmodern therapists. When clients tell me a story, I will often tell it back to them, but sometimes in a more positive way or in a way that suggests there may be further action for them to take. To give a simplified example, a client might say “I spend a lot of time and money learning how to knit and I can’t even make a scarf!” which I might summarize to them as “you’re working really hard to learn how to knit but you’re not quite there yet.” No one has ever come to therapy to talk about knitting (yet) but people often are frustrated when they’ve tried to master something and are not succeeding. Once a therapist opens up a sense of possibility, the client can start building from there, in collaboration with the therapist, of course.
 
I might end up moving the talk along: “so you were making some progress with the scarf and you were able to knit a one-color scarf really well, but when you decided to make a three-color scarf it got pretty tough, right?” Clients will agree with this as the facts are still the same, but there is a different tilt to the story. Then it becomes possible to open up a discussion of possibilities, what has gone right with the knitting and how to apply those skills.
 
So when you’re checking out Galactic Empire, ask yourself: “what story have I boxed myself in on?” “What have I wanted to do and given up on prematurely?” It may be that you ended the story too soon and a re-telling may take it from an orchestral score to a full-on metal assault. Rock on, friends.
 
 
Mike McMahan, LPC is a psychotherapist based in San Antonio, Tx. 

Like what you see here? Follow Therapy Goes POP on Facebook!

​By Mike McMahan, LPC
 
When TV gets something mental-health related right, it is worth celebrating. And, last week, This Is Us got it right.
 
Part of being in any profession that is ever depicted on television or in movies is cringing at the inaccuracy of what is being shown. Entertainment is generally not about education; even documentaries tend to show clips and feature conversation that fits the narrative the filmmakers are shaping or the message they are trying to impart, any broader truth be damned. This often creates a situation in which professions are portrayed in a very broad or even inaccurate manner. Whatever the characters need to do to advance the story is what writers and directors do. Who cares if a scientist would never remotely act the way he or she is depicted.
 
It sometimes seems that this applies in a particularly strong fashion to the field of psychology. Perhaps it is the mystique that surrounds mental illness. Or perhaps I’m just biased. But the prevalence of, for example, “multiple personality disorder” (Dissociative Identity Disorder) has been totally blown out of proportion by its use as a plot device in movies and TV. And, hey, I get it. The disorder presents an opportunity for a huge twist moment and is shocking for most people to even consider. “What if I had a secret life and an entirely different personality that I don’t know about?” The thing is you don’t. And neither does anyone else you know, statistically speaking. This disorder is extraordinarily rare. Most clinicians will go their entire career and never encounter this illness. While schizophrenia is more common than DID, entertainment-driven stereotypes also confuse the issue of what schizophrenia actually is. People with schizophrenia are generally not violent or dangerous and they most definitely don’t have “multiple personalities.” They aren’t supervillains hatching sinister plots. Many of them have extraordinarily challenging lives and very sad stories.
 
Anxiety disorders are much more understandable than schizophrenia or dissociative identity disorder, and, of course, more common. I’ve never watched This Is Us, though it’s certainly been in entertainment headlines. Maybe I should, as I was struck to learn of this clip that showed a character, Randall, reacting to a call from his brother, Kevin, who was having a panic attack. These things are very scary, as Kevin’s reaction shows. When Randall leaves his performance to help Kevin, I found it pretty moving. Most people wouldn’t have done this, but Randall’s recognition and support was touching. Panic attacks are not something that you can just “get over” and people can’t just “relax.” In addition to the racing thoughts and feelings of imminent doom, panic attacks may be accompanied by physical symptoms such as accelerated heartbeat, sweating or shortness of breath. I’m aware of a psychologist who includes in her regimen of treatment for panic attacks at the VA an exercise in which she asks patients to drink 5+ shots of espresso. She then helps them learn how to work with their mind to help their body to control these physical symptoms of panic. If you’ve ever drank 5+ espresso shots, you can imagine the challenge. And if this doesn’t get your heart pumping, well, tolerance is a real thing and caffeine is a helluva drug!
 
If you experience these symptoms, by all means speak to a mental health professional, as treatments (including medication and/or therapy) are highly effective. And if you have a friend or loved one experiencing a panic attack, please don’t minimize it. They are terrifying.
 
 
Mike McMahan, LPC is a psychotherapist based in San Antonio, Tx.

By Mike McMahan, LPC
 
You may have heard of Metallica. The thrash metal legends been in the news quite a bit lately, between announcing a massive stadium tour and performing on the Grammys with the amazingly awesome Lady Gaga. That performance, of course, was marred by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield’s mic being unplugged. An enterprising fan restored the audio through some sort of computer magic and it totally rocked—though that video seems to be down now, presumably due to Metallica’s metal militia of lawyers.
 
ANYWAY, they’ve been in the news. Late last year they put out a pretty damn good album, too: Hardwired… To Self-Destruct. Metallica hasn’t put out a good album in years, though their 80s classics are undeniable and highly influential. To be fair, they’re in a difficult position. Their early success was about being hungry and doing something new. Now they are multi-millionaires with families. It makes the angsty lyrics reek of self-parody. Still, Hardwired brings it in a major way for the first time in years. How, exactly?
 
Guitarist Kirk Hammett shines some light on this matter in a way that serves as a nice example of how therapy can work, too. “If you can call 2008's Death Magnetic a return to form,” he says, “then you can call 2016's Hardwired… To Self-Destruct more of that. We reached backwards in the intentions of creating something new, first with Death Magnetic, and we did this again with this album — looking backwards in the attempt to create something new. And, as a result, when I listen to this album, it has elements of Kill 'Em All, Ride The Lightning, Master [Of Puppets], …[And] Justice [For All], Black album — I hear all that stuff — but it's still unique and it's still different.” This is a perfect example of how Solution Focused Brief Therapy can work. The premise of this approach is that past solutions are being overlooked and that this lack of recognition is preventing a solution to the current problem.
 
One of the key elements of this school of therapy is that solutions to current problems lie in past successes. It’s fairly obvious how this works in relation to Hammett’s statement. They took a look at their old records and asked themselves “what was good about that?” But, and this is the important part, they didn’t just copy those old records. They asked themselves what worked, and then recast it for where they are now. For my money, Hardwired took a lesson from Kill ‘Em All in that the riffs are not as complex and don’t sound as forced. The band sounds like maybe, just maybe, they were actually having fun.
 
But how would this work in therapy? In a simplified example, let’s say a client comes to me and says “I’m having trouble meeting women and I’d really like to be in a relationship.” This is actually a relatively common therapy concern—for both genders and for any sexual orientation. The obvious thing might be to do the thing the client’s friends have no doubt done—suggest places to meet people: bars, the grocery store, bookstores, activities, whatever. But maybe the person could, instead, think back to other times when they’ve been comfortable meeting people and interacting with them. Then perhaps they could consider why they were comfortable in that situation. Was it work, and they felt confident with their competence on the job? Was it school and they felt good about an academic subject? This might be followed with a question about what is a situation now that would make them feel this way? Again, this is very simplified, but it illustrates the point: what was a past solution that you aren’t considering and how can you apply it in a new way? Remember, you frequently have the means to solve these problems within yourself. You’ve likely done it before.
 
 
Mike McMahan, LPC, is a psychotherapist based in San Antonio, Tx.
​

By Mike McMahan, LPC

Most likely you know that the number of autism diagnoses have risen dramatically in the last few years. There may be several reasons for this, though it’s important to note that there is no evidence that vaccines are among them and that this has been discredited by the scientific community. What is also inarguable is that there we are going to encounter more and more children with autism and, logically, more adults with autism in the future. Many parents of children with autism (and special needs parents in general) wonder what the future holds. I recently stumbled onto a story about being a man with autism and the struggle to be involved in, and understand, romance. To me, it has Hollywood written all over it, as it shows the potential to overcome a serious emotional challenge.

As the author, Phil Martin, explains, love presents a lot of challenges for him—as it does for all of us. For Phil, an adult on the autism spectrum, moving in with a girlfriend meant dealing with how to be close with an intimate partner, learning to eat different foods and questioning what exactly love is. Though this relationship, like many, was unsuccessful, the article ends on a hopeful note, as now Phil is married.

So how did Phil overcome these challenges? One way he did it was step-by-step, with small steps all along the way. Note what he said about eating: “She agreed to cook the foods I liked but only if she could incorporate new foods into my diet. It started with boneless baked chicken and macaroni and cheese. Eventually, she would add in broccoli, rice, corn, etc. Eventually she put a big spin on things and made Parmesan chicken. It took some getting used to but at the end of the day, I tried more new foods in my 24th year than my entire life.” So his partner made the foods he liked but with a small amount of new things thrown in. This story is so visual for me that I feel as though the script would write itself, and I’m highly confident that the story would move a lot of people and be helpful in dispelling some autism myths.

Think about how this might apply to your own life. I’ve used exercise as an example before, but it bears repeating as it is something that many people (including myself) struggle to integrate and complete successfully. Many will say to themselves, “I’m going to run as far as I can today,” and maybe even jog three or four miles. You might even do it again the next day. But by that third day, you’re so tired you can’t do it. Then you fall into negative self-talk (“I can’t do this, I’m a failure”) and abandon the project. But what if you did a minimal amount of exercise for a week and then gradually increased it a little more? Results aren’t going to be instantaneous anyway, so “the long run” is the most important, anyway. Once you begin to have a routine, you can increase it very gradually. It seems that is what Phil did. A little at a time until he got used to it. And it sounds like it took a full year.

So give yourself a break and take it slow. One new food at a time, one bite at a time. And let’s hope Phil Martin’s story makes it to the silver screen sometime down the line.

 
Mike McMahan, LPC is a psychotherapist based in San Antonio, Tx.