My email address for matters related to OPT, the Organization for Psychoeducational Tutoring, is jstray@gmail.com.
Current professional work
I'm currently directing the Organization for Psychoeducational Tutoring (optskills.org), and writing; I’m with the Psychiatry Faculty Practice of Upstate Medical University in Syracuse and am on the voluntary faculty of Upstate.
Psychoeducation
As a psychiatrist, I have in my career written many prescriptions for psychotropic medication, and I try to study the scientific literature on such medications assiduously. The medications commonly given for ADHD appear to have a high ratio of effectiveness to long-term adverse effects, and I have especially often used these.
I’m particularly interested in the fact that much of what helps people get over psychological difficulties is new learning. For example, someone with anger control problems learns ways of responding calmly and rationally to provocations, and drills and practices those desirable responses. Someone with anxiety learns not to exaggerate the "awfulness" of what will take place, and drills and practices responding courageously to the previously feared situations. Children with defiant behavior learn patterns of kind and cooperative behavior, and practice them. Practice in imagination, or fantasy rehearsal, is a very effective method of practicing these skills.
Psychoeducation can be carried out in the course of psychotherapy. It can also be carried out in a non-medical, more purely educational context. New learning can be carried out by educational techniques: reading instruction manuals and doing standard exercises with hypothetical situations.
If psychological skills are those that make life better, academic skills, i.e. reading, writing, math, and learning about the “big ideas” that people have come up with, are a subset of psychological skills.
Some Books
Below are the links to some books I’ve written, designed to help people learn psychological skills. The "programmed" books are meant be usable via "alternate reading": two people take turns reading the numbered passages; if one of them is the student, that person answers the comprehension probes; the tutor celebrates greatly if the student's answer matches that of the tutor. Alternate reading can and should be a pleasant experience for both people. Of course, one person can simply read any of these without making the reading a social activity.
Anxiety:
A Programmed Course in Anxiety Reduction and Courage Skills
Social Skills:
Friendship Building and Social Skills
Conflict-Resolution and Anger Control:
Conflict-Resolution and Anger Control
Self-Discipline Skills:
A Programmed Course in Self-Discipline
Proficiency in Reading:
Manual for Tutors and Teachers of Reading
Manuals covering numerous psychological skills:
Illustrated Stories That Model Psychological Skills
Programmed Readings for Psychological Skills
A Programmed Course in Psychological Skills Exercises
Plays That Model Psychological Skills
Psychological Skills Questions On Novels
Instructions On Psychological Skills
Exercises for Psychological Skills -- non programmed format, original version
Some Manuals on Math Skill:
Learning Math Facts With the Broken Number Line
Task Switching and Set Shifting (Also for attention skills)
Study skills for students:
Career success skills, especially for those on the autism spectrum:
Career Success For Those On Autism Spectrum
Some manuals for parents:
A Programmed Course for Parents
The Competence Approach to Parenting
Reinforcement and Punishment -- Vignettes for Practice in Applied Behavior Analysis
A Program of Ranks and Challenges as applied to psychological skills:
Ranks and Challenges, Student Manual
Ranks and Challenges Tester Manual
Books about psychoeducational tutoring
Guidelines for Psychoeducational Tutors
Some Handouts
Below are some brief tips on mental health.
Regarding anxiety:
Words Useful in Thinking About Fears and Aversions
Reducing Nightmares Through Imagery Rehearsal
Regarding Depression (also relevant to anxiety):
Overcoming Depression and Increasing Life Satisfaction
Life Satisfaction Strategies -- a "Programmed" Version with Questionnaire
Nonpharmacological Ways to Reduce Anxiety and Depression
Regarding anger control and conflict resolution:
Four Thought Exercise for Anger Control
Conflict Resolution for Family Members
Regarding sleep problems:
Hard to go to sleep, Hard to wake up: Circadian Rhythm Problems
Relevant to a variety of psychological skills:
Positive Goals for Mental Health
List, Specific Positive Examples of 16 Psychological Skills
DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy) summary
Brief Vignettes for Psychological Skill Identification Practice
Three Big Goals for Mental Health
Regarding parenting:
For Parents: An all-purpose skill enhancement program
For parents: The emotional climate, CCCT, and REFFF
Introduction to Family Psychoeducation
Drug side effects:
Marijuana -- Quotations from Journal Articles, About Adverse Effects
Some “Getting to Know You” exercises
Questions for getting to know someone
Speeches
DSM Diagnoses Where Criteria Include Anger, Violence, Irritability, Etc. (An appendix to the talk on aggression solutions)
Abstracts on Propranolol for Aggression Another appendix regarding aggression)
Breathing Retraining for Panic and Hyperventilation
References on Breathing Retraining
Measures
Regarding anxiety:
GAD-7 (anxiety rating) "GAD-7 scores ≥11 and GAD-7 scores ≥17 represented the optimum specificity and sensitivity for the detection of moderate and severe anxiety, respectively."
Regarding depression:
PHQ-9 for teens (depression rating) "A PHQ-9 score ≥11 had a sensitivity of 89.5% and specificity of 77.5% for detecting youth meeting DSM-IV criteria for major depression on the DISC-IV." "0-4 No or Minimal depression 5-9 Mild depression 10-14 Moderate depression 15-19 Moderately severe depression 20-27 Severe depression."
Strategies for Life Satisfaction Scale
Relevant to a variety of psychological skills:
Twelve thoughts, frequency rating
Rating of One's Contribution to the Emotional Climate of a Relationship
Parent ratings of child’s overall functioning:
PFSCA and Psychological Skills Inventory
One item functioning, and improvement scale
Parent ratings of child’s overall functioning and ADHD items:
Teacher ratings of child’s overall functioning and ADHD items:
Teacher Rated PFSCA and Vanderbilt
Aggression and Anger Control:
Aggression: Mattes Revision of Overt Aggression Scale
Aggression: JMS Revision of Overt Aggression Scale
Reasons for being kind to self and others:
Reading skill:
Option-generating and pros-cons generating:
Options test and pros-cons test
Songs
These are some "psychological skills songs." My audience for these has been younger folks; I've tried to put some of what I think are big ideas of psychological health into very simple language. Maybe some of these can be enjoyed by older folks as well. These are my compositions except for the melody of "Ole, Ole," the entirety of "Friends, Friends, Friends," and the lyric to the “Golden Rule Song.”
What's the Most Important Thing
If You Can Read and Follow Directions
I Can Hear the Sound of Kindness
Songs: From Emily and Joe to You
These are some songs recorded with my daughter, Emily.