Hayden Finch, PhD

Paradocs Psychological Services | Hayden Finch, PhD

Schizophrenia vs. Schizoaffective Disorder vs. Bipolar Disorder: What’s the Difference?

Blog, Severe Mental Illnesses / Hayden Finch, PhD

I realize this is controversial, but “Schizophrenia,” “Schizoaffective Disorder,” and “Bipolar Disorder” are essentially useless terms. As I described in a recent post, there are far more differences within our diagnostic categories (e.g., Schizophrenia, Schizoaffective Disorder, Bipolar Disorder, etc.) than between them, and there is no pattern of symptoms that is unique to these conditions […]

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Why Every Doctor Gives You A Different Mental Health Diagnosis

Blog, Severe Mental Illnesses / Hayden Finch, PhD

It’s so frustrating when one of your doctors says you have Schizoaffective Disorder (or Social Anxiety Disorder), while another says it’s Bipolar Disorder (or Generalized Anxiety Disorder). And then you switch providers and they think it’s Schizophrenia (or OCD). What’s the freakin’ deal? They have an incredible amount of education and experience. Why can’t they

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Hayden Finch, PhD, Therapy & Psychological Services in Des Moines, IA`

Medication Overview: Final Thoughts

Blog, Medication / Hayden Finch, PhD

Now that you’ve read the preceding posts about antidepressants, anxiolytics, mood stabilizers, and antipsychotics, here are my final thoughts about medications. Sometimes people assume that the higher the dose of a medication, the more severe their illness is. This is false. Each medication has its own dosage scale, with some being up to 1200 mg

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Medication Overview: Antipsychotics

Blog, Medication, Severe Mental Illnesses / Hayden Finch, PhD

This is the fourth post in a series in which I’m aiming to demystify some of the very basics of psychotropic medications. Make sure you read the first post to get some of the background before reading this post about antipsychotic medications. And remember that I’m not a physician and in no way claim to

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Medication Overview: Mood Stabilizers

Blog, Medication, Severe Mental Illnesses / Hayden Finch, PhD

This is the third post in a series in which I’m aiming to demystify some of the very basics of psychotropic medications. Make sure you read the first post to get some of the background before reading this post about mood stabilizers. And remember that I’m not a physician and in no way claim to

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Medication Overview: Anxiety Medications

Anxiety, Blog, Medication / Hayden Finch, PhD

This is the second post in a series in which I’m aiming to demystify some of the very basics of psychotropic medications. Make sure you read the first post to get some of the background before reading this post about anxiety medications. And remember that I’m not a physician and in no way claim to

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Medication Overview: Antidepressants

Blog, Depression, Medication / Hayden Finch, PhD

Commonly when clients present to my office, they are already taking one or more medications for mental health. We call those medications “psychotropic medications.” One of the most common frustrations I hear is with the “trial and error” process of prescribing. Unfortunately, there’s no way to know ahead of time how well or even if any

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What’s it like to be bipolar? An expert answered all our questions about this mood disorder

Blog, Severe Mental Illnesses / Hayden Finch, PhD

Recently, I had the privilege of working with online magazine Hello Giggle to answer questions about bipolar disorder, including what it’s like to live with that condition. I answered all their questions, including What is bipolar disorder? What are the different types of bipolar disorder? What is the difference between calling it “bipolar disorder” or

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5 Ways Climate Change Affects Your Mental Health

Anxiety, Blog, Depression, Stress / Hayden Finch, PhD

It used to be “global warming.” Now it’s “climate change.” I’m not a climatologist or a politician, so I don’t really care about all that business. I mean, the whole idea of how ozone affects ocean currents, which somehow causes asthma, is just not something I’m all that interested in. As a psychologist, what I

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Hayden Finch, PhD, Therapy and counseling in Des Moines

Postpartum Depression in Men: Whaaa?

Blog, Depression / Hayden Finch, PhD

By HAYDEN FINCH, PhD Postpartum depression in women is widely discussed, but what about the guys? They matter, too, right??? Being a new daddy is a really exciting experience for many men, something they’ve looked forward to for a long time. And then sometimes the reality of it is just….depressing. A baby that won’t stop

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Schizophrenia vs. Schizoaffective Disorder vs. Bipolar Disorder: What’s the Difference?

Why Every Doctor Gives You A Different Mental Health Diagnosis

Medication Overview: Final Thoughts

Medication Overview: Antipsychotics

Medication Overview: Mood Stabilizers

Medication Overview: Anxiety Medications

Medication Overview: Antidepressants

What’s it like to be bipolar? An expert answered all our questions about this mood disorder

5 Ways Climate Change Affects Your Mental Health

Postpartum Depression in Men: Whaaa?

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