Dr. Nikki Martinez who has been working as an Independent Medical Expert to assist the courts, for the past decade and has also been an Adjunct professor for almost 14 years again joins eHealth Radio and the Psychology and Mental Health Channels continuing an ongoing series. Dr. Martinez engages in domestic and international consulting for various individuals, groups, and organizations, and offers individual and couples consulting via Tele-mental health services.

Topic: It’s NOT the Medication, It’s the Motivation!

Listen to the interview with host Eric Michaels and guest Dr. Nikki Martinez discuss the following:

1. As the topic of the show notes, there Is an important misunderstanding about the fact that pre-existing suicidal thoughts cause suicidal behavior in individuals, not mental health medications. Could you explain what that misunderstanding is?
2. You note that it is essential that a child has a thorough evaluation before starting an antidepressant by a trained professional. Who should conduct it, what should it entail, and why is it so important?
3. The FDA has put a “Black Box” warning on ALL antidepressants but has only approved 9 for children and youth, and you also have some research you would like to discuss that shows it is not these medications that cause suicidal thoughts.
4. You note that a major problem is that parents, guardians, and providers don’t always realize that a teen is suicidal, and so they blame the medication when no one is asking the questions and having the conversation.
5. Based on your experience, and reports from individuals you have worked with over the years, what conversations could providers and guardians be having with children and teens to help make sure these incidents are significantly reduced?

Dr. Nicole Martinez received her master’s and her Doctorate from the Illinois School of Professional Psychology and completed her pre-doctoral and post-doctoral fellowship at Gateway Foundation in Lake Villa, Illinois. Before that, she attended the University of St. Francis where she completed a double major in Psychology and Therapeutic Recreation, with a specialization in the arts. Dr. Martinez has experience working with adolescents, children, and adults in individual, family, and group treatment.

Her therapeutic style can be described as integrative, assessing the needs and style that will best serve the individual client. She typically has a mix of Cognitive Behavioral Psychotherapy and various holistic approaches, with an emphasis on CBT, Solution Focused Therapy, Reality Therapy, and Positive Psychology. She believes in exploring the connection between the body and the mind to treat all the individuals’ needs. She believes that an individual must explore many areas of their functioning to ensure optimum health physically and emotionally.

She stresses the essential belief that the therapist and client relationship is collaborative, and the two are partners who communicate from the first steps of designing the course and goals of treatment, as well as what the priorities will be. Dr. Martinez understands that it is just as important to identify any treatment styles, tools, techniques, or methods that did work, but what did not work as well, so that the two of you can work together charting a new path and avoiding precious time lost and frustration on that which has already been proven to be a poor fit.

Dr. Martinez also understands that each person is unique, there is no one size fits all, and that the needs of an individual may not only change from the initial inception of a treatment plan but from month to month or session to session, and that adapting and meeting the patient; where they are at; at any given moment is essential to both letting the patient knows they are being heard and attended to, as well as positive treatment outcomes.

Areas of expertise: medical and health psychology, trauma, trauma-focused CBT, PTSD, depression, anxiety, social anxiety, bipolar disorder, ADHD, autism spectrum disorders, neurodivergent emerging considerations, LGBTQIA populations, bereavement, forensics, substance abuse, and misuse disorders, addictive issues and behaviors, couples work, MISA populations, co-occurring disorders, domestic violence issues, sex offenders, special needs populations, and chronic medical issues and rare diseases. Evaluation and assessment of the above-mentioned individuals, as well as review of previous assessments.

Website: https://www.drnikkimartinez.com

Current Contributor: https://resilientstories.com

Article Archives:EverydayPower: https://everydaypower.com/author/nmmartinezHuffington Post: https://www.huffpost.com/author/nmmartinez1313-296

Social Media:Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/nikki-martinezPodbean: https://drnikkimartinez.podbean.com  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nikkimaramartinez