Counseling and Family Therapy Center

Home
United States
Harrison, AR
Counseling and Family Therapy Center

We offer individualized counseling. We specialize in PTSD, Depression, Anxiety, Substance abuse, etc.

06/18/2026

🐾 Meet Rocky! 🐾

Counseling & Family Therapy Center’s newest employee has officially reported for duty.

His specialties include greeting visitors, accepting belly rubs, supervising the office, and reminding us all to take a break once in a while.

Welcome to the team, Rocky! ❤️

06/13/2026

Today’s topic: Negative Symptoms

When most people think about psychosis, they think about hallucinations or delusions. These are called positive symptoms because something is being added to a person’s experience.

Negative symptoms are different. They happen when something that is normally there becomes reduced or missing.

Examples include:

• Showing very little emotion on the face or in the voice
• Talking less than usual
• Having little motivation to start or finish tasks
• Losing interest in activities that were once enjoyable
• Pulling away from friends, family, or social activities

Negative symptoms are often misunderstood. A person may look lazy, uninterested, or unmotivated, but these symptoms are not a choice. They are part of the illness.

Negative symptoms can make it hard to:
• Go to school or work
• Take care of daily responsibilities
• Enjoy hobbies and activities
• Connect with other people

In many cases, negative symptoms can affect daily life even more than hallucinations or delusions.

Understanding negative symptoms helps us replace judgment with compassion and support.

DSM-5-TR Note: The DSM-5-TR identifies diminished emotional expression (showing less emotion) and avolition (reduced motivation) as key negative symptoms seen in schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorders.

This concludes our psychosis education series. Psychosis is not a diagnosis—it is a group of symptoms that can occur in several mental health conditions. Early recognition, treatment, and support can make a meaningful difference.

06/11/2026

Today’s Topic: Incoherent Speech “Word Salad”

Incoherent speech, sometimes called “word salad,” occurs when words are combined in a way that makes little or no logical sense. Unlike loose associations, where connections between ideas become difficult to follow, incoherent speech may be so disorganized that the overall meaning cannot be understood.

Examples might include:

Sentences that contain unrelated words or phrases

Speech that lacks understandable meaning

Responses that do not logically connect to the conversation

Language that becomes impossible for others to interpret

Incoherent speech is considered a severe form of disorganized thinking and may be seen in psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia and during severe episodes of mental illness.

It is important to remember that this is a symptom of a medical and psychological condition—not a sign of intelligence, effort, or character.

Understanding symptoms like incoherent speech helps reduce stigma and encourages compassion toward those experiencing serious mental health challenges.

DSM-5-TR identifies disorganized speech, including severe forms of incoherence, as a core symptom of psychotic disorders.

06/10/2026

Today’s topic: Disorganized Thinking

Disorganized thinking is a disturbance in the organization and processing of thoughts that is often inferred from a person’s speech and communication. Individuals may have difficulty organizing ideas logically, making it challenging for others to follow their train of thought.

According to the DSM-5-TR, disorganized thinking is one of the core symptoms commonly observed in psychotic disorders. It may appear as difficulty staying on topic, shifting between ideas in ways that are hard to follow, or expressing thoughts that lack clear organization.

Examples may include:

* Frequently changing topics without clear connections
* Providing answers that are only loosely related to the question
* Difficulty maintaining a logical flow of conversation
* Speech that becomes increasingly difficult to understand

Disorganized thinking is not a sign of low intelligence or a lack of effort. It reflects changes in how the brain is organizing and processing information.

Understanding symptoms like disorganized thinking helps reduce stigma and encourages compassion for individuals experiencing psychosis and other serious mental health conditions.

Counseling & Family Therapy Center
Education. Understanding. Hope.

06/09/2026

Today’s topic: Pressured Speech

Pressured speech is a pattern of speaking that is unusually rapid, intense, and difficult to interrupt. A person may feel driven to keep talking, often speaking louder or faster than usual.

Others may notice that the person moves quickly from one idea to another, has difficulty pausing, or continues talking even when others are struggling to keep up with the conversation.

Pressured speech is commonly seen during manic or hypomanic episodes and may occur alongside increased energy, decreased need for sleep, racing thoughts, and heightened activity levels.

Pressured speech is a symptom, not a personality trait or character flaw. The individual is often experiencing an internal sense of urgency that makes it difficult to slow down or organize their thoughts at a typical pace.

Understanding symptoms helps reduce stigma and encourages compassion for those experiencing mental health challenges.

This post is for educational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose any mental health condition.

DSM-5-TR Reference: Pressured speech is included among the characteristic symptoms associated with manic episodes and is often described as speech that is rapid, difficult to interrupt, and driven by an increased flow of ideas.

06/05/2026

Today’s topic: Loose Associations (Derailment)

Loose associations, sometimes called derailment, occur when a person’s thoughts and speech move from one topic to another with only minimal or unclear connections between ideas.

The person may feel their thoughts are connected, but listeners often have difficulty following the conversation because the links between topics are weak or difficult to understand.

Example:

“I need to go to the grocery store. Groceries are getting expensive. Money causes stress. Stress can affect your heart. Hearts are on Valentine’s cards.”

Each statement relates in some way to the one before it, but the conversation gradually moves away from the original topic.

According to the DSM-5-TR, derailment is a type of disorganized thinking that may be observed through a person’s speech. It can occur in psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia and may significantly interfere with communication.

Loose associations are different from creativity, storytelling, or simply changing subjects during a conversation. The key feature is that the connections between ideas become increasingly difficult for others to understand.

Symptoms like loose associations can make communication challenging and may affect relationships, work, school, and daily functioning.

Psychosis affects more than perception. It can also affect how thoughts are organized and communicated.

Education reduces stigma. Understanding creates empathy.

Address

213 W. Rush Avenue
Harrison, AR
72601

Telephone

+18707544907

Website

http://counselingandfamilytherapycenter.com/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Counseling and Family Therapy Center posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Practice

Send a message to Counseling and Family Therapy Center:

Featured

North Central Arkansas Hypnosis
1200 West Main Street, Suite 3, Cotter

Want your practice to be the top-listed Clinic in Harrison?