Getting Past "I Don’t Know": Learn the Active Listening Technique

Getting Past “I Don’t Know”: Learn the Active Listening Technique

The second topic in our webinar blog series is Getting Past “I Don’t Know”: The Active Listening Technique. Led by...
The Acoustics of Assertiveness: Learn the Broken Record Technique

The Acoustics of Assertiveness: Learn the Broken Record Technique

Ascellus recently finished a webinar series, Rebound from COVID: 6 Influence Skills, which consisted of six 30-minute sessions with our...
Knowledge is Power When It Comes to Opioid Use

Knowledge is Power When It Comes to Opioid Use

The use of opioids across our nation has risen to epidemic proportions, and regulators, government agencies and, of course, the...
The Science Behind Identification of Psychosocial Risk Factors

The Science Behind Identification of Psychosocial Risk Factors

We know that early intervention is critical to preventing delayed recoveries. One of the challenges has been to identify injured...
The Medicine Cabinet in Your Brain

The Medicine Cabinet in Your Brain

Emotions are powerful. They not only make a difference in how we feel and behave but they directly impact our...
How Opioids Can Kill Injured Workers

How Opioids Can Kill Injured Workers

Imagine taking a “pain” medication that may actually intensify the suffering. Add to that frequent side effects, such as respiratory...
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Stakeholders Increasingly Look to Psychosocial Risk Factors in WC Claims

Fear is a scary thing, especially among injured workers. Those who say they are afraid/scared/worried/anxious at the beginning of a...
APRIL 13 - 16 exhibiting Rx Drug Abuse & Heroin Summit

POSTPONED | APRIL 13 – 16 exhibiting at Rx Drug Abuse & Heroin Summit

Integrated Medical Case Solutions (Ascellus Group), the leading provider of work-related trauma prevention and treatment with a proven track record...
MARCH 5 - 6 attending DWC Oakland

MARCH 5 – 6 and MARCH 26 – 27 attending DWC

Integrated Medical Case Solutions (Ascellus Group), the leading provider of work-related trauma prevention and treatment with a proven track record...
Ascellus attending WCRI 2020

MARCH 5 – 6 attending WCRI 2020

Integrated Medical Case Solutions (Ascellus Group), the leading provider of work-related trauma prevention and treatment with a proven track record...
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Employers Can Take Action to Reduce Pain, Improve Productivity

Chronic pain is more prevalent than many people think. The latest government figures say more than 15 percent of currently...
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Mind-Body Connection Key to Preventing Delayed Recoveries

Your body is more than just a vehicle for carrying your head around. Modern research shows the mind and body...
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Technology, Telehealth Services Mean Faster CBT and Quicker RTWs

Technology has truly revolutionized the way medical care is delivered to injured workers. We can now reach them in a...
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A Day in the Life of a Tapering Opioid User: The Hijacked Brain

There’s an experiment I like to do with audiences when I am presenting on the use/misuse of opioids for chronic...
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Take A Cold Shower: The PTSD Survival Guide

Experiencing a trauma can leave a person with all sorts of confusing, even debilitating reactions. Flashbacks to the event may...

##!%$# Curse Much? Could Just Be Your Brain in Pain

What do you usually do when you stub your toe hard or hit your thumb with a hammer instead of...
Tapering Opioid User

Alternatives to Long-Term Opioids Needed Following Surgery, Research Shows

The longer a post-surgical patient is on opioids, the greater the chances of misuse. New research out of Harvard shows...

Early CBT Intervention Changes Lives, Saves Money for WC Payers

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) uses a holistic approach to help people with delayed recoveries. It is short-term, goal-oriented, and has...

Consider Trauma-Related Psychosocial Risks at Halloween Celebrations

It’s Halloween – a day that can be a great opportunity for team building and comradery at an organization. Many...

Woe is Me! A Day in the Life of a Tapering Opioid User

Woe is Me! A Day in the Life of a Tapering Opioid User Sometimes things have to get worse before...

Time to Face the Music: The PTSD Survival Guide

Time to Face the Music: The PTSD Survival Guide After experiencing a traumatic event, a person often uses avoidance behavior...

Focus, Focus, Focus: The dangers of multitasking and how CBT can help

Question: Can humans actually multitask? Answer: It’s very rare that an individual can actually perform two or more tasks at...

Add this to CBT! Emotional awareness and expression therapy (EAET) technique

An interesting case decided in New York recently spotlighted fibromyalgia, and whether a traumatic event could have triggered a recurrence...

Riding the Mood Rollercoaster: A day in the life of a tapering opioid user

Tapering off long term opioid use is difficult for nearly everyone. There can be a variety of symptoms, none of...

Back in Action: The PTSD Return to Work Guide

The ultimate goal of PTSD (posttraumatic stress disorder) therapy is to get the person back at work and functioning normally....

Shots Fired! Police Officers and PTSD in Florida

Following the horrific tragedies at Orlando’s Pulse Nightclub and Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Florida legislature approved legislation to provide...

Hyperalgesia—A Blessing in Disguise for Opioid Users

Hyperalgesia—A Blessing in Disguise for Opioid Users  We know the danger of long-term, unnecessary opioid use: Respiratory depression Drowsiness Lethargy...

Why Delayed Recoveries are Driving Up Costs and What You Can Do About Them

On average, workers’ compensation payers are spending more money per claim, despite the drop in frequency for most of the...

Meditation: Don’t Overthink It

If you’re looking to destress, increase your focus, improve your sleep and raise your awareness, meditation is the way to...

Stress is Contagious: Stop “Strezazzled” People from Encroaching on Your Brain

If you ever feel that being around a particular person causes you physical angst, you may be on to something....

They Get by with a Little Help from Their Friends: First Responders and PTSD Part 2

They Get by with a Little Help from Their Friends: First Responders and PTSD Part 2  Peer support is one...

They Get by With a Little Help from Their Friends: First Responders and PTSD Part 1

They Get by With a Little Help from Their Friends: First Responders and PTSD Part 1  Social isolation is one...

Mind-Body Treatments Touted as Superior to Usual Care for Chronic Low Back Pain

Mind-Body Treatments Touted as Superior to Usual Care for Chronic Low Back Pain  Engaging the minds as well as the bodies...

CBT Can Prevent Post-Surgical Chronic Pain

CBT Can Prevent Post-Surgical Chronic Pain   Injured workers who’ve undergone surgery run the risk of developing chronic pain. Researchers say...
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CBT and Smartphones: Study Shows Power of CBT on Brain Changes

CBT and Smartphones: Study Shows Power of CBT on Brain Changes   There is a little known addiction that could...

Test Your Mental Health Knowledge

Test Your Mental Health Knowledge   Are you in a mental state? Confused? Good news; we are here to help! Workers’...
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The Science of Mind-Body Therapies

The Science of Mind-Body Therapies   The latest research reveals what may be the most successful treatment for depression: a...
Healthcare, opioid epidemic and drug abuse concept with the map of USA filled with oxycodone and hydrocodone pharmaceutical pills on the American flag

Study Indicates Prescribers Ignore Risk Factors for Delayed Recoveries

Study Indicates Prescribers Ignore Risk Factors for Delayed Recoveries   “In 2015, more than a third of the U.S. adult...
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CBT Techniques Can Change the Brain to Move Past Trauma and Chronic Pain

CBT Techniques Can Change the Brain to Move Past Trauma and Chronic Pain   Whoever said ‘you can’t teach an...
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Destroy PTSD Before It Destroys Our First Responders

Destroy PTSD Before It Destroys Our First Responders   Firefighters and Police Officers are more likely to die by suicide...

The Best Opioid is No Opioid

The Best Opioid is No Opioid   There’s a new opioid law on the books that you may not even...
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) Gains Cred with Top Pain Docs

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) Gains Cred with Top Pain Docs   “Integrating CBT in chronic pain management treatment plans is...
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See Mirror Therapy on TV

See Mirror Therapy on TV   Imagine this television medical show plot:Woman goes to the ER with a bad itch...

Deep Breathing Can Reduce Fear and Lessen Chronic Pain

Deep Breathing Can Reduce Fear and Lessen Chronic Pain   The more you fear pain, the more you feel pain....
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

How Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Works

How Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Works  Often patients (and providers) don’t understand and sometimes don’t believe that learning and practicing a...

Treat Psychosocial Factors without Buying an Unwarranted Psych Claim

Treat Psychosocial Factors without Buying an Unwarranted Psych Claim   Cognitive behavioral therapy is NOT the same as psychotherapy.  It...

Technology like telemedicine and telepsychology help get injured workers back to function better and faster

Technology like telemedicine and telepsychology help get injured workers back to function better and faster   Providing the proper treatment...

How to Shut the Gate to Stop Chronic Pain

How to Shut the Gate to Stop Chronic Pain   You might call it mind over matter, or, mind over...

Close the Pain Gate to Shut Off Chronic Pain

Close the Pain Gate to Shut Off Chronic Pain   Chronic pain is annoying. Unlike acute pain, which alerts us...

How to interpret Florida PTSD Law SB-376

How to interpret Florida PTSD Law SB-376     Florida PTSD Law Kicks into High Gear Credit is due to...

Tragedy in Florida Leads to Increased Benefits for First Responders with PTSD

Tragedy in Florida Leads to Increased Benefits for First Responders with PTSD   Police and firefighters who experience traumatic events...

PTSD Prevention Techniques for First Responders

PTSD Prevention Techniques for First Responders   New research shows that preventive strategies can go a long way in preempting...

How to Reduce and Avoid PTSD Among First Responders

How to Reduce and Avoid PTSD Among First Responders   In the treatment of PTSD, Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has...
FL First Responders and PTSD Law

Florida First Responders Bank on New PTSD Law

Florida First Responders Bank on New PTSD Law  First responders such as police officers and paramedics witness traumatic events with...
Intervention Pilot Program

Early Identification and Intervention for At-risk Injured Workers

Early Identification and Intervention for At-risk Injured Workers.  Early identification and intervention for at-risk injured workers can save employers a...
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Learning to Play Well with Others: The PTSD Survival Guide

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder leaves a person feeling unsafe and out of control. He has faced an unexpected event and his...
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When Up is Down and Right is Left: The PTSD Survival Guide

Traumatic events shake up the brain. The goal of treating first responders and other injured workers who’ve experienced a horrific...
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The Flu or Not the Flu? A Day in the Life of a Tapering Opioid User

An injured worker — we’ll call her ‘Janice’ — is tapering off her long-term opioid use and calls to cancel...
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Texas First Responders in Latest School Shooting Have Access to PTSD Coverage

A law on the books less than a year could provide much needed help in the wake of the latest...
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See you at RIMS

Early identification of injured workers at-risk for delayed recoveries saves an average $37,908 per claim. Combining those results with cognitive...
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CBT Can Prevent Post-Surgical Chronic Pain

Injured workers who’ve undergone surgery run the risk of developing chronic pain. Researchers say up to 70 percent of patients...
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Horror in Florida School Reignites Debate on PTSD and Workers’ Compensation

Should workers’ compensation provide mental health benefits to first responders who witness traumatic events such as the parkland, FL school...
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Significant Results of Early Intervention CBT Success Study to be Presented at RIMS

We know that about 10 percent of workers’ compensation claims consume at least 80 percent of medical and indemnity resources,...
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How and Why CBT Relieves Chronic Pain – Part II

Chronic pain often breeds a variety of comorbidities; depression, anxiety and insomnia among the main ones. The research is not...
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CBT Provides Relief for Injury-related Migraines

A small but extremely impairing condition we see among injured workers is migraine headaches. As anyone who has had a...
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‘Kelly’s’ Story: True Life Account of an Injured Worker’s Recovery

She was a high-powered, highly respected workers’ compensation executive when she suddenly found herself unable to speak a complete sentence....
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CBT Provides Relief for Injury-related Migraines

A small but extremely impairing condition we see among injured workers is migraine headaches. As anyone who has had a...
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Psychosocial Issues + Opioids = Poor Outcomes

A recent study on opioid prescriptions in this country is extremely troubling. It showed that more than half the opioids...
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Knowledge is Power When It Comes to Opioid Use

The national opioid epidemic has prompted regulators, government agencies and, of course, the workers’ compensation industry to implement actions designed...
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Natural Remedies, Short-term CBT Produce Better Outcomes, Lower Costs than Opioids

Movement, distraction, and meditation provide some of the best relief from chronic pain. Combined with brief, goal oriented cognitive behavioral...
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Good Brain, Bad Brain and Pain

Understanding how the brain functions with pain Ever wonder why someone with an injury on one side of his body...
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Integrated CBT-PT Program Offers Unique Treatment for Injured Workers

Two of the most effective strategies to deal with chronic pain  help injured workers in chronic pain who have biopsychosocial...
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How Opioids Can Kill Injured Workers

Imagine taking a ‘pain’ medication that may actually intensify the person’s suffering. Add to that frequent side effects such as...
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Opioid Withdrawal, Pain Management Go Hand-in-Hand

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The Medicine Cabinet in Your Brain

The expression, ‘take a chill pill’ might be good advice for injured workers with chronic pain. Instead of reaching for...
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Be ‘Mindful’ of Pain to Reduce It

You’ve probably heard of athletes being ‘in the zone;’ having a profound sense of heightened awareness in which they are...
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CBT Gets ‘Smart’

  As clinicians, we are always seeking new and better healthcare delivery methods. One of  the most promising is telehealth....
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Use CBT as a Hurricane De-Stressor

Our thoughts and prayers go out to those suffering in the aftermath of the two devastating hurricanes, Harvey and Irma....
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Education Can Mitigate the Experience of Pain

While some ‘minor’ workers’ compensation claims deteriorate into long term, expensive ordeals, there are also claims involving catastrophic injuries where...
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Early ID, Intervention Accelerates Recovery

Workers’ compensation payers could save so much money through early identification and referral of patients at risk of delayed recoveries....
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Gabby: the ‘New’ Drug of Abuse?

Question: What was the most prescribed medication in Ohio last December? Answer: Gabapentin. Have you seen a rise in Gabapentin...