"Close the gap between where you are and where you want to be."
Call 317-337-9227. E-mail: charles.shinaver@gmail.com.
About Us
The second point that I want to make is that when I went to graduate school my intent was to develop my talents to serve. My motivation was as is suggested in the scripture: Matthew 25: 14:30. I felt called to develop my talents to serve. A notion which I took to heart while attending the University of Notre Dame.
My quest had to do with trying to understand the extremes of psychological experience. My idea was that mental health problems don't just come from genetics, but I wondered what happens to those who experience the extremes of human suffering: the daunting fear of death, witnessing another's death, abuse or neglect all resulting in overwhelming stress or trauma. I sought to understand those who were abused, neglected or sexually abused or witness another's death. How do such experiences affect them? I wondered. It was this question that led me down a path for quite some time to first understand the diagnostic and phenomenological issues involved, the impact of extreme stress or trauma and how can one help such people?
My dissertation was using an unusual, but now somewhat famous test: the Rorscahch Ink Blot test. What I found was fascinating. People who experience trauma are changed. Their actual perceptions of reality change. This is critical. What is going into their cognitive and emotional processing is different from those who have not been traumatized. So they are different in this fundamental way from the 'get go' - after they experience trauma. What happens in a basic way is that their perceptions are constricted into a sort of tunnel vision. Or the converse can be true also. Some will have their perceptions overwhelmed with 'intrusive' material which somehow broadly relates to their present sensory experience. The example I like to give is when a soldier back home from the war ducks when he hears a car backfire. He knows he is back home and not in the warzone, yet his subconscious or his 'conditioned reflexes' kick in and he ducks. Living in a personal world that is either constricted or overwhelmed with emotional material is a very difficult way to live. This core problem is exaccerbated by emotional constriction oscillating with emotional intrusion or a chaos of emotions. Emotional functioning, thinking, perceptions and relationships are all affected.
People who have been traumatized are changed emotionally. Now I am not going to get much farther into this because many readers may not be interested, but my point here is I began my training with trying to understand the most extreme of human stress. Now, 11 years after writing my dissertation I have found many ways to treat trauma and manage anxiety. Some of this I want to share with you now. However, what I would like to emphasize is that this initial work grounded me in both a depth and breadth of human experience. Because of this I am comfortable dealing with a variety of levels of psychological struggles from the mundane to the extreme. I am grounded in research and traditional methods, but I continually search for better approaches that have shown promise.
My dissertation was on the impact of trauma on the information processing of boys using the Rorschach. They see the world and those in it differently. I have worked with victims of physical abuse, sexual abuse and neglect at various locations in the region (Midwest Family Resources - Chicago, IL. Maryville Academy Streamwood - Streamwood, IL. Mulberry Center - Owensboro, KY. Deaconess Cross Pointe, Evansville, IN, Meridian Psychological Associates, Indianapolis, IN). My extensive experience working with victims of trauma includes work with children, adolescents and adults. I have worked with people as they process their experience of trauma and reintegrate their life. I have used traditional cognitive behavioral and talk therapy trauma processing methods as well as more innovative approaches like Eye-Movement-Desensitization-Reprocessing (EMDR). Life can be extremely challenging for such people. Yet watching them survive and then thrive is profoundly inspiring. I have also had a great deal of experience working with patients who suffer from anxiety and depression. Such patients have been a consistent part of my caseload throughout my career. I have used traditional cognitive-behavioral approaches with such problems and I have used innovative EEG biofeedback, or neurotherapy to help patients improve relaxation and manage stress. See Neurotherapy FAQs for an explanation of what neurotherapy is and what research support for its use with different disorders.A second chapter in my development was finding neurotherapy. I originally happened upon this approach to treat ADHD, but I found a different type of EEG biofeedback is helpful with trauma and integration of normally unconscious issues. This is commonly called 'alpha theta' training or 'deep states' training. The process of integrating these techniques continues as I grow professionally. I will continue this search for better and more effective methods throughout my career. 'Deep states' training or alpha theta training is quite fascinating work and can facilitate faster and more profound integration of deep material than typical talk therapies. The integration of this work is a part of my ongoing professional development. It is what holds great promise in my work with people interested in personal growth and professional development.
I continue the work with EEG biofeedback with ADHD and efforts to expedite that work. Such efforts are likely to require me to investigate newer technologies, but that process, as you would imagine, is quite lengthy and labor intensive. I'll keep you posted.
Sincerely,Charles Shinaver III, Ph.D., HSPP
“Closing the gap between where you are and where you want to be.”
EDUCATION
LICENSE
Highlights of Clinical and Organizational Work
May, 1990 – present. Psychotherapist in outpatient practice in the Chicago, Evansville, IN, Owensboro, KY and Carmel, IN.
April 2001 – August 2005.Clinical Supervisor for Psychotherapists at Deaconess Family Practice, Evansville, IN.
July 1999 – Dec. 2000. Director of Outpatient and Assessment Services. Deaconess Cross Pointe Psychiatric Hospital, Evansville, IN.
August 1996-December 1996. Part-Time Faculty, Psy. Department, IUPUI.
September 1994-June, 1996.Clinical Director Residential Treatment Center: Maryville Academy, Streamwood, Streamwood, IL
November, 1994. Trustee Educator. Completed a Practicum with Bremwood Lutheran Children’s home in Waverly, Iowa.
January 1992 - May, 1993. Part-Time Faculty, Psychology Department, Northeastern Illinois University, Chicago, IL.
December 1990 - June 1991. Consultant. Lilly Endowment, Indianapolis, IN.
Dr. Shinaver is a graduate of Carmel High School. He was then awarded a partial academic scholarship to the University of Notre Dame where his focus was faith, academics, intramural sports and, Notre Dame football. Notre Dame nurtures among all of the students a sense of service. This is where Dr. Shinaver's long history of social service began and one of his core principles was nurtured and deepened: "Develop your talents to serve." It started with keeping score during bowling for the mentally handicapped children at Logan Center and visiting nursing homes. In his sophomore year, he lived with the first quadriplegic at Notre Dame, a strong young man who went on to become a Duke Law School graduate and a defender of those with disabilities. His senior year he lived at Dismas House, a program in which students lived with ex-convicts trying to return successfully to society.
Dr. Shinaver enjoyed a whirl-wind year at Harvard. Fascinating theories of development abounded at Harvard: moral, cognitive, and gender identity development, among others. Constantly trying to see which theories seemed to fit was a big part of Harvard for Shinaver. However, theorizing was grounded in the facts of research at DePaul’s doctoral program. Dr. Shinaver was awarded a research assistantship position at DePaul University en route to earning a PhD. The international diversity of Harvard was complemented by DePaul University's community psychology track well-known for its emphasis upon multiculturalism, social justice, community action and prevention. Shinaver's specialty there was child clinical psychology.
A funny story about one of Dr. Shinaver's lunches with his youngest son:
A Slice of Life with Dr. Shinaver: Lunchtime Adventures with Ken: “The Gold Diggers”
Today he came home and he wanted to dig for gold, in the backyard.
I didn’t want to do it.
He did.
He got his coat on and went outside. He was out there a while when he banged on the door and opened it. “Dad, open the garage door so I can get a shovel.” I obliged. He got a spade.
He left and came back again. “Dad, I need your help.”
I still didn’t want to do it. I said: “If I dig then I’m not going to play another game at lunch.”
He said: “Fine. Now, come on. I will meet you in the back.”
I was getting ready to go out and there is a call. I answer. It is my wife.
She, of course wants my undivided attention to discuss educational funds for the kids. I begin to respond to her questions.
Then, Ken is back at the door: “Dad, Dad, come on.” Ken is holding the door open waiting…impatiently.
“I’m on the phone with Mommy. I’ll be off in a minute.”
To my wife on the phone I explain that Ken came home wanting to dig for gold in the backyard because Ben wants some gold. I say to my wife. “Everyone wants me to dig for gold. Ken wants to dig in the backyard and you want me to dig into 529s. You both want gold.”
She says: “What do you mean?”
“Ken came home and said that Ben wants some gold so we have to go dig in the backyard for gold.”
She laughed. “But really, call Jeffrey (about the 529s).”
“Okay, okay, right now there is gold to be found in the backyard, forget the 529s."
I go to meet Ken in the backyard and he is digging in the middle of the grass and he has a little hole going already.
“I think the gold is more likely to be near the bushes and trees where the mulch is or under the rocks.” I say assuredly covering my concern for the grass.
“Okay.” Ken agrees.
We move over to where the bushes are and begin digging. We go on about 5 minutes or so and then I ask: “Where did Ben find gold in his backyard?”
Ken stares at me incredulously with shoulders dropped and hands out ready to explain something perfectly obvious and of great magnitude to him: “Dad! Ben found Dinosaur bones, not Gold!”
“Oh, sorry! Right, dinosaur bones!” At this point I begin to laugh uncontrollably. I am hit by his combination of memory skills linked with logic and illogic at the same time. He is really fun! We keep digging.
“So how much of the gold does Ben get?” I ask.
“He gets 2 pieces. I get the rest.” Again, this is said with complete confidence.
“Oh, well that’s not a bad deal…”
We decide to move over to the stones and start digging there. I say to Ken that miners in California dug up gold. He said, again with all seriousness: “Did they find the X?”
“What X?” I ask before I again burst into laughter.
“You know ‘X marks the spot’, it’s right above where the treasure is.”
Then I lose it.
Not wanting to waste precious time, I get the bright idea that I can begin to pick up some leaves left in the yard from the fall. He asks what I am doing. “I’m looking under these leaves to see if there is an X.” I say before I burst into laughter again.
He buys it for the moment. Then he sees a line in the grass. He claims that it is an ‘X’. I'm feeling a little protective of the grass again so I say: “that is not an ‘X’, if anything it is an ‘l’ or a number “1”. But it is definitely not an X.” The last thing we were going to do was dig up more of the grass.
I finally get him off track and ready to eat some lunch. We go in and begin to eat some lunch.
Not one to lose the topic, he begins our lunch conversation: “What do they call the people who look for treasure? Pirates?”
“No, pirates are the guys who steal treasure. Treasure hunters are the guys who look for treasure.”
He proudly announces: “I’m going to be a treasure hunter. I’ll be in charge.”
“I’ll be you’re first mate. They call me “Courageous Charles”. I announce.
“They will call me Captain Ken. I’m a treasure hunter.”
He pauses and eats for a minute. “What do they call the guys who look for bones?”
I stiffle my giggle and I say resolutely: “archeologists.”
“Ben is an archeologist. Or are they scientists?”
“They are both, Archeologists and scientists.” I assure him.
“Well, are they scientists before or after they find the bones?”
Again, confidently I answer: “Both before and after.”
“Well, when are we going to buy tickets?”
Uh, oh, I think to myself. Where is he going with this? “Tickets for what?” I'm worried that this has gone suddenly bad.
He responds with a slightly raised eyebrow: “Well tickets to see the gold in Florida.”
“I didn’t say there was gold in Florida. I said California and I said that the miners found it all.” Hinting that there is no more for us to find. Proudly, I recover quickly.
Ah, but he is one persistent little fellow and he is a doer: “Well, we still need tickets to see the gold. Let’s buy them now.” I tend to want to take my time a little bit more...
I know we are getting into trouble here. Then an idea hits me. “Next time we go to California to see Grandma and Grandpa we can go see the gold.”
“No, I think there is more gold by Uncle David.” (Uncle David lives in Southern California and Grandma and Grandpa live in Northern California.)
“No the only gold in Southern California is in the movies.”Oops that slipped!
He says: “Well let’s go to the movies and get some gold.”
Recovery: “I mean the gold in Southern California is for the people who make the movies. We pay money to see the movies and they get that money. So until we are in the movies we can’t get that gold.”
“Well we still need tickets.”
He is relentless, a pit bull. He's got my leg and he is not letting it go.
I backpeddle to elicit some support from the absent spouse, always reliable when in a bind: “I have to ask Mommy. She may not want us to get tickets. Besides I don’t know when we are going to see grandma and grandpa again. I’ll have to ask her.”
The little man of action retorts: “Dad, just get the tickets.”
I have to lay down the law. I know he is not going to stop. “Ken if you keep bugging me about this you will have to go with Alicia to pick up Bijan.” (This threat holds sway because the babysitter picks up my oldest son for a round trip of about an hour in the car. If the kids have not behaved that day or will not stop bugging me about something and let me work then they have to take the trip.)
Just for good measure and to add a little distance to his goal I say: “Mom won’t be home until late.”
Mercifully Ken stopped. Don’t worry it will come up again tonight.
By the way, do you have any tickets to see the gold in California?
Hours later he said "Well, we are going to have to buy tickets to California."
“Why?” I try to act dumb.
“To go see the gold.”
All the while I knew the true gold was the digging we already did, the digging and lunch with a persistent little man named Ken.
A playful balance of ‘going along’ with a tall tale with some minor ‘reality checks’ with a touch of education are what a 5 year old needs. And, to go live in his world for an hour is what I need. He has a fun place to live.
Charles Shinaver III, Ph.D. Indiana Anxiety Treatments | Indiana Stress Treatments | Indianapolis Depression Treatments | Indiana Parenting Coach
Call or e-mail Dr. Shinaver now!
Call 317-337-9227. E-mail: charles.shinaver@gmail.com.
Charles S. Shinaver III, Ph.D. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Copyright 2007