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Why Women Have Trouble With Self-Confidence...
By Colette Dowling, LMSW
Women actually learn low self-confidence; they're trained for it. Studies show that girls--especially smarter ones--have severe problems with self-confidence. They consistently underestimate their own ability.
Be Optimistic!
By Jill MacDonald, MA, LPC
Dare to allow yourself to think the best. Hope for the best. See the best in yourself and others. Dream. Care. Love. Believe. This type of thinking is good for everyone. Of course, you might challenge me and say: I will hurt so much more if I am optimistic and “it” does not happen...
Attaining and Maintaining Balance In Your Life
By Susan Pazak, Ph.D.
Everyday worries and concerns can tempt us to get out of balance. Balance is maintaining a consistently healthy lifestyle in mind, body and spirit, regardless of circumstances and situations.
The Use of Humor in Psychoanalysis
By Nancy Ronne, Ph.D., Psy.D.
Potential patients are searching for an analyst or psychotherapist because they are longing for answers, wanting miracle cures and desiring a relationship. They yearn for an analyst who can provide them with a real life connection and relief from what seems to be unbearable. Does that mean that it is inappropriate to use humor with patients who are in distress?
The Movement of the Soul
By Dr. Bradley Olson
Life’s little, constant challenges are gifts that so often turn out to bestow upon us riches beyond our imaginings particularly because of the leave-takings they initiate. This leave-taking is the soul’s movement. The soul is always, and in all ways, drawing oneself away from comfort, clement familiarity, safety, and plunging one into situations filled with risk, psychic danger, and utter confusion.
Martin, Bobby, and Aeschylus
By Dr. Bradley Olson
That awful summer 40 years ago, that summer which witnessed or gave birth to–-I don’t know which–-a summer of tremendous, violent convulsions and transformations around the world was made more terrible for me by the sudden, unexpected death of my grandfather. I was a child, awash in death that summer--the deaths of Martin Luther King, Bobby Kennedy, and my grandfather--death that seemed completely senseless and unsettling.
Start “Wanting” Yourself
By David Sternberg, LICSW
After so many years of hearing from others what we should do and say (and shouldn’t do and say), many of us are now experts at "shoulding" ourselves. When making a decision, most of us respond with the automatic “should” so often that we don’t even consider our own needs.
Is it Selfish to Want to Be Happier?
By Nancy Montagna, Ph.D., & Robin Carnes, MBA
Every now and then, in the midst of the headlong thrust into the next thing on our schedule, we all take a deep breath and pause for a moment of reflection. Ahh...What comes up? If we are honest with ourselves it’s probably a familiar yearning: "I want to be happier. I want more out of life than this."
Becoming Fully Alive Through Bioenergetic Analysis
By Nicole Cardoza Dockter, LCSW
Bioenergetics explores the language of the body. In Bioenergetic therapy, one learns to "tune in" to bodily sensations, particularly as they accompany thoughts and emotions. One comes to understand how they relate to important issues and relationships. As bodily awareness grows, one forms a stronger, fuller sense of self.
A Brief Introduction to Jungian Therapy
By Gary Toub, Ph.D.
Many Americans are searching for deeper meaning in their lives. Just recently, a TV news survey asked viewers what one thing would most improve the quality of their life. The most frequent answer was "greater meaning in life."
I Have Chronic Pain, Why Do I Need a Pain Psychologist?
By Vera A. Gonzales, Ph.D.
"Why am I seeing you? I’m not crazy, I’m in pain!" I hear these words several times a week from patients that have been referred to me for treatment, assessment, or consultation concerning chronic pain. During the first session with new patients I assure them that they are not crazy, but, in fact, very lucky to have a physician that recognizes the many facets of chronic pain.
Are You Using Your Power?
By Vera A. Gonzales, Ph.D.
You have a blueprint for your life that is called a belief system. A belief system is a set of thoughts, rules, attitudes, expectations and behaviors that are imbedded in your mind. We use this structure of attitudes to make choices in our lives. Belief systems are created from our culture, modeling from people we admire, and from trial and error, among other factors.
Healing Those Issues That Keep Re-Emerging
By Elinor Nygren Szapiro, MA, LPC
We’ve all had the experience of wanting to heal a particular issue or make changes in how we’re relating to life. Some issues resolve fairly easily, but other more deeply held patterns can remain for years and continue to resurface. It’s easy to become discouraged or feel stuck when you’ve been working on an issue that keeps re-emerging.
New Imaging Study Reveals Path of Brain Maturation
In a decade-long magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study published during the week of May 17, 2004, researchers show how "higher-order" brain centers, such as the prefrontal cortex, don't fully develop until young adulthood.
How Does Therapy Work?
Mental health is key to living full and productive lives. Although people spend far more time addressing their physical health than their mental health, we know that mental illness is more common than cancer, lung and heart disease combined. We also know that untreated mental illness can further complicate many minor and serious physical disorders.
Anger Management: The Importance of Therapy
By Selma Holm, LCSW
When someone comes to me for help with anger management, our initial goal is to defuse the anger and stop the acting-out. After that, we look at sources, tendencies, vulnerabilities, and the rewarding work of therapy begins.
Internet-based Research Interventions in Mental Health: How Are They Working?
E-mail communications, psychoeducational programs, depression screening surveys, various types of online chat rooms, and electronic informed consent are a few examples of the ways in which some researchers and therapists use the Internet. Mental health professionals are progressively coming to terms with the possibilities and limitations the Internet offers and monitoring the efficacy of the evolving field of using the Internet for mental health intervention efforts.
Time to Re-Define
By Michelle Gottlieb, Psy.D., MFT
As we grow up, we create different definitions of ourselves. The first one is probably "I am a child." Depending on the family that we grow up in and the experiences that we have, that definition can be modified to include words of love and positive attributes about us, or it may begin to incorporate negative messages.
10 Steps Toward Feeling Happier
By Linda Laffey, MFT
Life continuously challenges all of us with its bumps in the road--some big, some small. However, it's your attitude and how you choose to negotiate those bumps that determines how you feel. Adopting an attitude of appreciation for everything you have, and recognizing that you always have a choice about how to respond to external circumstances can contribute significantly to feeling happier.
Learning To Love Yourself
By Sarah Leah Blum, ARNP
As the lyrics of a popular song profess, "learning to love yourself, it is the greatest love of all." In order to to have a full, healthy, and balanced life, we all need to love ourselves. But when early experiences shaped our core beliefs about ourselves otherwise, is it possible to learn to love yourself? The answer is "Yes!"--and the relationship you build with your therapist can be the first big step toward that positive direction.
A Perspective on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
By Elizabeth Horwin, LPC
I believe CBT is most effective in helping individuals who are bright, rational and desire to have passion and enjoyment in their life. It takes courage and a willingness to say, "Whatever happened to me before, I couldn’t do anything about it...it is as it is. But now I am responsible for how I react to what has happened to me, what is presently happening to me, and how I want to continue living my life."
The Anger Habit
By Stanley E. Hibbs, Ph.D.
Whatever we do when we’re angry, it’s probably going to be stupid. Anger clouds our judgment and keeps us from seeing all of the possible solutions to a problem. The key to handling anger is to first acknowledge it. Then wait until it passes. Only then you can make a rational decision about how to deal with the problem.
Heart to Heart
By Lana M. Ackaway, LCSW-R, NCPsyAv, CASAC
I like to help others manage and resolve difficulties of the heart - love, loss, and work during significant life changes/transitions; for example, career change, death/illness in family, early "recovery," relapse with addiction(s), divorce, new marriage, new success, etc. As a first step in this process I help you identify your issues via your participation in a specialized two-session personal "Heart To Heart Checkup."
New Year Journey
By Jacqueline Roller, Psy.D.
New Year’s resolutions often include plans to exercise, stop smoking, lose weight, quit drinking alcohol, meditate, and spend more time with family. New Year’s Day arrives with strong resolves to live a healthier lifestyle, but many resolutions fail by February. Successful people understand that change is a journey.
Addiction Visible/Invisible
By Lana M. Ackaway, LCSW-R, NCPsyAv
Relationships for the active addict are not possible. Clear thinking is not possible. Judgment is not possible. Self-care is not possible. Living is not possible for an addict. It's not easy living without drugs after any amount of years of abstinence. With some, life on life's terms, feels harder as one becomes more aware and open.
Nobody’s Perfect
By David Sternberg, LICSW
We may be in a good relationship and/or have a rewarding job. But when our reality doesn’t match our idealized notions of what a job or a mate is supposed to be, not only are we disappointed, we often become depressed, angry and resentful. We feel as if we have failed in some deep and meaningful way.
Do You Feel Me?
By Lana M. Ackaway, LCSW-R, NCPsyAv
Punitive superego is often found within addiction and within borderline. It produces not only self-criticism, but also acts as a censorship over what is felt to be unacceptable thoughts and feelings—a resistance that offers a protection against shame and humiliation.
Changing Your Reality
By Jim Weinstein, MBA, MFT
The phrases "face up to reality," "in reality," "up against reality," "reality check," and "virtual reality" all convey a meaning of reality as a state that is true and factual. In fact, reality to a great degree depends on the very personal perspective through which it is experienced. This article attempts to illustrate this premise and demonstrate how it can be used to significantly advance your personal happiness.
Setting--And Achieving--Goals
By Michelle Gottlieb, MFT
Goals are a very important part of a healthy lifestyle. But we can often be confused about how to set goals, especially goals that actually help us to get to where we really want to go.
Goal Directed-Therapy: Self-Esteem
By Thelma Golub, MFT
Self-esteem relates to issues of control. The greater your sense of self-esteem, the greater is your confidence that you can take and keep control over your life. Conversely, the less self-esteem a person has, the less control that person feels over his/her life.
Goal-Directed Therapy: Life Passages and Individual and Family Issues
By Thelma Golub, MFT
Change is an integral part of our lives. Often, change is the result of forces over which we have absolutely no control. Other times, we are the agents for change in our own lives. But however the change comes about, the real measure of a powerful and successful life is how we choose to perceive and deal with it.
Medication
By Michelle Gottlieb, MFT
Medication can frequently be an important adjunct to the treatment of a problem. For instance, depression is often a bio-chemical issue. Our brain chemistry is messed up. Now, studies have shown that talk therapy does change brain chemistry--however, it may not be rapid enough or a big enough change to help someone cope with life.
Exercise Away Your Worries
By Randi Rotwein, MA, MFT, CPT
Research has shown for years that there are definite health benefits associated with regular physical activity and exercise (reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, hypertension, stroke, and general overall strength gains in lean muscle mass). However, not until recently has research confirmed that physical activity/exercise is also associated with lowering levels of depression, anxiety and stress, as well as assisting to increase one’s self-esteem.
Hope vs. Fear
By Stan Hibbs, Ph.D.
Good and bad things happen. They have always happened and they always will happen. Once you've taken reasonable steps to protect yourself from the bad things, you might as well focus on the hopeful possibilities. Psychological research suggests that this kind of hopeful optimism is good for both our mental and physical health.
Yoga Can Enhance Therapy
By Mary Lansing, Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist
Yoga is about healing the splits inside us, the places of separation and dislocation. Coupled with psychotherapy, it can become a pathway toward self-study that flows into an individual's everyday activities, allowing her to focus on her body rather than disturbing thoughts that keep her rooted in old complexes.
Helping Someone Who's Seriously Ill
By Jim Weinstein, MBA, MFT
Illness carries with it a whole gamut of feelings: fear, anger, disappointment, hopelessness, grief, perhaps guilt or even shame. What someone who's seriously ill usually needs most is simply someone to listen sympathetically, be a loving witness to all of their feelings and emotions, and, in the process, help share the burden of their suffering.
Never Been to Therapy Before?
By Jim Weinstein, MBA, MFT
If you've never been to therapy before, you probably have some pre-conceived notions--as well as lots of questions--about what your first meeting with a therapist will be like. Because each client-therapist relationship is unique, it's pretty much impossible to describe in advance precisely what to expect. However, it's probably safe to say that your "first time" experience in therapy will hinge in great part on the four factors detailed in this article.
Good Therapy is More Than Talk
By James R. Iberg, Ph.D.
Therapy has often been called the "talking cure," since the exchange of words between the client and therapist can appear to be the most obvious form of communication that's going on. In reality, therapy offers a physical and emotional process that's more enlightening and life-strengthening than the simple exchange of words and advice.
MoneyMasks™
By Judith Gruber, LCSW, CCET
The mask is one part of the personality that we artificially identify with and show the world on an unconscious level. The mask is who we think we should be or wish we could be, how we want others to perceive us, and is based on our idealized self-image. Your MoneyMask™ can manifest in your personality as power and control, denial, superiority, even love.
Living With Intention: Lessons From Nature
By Meghan Vivo
The alarm goes off, and another day begins. You hop out of bed, get ready for work or school, fulfill your daily responsibilities, eat dinner, complete your nightly ritual, and go to bed. But did you once stop to listen to your breathing, to truly hear what another person was saying, or to take in the scenery?
Thoughts, Perhaps too Confusing, About Confusion
By Dr. Bradley Olson
Catastrophic, painful, frightening, and traumatic aspects of one’s past may be redeemed by being re-told and re-experienced within a complete narrative one can embrace and value. If one can accept, even love, the whole story, then the “meaning” of its individual parts are transformed as well.
Re-imagining Irony
By Dr. Bradley Olson
I have been thinking about the powerful healing to be found in irony. This is a concept that, for differing reasons, we are all too unfamiliar with in our culture. Now, I know what you’re thinking: that irony is everywhere, no one is serious about anything, and we can’t get a straight answer from any authority, and that irony is chiefly a way, and a very good one at that, to create distance between truth and experience.
Dealing with Criticism
By Stanley E. Hibbs, Ph.D.
Most of us don’t respond well to criticism. We deny, defend, whine, sulk, and/or counterattack. This may feel good in the short term, but it rarely helps in the long term. The criticism escalates, feelings are hurt, and important relationships are damaged.
Are You a Failure?
By Heidi L. Straube, M.Ed., LPC
Perhaps you are feeling like a failure, even as you’re taking the steps that feel closest to your heart and creating a life that works for you. You may be feeling torn: As you do what feels right, there’s still a nagging voice that is harassing you, putting you down, and making you feel like you are creating a new life not out of strength, but because of failure.
Actors Leaving Acting--“Giving up the dream without giving up the passion”
By Howard Richard Wax, M.Ed, MA, LMFT, and Neil Eliott, MFA, MA
Acting has many psychological overtones and, for the purpose of our discussion, we may be oversimplifying a very complex psychological relationship between an art form and the artist. Our focus, though, is to address that moment in an actor’s life when their profession and their passion and their dream all become at odds with one another.
What Happens in Psychotherapy and What Do You Get From It?
By James R. Iberg, Ph.D.
The work of therapy is to create a situation in which it is possible to feel more of your problematic and conflicted feelings and thoughts, and to feel and think them through more deeply. A good therapist is adept at finding passages that could remain hidden to you searching alone.
Boundary Issues
By Jane Adams, Ph.D.
Boundaries are key to how we deal with intimacy, loneliness, conflict, anxiety, stress and challenges at every stage of life. Problems with interpersonal boundaries are frequently at the root of relationship difficulties – between parents and children, spouses, partners, friends, and professional colleagues.
Feminism and Psychotherapy
By Susan M. Axtell, Psy.D.
In many ways psychotherapy and feminism seem like they should go hand in hand. Both are about empowerment, self-understanding, and health. Both deal with the negative effects of (patriarchal) society on the psychology of women and men.
Tell Me Anything--But Don’t Tell Me To Stop Training
By Mitchell Milch, CSW
If you are a "workaholic" on or off the athletic field it may be time to consider that a little less pain and suffering will result in better performances, greater enjoyment and more time to nurture multiple sources of self-esteem.
Boundaries in the Therapeutic Relationship
By Marjorie L. Rand, Ph.D.
In psychotherapy, as in other areas of life, boundaries define personal space. This space is called the intersubjective field. It is in the intersubjective field where most spoken and non-spoken boundary negotiations take place. Boundaries can be characterized according to general categories: boundaries of propriety and space, behavioral, verbal and energetic.
Dream Talk
By Ken Kimmel, M.A., C.M.H.C.
In their deepest sense, dreams reflect the condition of our evolving human souls. Dreams over a lifetime may appear like paper-thin cross sections of a 300-foot redwood tree. The patterns running through its veins, from roots to treetop, reveal our wounded condition as well as the resiliency of the human spirit.
The Myth of the Tormented Artist: Destiny or Decision?
By Jennifer A. Neely, CSW
This article explores the myth of the artist who suffers to invoke the creative process. It cites the lives of several successful people from various disciplines who have overcome their inner demons and continue to flourish creatively.
Meditation
By James Fuller, Ph.D.
Meditation is potentially a very effective way to discipline the mind. Essentially, it is a focusing technique which provides a neutral, grounded point where the mind can learn to go and let go. The effects of meditation are subtle, and accumulate gradually over time.
Considering Alternative and Complementary Therapies
By Toni Gilbert, RN, MA, HNC
Currently, traditional medicine offers the best the nation has to offer in the areas of surgery and pharmaceuticals, but it often overlooks the psychological and spiritual aspects of a person dealing with a life-altering disease or injury.
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