Recovery – The 12 Steps Of Spiritual Psychology
I started working at a 12 Step facility 32 years ago – trying to heal the world. I soon discovered that the approach wasn’t working. Too many clients were relapsing and returning to our facility, all saying they were going to do the program better this time. Was it them or was it the program? In graduate school, suddenly I was exposed to something different, more, “in the trenches,” where...Learn More
On Your Mark, Get Set, Go…
If you weren’t aware of it by now, you are the only person who is going to heal you. You might think that your parents, your partner, a friend, the government, your Higher Power, or even your therapist is going to heal you – but that isn’t true. The only person that has ultimate control is you and that is the person who has the ability to do so. We put so much faith in doctors, and doctors...Learn More
Relapse, The Honest Truth
The elite recovery facilities often boast of having a 97% success rates or higher. How can this be verified? If I advertised that we had such a high success rate, it would be a lie. Nationwide people new to recovery have a 60% relapse rate in the first year. What is important is for these people is to catch their slips quickly, learn from them, and keep on pushing forward. Why do people...Learn More
Relationship 101
To be blunt, our relationships are in chaos because we’re in chaos. Since mental health has not been a priority in school, this is probably the reason so many relationships are suffering. Until people are taught the tools to keep their emotions in check, relationships will suffer. Not knowing the proper tools, instead of focusing on cooperation, couples focus on competition. Another problem...Learn More
Creating a Strong Inner Foundation
We are only as strong as our emotional make-up. If it crumbles, we go into a crisis. For eleven years I worked at the first Mental Health Urgent Care Center, seeing over 7,000 people there, before moving up to this area to run a clinic. At the crisis center, problems, too difficult to deal with, caused problems ranging from manic episodes, psychosis, suicidal ideation, and above all –...Learn More
Advise for Budding Counselors
If you have chosen to be a counselor – fasten your seatbelt, because every issue you have ever had will be triggered. This is the good news, because as you process through the wounds of your past, it makes it easier to help others. And here is where we start – taking an honest look at yourself tops the list of the most important items to address when you are starting out in this field. You...Learn More
A Few Basic Steps
Often, people enter treatment looking for quick results. Yes, there is medication that takes the edge off; however, the problem can still remain. This is because there are reasons for depression, anxiety, mood swings, or anything else. According to Spiritual Psychology, your ailments have educational value for the soul. If we process through these issues, they are gone forever. If not,...Learn More
The Dynamics of Change
It takes real commitment to change old habits and familiar ways of looking at life. Our brains hardwire automatic responses—which we often experience as our personality. So often in sessions I hear people say, “That’s just the way I am,” or “I’m just an angry, anxious, or depressed person.” If you continue to convince yourself that this is who you are, how can you possibly change? Life is...Learn More
What to Look for in Counseling
This article is written for people who have never attended counseling or who have tried it and found that it didn’t work. There are many factors that can cause treatment to fail. Let’s look at the obvious ones. You didn’t like the counselor. In counseling, it is important to create a “therapeutic bond.” If people don’t like one another, it makes it difficult to develop trust, which is...Learn More