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
Enhanced Healing
I believe one of the benefits of running your own counseling center is the freedom to adjust your approach and emphasize what is the most effective way of obtaining the proper results you would like to see in the clients. One way I do this is by applying the approaches to myself. A recent health scare caused me to reevaluate my priorities and focus on what truly mattered while my body...Learn More
Ask Your Therapist: How Do We Heal?
If you are looking for a therapist, ask them, “How do we heal?” It is important to find out their theory of healing before you enter their counseling room. Unfortunately, this isn’t the question potential clients ask me—they want to know if their insurance will pay the bill. I ask you to decide one of two things: to do it the cheap way or the proper way. And, in fact, the proper way can...Learn More
Legal Assessments
In 2017, I opened Basic Steps Mental Health, a clinic that assists people with mental health issues and issues with substance addiction. What we offer are individual sessions, group sessions, family sessions, an intensive outpatient program, and a partial hospitalization program—which is temporarily on hold. It is a big undertaking offering six hours of treatment five days a week, so we...Learn More
An AI Intervention
Okay, so I am addicted. Do I have to claim that I am powerless and that a power greater than myself is going to restore me to sanity? Yeah, no. I’m not into that kind of language. However, for the past 10 days, I have been addicted to AI and just can’t stop. I have been an author for over 20 years, mostly writing books about self-help or psychological stories that emphasize self-care. I...Learn More
The American Dream (Nightmare)
Why do people seek therapy? For many, they suffer from depression, anxiety, or debilitating mood swings. People mostly seek treatment for substance use issues. As of late, it is something more disturbing. The majority of people showing up for treatment as of recent times are there to deal with the issues they face in this country and the world. One young adult confessed to having...Learn More
The Basic Steps of Counseling
We have a new intern at Basic Steps Mental Health, and I thought it would be helpful to write out the basic steps of being a therapist for them. Then it dawned on me that writing an article on this would be helpful for anybody interested in the healing arts. For those who do not want to go into the field but suffer from mental health and substance-related problems, this article can also be...Learn More
Holistic Treatment
If you’ve tried counseling before, gotten nowhere, and feel nothing out there works, let me introduce you to something different called Spiritual Psychology. I had gone through many different types of counseling, as well as seminars and lectures, to improve myself, but when I studied this approach in school, I was amazed with the results. Since 2001, I have used Spiritual Psychology at the...Learn More