News and Insights

There is one subject I have tried to sidestep for decades, not wanting to upset people who cannot relate to religion or spirituality. As my practice has progressed, I’ve realized that the mindset I have gained through a spirituality lens has gotten me through each and every day and can only be of benefit to others. I received my master’s degree in Spiritual Psychology – not from a religious...

Every psychological approach has its own theory of healing and it is important to ask a perspective counselor on theirs. As for me, I am old school, and like the face-to-face sessions, avoid talking about the weather and politics and try to get people to open up a dialogue regarding the difficulties, traumas, and frustrations in life, then track them back to where they stem from and create...

The following is a dramatization – no real persons were depicted or harmed “I don’t know why we are going here. We can handle things on our own,” says the husband as the wife drives them into the parking lot. “I’ve tried, you haven’t, and things are not changing. We need help and that’s why we’re here,” the wife replies as she parks the car and opens her door. “Now, I’m going in...

For many people, Psychology is an unknown process that manipulates people who are weak in their mind through medication, hypnosis, and electric shock. It also helps them realize they were attracted to their mother and want to kill off their dad. The negative stigma that surrounds the practice of psychotherapy still permeates society, today. It is common for people who enter our facility,...

If you wake up in the morning, have no energy, no motivation, and no direction, these can be signs of depression. It is normal for people to have ups and downs but if these symptoms happen on a daily basis, and keep you from work, school, social interactions, or the things you normally do, then getting professional treatment would be important.   Depression has many causes. It could be...

Relationships take work and if you don’t know the proper skills, it can be easy to fall into the usual pitfalls that I have fallen into so many times in my life. I guess through all my mistakes I am well aware of the most common mistakes people make. Now, this is not the full list by any means. This is why thousands of books on this subject have been written. It is always advised to attend...

It finally happened, Basic Steps Mental Health now has a waiting list. All I can say is that I am honored by your testimonies and your recommending us to family and friends. Because of this, the way that we have been providing time during the sessions will need to change. From the beginning, we have always used the full 60 minutes to treat people. The beauty of our approach has been to allow...

With a heavy heart, one of my staff members is leaving the nest and moving to Florida with her family in a few days. We have been together for six years and after supervising her during her college years and while she was working to obtain her counseling license we had grown very close. I am well aware of the fact that people enter and leave our lives, but that doesn’t prepare you for the...

They gave us an assignment in graduate school to create our own healing strategy. At the time I didn’t take it very seriously and came up with something cute to impress all the ladies. Well, that was 25 years ago, and from that moment I’ve asked myself the same question, what is the best strategy for a person to heal? I’ve learned many psychological approaches and tools that to one degree...

In 2012 as the world worried about extinction, I took a gamble. Since my ten-year relationship just ended, I wanted to get out of Los Angeles and explore my horizons. Ultimately I took up an offer to open up a Residential Treatment Facility 1,000 miles away. Moving from my family, friends, and steady job was a gamble, but I decided to roll the dice and hoped it didn’t come up snake eyes....