Life Process
We joked about enlightenment in graduate school. Many in our ranks bragged about reaching that state and our teacher said, “If you think you are enlightened, go home for the holidays.” Better face it, there will always be issues. Therefore, the only way to breeze through them is to create a good relationship with yourself. Yes, I’ve heard it for almost 29 years, that it is selfish or...Learn More
Befriending the Problem
Whether you suffer from depression, anxiety, mood swings, anger, or substance use, the most important element is befriending it. This may sound rather bizarre since this society basically tries to avoid issues in hopes of them going away. I ask you has it? Our repeating problems are repeating for a reason. In learning from and befriending an ailment we can release it. What does befriending...Learn More
Tis’ the Season for Depression
Welcome to the holiday season. If you’ve had issues in the past, they tend to surface this period of time. Remembrances of family, relationships, friends can stir up a lot of difficult emotions and memories. In school, they would say, “If you think you are enlightened, wait till you go home for Thanksgiving.” Using the holiday season as a healing journey can be empowering. Avoiding these...Learn More
A Message to New Therapists
If you are an intern and starting in this profession, toss away everything you have learned and pay attention to one thing – the customer. This isn’t a time to dazzle them with theory, or prove to them that you are really brilliant, simply let go of that and be yourself. You have to understand that the most important aspect in the healing profession is your bedside manner – so to speak. New...Learn More
How to Change Others
So you want to learn how to change other people, but why? If they change to how you want them to be, would that make you feel better? If they said I’m sorry, would it make your problems go away? So many go to great lengths to change others, to make them love you, respect you, or simply to stop bothering you. I have some bad news for you – you can’t change them, that is their job. Many people...Learn More
A Quick Go-To
A friend of mine is a dentist and hired an organization to help him improve the systems in his practice. His company literally exploded overnight and I got him to share a few of the principles with me. One of the concepts was called the Tone Scale. It referred to the emotional tones people will have in their lives. From apathy to elation and all in between, this company helped him work with...Learn More
A Client Returns
A client I had seen five years ago came in for a court assessment. The case was pending since that time and this report was to bring it to a close. One thing for certain was the person had completely changed. As a therapist, you treat people, let them go, and in my case rarely see them again. If they return or call and say hi, it is a bonus. The key is to not get attached to the outcomes of...Learn More
A Tribute – Thank You for My Tears
I often call myself a dinosaur because I grew up in a different era where the social norms were much different. As a child, we only had a handful of television stations that came in fuzzy most of the time. Often I turned to the radio for entertainment and especially to listen to sporting events. You have to understand that we didn’t have the luxury of seeing every sporting event like they do...Learn More
Should I Stay or Should I Go?
Choosing a treatment program that meets your needs is an important decision to make. Our policy has always been to be ourselves, present our information, and let a person decide. Whether people decide to stay or go, we too are assessing if they meet our standards. As for our groups, we want to make sure that people don’t have a psychotic disorder and can reason. It can disrupt a group if...Learn More