How to Heal with Spiritual Psychology
With Spiritual Psychology, we see healing as the application of love to hurt. There is an art form to this and it can take on many strategies. Claims of healing have been frowned upon in this industry since many of the top approaches showed improvements in people, but not the true ultimate healing. For example, with Gestalt Therapy, Fritz Perls believed that when people saw many angles of a...Learn More
The Passing of Two Friends
This past week marked the passing of one of my best friend’s father, and the wife of another dear friend. Both of these people loved life, loved people, and were active in the community. The biggest part of being a therapist is keeping yourself in balance. In doing so, you are able to be there for others, unfortunately, both of the deaths hit me hard and I found myself counseling myself as I...Learn More
The Comparisons
I learned a long time ago that when I compare myself to other people I always lose. My mother used to say, “The grass is always greener on the other side.” I think the reason why I made comparisons was in having low self-worth. We always assume that people are perfect and better, and we make ourselves second best – but that is just my theory. The real issue here is not the comparisons but...Learn More
What is Spiritual Psychology?
What if all the problems you were facing were meant to be? What if there was a higher purpose to your life, instead of being here to eat, shit, and die. Because life didn’t make sense to me, and having no religious beliefs, I went on a quest in 1978 to find some meaning in life. If life was just a death sentence, well, that was too much for me to bear. What if’s are born out of having no...Learn More
Surviving a Crisis
In 2001, the first Mental Health Urgent Care center in the country opened and I was fortunate to be one of the founding members. It is shocking that I have never written an article on surviving a crisis because of the thousands of crisis sessions I have taken part in. I’ve learned firsthand that when a situation is beyond the coping skills of a person, they go into a crisis. Overwhelmed, it...Learn More
The Holidays
Yes, it’s “Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens” time. It’s time for good cheer and holiday fun. But if you’ve suffered holiday trauma, it probably isn’t a pleasant time for you at all. Years ago, I coached a little league baseball team and the father of one of my players was killed in a liquor store robbery. Then came the holidays and it wasn’t pleasant for the child, his family, and...Learn More
Making the Change
When you are sick and tired of being sick and tired then life becomes something to dread. I for one am all too familiar with waking up in the morning and wondering if, no, wondering when, I was going to have another panic attack. Then shortly after would feel my heart pounding. At that point, all I wanted was to do anything to stop my life from being a living hell. There is an art form to...Learn More
The Importance of Self-Care for Us Counselors and Clients Too
After 29 years in the mental health field, the most important thing I learned was to take care of myself first. In the helping business, it can be easy to get attached to people you treat, and worry about how they are doing. When this happens, it is a clear sign to stop whatever you are doing and take a break. Why? Because if we are not in balance, it is difficult to take care of others....Learn More
Using Your Innate Power
In graduate school, they kept on telling us that our mind is very powerful and we just needed to learn how to channel this energy. Coming from a background of powerlessness it was hard to imagine, but as I started to use the tools they were teaching us, things in my life began to shift for the better. I remember the first time I realized this when standing in line at the bank. I hated...Learn More