Therapy – Basic Steps Mental Health

What to Look for in Counseling

Scott Alpert — Tue, 09 Jun 2026 12:00:56 +0000

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 […]

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Ask Your Therapist: How Do We Heal?

Scott Alpert — Tue, 19 May 2026 14:05:11 +0000

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 […]

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The American Dream (Nightmare)

Scott Alpert — Wed, 08 Apr 2026 15:00:52 +0000

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 […]

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“I Don’t Believe in Therapy”

Scott Alpert — Tue, 10 Feb 2026 16:05:08 +0000

Yes, not one but two people this week entered therapy and blurted out, “I don’t believe in therapy, but my spouse made me.” I chuckled. This wasn’t the first time I had heard this, nor probably will it be the last, but this reminded me of me in 1989 when I attended my first counseling […]

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The Number One Healing Tool

Scott Alpert — Tue, 07 Oct 2025 17:02:11 +0000

As an advocate of Spiritual Psychology, sometimes I feel like a lone wolf in the wilderness. In a world where CBT and DBT get much of the attention, I’ve seen each approach not get the results that are desired, giving psychotherapy a bad rap. If you are in acute distress, behaving a certain way, thinking […]

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Trauma Treatment

Scott Alpert — Tue, 12 Aug 2025 15:00:11 +0000

Trauma treatment needs to be handled carefully, or a person can be re-traumatized again and again. This has been happening to a person I am treating in family therapy, by their personal counselor. The old models of healing trauma can cause more trauma because, in an approach named Gestalt therapy, a patient is asked to […]

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Music Therapy

Scott Alpert — Tue, 15 Jul 2025 14:38:35 +0000

Years ago, I learned the value of music in therapy when I was working at an independent living facility. This placement was for young adults with learning disabilities, and when I realized I wasn’t able to make any progress with them, I opted to have some fun singing karaoke. So, I set up the machine, […]

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How to Fix Other People

Scott Alpert — Tue, 03 Jun 2025 13:46:17 +0000

I am sure that you know someone in need of help. 20% of the people in this country suffer from severe mental or substance-related problems–that’s one in five! It makes you think twice about getting behind the wheel of your vehicle. So how do we fix them? This is always a fun topic when teaching […]

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How to Take the Ultimate Care of Yourself

Scott Alpert — Tue, 13 May 2025 15:00:48 +0000

With the current atmosphere in this country, it is obvious that mental health is not prioritized. For years statistically, 20% of the people in this country suffer from mental health conditions that warrant serious treatment, however, in the last year, we’ve seen our numbers rise at an alarming rate. When we are experiencing more stress, […]

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Have You Avoided Therapy for Years?

Scott Alpert — Tue, 15 Apr 2025 15:22:46 +0000

Years ago I saw a billboard that said “We cater to dental chickens.” Did chickens have teeth? I was confused. I asked a friend, who laughed at me. Of course, this was in my substance use years, but as my mind cleared, all I did was laugh at myself. I was going to title this […]

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