-
To Find Yourself, Follow Your Truth: Authenticity as Self-Care
I had a conversation with a friend the other day regarding authenticity—a value that I place close to my heart. It seems, in these times of “fake news” and the questioning of the ... Read More
-
10 Red Flags to Watch Out for in Your Couples Counselor
Starting couples therapy can be scary. Since 1995, when I was licensed as a marriage and family therapist, I’ve heard complaints from couples who’d been ready to make their relationships ... Read More
-
PTSD and Self-Soothing Behavior: When Trying to Feel Better Hurts
Self-soothing is as natural to people as breathing. Even as infants, we quickly learn the soothing results of sucking our thumb when our mother’s nipple isn’t available. As we grow, ... Read More
-
Is It Ethical for My Therapist to Work with My Ex and Not Tell Me?
Dear GoodTherapy.org, Several years ago, my wife began seeing a therapist. After a year, she asked that I join her for a session. Afterward, I began seeing the same therapist frequently ... Read More
-
How Do You Really Feel? Expressing Disappointment in Therapy
People seek out therapy for any number of reasons: anger management, trauma, relationship issues, or anxiety, just to name a few. But whatever the issue or concern bringing a person to ... Read More
-
Healthy Self, Healthy Love: Characteristics of a Strong Relationship
Much has been written about unhealthy love and toxic relationships, but what about healthy love? When we think about healthy love in a relationship, what does that look like? Maya Angelou ... Read More
-
Cultural Competency and C-PTSD: Why Therapists Can Never Know Enough
Complex posttraumatic stress, known as C-PTSD for short, is the result of prolonged series of traumatic experiences at the hands of someone the victim has a personal relationship with. ... Read More
-
Rearranging the Stars: Healing Through Family Constellations
From a space of wonder, in a garden under a summer moon, two lovers studied the starry sky and considered how they might arrange the constellations if they hadn’t already been named. ... Read More
-
5 Daily Habits That Can Help You Stay Out of ‘Autopilot Mode’
Do the sluggish days of winter have you feeling like you’re in “autopilot mode”? Perhaps you catch yourself living for the weekends, keeping them jam-packed and exciting—something ... Read More
-
Are You Ever Too Old to Benefit from Therapy?
“With aging, you earn the right to be loyal to yourself.” —Frances McDormand “I don’t mind aging. I’m glad to be aging. I’ll never die young.” —Elizabeth ... Read More
-
You Want Kids. Your Partner Doesn’t. Can Therapy Help?
“Things are really coming together for us,” the man in my office said confidently. “If we can just figure out the kid thing.” His fiancee nodded. “The kid thing,” I repeated, ... Read More
-
The ‘Should’ Trap: Expectations, Entitlement, and Gratitude
I witness daily how believing circumstances should be different can negatively affect one’s life. I observe this dilemma not only in my work as a psychologist, but in my own life. Recently, ... Read More