a few weeks ago i had a conversation with someone about psychopaths. since i can’t remember for the life of me who i had this conversation with (hmmmm … should i make my next post about memory?), i thought i’d post here a link to a very interesting article about this topic, and hopefully that… Continue reading psychopaths
Category: therapy
a video!
a few weeks ago, my friend carol from alphaglyph productions did an interview with me. you can see it on the alphaglyph podcast site. you can try either the “download” or the “play” button. you might need the quick time with itunes plugin for it (for some systems, quick time alone doesn’t seem to do… Continue reading a video!
alternative thought records, pt II
a continuation from yesterday’s blog regarding alternative thought records: this is an example of using alternative thought records. in the beginning, it can usually only be done afterwards. with time, one can get practiced enough to try and do it right in the moment. this is an example of debriefing the next day: situation: harry… Continue reading alternative thought records, pt II
a tool: alternative thought record
cognitive therapies, which focus on examining and “repairing” one’s thoughts, are often seen as the best way to deal with depression. while i believe that the tools that cognitive therapies provides are just one among many ways to help with depression, they can nevertheless be quite useful. so here is a tool from this tool… Continue reading a tool: alternative thought record
the wounded healer
my approach to therapy is influenced by traditions that place some weight on judicial self disclosure, on the idea of the wounded healer, on the notion that there is very little we can know for certain, and on paying attention to the here and now: the here and now of the client’s life, of the… Continue reading the wounded healer
horticultural therapy
7 am today, when i was watering my garden, my bare feet tickled by the morning dew, i thought, why not do a quick write-up about horticultural therapy? so i googled the term and on the first site that came up, i clicked on “what is horticultural therapy?”, this is what i found: “There are… Continue reading horticultural therapy
increasing psychotherapy effectiveness
research has shown that when clients are directly involved with charting the course of therapy, therapy tends to be much more effective. because of that, i use two very simple tools in my sessions that help to ensure client involvement. the one i am reprinting here is the one i give at the beginning of… Continue reading increasing psychotherapy effectiveness
mental illness, mental health, mental wellness
the public health agency of canada has a site on mental health – or mental illness, if you prefer that term. the definition is: Mental illnesses are characterized by alterations in thinking, mood or behaviour (or some combination thereof) associated with significant distress and impaired functioning over an extended period of time. The symptoms of… Continue reading mental illness, mental health, mental wellness
chronic pain – hard to understand
many years ago, when i was still in the early phases of studying, i had a telephone conversation with a friend of mine, who at that point had lived for many years with chronic back pain. inexperienced and naive, and influenced by reading louise hay, i suggested to my friend that at some level she… Continue reading chronic pain – hard to understand
hopelessness?
“research convincingly shows that people come to therapy not because they have problems but because they have become demoralized about their chances of resolving particular challenges.” this is something i brought up in one of my earliest blog entries. there, i talked about how we face problems all the time, and how the “size” of… Continue reading hopelessness?