Exploring the Benefits of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a form of psychotherapy that focuses on identifying and restructuring negative patterns of thought and behavior If you suffer from an anxiety disorder or depression, even the simplest activity, like going to school, work, or the grocery store, may at times feel…
Definition of Sex Addiction Sex addiction can refer to a range of behaviors that are done in excess and significantly impact one’s life in a negative way. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-V (DSM-5) does not list sex addiction as a diagnosable condition yet, but research indicates that there is a clear prevalence…
Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) is a short-term (8 – 20 sessions) and structured approach to couples’ therapy developed by Drs. Sue Johnson and Les Greenberg in the 1980’s. It is grounded in research while focusing on negative communication patterns and love as an attachment bond. Attachment Theory “Attachment” between people typically provides a safe haven:…
Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a mental illness that affects about 6 percent of adults at some point in their lives. (1) At its core, the disorder is about emotion dysregulation, says Ryan Hooper, PhD, a clinical psychologist in private practice in Chicago and an assistant clinical professor of psychology at the University of Illinois.…
Psychological projection is a defense mechanism people subconsciously employ in order to cope with difficult feelings or emotions. Psychological projection involves projecting undesirable feelings or emotions onto someone else, rather than admitting to or dealing with the unwanted feelings. Have you ever disliked someone only to become convinced that the person had a vendetta against…
Being part of a group can offer insights that you may be too close to your situation to see. Discover why participating could be a helpful type of treatment for you. At first, the idea of participating in group therapy might seem intimidating. Who wants to share their story with strangers? But group therapy, in…
Introduction to attachment theory in developmental psychology, including Bowlby and Ainsworth’s contributions, evaluation and criticisms of attachment theory. Attachment theory is a concept in developmental psychology that concerns the importance of “attachment” in regards to personal development. Specifically, it makes the claim that the ability for an individual to form an emotional and physical “attachment”…
For Clinicians: Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a psychotherapy treatment that was originally designed to alleviate the distress associated with traumatic memories (Shapiro, 1989a, 1989b). Shapiro’s (2001) Adaptive Information Processing model posits that EMDR therapy facilitates the accessing and processing of traumatic memories and other adverse life experience to bring these to an…
The concept of counseling in British English it is spelled counselling has actually been around for ages, and it reflects the need for one person to seek help or advice from another person. Counseling as a profession, therefore, places emphasis on social settings and does not derive from the clinic. It focuses on helping persons…
STRESS is an inevitable part of our life. Yet whether our daily hassles include the incessant gripes of a nasty boss or another hectoring letter from the Internal Revenue Service, we usually find some way of contending with them. In rare instances, though, terrifying events can overwhelm our coping capacities, leaving us psychologically paralyzed. In…
Suffering from PTSD is an uphill battle. It’s a difficult diagnosis to handle and powering through it takes a lot of hard work. Thankfully, due to a better understanding of the condition coupled with innovative therapies used to treat it, PTSD is becoming more and more manageable each day. Perhaps an innovative approach to the…
Despite what we see in the movies, love does not conquer all. Relationships take a lot to work, and, while love plays a big role in them, there are many other factors that need to be considered. When it comes to a healthy relationship, there is so much more involved that the heart-stopping joy of…
Understanding the first step to living a balanced life. The term psychiatric consultation can be a scary one which can conjure up feelings of tension, stress or uncertainty. Despite it being a term that may make you feel uneasy or worried, it’s quite the opposite. A psychiatric consultation (or evaluation) is a term used to…
Psychiatric Consultations What can I expect – Psychiatric Consultations? Psychiatric Consultations with a psychiatric clinician lasts 45-60 minutes and focuses on understanding your vision of well-being, the concerns that are interfering with your well-being, the efforts you’ve made in overcoming those concerns, and your interest in pursuing additional resources, such as medication. The psychiatric clinician…
Loneliness. Anyone can feel lonely. It doesn’t matter if you’re in a relationship or not, a social butterfly or someone who isn’t into crowds. To understand what’s making you feel alone, we’ll focus on your inner and outer experiences and work together to find useful things you can do to feel more connected to the…
Clinical hypnosis has been used since the 1700s as a drug-free way to help patients with dealing with pain, phobias and numerous other ailments. According to the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis “Clinical hypnosis is an altered state of awareness, perception or consciousness that is used, by licensed and trained doctors or masters prepared individuals,…
Psychodynamic therapy works for at least 80 percent of individuals, including the very young and the very old. How young, and how old? One very successful psychotherapist in California, when asked, said that his youngest patient was 9 and his oldest patient 82. In fact, psychodynamic therapy delivers a number of psychological benefits, all of…
Dissociative Disorders are conditions that involve breakdowns of memory, awareness, identity or perception. Dissociative Disorders can be triggered by stress, substance abuse, psychological trauma or may have no identifiable trigger at all. Some of these disorders can run in families, and most are diagnosed in adulthood but typically stem from childhood trauma. These disorders are…
Bipolar disorder is one of the most highly researched neurological disorders in the United States. The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) estimates that bipolar disorder affects approximately 2% of the population in the United States. However, due to social stigma, a difficulty in diagnosing the condition and inadequate health care, only 40% of those…
5 critical communication skills that everyone needs to know. One of the primary reasons that couples enter counselling or therapy is because they don’t properly communicate with each other. Strong communication is the cornerstone of any relationship and can have wonderfully positive effects on all parts of your professional and personal life. If you don’t have…
In America, a divorce occurs every 36 seconds. That’s over 2,400 divorces each day. A common statistic that you hear is that 50% of marriages end in divorce. Luckily, this information slightly off: the divorce rate peaked in the 1980s at 40% and has been decreasing slowly for most age groups ever since. This number…
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), or Cognitive emotional behavioral therapy (CEBT) is a form of therapy that was originally developed to treat those with eating disorders. More recently, CBT is being used to help individuals suffering from anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It has also found extensive use in anger management…
Since the beginning of the internet, several creative people perceived the potential of the internet for online counseling the therapeutic communication. At the time the internet went public, this launch went hand in hand with the development of the first self-help groups on the internet who were, in that time, very popular. In 1995, Martha…
We’ve all seen the face of depression on others and perhaps on ourselves. We’ve seen it on a troubled teenager or a mother immediately after the birth of her child. We’ve seen it on every race, profession, religion and socioeconomic group. We’ve seen it on senior citizens and people with critical illness. We’ve seen it…
It is hard to tell depression from grieving. Many people go through periods of sadness in response to stress, misfortune, and various personal afflictions. Depression It’s disheartening when our significant other or life spouse forgets an anniversary. It’s mildly disappointing when we get into an online relationship and discover that the hot guy (or girl)…