A GoodTherapy.org General Announcement

The GoodTherapy.org Team is thrilled to announce that Google has recently promoted our organization’s website to PageRank (PR) Level 6. This new level is awarded on the basis of a number of things, notably: the quality of content and the number of websites that link back to us. GoodTherapy.org’s increased PageRank means increased rankings for all GT web pages, results the GT team have already seen. GoodTherapy.org is now ranked in the top 1, 2, or 3 positions in Google for nearly every location we aim to rank for. This development makes GT information about psychotherapy more visible to the general public and brings GT closer to achieving its goal of promoting collaborative and non-pathological forms of psychotherapy, all in an effort to reduce harm and to bring more “health” into the field of mental health.

© Copyright 2008 by http://www.GoodTherapy.org Therapist Boulder Bureau - All Rights Reserved.

By Jennifer Lehr, MA, MFT

Click here to contact Jennifer and/or see her GoodTherapy.org Profile

I was in a therapy session the other day when the person I was working with, who had been struggling with some challenges, said that he was taught that things had to be easy to be okay. I found myself responding…it is a privilege to struggle and have the opportunity to find out who we are, what we are made of.

When life is easy, we can enjoy ourselves and that is wonderful. But what about when life is not so easy? What about when we are up against challenges that really scare or overwhelm us?

It seems that it would be great if our lives were always easy and happy rather than challenging. But if we can only feel happiness when we are in the right situations or conditions, born into the right family or the right socio-economic group, we are trapped by the external. Adversity allows us the opportunity to find out what we are capable of, to access aspects of ourselves that we did not know existed, inner resources we didn’t know we had, and to develop our strengths. Read the rest of this entry

A GoodTherapy.org News Update Presented by Daniel Brezenoff, LCSW

On Tuesday, the United States House of Representatives and Senate passed legislation to ensure parity between mental health coverage and other medical care. The law would apply to group health plans with 51 or more employees. Differences in the bills’ language must be worked out before it goes to President Bush, who is expected to sign it.

The legislation does not mandate that group health plans cover mental health or addiction treatment, only that when plans do so, the coverage must be equitable to other medical coverage.

Jim Ramstad, R-Minn., helped lead efforts to pass the bill in the House, and spoke inspiringly of his own experience as a person in recovery, ”I am alive and sober today only because of the access that I had to treatment following my last alcoholic blackout on July 31, 1981. I woke up that day in a jail cell in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and I am living proof that treatment works and recovery is possible. But far too many people in our country don’t have the same access to treatment that I and other members of Congress, other federal employees have.”

Because private companies will be able to deduct more health expenses from federal income taxes, the projected cost to the government is about $3.4 billion over 10 years. There is also a loophole in the bill that may concern mental health advocates: Read the rest of this entry

A GoodTherapy.org News Update Presented by Daniel Brezenoff, LCSW

The economic downturn has lead to a spike in the demand for psychological crisis services, according to several sources.

In New York, calls to Hopeline, a telephone crisis service for people experiencing severe depression increased by about 75 percent between the summer of 2007 and the summer of 2008. Hopeline received a record 10,368 in July of this year, and expects a continued climb as the economy worsens and financial stressors – and the incumbent potential damage to self-esteem, hopefulness, relaxation, and other areas of ego strength and functionality – increase nationwide. Read the rest of this entry

A GoodTherapy.org News Update Presented by Daniel Brezenoff, LCSW

How many people have found solace by calling a friend on the telephone in a difficult time?

Northwestern University is reporting research indicating that telephone psychotherapy seems not only to be effective, it may be an even better treatment for depression than face to face meetings. The new study was small and more research is needed to draw any certain conclusions, but the initial data are compelling. In this study, only 7.6 percent of patients ended therapy, compared to the well-established attrition rate of nearly half in traditional therapy.

And before you ask: The researchers found no indication that telephone therapy is any less effective in improving mood.

There may be other benefits, as well. Time management is less of an issue if client can get therapy anywhere they happen to be at appointment time.

Perhaps more controversially, clients who are depressed or anxious may be unmotivated, agoraphobic, or otherwise experience barriers to showing up for appointments. Phone therapy may help overcome these obstacles.

Or will it enable them? Could such an approach inhibit growth in important areas of social functioning? This study did not address the point. A skilled therapist would ideally recognize such a circumstance as distinct from those times when phone therapy is the only way to engage a client.

Past research on phone therapy has shown similar results, especially in the treatment of depression.

Click here to contact Daniel and/or see his GoodTherapy.org Profile©Copyright 2008 by GoodTherapy.org All Rights Reserved. Questions or concerns about the following article can be directed to the author or posted as a comment to this blog entry. Click here to contact Daniel and/or see his GoodTherapy.org Profile
Therapist Seattle

By Deborah Reeves MGPGP, LPC, CGP

Click here to contact Deborah and/or see her GoodTherapy.org Profile

What is a Psychotherapy Process Oriented group and how does it work?

A process group usually consists of around eight people who meet regularly for the common purpose of finding out more about who they are and what it is perhaps that they would like to see change with in their personal lives and in their relationships with others.

The life of a process group from the beginning to the end parallels different developmental stages of growth and maturity. As the natural cycles of the group move progressively forward, the members and the “group-as-a-whole” are assisted with guided feedback and process comments from the leader and or co-leaders. The group inherently knits together with an abundance of experiences forming and emulating a social microcosm that bears its own unique culture and identity.

A remarkable and natural phenomenon in the earlier phases of a working group is the way in which individuals, and sub-groups alike repeat the many characteristic ways once developed to survive the stressors and strains in the very first group…the family. Members will remind each other of significant others in their past or present circumstances bringing feelings, thoughts, ideas and fantasies to the fore. Read the rest of this entry

By Jennine Estes, MFT Intern

Click here to contact Jennine and/or see her GoodTherapy.org Profile

Many people have heard of the advice to never go to bed angry. This relationship advice has such a great value. It addresses the idea of how couples may feel if going to bed angry, such as feeling emotionally disconnected and unattached, or fear of having unresolved issues getting in the way. This advice is absolutely a great and valuable tool for staying connected and securely attached to your partner. Think about it…going to bed angry in the relationship can create a terrible feeling; it can keep people up all night, have terrible sleep, or many other painful experiences. For many couples, this advice is perfect for their relationship. Obviously, I am a therapist and I truly believe in resolving any and all conflicts, but this doesn’t work for everyone.

Couples faced with relationship conflict often attempt to resolve the issue to the best that they can. When in conflict, couples try to resolve the issue through continuous fighting, arguing, and then resulting into a more damaged relationship. Damaging a relationship is far more dangerous than going to bed angry. Read the rest of this entry

A GoodTherapy.org Featured Column written by Mary Ellen Barnes, Ph.D. & Ed Wilson, Ph.D., MAC

Click here to contact Mary Ellen and/or see her Profile
Click here to contact Ed and/or see his Profile

We recently returned from a conference on alcohol treatment called “New Perspectives.” The conference, hosted by Edgewood treatment center in Nanaimo, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, was, indeed, as advertised. Presenters echoed the same theme: the usual methods of “treating” alcohol abuse and dependence don’t work. While this isn’t news to some of us who’ve looked at the statistics for over twenty years, it is the first time we’ve ever attended a conference that wasn’t hyping the same old failed models. Perhaps being Canadian – a country not quite as enamored with the Minnesota 12-Step Model – helped. Whatever the case, it was a refreshing change. Read the rest of this entry

By Jeanine Austin, Ph.D.

Because I am a huge comedy fan and was saddened by the recent passing of George Carlin, I have been watching many of Carlin’s comedy vignettes on television and on the internet. One of his central themes throughout the years was that of materialism. George was never shy to poke fun at our country’s insatiable and gluttonous desire for things. He observed again and again that Americans will work tirelessly for material things, pack their houses to the brim and then find themselves needing to buy a bigger house to accommodate all of those purchases. The jokes about inane spending always got a laugh for George because it invariably rang true for the audience.

Other comedians have also had a big tease regarding materialism. I once heard Robin Williams say during a stand up routine to a woman in the front row that her necklace was very beautiful and could coincidently easily feed the entire nation of Thailand. Similarly, in the British comedy television show Absolutely Fabulous, Jennifer Saunders leaves her home for a holiday wearing every conceivable signature piece of England’s Burburry line of high end plaid wear: raincoat, luggage, scarf, handbag, hat and umbrella. The writers are making their own statement of course. Conspicuous consumption is funny, if not somewhat tragic. Read the rest of this entry

By Mary Disharoon, MA, LMFT

Click here to contact Mary and/or see her GoodTherapy.org Profile

Author’s Note: This article was written as a way of introducing the idea of inner selves and the benefits of Voice Dialogue to my new clients.

The word multiplicity means “the state of having many parts or aspects”. Recognizing that you have many different parts or aspects that make up the wholeness of who you are indicates that you are complex and that you’re able to accept that fact.

You might have grown up hearing about someone in the news or a character in a book or a movie who had “multiple personalities” and you learned to associate it with being crazy. You chose to think of yourself as one coherent self, with one inner identity, operating in one body because that was your idea of psychological health and normalcy. Read the rest of this entry