By Gary Toub, Ph.D.

Click here to contact Gary and/or see his GoodTherapy.org Profile

It is not uncommon for couples to encounter serious problems after marriage. It starts out positively enough. The excitement of initial romantic attraction is powerful. There are hopes and dreams of having a lifelong partner or soul mate, someone who embodies everything we have yearned for: happiness, fulfillment, completion. Someone who loves us and for us to love. A friend, companion, soul mate, and lover. Someone with whom to raise a family. Someone with whom to share experiences. Someone to give our life stability, direction, and meaning. Someone for whom we can care and who will likewise care for us. These are just some of the powerful desires that compel us toward marriage.

So what happens? Read the rest of this entry

A GoodTherapy.org News Update

Whether due to age, ailment, or lack of normal use and training, many people in modern times experience problems with memory. When such problems interfere with daily functioning, and especially with social interactions, the results can take a heavy toll on outlook and self-understanding, possibly contributing to depressive or anxious thoughts. But while not all lapses in memory lead to such unfortunate consequences, they aren’t exactly positive occurrences, by any measure. As such, the quest to understanding human memory on a deeper level than previously explored is of great import for the field of psychology. To this end, a team comprised of researchers and academics from the Université Toulouse and the Université de Bordeaux have created and published an investigative study of neuron operation in memory functions, available in the recent issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Read the rest of this entry

© Copyright 2009 by http://www.GoodTherapy.org Therapist Phoenix Bureau - All Rights Reserved.

A GoodTherapy.org News Update

The United States experiences a significant number of self-inflicted deaths each year. In 2004, suicide was the eleventh leading cause of death in the U.S., accounting for 32,439 deaths. Especially troublesome is the number of young adults who attempt suicide in conjunction with symptoms of depression. In 2004, suicide was the third leading cause of death for children, teens and young adults ages 10 to 24. While treatments vary, with some mental health professionals opting for prescription medications and others relying more upon the strength of intensive psychotherapy or residential treatment, the desire to understand how such thoughts and tendencies are formed remains universal. For with greater understanding of the roots of such ideas and behaviors comes the chance to discover and employ preventive measures to help spare youths from the psychological hardships of suicidal ideation.

The American Association of Suicidology, with members spanning from mental health professionals to leading academics and researchers, was founded precisely for this reason. The association has held its annual meeting on April the 17th, and has proved an enlightening and productive medium for the presentation of new studies and ideas, as well as open discussion and networking. Read the rest of this entry

© Copyright 2009 by http://www.GoodTherapy.org Therapist Washington, DC Bureau - All Rights Reserved.

By Gary Seeman, Ph.D.

Click here to contact Gary and/or see his GoodTherapy.org Profile

When people begin psychotherapy, they often ask what they can do to get the best results. In this article, I answer some of the questions I often hear and offer some tips I hope you’ll find useful for making your therapy a success. For those who are new to therapy, this article provides a general understanding. Those who have had therapy before may find additional understanding here about what worked or didn’t work in their earlier experience. If you’re very familiar with the therapy process, this article touches on some of its subtleties.

To get the best results, it’s helpful to follow a few basic principles: Read the rest of this entry

A GoodTherapy.org News Update

Mental health care in many parts of the world, including the United States, enjoys a professional freedom capable of growing and helping clients thrive, safe in the knowledge that their information is confidential, and that their choice to seek therapy –and a specific therapist– is their own. Yet some places do not enjoy such freedoms, or, at least, such freedoms are threatened. It may seem peculiar that one such nation is the United Kingdom, as it is usually associated with modern regulation and thought in terms of the medical and professional fields. However, lawmakers there are considering the construction and passage of a measure which would fundamentally change the nature of psychology and psychiatry as the modern English-speaking world knows the subjects.

The measure would place control of mental health practices in the hands of the State, assigning clients to professionals who qualify based on a battery of standardized protocols and plans of action for sessions. Published Thursday in the national newspaper The Guardian, a letter drafted by a group of concerned professionals and associates strongly warns against the consequences of such a measure. Standardizing therapy sessions, the group argues, undermines the essential individuality and creativity of psychotherapy, allowing no room for personal care or adaptation. The letter describes a scenario in which clients are treated as cookie-cutter cases, and therapy itself is understood as a static process with identical, predictable results across the board.

The letter offers a space for professionals and concerned parties in the UK to sign their name to the statement, which they hope will send the message to lawmakers that psychotherapy is largely dependent upon the creation of a workable and meaningful client-therapist relationship.

© Copyright 2009 by http://www.GoodTherapy.org Therapist Laguna Beach Bureau - All Rights Reserved.

By Sherry Gaba, LCSW

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

Remember that famous quote from Varuca Salt in “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory”. That reminded me of how we all feel sometimes when we don’t get what we want and are thrown into reality once again that things don’t always come how or when we want it. There is a force at work greater than ourselves and what we may hope for may present itself or not, but if it does, it is not exactly always in the form we want it to appear and usually when we least likely expect it.

This month’s challenges for me got me thinking about Varuca Salt. It also reminded me of my father’s famous quote, although I don’t know if he made it up or not….”Sherry,” he would say, when I would be disappointed about not getting something I desperately wanted, “Expect for the worst, hope for the best, and you will end up somewhere in the middle.” Now, that seems reasonable, doesn’t it or does it? It certainly doesn’t go along with the whole law of attraction principal that whatever we think, we will attract. Read the rest of this entry

A GoodTherapy.org News Update

Many therapists take great pains to make their clients feel comfortable during sessions at their private practice. From conscientious furniture selections –including the ever-classical couch– to calming hues and interesting artistic focal points, the mental health professional’s office has long been the subject of concerted effort and study. Yet a new trend among psychologists, psychiatrists, and social workers alike has taken the concept of making clients comfortable to a whole new level, and has tapped into the body-mind connection in a way that proves full of opportunity. Yoga therapy, as the practice is being called, incorporates the popular Indian tradition of yoga with traditional therapies, such as cognitive behavioral and psychodynamic psychotherapy.

With a plethora of easy introductory poses, yoga enables clients to incorporate their physical awareness with the mental benefits of a therapy session. Helping to stretch and relax the muscles, poses can prove grounding for many with stressful tendencies, calming for those experiencing anxiety, or comfort and clarity for clients with depressive symptoms. The unique breathing exercises associated with yoga are also likely very beneficial for clients suffering from a range of issues, and can help open and sustain a session while promoting calm, openness, and the therapist-client relationship.

Dr. Elizabeth Visceglia, a practicing psychiatrist in New York City, has been developing yoga therapy for her clients for a while, and is in the process of drawing conclusions from an academic study aimed at assessing the precise benefits of the technique. She suspects, in particular, that yoga therapy may be a large step forward for those with schizophrenia. Her hope for the success of the treatment is echoed in the growing popularity of yoga therapy, which is being adopted by both mental health professionals and by yoga enthusiasts with an interest in psychology. As the trend continues, many professionals may find their couches replaced by a simple yoga mat.

© Copyright 2009 by http://www.GoodTherapy.org Therapist Allen Bureau - All Rights Reserved.

By Susanne M. Dillmann, Psy.D.

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

Most people find their reactions to traumatic experiences to be confusing; they often feel that they are no longer themselves, but rather a bizarre and ‘crazy’ person . When you know what the common reactions to trauma are, you will be able to identify which of your behaviors are linked to your traumatic experience(s). This identification will allow the feelings of ‘craziness’, isolation and overwhelm to dissipate. In addition, you will gain some control over the behavior, which ultimately will allow you to change the behavior. How to go about changing these common trauma reactions is not the focus of this article. I encourage you to work on these issues with your individual therapist.

There are four common categories of trauma reactions: intrusive and arousal reactions as well as avoidance and the catch-all “other” category. This article will look at the first two of these categories. Intrusive and arousal reactions are both examples of your body getting stuck on ‘red-alert’. The body’s emergency response system does not turn off and, “The smallest reminder of something remotely associated with the [traumatic] event can set off a dramatic response” (Herbert & Wetmore, p. 18). Read the rest of this entry

A GoodTherapy.org News Update

For many people of all vocations and backgrounds, times have been considerably tough for the past few years. Major changes in terms of financial life along with a rapidly growing and changing world have created a fair amount of turmoil, and those in both developed and emerging nations have been feeling the pinch. Yet perhaps closest to the front lines of change, especially when change takes a violent turn, there exists a group of people whose experience of day to day difficulty puts them in an entirely different class. Soldiers at war are exposed to some of the most stressful and harrowing experiences modern life has to offer, and many are finding the burden too difficult to bear.

There’s no denying that soldier suicide is a critical issue; it was recently revealed that in January, more soldiers died by their own hands than in the course of combat. An incredible fact that seems on the edge of possibility, this problem belies the need for meaningful and rapid understanding on the part of armed forces administrators and leaders, and for effective prevention programs as well. Accordingly, the US Department of Defense today announced the appointment of David Rudd, Psychology Chair at Texas Tech University, to a study that will test psychological treatments for suicidal veterans.

The study, set to begin in September, has been allocated nearly two million dollars’ of funding and will focus on cognitive behavioral therapy techniques. Aiming to reflect and seamlessly work with the structure and demands of military life, the study will incorporate a relatively short three-month treatment period, and determine whether a customized, scalable program can help soldiers keep suicidal thoughts and feelings at bay, for both mental health and the ability to remain in service.

© Copyright 2009 by http://www.GoodTherapy.org Therapist Fort Collins Bureau - All Rights Reserved.

By Terry Tempinski, Ph.D.

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

One of the things I continue to be impressed with despite my 30 years of practice is how harsh we are toward ourselves when we are struggling in some way emotionally. It is really striking when you stop to think about it. Our response to our struggles is much kinder and wiser when we encounter physical problems. When we have a toothache, we swiftly get ourselves in to see the dentist. A bad cold? We try to get some antibiotics, drink fluids, and lay low. But depressed? Oh my!?!

I am well aware that no one goes to see a psychologist without many months of trying to overcome whatever is bothering them. This makes sense; we all try to forage ahead when the going gets tough. But unfortunately, when things do not improve, we are often not our own best friend. Here are some examples of the things I hear again and again:

I really have no reason to be depressed.
The reasons for my unhappiness are not going to change, so how can I feel any better?
Others have problems way worse than mine.
How can psychotherapy help anyway?
Therapy is for those who have failed and are weak.

Please understand, I am not criticizing….I want to share with you our inclination to mercilessly beat ourselves up when we most need kindness and empathy! It’s bad enough struggling with depression or anxiety, without having to deal with the assaults we often make on ourselves about the fact of these symptoms.

The truth is that depression without cause does not exist. Read the rest of this entry