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.