Category: Identity Issues
The Good Therapy Blog
October 29th, 2010 |
This is the third in a series of articles on the Scapegoat and how Voice Dialogue can help heal this ancient phenomenon that continues to occur within all human communities and within certain sensitive and susceptible individuals. The first two articles explored the Shadow, the phenomenon called projection, and the history of the Scapegoat in human communities. See the first two articles at: http://www.goodtherapy.org/voice-dialogue-article.html.
"For years it lay in an iron box buried so deep inside me that I was never... Read More
October 25th, 2010 |
For generations, family members have noted the differences that naturally arise in children raised in the same family. How is it that John, the first born and only boy, seems to have such different personality characteristics than his younger brother, raised in the same house by the same parents just two years apart? Good question!
Theories of personality abound. You may be familiar with some of the more popular models, often used in work or educational settings. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), based on the four major personality styles described by Swiss psychoanalyst Carl Jung, is... Read More
October 22nd, 2010 |
Seth Walsh, 13, Asher Brown, 13, Billy Lucas, 15, Tyler Clementi, 18, Raymond Chase, 19, all died within the last three weeks as a result of suicide. All of them were bullied or harassed for being perceived as gay. And these are just the names that we know. There are many others out there suffering and struggling through the discovery of their sexuality.
Every day gay teens or teens who are perceived as being "outside the box" are bullied and harassed for simply being who they are. This bullying can come from fellow students but there are also negative messages from families, teachers, television,... Read More
October 19th, 2010 |
* This blog is a follow-to Richard's previous article, "Who's in Charge - Understanding Men Today"
Why do so many men sabotage relationships and careers? Current cultural stereotypes of men range from bumbling incompetence to aggressive, macho insensitivity. I’ve worked with men in therapy and personal growth workshops for over 25 years, and I’ve identified a type of adult man I call the LATE Men, Lost, Angry Teens, and they are often stuck in an adolescent level of development – literally,... Read More
October 11th, 2010 |
The new school year has started, and many girls face an uphill battle when it comes to insecurity about math. Math anxiety can make itself known through nervousness when tackling a math problem, panic attacks that strike during a test, or even avoidance of math subjects completely. Although not exclusively a woman’s problem, men are less likely to experience anxiety about math.
Why are women so afraid of math? Why do numbers on a page cause panic or make some women’s minds go blank? Clearly, it is not due to lack of ability. Research has failed to identify any striking differences between... Read More
October 6th, 2010 |
Is it absurd to think of a two person relationship as consisting of three parts? A couple is clearly just two. A marriage is just two and so is a partnership. So why would someone suggest you to consider the relationship in three parts?
As a couple’s specialist I believe, and I help my clients see, that both people must stand firmly alone and in the relationship at the same time; so in two places at once. To bloom a truly happy partnership with lasting strength, like a three legged table, each pillar must be strong; you, your partner and the relationship. Each piece is an integral part... Read More
September 23rd, 2010 |
A GoodTherapy.org News Summary
Different professions present different physical, emotional, cognitive, and psychological challenges. A new report from a group of researchers in Germany looked specifically at the challenges faced by classroom teachers. Among teachers, one of the top health concerns is mental health, specifically involving career-related psychological and social challenges. The German study involved developing a short manual and asking teachers participate in 90-minute sessions once a month for a year, using both... Read More
© Copyright 2010 by http://www.GoodTherapy.org Therapist Charlotte Bureau - All Rights Reserved.
September 22nd, 2010 |
If you have an adolescent, somewhere between 11 years old and 16, listen up!
Our children are amazing and smart and funny and rude and mean and delightful and deceptive and disrespectful and loving and caring and selfish…what I mean to say is that they are full of contradictions. One moment they are fine and cooperative, then the next they are angry and hurtful and they may even hate us. Are you with me? Excellent, I see some of you nodding and smiling. Stay with me for a few minutes, I have a strategy to share with you I think you’ll find helpful. Read More
September 3rd, 2010 |
In my practice, people trace depression back to trauma most of the time. Emotional trauma is an overwhelming shock to a person’s equilibrium. This may mean getting attacked emotionally, physically or sexually, or witnessing such attacks. It can happen in war, rape, murder, accidents, and even well-intentioned medical procedures. It can also happen in single or repeated incidents of shaming or emotional/verbal attack. It can even happen when heart-breaking losses of any kind occur.
When people are traumatized, it often shapes something they believe about themselves or about life. These trauma-induced... Read More
August 14th, 2010 |
A new study looks at how being stereotyped influences people’s mental health and behavior, even after leaving the negative environment. In the study, people were given a task to perform, and half received subtly-stereotyped instructions that indicated they would do poorly because of their gender, ethnicity, religion, age, or other factor. Afterward, they participated in a number of other activities. Those who had experienced the stereotyping showed a marked trend toward impatience and aggression, problems staying... Read More
© Copyright 2010 by http://www.GoodTherapy.org Therapist Newport Beach Bureau - All Rights Reserved.
August 11th, 2010 |
In the development of most teenagers there is a natural moment where the bounds of sexuality are explored and roles and sexual identity are created. For LGBT teens this natural part of growing up can often be confusing and overwhelming, resulting in a variety of responses. Some individuals experience such intense negative emotions about their sexual feelings that they repress and push those feelings as far away as possible and choose to ignore their sexuality.
By hiding deep in the closet, these teens are setting themselves up for an uphill battle as they get older and inevitably arrive at... Read More
July 7th, 2010 |
As discussed in an earlier article, "How Trauma Impacts My Sense of 'Me-Ness'”, surviving a traumatic event often results in your beliefs about yourself becoming altered in a negative, harsher direction. Another reason that your sense of “me-ness” changes, due to a traumatic life experience, is that a traumatic event impacts your sense of worth, meaning, and trust.
After a traumatic experience you may believe that you are no longer worth anything. That you do not deserve things and do not have a right to have your needs met,... Read More
June 25th, 2010 |
Media accounts of individuals with disabilities who have achieved something will often refer to such people as having “overcome” their disabilities in order to become successful. Sometimes such people will also be referred to as “brave,” as if they had another alternative to living with their disabilities.
The problem with this formulation is that it suggests that people with disabilities ought to, essentially, disown their impairments; it suggests that we succeed despite our disabilities, and not with them, or because of them. They are not really a part of us—just some sort of encumbrance—and... Read More
June 18th, 2010 |
For years in our culture, most of us have defined family in a particular way. We assume that when we say “family” we mean a group of people who are related by birth, adoption, and marriage. And when we say marriage, we have pictured the promised relationships between men and women.
But meanings around American marriage and family are changing. Gays and lesbians have won the right to marry in five states, with number six, California, embroiled in legal battle over the reversal of the 2008 state law allowing homosexual marriages. While many of us keep our eye on the legal and religious debates... Read More
Page 6 of 7« First«...34567»
