By John Lee, LMHC, Post Traumatic Stress / Trauma Topic Expert Contributor

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Peter Strong, PhD. is an expert in the treatment of PTSD. His theory in the treatment of PTSD is “The key to changing habitual reactivity is to learn how to relate to the underlying emotional energy that compels you to react.” Peter also bases his practice near Boulder, Colorado on using core mindfulness in the treatment of PTSD.

Interestingly, Peter Strong PhD. and this writer make use of the mindfulness treatment strategy. For many years while treating people with schizophrenia I taught core mindfulness as part of my group therapy. Surprisingly, many who practiced learned to tune out the voices they were hearing. The first step what leads up to the reaction of hearing voices? And what many have said they have done. One popular technique many began to practice was using the self talk “Stop, This isn’t me, This is My Illness.” For a few this began to really work, and then the few who really applied it were ready to take it a step further. What I taught them next was the brain receives its information was through their five senses. What one saw, felt, heard smelled sometimes could trigger a reaction. Interestingly, this small group really got into this as they were realizing and experiencing saying “Stop, this isn’t me” seemed to help. I then would take them for a walk to get into the moment. By totally focusing on the experience of what the rose smelled like, what the trees looked like, what the chirping of the birds sounded like, and what the lemonade tasted like, people with schizophrenia began to experience the voices weren’t as loud. That by focusing on the experience of the moment they were also slowly training their minds new habits which could lead to tuning down the volume of the voices. Continuing to practice focusing on the wind against their chin and hearing the birds they slowly began to experience when they would even talk to another person their voices would become softer and not as noticeable. By learning to turn down the voices by practicing in the moment techniques, many began to stay out of the inpatient unit. Read the rest of this entry

By Jaffy Phillips, MA, Hakomi Topic Expert Contributor

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Prospective clients often ask what first drew me to study Hakomi therapy. My answer: the principles. (And a touch of fate or providence.)

I first encountered Hakomi by way of a lucky accident. Someone left a copy of Ron Kurtz’ book (Body-Centered Psychotherapy: The Hakomi Method) on a windowsill in a house I moved into. I quickly read it from cover to cover. As a body-worker at the time, I was interested in the relationship between body and mind, but the main thing that kept me reading was the chapter about the principles. As I read it, I felt myself relax and settle in. I felt a sense of relief, like a big exhale: finally, something that made sense to my heart! It was like the feeling of coming home after a long time away. Read the rest of this entry

By Lynn Somerstein, PhD, RYT, Object Relations Topic Expert Contributor

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The hardware store on Third Avenue has a sign in the window that says, “Sharpen your knives for the holidays.”

Many of us are lucky enough to have joyful holiday celebrations, with loving family, friends, people who are positive, and that’s wonderful—but unfortunately not the universal experience; there’s a down side to many celebrations—not everyone is your friend, and some of those unfriendly people sharpening their knives for the holidays want you to be their turkey.

For example, food is love, right? Well, sometimes it is, when your friend cooks you something special and you are free to eat as much or as little as you want, and give a big thank you. But some friends and relatives aren’t satisfied with a compliment– they want to you to eat it ALL UP. Like the Clean Plate Club Kid I wrote about last month. He comes from a family of overeaters and controllers–they’re only happy if he eats so much he gets sick–that’s how he proves he loves them. Read the rest of this entry

By Peggy Gold, MS, NCC, LMHC, Narrative Therapy Topic Expert Contributor

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What’s your “Holiday Story”? For some, it may be about connecting with friends and family, eating hearty meals and treats, singing songs, or getting in touch with one’s spirituality. For others, it may be laced with groans and moans, trepidation, loneliness, frustration, angst, and bouts of depression and anxiety. Often both “stories” can somehow co-exist.

I used to spend quite a bit of time worrying about the holiday season and what it would hold. With increased obligations, people really are in demand this time of year! With so much more on our plate (literally and figuratively) it’s easy to feel overloaded and disconnected from what the holiday season is supposed to mean. Combine that with mandatory or obligatory time spent with relatives or coworkers that may not normally spend time together, and it can be a recipe for STRESS. All of a sudden our holiday stories are about shopping, traveling, running from place to place, and making small talk. They are frenzied and lack depth and feeling. I call this type of story a “thin story” (lacking depth). When life gets taken over with thin stories, we can start to retreat inside ourselves, which only feels worse. It can become a very vicious cycle. Read the rest of this entry

By Leslie H. Petruk, MA, LPC, NCC, Play Therapy Topic Expert Contributor

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Play therapy is a counseling method used to help children communicate their inner experiences through the use of toys. Non-directive play therapy, also called child-centered play therapy is a non-pathologizing technique based on the belief that children have the internal drive to wellness. Non-directive play therapists are trained to trust that children are capable to direct their own process rather than the therapist imposing their own ideas of what the child needs to do in therapy to work through any challenges they may be facing. This requires the therapist to enter the emotional world of the child rather then expecting the child to understand the therapist’s world, which is beyond their capability. Play therapy is based on the theory that play is a child’s language, the toys in the play room considered the “words” that a child uses to express their inner experiences and how they perceive and experience the world. The toys in the play room are then used by the child to “speak” to the therapist and communicate their inner thoughts and feelings. Within a play session and over the course of sessions, themes emerge in the child’s play, giving the therapist insight into the child’s experiences, thoughts, feelings and interpretations of their world. Read the rest of this entry

A GoodTherapy.org News Headline

Participation in competitive athletics is typically seen as an undertaking that requires a great deal of confidence and positive perspective in order to be carried out successfully. But a positive mood may not, in fact, be essential. New research from University College London has suggested that when in both good and bad moods, people may experience equally powerful performance boosts. Exposed to emotion-arousing or neutral images, participants were then asked to squeeze a hand grip to imitate the action of heavy weight-lifting. Grip strength improved for both positive and negative stimuli as opposed to the neutral pictures. The research hints at an ability of stress or other unpleasant feelings to help fuel physical prowess.

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

By Becki A. Hein, MS, LPC, Anxiety Topic Expert Contributor

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You’re worried about money. You’re afraid you’ll catch the flu. You can’t sleep because you can’t stop fretting about… your children, your family, your job or lack thereof, the country/government, terrorists, the stock market, pollution, and on and on. Feeling overwhelmed? Anxious? Then it’s time to get back in the driver’s seat of your own mind! There are things you can do to take control and calm yourself. Did you ever notice that all your worries, no matter what you’re worried about, are about something that hasn’t happened yet? Something you made up in your mind. Anxiety is all about the future. But the only way the future exists is as a thought in your brain. When you are anxious, you are actually fantasizing the worst about some imaginary event and feeling actual fear about it. From a logical standpoint, that doesn’t make much sense does it? Sure, some of the things you are worried about may happen, but you’re using valuable energy to be scared about them. Energy that could be better spent planning, preparing, or paying attention to what’s going on around you right now. Read the rest of this entry

By Holly Holmes-Meredith, D. Min., MFT, Board Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist, Hypnotherapy Topic Expert Contributor

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There are several styles of hypnotherapy that are commonly adopted by practitioners and not all styles work well for all clients. One way to access what style might work best for you is to respond to this question: How do you normally respond to people telling you what to do? If you are the type of person who feels secure when you have instructions and direct requests, the directive approach will most likely work for you. If you find you are rebellious when people tell you what to do, a more permissive approach will suit you better. When you interview a prospective hypnotherapist you might want to question her about her training and style to discover if you will feel comfortable and be responsive to her approach. The following is a basic overview of the different styles of hypnotherapy to help you understand your options.

Directive Approach

In the directive approach, the hypnotherapist guides the client into a state of hypnosis and the hypnotherapist gives the client suggestions. People are most familiar with this approach to hypnotherapy because it is the technique that is most similar to what we witness with stage hypnosis and see in the movies. And, clients expect that if they go for a hypnotherapy session that the hypnotherapist will give direct suggestions. Read the rest of this entry

By Beth S. Patterson, MA, LPC, Grief & Loss Topic Expert Contributor

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The intense and painful experiences of grief are generally considered “normal.” However, when those experiences are extremely distressing, unduly interfere with day-to-day functioning or do not subside to a manageable level over time, the bereaved may be experiencing complicated or traumatic grief. Complicated grief has been proposed as a new diagnostic category in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), and suggested components of the diagnosis include (1) that sufferers experience bereavement by death; (2) that their reactions include intrusive and distressing symptoms, including yearning, longing and searching for the deceased; and (3) that the bereaved exhibit at least four marked and persistent trauma reactions, which may include: “avoidance of reminders of the deceased, purposelessness, feelings of futility, difficulty imagining a life without the deceased, numbness, detachment, feeling stunned, dazed or shocked, feeling that life is empty or meaningless, feeling a part of oneself has died, disbelief, excessive anger or bitterness related to the death, and identification symptoms or harmful behaviors resembling those suffered by the deceased” (Mitchell et al, 2004, p. 13).

Even in cases that do not fit the criteria for complicated grief as described above, the events surrounding the death may be sufficiently traumatic to interfere with daily functioning or result in unrelenting distress. As a psychotherapist specializing in grief and loss, I have found EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) to be an effective tool for alleviating trauma in grief. As in grief, trauma affects the whole person — body, mind and spirit, and on a hierarchy of needs, trauma must be dealt with in order for the healing process of grief to proceed in a healthy, and healing, fashion. Read the rest of this entry

By Jeanette Raymond, Ph.D., Body-Mind Psychotherapy Topic Expert Contributor

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Achieving her goals was a bit too easy for Nadine.
Thirty-five year old writer and director Nadine got three clients as soon as she put the word out about her new venture as an acting coach. Her script for a TV show was accepted and she was hired to direct the production. She was amazed at how quickly and effortlessly everything was falling into place.

Nadine’s dreams were about to come true. Her talents were prized and she felt giddy with excitement. Expressing her creativity felt authentic but scary. She dared to imagine being famous. She dared to imagine herself happily married with a family. She dared to imagine having it all. Read the rest of this entry