Category: Worthlessness
The Good Therapy Blog
May 15th, 2012 |
On mornings when I’m lucky enough to have free time, I go to a yoga class taught by an excellent teacher, named Mark. Many of his students have been studying yoga for years and are pretty advanced. Today we began as usual with warm ups, accompanied by Mark’s explanations and his questions. Mark’s teaching practice is a bit unusual—he generally asks the class questions, some rhetorical, some not, as he explains the theory behind the practice.
The man on the mat next to me, whom I’ll call Harry, answered all Mark’s questions right away, with military precision.
“Why do yoga?”
“To... Read More
May 15th, 2012 |
The process of trauma recovery includes developing a narrative to one’s history, compartmentalizing who is accountable for what, and integrating old material into a new paradigm. Intrafamilial abuse, particularly child abuse, is often layered and complex. The locus of the early stages of the work tends to be the perpetrator of physical, sexual, or emotional injury; however, throughout the progression those who failed to protect slowly come into focus. Survivors express uncertainty around the parent who did not harm them but did not protect them either. As therapists, our energy is directed towards... Read More
May 11th, 2012 |
Stressful life events (SLEs) have been examined closely to determine their exact relationship to psychological problems. Individuals who experience a dysphoric episode (DE), which is expressed through negative mood, often have experienced an SLE prior to their DE. Likewise, people who find themselves with symptoms of major depression (MD) also may be able to pinpoint a particular SLE that preceded their MD. There are currently two primary theories for the relationship... Read More
© Copyright 2012 by http://www.GoodTherapy.org Therapist Plano Bureau - All Rights Reserved.
April 5th, 2012 |
Childhood emotional maltreatment (CEM) can have lingering effects. Adults who suffered mistreatment as children often struggle emotionally and socially throughout their lives as a result of being neglected or emotionally abused. Although there is an abundance of literature and research that focuses on the negative impact of childhood maltreatment (CM) in general, there is little available clinical evidence documenting the devastating effects of CEM. It has been well established that CM, including sexual and physical abuse, can increase the risk for depression, anxiety, substance misuse, and a host... Read More
© Copyright 2012 by http://www.GoodTherapy.org Therapist Coral Gables Bureau - All Rights Reserved.
January 6th, 2012 |
In the process of developing our own voices (individuation), we develop a sense of self in relationship to the significant others in our lives. Growing up, parents, grandparents, siblings, and later, peers, act as mirrors and reflect back to us their ideas about who we are and what we are about. The more significant the relationship, the greater the impact on our ideas about who we are. When a significant other or others take up a lot of space in our heads and become a too-present audience to our decisions, behaviors, and thoughts, there is an interference in the process of individuation. The other... Read More
August 5th, 2011 |
Please consider joining us at GoodTherapy.org next Thursday, August 11th, 2011 at 4:00 p.m. Pacific (7:00 p.m. Eastern) for a free teleconference event, Low Self-Esteem: Signs, Symptoms, and Solutions, presented by Tina Gilbertson, MA. Tina is a therapist based out of Portland, OR, and she has extensive experience working with self-esteem issues. In this 90-minute psychoeducational event, she will explore the roots... Read More
© Copyright 2011 by http://www.GoodTherapy.org Therapist Columbia Bureau - All Rights Reserved.
July 6th, 2011 |
The article is due. The performance is today. The gallery exhibit opens next week. And you’re not ready. A small voice inside your head is saying, forget it. It’s no use. You’ve lost it. What you have to say is NOT more important than what anyone else has to share with the world. You’ve never written (painted, composed or performed) anything worthwhile. And you’re frozen, immobilized, mute - again. Maybe the voice has merely turned your world from colorful to dull gray,... Read More
May 31st, 2011 |
Are you ill with some chronic condition but refuse to acknowledge it? Do you attempt to maintain all semblance of normalcy despite the obvious physical and emotional toll the chronic illness takes on you and your marriage? If it’s not you personally, do you know someone who fits this description? I do.
I recently spent some time at the home of my friend Amy. Amy is a married mother of two teenagers who works part-time from home and has Multiple... Read More
May 11th, 2011 |
Last night I dreamt that a woman with long octopus arms was breaking into my house by slipping through the cracks in the door, which I kept shutting, and she kept opening. When I woke up I heard the phone ringing- it was my daughter, who had been out late celebrating her birthday with her boyfriend. She forgot her keys and was locked out, and I was too deep asleep to hear her ring the door bell. The bell sounds had gotten tangled in my dream life, but the phone sounds broke in.
Once awake, I got up to open the door, kissed her and wished her happy birthday. She apologized, and I gestured my... Read More
April 4th, 2011 |
Many people in relationships feel this way, exasperated because they are doing everything they know how to do to make their partner feel loved. Couples come into my office usually at the end of their rope because they have tried, and tried, and tried to make the marriage work and nothing they have tried seems to be making it better. This is so frustrating for couples. It drains the life out of many marriages and relationships. It pushes people so hard sometimes they end up convincing themselves they just can’t make this marriage work anymore and they end up leaving. This can be frustrating and... Read More
March 11th, 2011 |
Full permission has been given by the client to tell this story on GoodTherapy.org. All identifying information has been changed.
The client ‘Jimmy’ that I described in the previous blog, who created a video project in art psychotherapy, has completed his video. He decided sometime ago that he wanted to upload it to YouTube. His intention was to come out from hiding his story and to possibly help others who are struggling with their own past experiences. His decision was an opportunity to discuss in therapy the possible... Read More
March 8th, 2011 |
Ava has had a hard day as Director of Nursing in a busy hospital. She changes hats from taking charge in the high paced world of health care, to being the caretaker of her six and seven year old. She drives the baby sitter to the train, prepares dinner, helps the kids with homework and showers and gets them to bed. Finally, the kids are nicely tucked away in bed, snug and warm. Ava awaits her beloved husband and “knight in shining armor,” Ethan who will be home soon to take her into his arms, understand her frustrations, listen to her--not just her words but to her very being and to literally... Read More
February 17th, 2011 |
Last month we looked at how to set goals that are S.M.A.R.T.: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-Bound. The idea of keeping goals SMART is to set yourself up for success. But do you see the problem here? Setting yourself up for success is a high self-esteem thing to do. When you have lower self-esteem, success can feel unnatural. It can even feel “wrong” for you. So right away, when it comes to goals, there’s a conflict: You might want very much to achieve your goal, but at the same time, there’s a part of you that would be too weirded-out if you actually achieved what... Read More
February 14th, 2011 |
Being single around Valentine's Day can kind of feel like getting picked last in gym class. The kid who gets picked last in gym class really lacks only athletic ability. Yet, as name after name is called on the playground, the kid whose name has yet to be called feels worse and worse about herself. By the time the team with the last pick finally has to take her, she feels like a totally worthless loser. Certainly, this kid is not a worthless loser. She’s just not a jock. Likewise, around Valentine's Day, single people who see bouquet after bouquet of flowers being delivered may feel worse and... Read More
