http://www.goodtherapy.org/non-pathological-therapy-article.html Latest articles Fri, 13 Aug 2010 14:45:14 GMT en-us http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/depression-cant-be-cured-0209124/ http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/depression-cant-be-cured-0209124/ Thu, 9 Feb 2012 18:55:54 GMT Depression doesn?t go away for everyone. For most people, depression is temporary and passes naturally or passes once the person has expressed the feelings and resolved the thoughts causing the depression. But there are a small percentage of people who can talk about their issues, express their feelings, take very good care of themselves emotionally, even take medication and have a great life and still be depressed throughout their entire lives. They may have periods of feeling good, periods of feeling less bad, and periods of feeling horrible, but the depression never goes away permanently. http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/gifts-of-trauma-survivors-0201124/ http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/gifts-of-trauma-survivors-0201124/ Wed, 1 Feb 2012 18:28:07 GMT Traumatic experiences along with the mending process can expose the shrapnel from what feels like perpetually open wounds. Time lost to history and recovery, missed opportunities, broken relationships, and a delay in building life?s foundation are side effects of these experiences. http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/age-matters-in-the-client-therapist-relationship/ http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/age-matters-in-the-client-therapist-relationship/ Mon, 30 Jan 2012 18:16:38 GMT A strong therapeutic bond is imperative in order to achieve a successful outcome in psychotherapy. This bond must begin with the initial intake session. Research indicates that clients who feel disconnected from the clinician due to cultural, ethnic, or even religious differences, are more likely to terminate treatment as early as the first session. http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/50-signs-good-therapy-0110119/ http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/50-signs-good-therapy-0110119/ Tue, 10 Jan 2012 15:45:40 GMT As a companion piece to the 50 Warning Signs of Questionable Therapy article, it's important to understand there are many signs of good therapy as well. After all, good therapy has been proven to help people from all walks of life, in thousands of different situations and in countless ways. http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/client-therapist-communication-1220111/ http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/client-therapist-communication-1220111/ Tue, 20 Dec 2011 15:41:33 GMT Story: ?Once at the end of a first session, my client asked for some ?homework? so I suggested she do some journal writing about a habit she had discovered during the session. When she arrived for the next session, she sat down, looked at me, and immediately began almost screaming that she ?couldn?t trust me?I was just like all the others?she knew this wasn?t going to work?I had a formula that I applied to all my clients?and I wasn?t going to take a personal interest in her??. ?My goodness, you certainly have strong feelings!?, I replied. ?Yes, I do! I just can?t believe you gave me journal writing. I hate journal writing, and I bet you do that with everyone!.? ?Well, I guess I?ve learned something about you. I?ll never ask you to journal again!? She then burst out laughing at the absurdity of this much anger. Soon we were both laughing. I let her know I understood how important my personal attention and care were to her. She sat back and said, ?I can?t tell you how touching it is that you are interested in learning about me and willing to change how you are in response. And, even more amazing that you didn?t just reject me as a client.? My intention with journaling homework was to offer her something to think about and help her get more involved in therapy. The impact was that she felt distanced and uncared for. Her unconscious intention in her anger was to prove to herself that once again therapy wasn?t going to help. The impact of my response was that she got treated the way she had longed for. http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/therapists-apa-controvery-over-dsm-v-1125111/ http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/therapists-apa-controvery-over-dsm-v-1125111/ Fri, 25 Nov 2011 16:00:39 GMT The upcoming release of the newly revised DSM-V has spurred much debate in the past several months. A recent article, published an open letter from Dr. Don Locke, president of the American Counseling Association (ACA), to Dr. John Oldham, President of the American Psychiatric Association, which outlines the primary concerns the mental health community has with the proposed revisions to the diagnostic tool that has been relied on by medical professionals for decades. Locke summarizes the collective concerns by saying, ?Our concerns focus on empirical evidence, dimensional and cross-cutting assessments, field trials, the definition of mental disorder, and transparency,? says Locke, speaking on behalf of the 120,000 licensed mental health professionals within the United States. http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/therapist-self-disclosure-decreases-therapy-stigma-1123112/ http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/therapist-self-disclosure-decreases-therapy-stigma-1123112/ Wed, 23 Nov 2011 22:00:18 GMT One of the primary reasons people neglect to seek treatment for their mental health problems is because they are concerned about the external and internal stigmas associated with mental illness. Public stigma is the external belief that one is defective if they receive therapy for their problems, while self-stigma is the perception that an individual has of his or herself as a result of struggling with a mental health issue. In a recent study led by Nathaniel G. Wade of the Department of Psychology at Iowa State University, researchers examined how therapist self-disclosure affected stigma. ?The goal of this investigation was to explore stigma before and after an initial session of group counseling and to examine aspects of the counseling process (e.g., session quality, working alliance, counselor self-disclosure) that may predict changes in stigma,? said Wade. Most therapists already self-disclose and share their moral beliefs, fears and hopes with their clients. ?Some of the main reasons therapists may choose to self-disclose are to make themselves more accessible to clients, to develop the working alliance, and to build greater trust in the therapeutic relationship.? Wade added, ?In other words, clients are likely to feel less self-stigma when working with a group counselor that they trust and view positively as, in such situations, the threat to one?s self-esteem and confidence is less likely.? http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/play-therapist-spirit-redefined-1101115/ http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/play-therapist-spirit-redefined-1101115/ Tue, 1 Nov 2011 18:38:15 GMT As a Play Therapist, when you hear the word play, what images come to mind? Do you see an active, energetic scene with puppets dancing and jumping? Or is it more along the lines of quiet engagement between therapist and child processing an art creation, or Sandtray? Might you be seeing in your mind?s eye a lively storytelling narrative, or peacefully sharing a collection of worry stones? Chances are, the first image that comes to mind is a representation of your Play Spirit. http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/love-versus-object-personification-synesthesia/ http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/love-versus-object-personification-synesthesia/ Fri, 21 Oct 2011 21:01:32 GMT Perhaps you?ve come across one of the many articles or videos with titles like, ?In Love with the Eiffel Tower?, or a recent National Geographic Taboo program called ?Forbidden Love?? The topic is Objectum Sexuality (OS), a rare sexual orientation which includes affectionate, romantic, and sometimes erotic attraction and relationships with objects. The beloved objects can range from transport to landmarks, from sporting equipment to fisheye buttons. http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/internal-family-systems-eating-disorders/ http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/internal-family-systems-eating-disorders/ Tue, 26 Jul 2011 14:39:00 GMT I am half way through the year-long Level 1 of the Internal Family Systems (IFS) training. IFS is a psychotherapeutic modality used for helping people and their therapists understand and solve the problems that bring them to therapy. And IFS helps make sense of the seemingly irrational world of eating disorders. I?d had some exposure to and experience using IFS prior to enrolling in the training, but the training is giving me a broader and deeper understanding not only of IFS, but also of how we humans work. I?m finding the process exhilarating! http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/acceptance-commitment-therapy-functional-contextualism/ http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/acceptance-commitment-therapy-functional-contextualism/ Thu, 26 May 2011 19:45:50 GMT When I was a youngster, about eight years old, I played hide and seek with some of the neighborhood kids. As I fervently and keenly scanned for a good hiding place I happened upon a broken down and rusted refrigerator in an old man?s yard. It was the perfect size so I quickly hopped inside and shut the door (which had lost all of it?s suction) behind me and waited out the hunt smiling with eager anticipation. I emerged from that old icebox the victor that day. http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/mental-illness-root-healing/ http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/mental-illness-root-healing/ Fri, 13 May 2011 19:44:12 GMT Oh no! Not another media medical correspondent saying what Catherine Zeta-Jones is dealing with ? bipolar two ? is not curable, but can only be managed and controlled. Not only did one more medical editor say this about Zeta-Jones, but he said it about mental illness in general: ?When it comes to mental illness, you talk about it more as controlled and managed*?? http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/therapists-in-therapy-self-growth/ http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/therapists-in-therapy-self-growth/ Fri, 6 May 2011 19:59:25 GMT Is psychotherapy purely a medical treatment warranted only for treating specific mental health disorders? Can psychotherapy also be used to address the multitude of emotional, cognitive, and physiological ways in which people suffer, ways that do not meet the diagnostic criteria for categorically-based syndromes? Additionally, is psychotherapy of any use to those seeking self-growth, wisdom, clarity, compassion, self-esteem, and consciousness? http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/alcohol-bottom-out/ http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/alcohol-bottom-out/ Thu, 14 Apr 2011 22:09:02 GMT It has been said in AA, "An addict needs to bottom out twice to get better. First from alcohol, and later emotionally." http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/alcoholism-label-disease-treatment/ http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/alcoholism-label-disease-treatment/ Mon, 4 Apr 2011 15:10:31 GMT Well, once again it?s my readers who are instructing me just as much as (if not more than) the other way around. Thanks to all who take the time to read and comment on my blog articles. Your feedback is much appreciated. http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/common-trauma-therapy-approaches/ http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/common-trauma-therapy-approaches/ Wed, 9 Mar 2011 16:39:45 GMT Learning about the stages of healing can be distressing, motivating, upsetting or uplifting. None of these emotions is the right one to feel, meaning that no matter how you feel, you do not have a wrong reaction. Acknowledging your emotional response to the stages of healing can allow you to harness the emotion?s energy and reach out to a trained psychotherapist. http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/benefit-psychotherapy-good-life/ http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/benefit-psychotherapy-good-life/ Mon, 28 Feb 2011 16:03:39 GMT A GoodTherapy.org News Summary http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/dsm-bipolar-aspbergers-prescription-medication/ http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/dsm-bipolar-aspbergers-prescription-medication/ Thu, 6 Jan 2011 15:00:16 GMT A GoodTherapy.org News Summary http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/mindfulness-thought-choice-psychotherapy/ http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/mindfulness-thought-choice-psychotherapy/ Thu, 2 Dec 2010 15:11:33 GMT Being mindful means being aware of inner and outer processes as they present themselves in the moment. The main inner observations are the observations of thoughts, emotions and body sensations. http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/dsm-v-narcissitic-personality-disorder-psychotherapy/ http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/dsm-v-narcissitic-personality-disorder-psychotherapy/ Thu, 2 Dec 2010 15:00:36 GMT A GoodTherapy.org News Summary http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/alcohol-abuse-choice-recovery-therapy/ http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/alcohol-abuse-choice-recovery-therapy/ Fri, 22 Oct 2010 13:29:03 GMT John, our favorite Australian correspondent, wrote to note that a lot of people don't really want to hear that their alcohol abuse is a choice - and so is fixing it. That came as no surprise to us. After all, what better excuse for continuing drinking than having a "disease" over which you are "powerless"?  And for parents wanting to avoid dealing with their adult children's behavior, well, why not decide that it's a "disease" rather than a choice? All in all it's no surprise that many people prefer this option but it doesn't come without costs. http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/person-centered-rogerian-therapy/ http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/person-centered-rogerian-therapy/ Fri, 15 Oct 2010 18:15:09 GMT Have you ever been in a relationship that challenged your assumptions and beliefs about yourself and the world around you? If so, then you know how powerful and life changing some relationships can be. Imagine then, forming a relationship with a professional who is trained to develop relationships that encourage self-exploration, insight and positive change. Carl Rogers, founder of Person Centered Psychotherapy, outlined three essential ingredients of a just such a successful therapeutic relationship? unconditional positive regard, genuineness and empathy. http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/anxiety-mind-visualization-psychotherapy/ http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/anxiety-mind-visualization-psychotherapy/ Fri, 24 Sep 2010 16:18:31 GMT Have you ever gotten an anxious thought stuck in your mind and really wished you just had a mute button for your head? Wouldn?t that be great?! You?re in luck! While I don?t have a new mind-altering remote control device for you to order today, I do have a thought altering trick you can play on your mind; a trick which can significantly reduce the impact of anxious thoughts on your brain and body. A large part of anxiety is driven by your thoughts. The way you feel in your body is directly related to the thoughts you are having. Although you may feel really stuck with the thoughts, you can gain power over them. Here?s how: http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/mindfulness-grief-body-psychotherapy/ http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/mindfulness-grief-body-psychotherapy/ Thu, 9 Sep 2010 17:08:52 GMT ?It feels heavy right here,? Rebecca* said, crying and touching her chest, ?like a huge rock is sitting on me. It?s like that old cartoon, where a boulder would fall off a cliff and pin the roadrunner to the ground ? it feels like I can?t move.? Rebecca had come to see me last year, a 32 year-old successful marketing professional, whose older sister had recently been diagnosed with a psychotic condition. She seemed lost in grief. Fluctuating bewilderment, sadness, fear, anger, tenderness, and love were tying knots in every part of her. http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/exclusively-women-psychotherapy-counseling/ http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/exclusively-women-psychotherapy-counseling/ Tue, 24 Aug 2010 14:00:38 GMT A GoodTherapy.org News Summary http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/india-holistic-healing-psychotherapy/ http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/india-holistic-healing-psychotherapy/ Fri, 20 Aug 2010 19:00:50 GMT http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/faith-therapy-spirituality/ http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/faith-therapy-spirituality/ Wed, 11 Aug 2010 18:08:06 GMT At times during the past decade in my Spiritual Psychotherapy practice, I?ve advised a skeptical patient to have faith in the process. This is usually in response to a question about how and when he/she will know whether or not the therapy is working. http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/sex-life-women-psychology/ http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/sex-life-women-psychology/ Mon, 9 Aug 2010 16:53:12 GMT Do you want more sex more often than your partner? Or does s/he complain because you want less? In my practice as a sex and marriage therapist, I find that men are often have hyper-active desire, wanting more, while women?s interest in sex is hypo-active, wanting less. If you?re female, there is a quick and kinda cool quiz that you can take right now. Ready? http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/empathy-for-sociopathy/ http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/empathy-for-sociopathy/ Fri, 28 May 2010 19:33:26 GMT There is no debate about the fact that sociopathy is a real condition which interferes with or precludes the capacity for empathy and remorse. However, there is debate about how sociopathy should be viewed, and I take a unique and unpopular position. http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/holistic-psychotherapy-defined/ http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/holistic-psychotherapy-defined/ Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:23:17 GMT I am thinking that a good place to start with my initial article on Holistic Psychotherapy is to define this term or label. Just what does ?Holistic Psychotherapy? mean? http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/contemplative-psychotherapy-intimacy/ http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/contemplative-psychotherapy-intimacy/ Tue, 2 Feb 2010 21:24:39 GMT Contemplative psychotherapy, unlike most western models of psychotherapy, does not see the individual as ill. Pathology is not the focus of treatment, rather it is present moment awareness of just what is happening that forms the foundation of therapy. The core belief that we all suffer, and that suffering is inevitable, is the basis of the work. The Buddha taught The Four Noble Truths, which identify: that suffering exists, what the cause of suffering is, and how we can be released from suffering. Symptoms, ranging from unresolved grief of a partner to fixation on physical appearance, offer an invitation to enter into our shared human suffering. Any aspect of our mental or physical preoccupations can become a vehicle that assists us in uncovering the surface appearances that keep suffering in place. http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/therapy-perception-change/ http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/therapy-perception-change/ Tue, 12 Jan 2010 21:49:12 GMT Yesterday, I played the waiting game to get out of the airport parking lot. In the big picture, everyone had the same intention. But, even as drivers barked insults at each other, attached to ?their place in line? most missed how helping others reach their goals, would eventually help all of us get home. We had become so attached to ourperceptions that others were trying to get ?their space? that they had forgotten the power of the community to reach it. For, if we all cooperated, and let someone in front of us, the ensuing conflicts could have been avoided. But, because of those perceptions, what manifested in reality was the very cause and proof that we would get nowhere. http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/therapeutic-relationship-therapist/ http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/therapeutic-relationship-therapist/ Mon, 4 Jan 2010 23:27:50 GMT Before we go further into the theory underlying Core Energetics, Core Evolution and other body-psychotherapies, I want to discuss the therapeutic relationship. This is a subject I feel very passionate about! http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/violin-proves-pleasant-for-ailing-veterans/ http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/violin-proves-pleasant-for-ailing-veterans/ Mon, 21 Sep 2009 14:00:17 GMT A GoodTherapy.org News Summary http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/mental-health-and-mental-creativity/ http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/mental-health-and-mental-creativity/ Wed, 22 Jul 2009 17:01:09 GMT A GoodTherapy.org News Update http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/against-pathologizing/ http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/against-pathologizing/ Thu, 16 Jul 2009 00:00:05 GMT A GoodTherapy.org News Update http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/mental-illness-stigma/ http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/mental-illness-stigma/ Fri, 27 Feb 2009 06:01:03 GMT A new British study - with results that may mimic American trends to a significant degree, if past, similar research if any indication - found mental illness to be a stronger taboo than any of the other qualities studied, including homosexuality, bankruptcy, and alcoholism (in itself a mental illness, but considered as a separate condition by this survey and in much of the popular culture). http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/therapists-are-human-too/ http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/therapists-are-human-too/ Tue, 17 Feb 2009 06:01:34 GMT At times I can be didactic and preachy with clients. I fall into believing that I have some special knowledge about life. I believe that I?m expected to pass along little gems of wisdom in sessions as if I know what life is really about. My client and I collude in forgetting that this is my first life too, what do I know? Outside the consulting room I am not always so wise. I can lose my soft-spoken reflective stance and be as reactive and unreasonable as the next person. I would say it?s worse for therapists when this happens - we have the extra layer of shame that comes from feeling we should know better. What if a client saw me arguing with the bank teller, pushing my way onto a crowded train... http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/hope/ http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/hope/ Tue, 20 Jan 2009 19:01:52 GMT In even the darkest of times, there is one particular essence of the human spirit which compels us to prevail and prosper; though we may experience great trials and witness ourselves and our lives subjected to disappointing and sometimes painful circumstances, hope is a part of the human experience which belies our deeply positive and creative nature. Hope may come in a variety of forms, from the simplest symbol, like the vibrant petals of a crocus emerging from winter's snowy blanket, to the greatest acts of perseverance, as in those afflicted with terminal illnesses who nevertheless accomplish amazing things. But whether hope is embodied in a metaphor or brazenly displayed in our actions, it has the power to nourish and heal; to improve and uplift; to bring about a brighter future. http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/myths-of-therapy/ http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/myths-of-therapy/ Mon, 13 Oct 2008 05:10:25 GMT ?So what do you do for a living?? http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/good-and-bad-therapy/ http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/good-and-bad-therapy/ Wed, 2 Jul 2008 02:39:55 GMT We named our organization GoodTherapy.org for a handful of reasons. First among them, good therapy is what most therapists are striving to provide. Regardless of orientation, nearly all therapists can be included in the group of dedicated and caring folks who strive to ?do no harm? in the healing process. Secondly, we want to express, in the title of our organization, the importance we place on quality in the psychotherapy process. Thirdly, ?good therapy? is catchy. The expression, ?I (or he or she) could use some good therapy,? has been around a long time. And finally, GoodTherapy.org sounds better than www.JustOkayTherapy.org. :) http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/do-you-believe-personality-disorder-diagnoses-are-pathologizing/ http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/do-you-believe-personality-disorder-diagnoses-are-pathologizing/ Mon, 11 Jun 2007 20:42:41 GMT Recently, someone asked GoodTherapy.org to include Personality Disorders within our list of Concerns Addressed (this is the list of concerns that people can select when searching for therapists and the list that all members select from when creating their listing). Our decision was a unanimous ?no? and we thought it would be fair to explain why and to give our members the chance to make an argument for the use of the ?Personality Disorder? diagnosis. I should say that we do support the inclusion of ?personality disorder? symptoms in our list of concerns and we are currently working on translating these to fit into our list?. Please feel free to add your comments to this discussion below by clicking on the comments link directly below this post. http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/is-psychoanalysis-good-therapy/ http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/is-psychoanalysis-good-therapy/ Thu, 15 Mar 2007 13:55:39 GMT I?ve received two requests to add Psychoanalysis to our list of therapies and I thought this would be a valuable discussion topic and one that would help me to make a decision about whether or not to include this type of therapy. Here?s my problem: I know this may be biased and outdated, but the association I have (no pun intended) when I think of Psychoanalysis is of a withdrawn, unresponsive, and impersonal figure providing well-timed interpretations about the transference of their ?patient,? who lays with the analyst sitting behind and out of view. I?m aware that this association is based on traditional Psychoanalysis and that the model has evolved beyond its original forms into numerous approaches such as Object Relations and Self Psychology. Neither do I underestimate the value of psychodynamic theory and its influence in my work. I even took part in a year long Object Relations training about 10 years ago. But Psychoanalysis presents more than a theory with useful concepts about the intra-psychic world; it?s the way Psychoanalysis encourages the analyst/therapist to ?Be? with the client that concerns me. http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/working-nonpathologically-does-not-negate-pathology-it-depathologizes-it/ http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/working-nonpathologically-does-not-negate-pathology-it-depathologizes-it/ Mon, 26 Feb 2007 16:05:57 GMT I received a message about non-pathological based therapy from an anonymous mental health professional. He wrote the following commentary about me and my like-minded colleagues: http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/welcome-to-my-column-on-collaboration-and-nonpathology-in-therapy/ http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/welcome-to-my-column-on-collaboration-and-nonpathology-in-therapy/ Fri, 2 Feb 2007 12:41:42 GMT Welcome to my column on Collaboration and Non-pathology in therapy. In this column I hope to share my occasional insights into collaborative and non-pathologizing psychotherapy which mostly present themselves during therapy sessions. I hope in particular to raise awareness and sensitivity to the inadvertent and subtle ways we can alienate the people we work with. My hope is to facilitate more human and authentic connections between therapists and the people with which they work.