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Becoming a parent gives us a chance to grow by attending to old wounds, including many that we may have forgotten. The aim is not to deny our history, but to understand it and develop a new relationship with it, bringing self-compassion to ourselves in those moments when we lose it. Here's a seven-step process that can help.

When COVID-19 hit and many of us began stocking up on food and sheltering in place, I grew deeply concerned for my clients. How were they going to handle the endless hours of isolation, or conversely, the stress of too many people at home at once? As a therapist who specializes in eating issues, here's the approach I use to help them.

Couples therapist and bestselling author Esther Perel explains how life in quarantine is changing the dynamics of romantic relationships, and what this means for couples therapy.

When kids are learning remotely, it can be tough on parents also working from home. Here's how a therapeutic approach that takes into account the larger systems and societal forces in a client’s life can help families get back on track.

Therapist and author Ken Hardy speaks on the toll that micro and macro assaults on dignity take on the lives of people of color, challenging therapists to think more deeply about how they've been racially socialized.

Even the best therapists rely on advice from peers. In the spirit of building community, we're introducing Clinician's Quandary, a new forum where you can weigh in on how you'd handle a particular clinical quagmire. Here's this month's Quandary.

The coronavirus pandemic is testing us all. But what do we do when our anxiety, loneliness, or grief gets overwhelming? Therapist and author Deb Dana shares what Polyvagal Theory can teach us about helping ourselves return to a calm, centered place.

Week after week, a client’s sessions focus on her issues with her partner. Her therapist thinks couples therapy would be tremendously helpful, but the partner refuses to attend. The therapist worries her client is just spinning her wheels in individual therapy, since all she talks about are the changes she wants to see in her relationship, and isn't sure how to help her. Five therapists share how they'd proceed.

Clinical psychologist and author Jack Kornfield has been instrumental in bringing mindfulness to Western audiences. With candor and humor, he shares a moving story about how mindfulness can make us more patient, compassionate human beings, and explains what it means for therapists to be "heart-holders" in today's society.

As experts in any field will tell you, the secret to honing your craft is practice, practice, practice. But a little advice doesn’t hurt either. Here, four therapists well acquainted with the ins and outs, highs and lows, and successes and challenges of practicing psychotherapy share the most valuable lessons they’ve learned during their years in practice, as well as what they wish someone had told them before they ever sat down with a client.

By Lauren Dockett - Many therapists know their way around family systems. But what if they could create three-dimensional experiences to help clients shed the pain of lingering traumas that can get passed down through generations? As research into the epigenetics of trauma develops, a reporter looks into an unusual approach to healing.

With so much of our lives being conducted in front of screens right now, it can be easy to lose sight of the world around us, and this can make for some tough moments with family and friends. Networker editor Rich Simon sat down with psychologist and mindfulness expert Tara Brach, who shares a personal story about cultivating mindfulness and patience in a digital world.

During the 2020 Networker Virtual Symposium, renowned Buddhist teacher and psychologist Tara Brach explained how, even in the midst of the stress, anxiety, and trauma caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, we can use mindfulness and compassion to undo our primitive, fear-based reactivity, reveal our mutual belonging, and awaken our hearts.

These days, many of us are feeling increasingly anxious and upset. But how do we know whether we're experiencing trauma, or just grieving? And how can we support our clients during these difficult times? Gabor Maté offers an optimistic take.

I’ve begun to worry that in our headlong rush to embrace teletherapy, we’re going to train ourselves out of expecting the depth of connection and intimacy that we receive from body-to-body, gaze-to-gaze, in-person communication. In doing so, we may come to settle for an impoverished version of intimacy and connection; one that could even spill over into our lived, in-person relationships.

A maverick and a visionary in the '60s and '70s, Salvador Minuchin transformed the very idea of what a therapist was supposed to be. Here, he reflects on his journey as a therapist and what clinicians need to do in order to master their craft.

It’s important to recognize that a trauma bond doesn’t have to play out as overt, obvious toxicity or abuse. So many people in relationships have learned to be loved in ways that are transactional—“If you do this for me, I’ll comfort you,” or “If you play this role, I’ll show you affection”—and it's now exhausting them. Therapist and researcher Laura Copley shares how to help clients interrupt these unhealthy, even dangerous, relational patterns.

Too many Black people are living in a wall-less prison, says therapist Ken Hardy, where they're constantly calibrating their lives based on the expectations of the white mainstream. Here, he makes a call to action: even if it’s not part of your job description, make allyship part of your life's work.

As parts of the country start to open back up from COVID-19 lockdown measures, a therapist worries about the risk of seeing clients in person again. Five clinicians give their take on some ways she might ease back into seeing clients in her office that ensures everyone is safe.

I’ve spent a long time doing therapy with conflict-avoidant men. Working with them isn’t always easy, but I’ve developed a three-part road map that’s helped me expedite what can often be a lengthy and difficult process. This is the story of a particular couple that fundamentally shaped my approach.

Therapists are continuously honing their craft. Much of what we learn through trial and error, and hours upon hours sitting across from clients, we were never taught in grad school. So we asked some seasoned therapists to pass on the lessons they wish someone had told them when they were first starting out.

What does Attachment Theory tell us? That emotion is the most powerful force in the therapy room, says couples therapist Sue Johnson, developer of Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT). Here, she explains how to establish a safe, supportive connection with the client and facilitate that same connection between partners in treatment.

Most clinicians need a mentor: someone who takes them under their wing and inspires them to be a better therapist. The five clinicians whose stories you’re about to read all agree on one thing: seeing how their mentors practice left an indelible mark on their personal and professional development that still resonates today.

In my years of working with myself and my clients around self-care, I’ve learned that there is no such thing as perfect self-care. Instead, I’ve found authentic self-care, which is anything but perfect.