According to physician and author Gabor Maté, too many healthcare professionals take a biological, individualized approach to treating mental health issues, like anxiety, depression, and addiction, that fails to account for myriad environmental factors. In this clip from his Networker Symposium keynote address, he makes the case for a more expansive form of care.

By David Flohr - With my ParentCircle therapy model, I help parents find a “place of their own,” where they can learn about themselves and their children, get active support, and slowly be reminded of their natural connection with other adults.

By Ryan Howes - In the following interview, New York Times columnist and author Lisa Damour gives us a glimpse at the map she’s developed for both therapists and parents trying to help teenage girls make their way through the treacherous, often bewildering landscape of adolescence in today’s world.

Alicia Muñoz - Boundaries bind. They limit, stop, and inhibit. But they also free people up to be themselves. In couples where one partner is a people-pleaser, things can get even more complicated.

Let's say your client lets a microaggression slip during a session. Do you bring it up? Therapist and author Anatasia Kim shares her eight-step process for having a conversation with clients when this happens.

By Maria Isaacs - When you're a parent, the fundamental goal of a good divorce is simple yet challenging: children must experience their parents as a working partnership that reliably nurtures and protects them, regardless of how estranged the parents may be. Here are eight ways to help this process along.

By Patrick Dougherty - In the sea of trauma that surrounds us in our daily lives and in our offices, self-care is a life jacket. But collective trauma needs a collective response. Being part of a group of therapists dedicated to talking about vicarious trauma and sharing their own experiences is more than a life jacket—it's a human lifeboat, one with more resilience than we could ever generate alone. 

Stephen Porges, originator of the Polyvagal Theory, transformed the way we understand the underlying mechanisms of traumatic response and how safety, caring, and trustworthiness are conveyed unconsciously. Here, he explains how to spot healthy connection in the body.

By Dafna Lender - The kinds of interventions that are most effective with children are based in play. Play is a remarkably powerful therapeutic tool, backed up by cutting-edge research, and teaching families how to apply it at home can bring about profound systemic changes.

By Lauren Dockett and Rich Simon - Over the years, physician Gabor Maté has challenged his audiences to stop asking “why the addiction?” and start asking “why the pain?” Here, he explains his view of how addictive patterns of behavior are rooted in alienation and emotional suffering.

When he introduced Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction to the West, Jon Kabat-Zinn transformed the way we regard the Self, and the psychological ailments that befall it. In this video clip from his 2015 Networker Symposium Keynote, he explains the transformative power of mindfulness in clinical work and your own life.

Sandra has been struggling with depression for many years. A psychiatrist has prescribed her an antidepressant, but she’s told her therapist she doesn’t like the “idea” of meds and doesn’t take them regularly. He's not sure how best to explore the issue with her. Five clinicians share how they'd proceed.

By Jennifer Freeman - We humans are not separate from nature, we are nature. Leaving behind the sense of grim, pressured responsibility that can accompany our climate crises, how extraordinary if we, with our clients, become part of the collective who are creating a counter-tsunami of responsive love for our exquisitely beautiful earth.

By Wendy Maltz - The explosion in porn use has happened so fast that many therapists have been caught unprepared. And despite the increase in the number of people suffering from serious consequences of habitual porn use, few therapists feel comfortable and confident addressing porn-related concerns.

By Dafna Lender - When difficulties arise between parent and child, most therapists naturally focus treatment on the child. But the parent–child bond is a two-way street, and parents come with their own history. In these situations, I can often find ways to help parents and children connect through attachment-based games that involve elements of silliness, movement, and surprise.

What keeps clients coming back? Lynn Grodzki—psychotherapist, business coach, and author—encourages therapists to be proactive in helping clients understand what to expect from the therapy process. This might seem simple, but it requires clear communication at two critical junctures.

By Jeff Nalin - October is National Bullying Prevention Month. As a father and a clinical psychologist working with teens, I’ve seen the shape of bullying change over the years. The old stereotypes around bullies and those they torment no longer fit the bill. So, as incidents of bullying continue to rise and shift shape, it’s important for clinicians to understand the how we can work effectively with bullied teens and their parents.

By Jerome Price and Judith Margerum - When working with teens, a therapist must become comfortable with the idea of dealing with power tactics rather than communication skills. Here are four common errors that therapists commonly make with teenagers, and how to avoid them.

By Janine Roberts - When I've asked people who've gone to therapy what was most helpful, again and again, they've described times when their therapists shared something about their own personal struggles. Today, with the informality of our culture, both therapists and clients are likelier to step across previous professional guidelines.

Our relational lives are undergoing a radical shift, says Esther Perel, couples therapist, bestselling author, and TED speaker. In the following video clip from her 2018 Symposium Keynote, "The Future of Modern Love," Perel explains why today's romantic landscape—and the questions we're asking ourselves about desire and couplehood—are unprecedented, and what therapists have to offer clients who come to us for guidance.

By Lynn Lyons - Lately, I’ve become aware of just how much of my practice is made up of young adults who return to therapy after leaving the nest. This pattern is also indicative of a generation of young people stuck in the transition between childhood and adulthood. Here's what I do with "long-term" clients who swing back.

By Susan Pollak - Often when we have an intense emotion, we respond to it as a call to action. We feel we have to “do” something. Yet emotions reveal important information, and they’re here for a reason. It’s good to get curious about them, to notice them, to allow ourselves to feel them in the body, rather than push them away. Here's an eight-step process for doing so.

By Mary Jo Barrett - Families suffering from trauma, abuse, and neglect can begin to make the crucial distinction between a chronic state of overarousal and vigilance and "reality" only once a sense of physical and psychological safety has been established. Only after this first stage is it even possible to focus on changing dysfunctional mindsets, counterproductive behavior, and destructive family patterns.

By Brad Sachs - The current generation of families is confronted with what appears to be a substantial upsurge in young adults who can't seem to make the transition from home-centered adolescent to independent adult. Here's why, and what we can do about it.

Many people wonder how therapists manage to do the work they do. Of the thousands of meaningful sessions that take place in a therapist’s office, certain ones stand out. Here, therapist Courtney Armstrong shares the story of working with her most memorable client.