By Alicia Muñoz - In the last few weeks, as the specter of contagion has rapidly grown more ominous with each news cycle, an unthinkable professional reality has emerged for therapists, one that favors technophiles over technophobes. I’m a technophobe—through and through—and a therapist.

By Susan Pollak - I particularly like the suggestion to use the time we spend washing our hands during this pandemic to build up mindful compassion in ourselves. So, rather than sing the rather insipid “Happy Birthday to Me” song for 20 seconds, why not repeat these compassion phrases instead? I’m finding that this simple version helps my clients feel more connected and less helpless as they go through their day.

In this highlight from the 2020 Networker Virtual Symposium, therapist and author Lori Gottlieb talks about maintaining our mental health amidst the coronavirus pandemic, the concept of "both/and," and the difference between productive and unproductive anxiety.

By Stephen Lyons - I spent my first weeks in therapy recounting my recently-ended marriage: the spreading contagion of lies, fights, and broken promises. I'd never told these stories to anyone, ever. Each scene seemed a searing indictment of my abilities as a husband and father. But Sara simply listened, asked questions I'd never asked myself. Her role as a protective friend startled me into action.

By Lynn Lyons - Why are our children so anxious and getting more so? It seems puzzling. After all, we live in the age of “helicopter parents” and ubiquitous child professionals. But too often in our anxiety to stop the anxiety, we surround the child with an anxiety-reinforcing system fixated on protecting the child from any twinge of the dreaded disease.

Our brain has hundreds of strategies for resisting emotional pain. But according to psychologist and renowned Buddhist teacher Tara Brach, resisting pain only increases our suffering. Here, she proposes a different solution.

By Martin Seif and Sally Winston - We can’t guarantee certainty about anything, really. But some of us become haunted by needing to know for sure. We call this unrelenting need the Reassurance Trap. Here's a strategy for getting out of it.

By Margaret Wehrenberg - I’ve begun to put aside my idealized view that unless people overcome their difficulties once and for all, therapy is somehow a failure. Evidence continues to accumulate that many people who have anxiety and depression suffer bouts of it all their lives, even after a good response to therapy.

By Gracy Obuchowicz - 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.

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.