By Mary Jo Barrett - I'm on a five-day camping trip with 20 gang members as part of a program called Pride ROC. Most of these guys have suffered repeated abuse and severe poverty, seen friends and family members shot, stabbed, or fatally overdosed on drugs. Not surprisingly, every one of them suffers from complex trauma—which is why I’m here as a therapist, trying to apply what I know and use in my office in a place far away from the comfortable world I usually inhabit.

By Chris Lyford - In the two years since its founding, Black Therapists Rock, an online community of black therapists, has gained more than 22,000 members. It's a resource, they say, where they can network, get advice about challenging cases, and meet potential mentors. But it’s also a place where many black therapists finally discover—often for the first time in a decades-long career—a sense of camaraderie with other professionals like them.

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By Lauren Dockett - We live in a time when gender identity has gained a new visibility under the banner of #MeToo. But therapists are struggling with how to actually address the highly charged issues it can raise in the therapy room. The goal this time is a more encompassing conversation about the way society genders and is gendered that has profound implications for both men and women.

It's not always easy to get men to talk about intimacy and sex. But according to renowned sex therapist and author Esther Perel, there's a way to weave questions and observations about sexuality throughout your dialogue with reticent male clients that expands their understanding of its significance in all aspects of life.

By David Whyte - According to poet David Whyte, the focus of psychotherapy is restricted to the individual’s biography—a good start but too small an arena for the capacious human soul. In the following excerpt from Whyte's Consolations, he urges us to move beyond the edge of our familiar, known world.

By Michael Ungar - Families that bubble-wrap their children may prevent their healthy maturation. But helping parents look back and explore their own narratives challenges the need for excessive control of their child.

By William Doherty - When I began my therapy practice, I was strictly neutral about divorce. It was the clients’ decision, not mine. But eventually, I was propelled out of my denial about the seriousness of divorce. We have a hundred ways to ask “What would be right for you?” and hardly any to ask “What would be right for others in your life?”

By Kristin Neff - An impressive and growing body of research demonstrates that relating to ourselves in a kind, friendly manner is essential for emotional wellbeing. More pointedly, research proves false many of the common myths about self-compassion that keep us trapped in the prison of relentless self-criticism.

By Mary Jo Barrett - My very first case was the Byford family. The father was serving a six-month sentence for domestic abuse. During a home visit several months into treatment, the daughter, Laura, announced, “Dad is getting out of jail today! And he’s coming here!” My mind went blank. Her mother looked at me. Suddenly, it was as though I passed whatever strength I had to her, and she then passed it back to me.