Clinical Lessons from Winnie-the-Pooh
January/February 2003
Despite getting paid to guide them out of their sand pit, we at times succeed only at leading them right back into it. When this happens, it's possible to decide that they somehow "need" their problem, that they're "not ready" to change, or that we lack the skill to help them effectively. Alternatively, we can turn to A. A. Milne for inspiration on how to get unstuck, on how to change the way we're trying to help.
Therapists Must First Get Past Their Own Anxiety
September/October 2002
My refusal to accept Robin's self-cutting as anything but dysfunctional kept me from hearing what she was trying to tell me. Worse, it was actually causing more destructive behavior.
Profound Change in Brief Therapy Is a Real Possibility
By Bruce Ecker and Laurel Hulley
January/February 2002
In much long-term therapy, breakthrough experiences seem to come almost randomly, and then only after months or years. In briefer therapies, on the other hand, deeply rooted emotional realities are often ignored altogether in favor of "reframes" and other forms of cognitive or behavioral change.
DBT Challenges the Borderline Diagnosis
May/June 2001
Ever since it was coined 60 years ago, the term "borderline" has referred to a category of seemingly intractable clients whom many therapists consider the bane of their existence. Now, psychologist Marsha Linehan has developed a treatment approach, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, that is transforming treatment for them.
Voluntary Simplicity Meets Shop Til You Drop
November/December 2000
I will never forget the Correys, who were referred to me by their family doctor in western Nebraska. Every other week for a year, I saw them, during which time I tried pretty much every trick in my therapeutic arsenal. I spent hours discussing their case with trusted colleagues and read up on their particular problems. I don't know how many nights' sleep I lost worrying about how to get these folks on the right track. And in spite of all my efforts, the Correys were one of my most spectacular failures.
When the Therapist Becomes the Survivor
November/December 2000
I've been in full-time private practice for almost 30 years. I've seen maybe 10,000 families. In that time, three patients in my practice killed themselves. Strangely enough, the three suicides were eerily similar. Each suicide has left me shell-shocked and questioning my therapeutic attitudes and methods.
Twenty-two Years and Still Wondering
November/December 2000
After 22 years, I can still see Amy sitting there, cross-legged, with her arms folded across her chest and her dirty blond hair falling down over her face. She was perched on the hood of my car. It was 9:00 p.m., and I was just leaving my office. Amy glared at me as I approached. Our therapy session had ended five hours earlier.
Finding the Offer a Client Can't Refuse
November/December 2000
After 20 years of teaching therapy, but not doing it myself, I decided I needed a lesson in humility. What better way to experience humility than to be a therapist? So I started a small practice that basically consisted of taking on the cases that, for a variety of reasons, other therapists couldn't handle: sexual violence, heartbreaking drama, money problems, celebrities. And I was quite successful, to the point that the lesson in humility was escaping me. Until I met Bob.
When Clients Resist Your Advice, Hang in There
May/June 1999
What should I do when the response to anything I suggest to a client is, "I've already tried that and it doesn't work"?
When Clients Don't Do Their Homework
May/June 1998
How do you get clients to do homework assignments? For one, please don't call them homework assignments.
Page 8 of 15 (144 Magazine Articles)