Case Study

164 Results

Taking Sides in Couples Therapy

The Importance of Ditching Neutrality

When one partner is clearly in the wrong, being an impartial couples therapist can do more harm than good. Read more

Social Anxiety in Kids

How Our Good Intentions Make It Worse

Making accommodations for socially anxious kids can be easier than getting them off their phones and out of their rooms—but it’s also dangerous. Read more

Ending a Marriage That's Already Over

Helping Women Move Beyond the Paralysis of Guilt

The person burdened with the decision of whether or not to end a marriage may not be the one who’s already left the marriage—emotionally or sexually. Read more

Shame and Blame in Couples Therapy

A Therapist's Misstep Sparks Repair

A clinical rupture becomes an opportunity to help a couple move beyond the pursue-withdraw cycle. Read more

Spiritual Issues in Secular Treatment

When a Client Wants to Reconnect with Their Faith

Are therapists equipped to support clients who want to reconnect with their spiritual faith? Read more

Tuning into the Body in Couples Work

Getting to the Root of Core Conflicts

Integrating a somatic focus into couples therapy can help partners address their deeply entrenched stuck points. Read more

Uncovering Intimate Partner Violence

When Does Relationship Conflict Tip into Abuse?

Intimate partner violence isn’t as obvious to therapists as cultural stereotypes suggest—and even when it’s revealed, the path forward isn’t always... Read more

A Dog Wanders into My Session

Taking a New Direction in the Therapy Room

A seasoned therapist discovers that the willingness to be a beginner again can sometimes have more value for clients than polished expertise. Read more

Behind the Pursuer–Distancer Dynamic

Encouraging Men to Face Their Hidden Fears

How to help men face the hidden fears that keep them stuck in unhealthy relationship patterns. Read more

The Art of Mirroring

Helping a Deaf Client Trust Her Truth

Learning how not to save our clients, especially the ones we identify with the most. Read more

Helping Couples on the Brink

How Validating Ambivalence Can Foster Hope

How can we meet last-chance couples exactly where they are? Read more

"Why Won’t You Like Sports?"

The Father–Son Struggle with Gender Expectations

As young people move forward with new, more flexible frameworks for thinking about gender, it’s not always easy to bring parents along. Read more

Recognizing Medical Trauma

How Therapists Can Intervene

Despite its pervasiveness, medical trauma often goes unrecognized. Read more

Suddenly Strangers

Iraq War Vets, PTSD, and the Challenge of Relationship

With tens of thousands of Iraq War vets with PTSD returning home, therapists increasingly face the challenge of helping them with their troubled marriages. Read more

It's Still Unfair!

Struggling to Establish Equitable Relationships

Healthy, equal relationships require compromise, negotiation, and generosity. But when couples don’t have models for mastering these skills, they often... Read more

Attachment Grief

Living with the Loss of a Child

For someone who has survived the death of their child, describing grief as a journey perpetuates the myth that, eventually, there’s an end point. Read more

When Actions Speak Louder than Words

Creating Change Through Therapeutic Rituals

When our attempts to use logic and reason fail, therapeutic rituals can help clients connect to inner resources for healing. Read more

“Be Yourself—But Don’t”

Mixed Messages from a Mother to Her Gay Son

What happens when loving mothers of gay sons unknowingly send them mixed messages about being themselves? Read more

Fifty Years of Wisdom

Lessons from a Retired Therapist

I practiced for almost 50 years, and just retired with a feeling of satisfaction. Here’s what I’ve learned in my journey to contentment. These are my tales... Read more

My Biggest Challenge as a Therapist

The Hardest Things About Practice

Therapy is hard work. But what are therapy’s biggest challenges, and how do therapists overcome them? Here, five therapists share the clinical challenge that... Read more

Bursting the Bubble of Individual Therapy

The Need to See Your Clients in a Relational Context

As the years pass, is it possible that the more we work with long-term clients, the more we might overlook bigger issues that aren’t being addressed? Read more

“You Have Borderline Personality Disorder”

Sharing a Difficult Diagnosis with a Client

Therapists need to consider not only what diagnosis to give, but also the pain or hardship that can result from sharing it with a client. Read more

Doing Our Own Work Differently

An EMDR Portal to Our Clients’ Healing

How stepping outside our comfort zone when doing our own work can change therapy for our clients. Read more

"I'm Not That Guy"

Navigating the New Couples Conversation

Discovering how ghosts and global issues have permeated relationship bonds in new ways. Read more

Evoking the Inner Artist: May/June 2021

How to Replace Discomfort with Creativity

Vulnerability, doubt, fear, and uncertainty—feelings most people try to avoid—are essential to cultivating creativity. Read more

IFS and Chronic Pain

Listening to Inner Parts that Hold the Hurt

If most chronic pain is maintained by complex mind–body interactions, how can therapists help treat it? Read more

Gender-Affirmative Therapy

Helping Transgender Clients Begin Their Journey

The key elements of gender-affirmative therapy for clients who are medically or socially transitioning. Read more

A New Family Narrative

Transforming Intergenerational Trauma

The key to working with a family may be getting parents to see the intergenerational trauma underlying present-day issues. Read more

Last-Chance Therapy in a Tumultuous Time

Discovering Hope in Higher Values with Couples

Working with couples on the brink of divorce during this pressure-cooker time requires us to help them “reach up” to their highest values. Read more

Helping Black Men Access Mental Health Care

The Free Therapy Movement Breaks New Ground

The movement to offer more free therapy and expand access to treatment gains momentum. Read more

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