Clinical Practice & Guidance

Think all traumatized clients are shut-down and energy-sapped? Think again. In this clip from her Networker Symposium Keynote, "Creating a Corrective Emotional... Read more

Emotion is the most important motivating force bringing clients to our offices in the first place. Nevertheless, therapists are often strangely queasy in the... Read more

In the early days of the trauma field, clients were seen as one-dimensional bundles of dysfunction and pain, who needed to relive their trauma before progress... Read more

As therapists, we’re taught to be master detectives who methodically investigate our clients’ symptoms in search of a “culprit”—the source of their... Read more

It used to be an axiom for clinicians that therapeutic conversation and politics don’t mix. But in this high-stakes presidential election, some therapists... Read more

Could eliminating blocks in couples therapy be as simple as learning where to tap? Read more

How Kübler-Ross’s stage model of dealing with loss can help grieving clients heal. Read more

Sometimes there’s no need for a detailed assessment of a client’s entire life history and their family relationships, especially when the desired outcome... Read more

What do the rules of comedy have to do with the practice of psychotherapy? More than you think. Read more

Terry Real shares the story of a couple’s transformation leading up to, and in the wake of, unexpectedly losing their daughter. Read more

Margaret Nichols gives intimate insights into her own journey pursuing therapy in the aftermath of her daughter’s passing. Read more

Hedy Schleifer tells the story of a client couple that transform resentment and silence into shared acknowledgements of inner worlds and renewed intimacy. Read more

Mary Jo Barrett reflects on her first abuse case and learning how healing can begin when clients are trusted to define what they truly need. Read more

Ron Taffel reflects on navigating teen rebellion and parental fear, finding that honesty around uncertainty can preserve trust and connection. Read more

Through playful challenge and a $50 bet, Courtney Armstrong helps a fearful client cross emotional bridges and learns to take risks herself. Read more

We asked six respected clinicians to share their most meaningful sessions. Read more

The sensations of doom or dread or panic felt by anxiety sufferers are truly overwhelming. The very same sensations, in fact, that a person would feel if the... Read more

Since many of us grew up in sexual silence, therapists need to ask more probing questions for good couples therapy. Read more

Therapists need to be prepared to go against the conventional clinical wisdom in helping later-life recouplers and stepfamilies handle the unique challenges... Read more

Questions have been raised about whether the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy, the field’s most researched treatment model, has been overstated. Read more

The promise of the community mental health movement of the 1960s, providing high-quality psychological and social services to poor families, remains unfullled... Read more

Brain science offers powerful guidance for freeing clients from the distress triggered by disturbing implicit memories. Read more

IFS founder Dick Schwartz believes a genuine state of self-compassion entails a journey into multiple parts of yourself that may include the good, the bad, the... Read more

The new emphasis on the transformative power of trauma can be a template for false assumptions about the “gift” of suffering and the meaning of recovery. Read more

The therapist's job is to help client couples close one door and open another. Read more

Fifteen years ago, psychotherapist Jeffrey Kottler never imagined he’d be stuffing nine duffel bags full of antibiotics and suture kits for a return trip to... Read more

Many walk into the therapist's consulting room exactly at the moment that they have been stripped to the core of their being. While not at the physical... Read more

Jessica, a counselor in her mid-30’s, works at a large, public mental health clinic in a major metropolitan area. Her workday begins early, the alarm... Read more

A critic of one of our central cultural obsessions goes too far Read more

Shame is an emotion that isn’t healthy. Unlike guilt–which causes remorse for something you did wrong–shame can cause someone to feel as... Read more