Anxiety & Depression
IFS for Self-Compassion
Some Forms of Self-Love Are Harder than OthersIFS 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
VIDEO: Depression Is Not a Disease, It’s a Wake-Up Call
James Gordon on Healing without AntidepressantsDepression is not a disease, so the promise of antidepressants as a cure just doesn’t hold water. That’s the assessment of James Gordon, M.D. and he should... Read more
Inside the Heart of Healing
When Moment-to-Moment Awareness Isn't EnoughAs the mindfulness movement sweeps through our field, many therapists are discovering that traditional contemplative practices grounded in detached... Read more
The 5 Myths of Self-Compassion
What Keeps Us from Being Kinder to Ourselves?There’s now a growing body of research demonstrating that relating to ourselves in a kind, friendly manner is essential for emotional wellbeing. More... Read more
VIDEO: The Mindful Path Out Of Depression
Zindel Segal on Helping Clients Take The First StepWhat’s happening when a client suffering from symptoms of depression is willing to follow the therapist’s voice with eyes closed? According to Zindel... Read more
VIDEO: Changing the Brain to Take In the Good
Rick Hanson on 5 Simple Steps to Use Right AwayIn this brief clip, Rick walks us through surprisingly simple steps that can shift our memory systems to internalize positive experiences and states with equal... Read more
Solutions for Moving Beyond the Therapeutic Impasse
Three Strategies for Making Progress with Stuck ClientsWhen clients get immersed in their problems, they often suffer from a kind of tunnel vision, focused on a small range of experiences, with their bad feelings... Read more
Uncovering the Source of Suicidality with Brain Science
Are Serotonin Levels the Key Factor in Suicidal Depression?I'm at the New York State Psychiatric Institute in northern Manhattan. My guide, Victoria, has been studying the brains of people who committed suicide, and... Read more
Burnout Reconsidered
What Supershrinks Can Teach UsJessica, 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
Don't Go It Alone
The Power of Focusing PartnershipsIt’s not exactly a state secret: most of us become therapists because we want to help people. We want to help them feel less alone with their pain and find... Read more
Since it was introduced as an anesthetic in the 1970s, ketamine has occupied an uncertain pharmacological status. It’s been used as both a Vietnam-era... Read more
Rediscovering Happiness
The Use of Positive Childhood Triggers in PsychotherapyTo create deep change, we need to help people mine the sources of intense pleasure in their lives, wherever they may find them. Read more
Hypnotic Language in the Consulting Room
Bill O'Hanlon on the Power of Giving Permission in TherapyAs therapists, we must recognize the complexity and ambivalence at the core of human experience. People run into problems when their lives are dictated by... Read more
It’s time we address the psychological toll of the daily bombardment of information that permeates our lives. Read more
Narrowing the Gap
Striving for Honesty in the Therapy RoomAnticipating endings may encourage us to grasp the present with greater vitality. Read more
Lost in the Maze
Finding the exit from OCDReview: The Man Who Couldn’t Stop: OCD and the True Story of a Life Lost in ThoughtFinding an exit from the bewildering maze of a disorder that confounds... Read more
Larger than Life
Marianne Walters Was Family Therapy's Foremost FeministMarianne Walters didn't invent a brilliant new therapeutic paradigm, publish a large and magisterial body of research, or establish her own unique school of... Read more
The Anxious Client Reconsidered
Getting Beyond the Symptoms to Deeper ChangeAnxiety attacks anything and everything in a person's life. Sometimes the targets are the mundane activities that others take for granted. At other times, it... Read more
The mental health professions are now being forced to address the debate over marijuana legalization. Read more
Voices of Reason
Empowering clients to alter their internal experiencesThe case of a young man hearing voices shows how even problems that first appear to be extreme can be resolved by empowering clients to alter subtle aspects of... Read more
The Depression Epidemic
Can Mood Science Save Us?It’s time to get beyond simplistic notions about “chemical imbalances” and finally reckon with how deeply rooted depression is in the uncertainties and... Read more
A Brief History of Anxiety
The Invention of a Modern MalaiseLife today is, in many ways, easier than it used to be. Therefore, shouldn’t we be less anxious than we once were? Read more
Escaping the Trance of Depression
Three Techniques of Acknowledgement and PossibilityBecause depressed clients repeat the same thoughts, feelings, and experiences over and over again, successful treatment breaks clients out of this trance. Read more
Cure or Control?
Depression as a Chronic ConditionEvidence continues to accumulate that many people with depression suffer bouts of it all their lives, even after a good response to therapy. So what if we give... Read more
The CBT Path Out of Depression
Two Perspectives on How It WorksWhile widely acknowledged to be the most empirically supported therapy ever invented, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is often criticized for being too... Read more
The Power of Small Changes
A Step-by-Step Approach to Treating Depression: An Interview with Judith BeckRelapse prevention begins in the first session, when we tell clients that we want to help them become their own therapists. Read more
The Power of How
Helping Depressed Clients Make Better Choices: An Interview with Michael YapkoOne of the most useful ways of understanding depression is the stress generation model, based on the idea that depressed people need better skills and... Read more
Enduring recovery from obsessive compulsive disorder means riding out the demands of an inner bully. Read more
Rocking On!
From grief to rebirthA daughter marvels as her mother goes from grief to an exuberant rebirth. Read more
Do therapists have a responsibility to educate people about society's role in generating unprecedented levels of depression? Read more