Clinical Skills & Experience
The Five Love Languages
Translating Intention into ConnectionAn interview with the author of The 5 Love Languages, a book that's sold over 8 million copies, explains its remarkable success. Read more
The Power of the Unexpected
In Therapy, Both Ritual and Novelty MatterThe brain endlessly churns out predictions about what will happen next, and when it comes to therapy outcomes, these expectations matter. Read more
Managing Hecklers in the Therapy Room
An Ex-Comedian Puts Her Old Skills to UseWhat do the rules of comedy have to do with the practice of psychotherapy? More than you think. Read more
At this year's Symposium, we invited veteran therapists to tell their true stories of their “most unforgettable session,” and those stories are the focus... Read more
What's Your Most Memorable Therapeutic Moment?
Six Master Clinicians Share Their ReflectionsOf all the meaningful sessions that take place in a therapists's career, what makes certain ones stand out? We asked six widely respected clinicians to tell... Read more
From Attachment to Creativity
Highlights from the 2016 SymposiumAt a time in which our society seems immersed in a toxic stew of fear and anger, this year's Symposium provided a celebration of human values and ideas that... Read more
VIDEO: Making the Case for the Emotional Man
Pat Love Explains Why We Need to Rethink the "Empathy Gap"Have you ever wondered if some men in your practice are simply unable to listen, connect, and empathize with their partners? According to Pat Love, it’s more... Read more
Detoxifying Criticism
How to Help Clients Gain PerspectiveAn innovative way of working with people who are hypersensitive to criticism. Read more
Supporting the Overwhelmed Child
Sometimes It Just Takes TimeA school counselor’s patient work with a sad, uncommunicative young boy demonstrates what a difference just being there can make. * Commentary by Janet... Read more
New Technologies for Today’s Practitioners
Using Virtual Reality to treat PTSDThe increasingly accessible and inexpensive technology of virtual reality now enables us to incorporate digital Skinner boxes in our practices that can enhance... Read more
The Mystery of Eroticism
Rethinking Conventional WisdomIt’s long been the conventional wisdom among couples therapists that if couples fix the emotional issues in their relationship, their sexual lives will... Read more
The Remarriage Triangle
Working with Later-Life Recouplers and their Grown ChildrenTherapists need to be prepared to go against the conventional clinical wisdom in helping later-life recouplers and stepfamilies handle the unique challenges... Read more
The Last Dance
Awakening a Mother’s Joyful SpiritToward the end of her life, a woman turns back the clock by performing the goofy ballet of her youth. Read more
In Search of the Big Story
Learning to Ask the Beautiful QuestionThis March, poet, storyteller, and philosopher David Whyte—this year’s Symposium keynoter—returns to Washington DC to share his wisdom. Whyte specializes... Read more
Destigmatizing Autism
The Future of NeurodiversityAuthor Steve Silberman discusses what it means to view autistic people as individuals seeing the world in a different way, rather than just a checklist of... Read more
Saturdays Lost
Revisiting a Bittersweet RitualA son remembers a distant father and the bittersweet ritual that bonded them. Read more
Community Mental Health Today
Encompassing the Big & the SmallThe promise of the community mental health movement of the 1960s, providing high-quality psychological and social services to poor families, remains unfullled... Read more
Lessons from the Love Lab
The Science of Couples TherapyThe pioneers who birthed couples and family therapy never paused to scienti cally study the relationships they treated. Now, after systematically observing and... 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
Breaking the Chain of Resentment
How to Help Clients Move Past Old WoundsHow do you strike a balance between validation and empowerment in helping those afflicted with chronic resentment? Read more
A Cure for the Yips
Brainspotting and Performance BlocksTraumatic experiences are often the root of athletic and other kinds of performance blocks. Read more
Helping Therapy Clients Cope with the Reality of Death
Clinical Wisdom to Combat Fear, Anxiety, and Grief at the End of LifeFor 17 years, managing responses to death has become part of my work, whether originally my intention or not. I’ve aspired to helping families hang tough... Read more
What the Financial Crisis Reveals About Our Psyche and Values
Confronting our Definitions of Wealth in the Therapy RoomThe current economic crisis may be no more than a rather large bump in the golden road of endlessly self-renewing American prosperity. Still, it's hard not to... Read more
The Healing Power of Emotion
New Perspectives. New Approaches.Emotion shapes and organizes our experience and connection to others. It readies us for specific actions and motivates us to change—research now confirms all... Read more
Reflections on the Divorce Revolution
Assessing Our ImpactAre you a therapist that's "marriage friendly?" It's the inclination towards helping clients in good relationships stay together. 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
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
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
Moments of Meaning
Unexpected Lessons from PracticeThree clinicians share stories of challenging cases that show how the most surprising outcomes often have nothing to do with therapeutic brilliance or... Read more
After the unrest in Ferguson and Baltimore, the Emotional Emancipation movement offers a different way to address racial issues in the African American... Read more