Clinical Skills & Experience

Most parents “loan” children their adult regulatory system beginning at birth. But developmentally traumatized teens have missed out on this opportunity... Read more

Some guidelines for bringing the creative power of therapeutic journaling into your work. Read more

A therapist shares about handling a client when attraction pushes the boundaries. Read more

A new book investigates the worldview of a range of fanatics who’ve dedicated their lives to holding onto to their antiscientific and antihistorical claims. Read more

Over the last 150 years, we’ve seen waves of mass infatuations with psychotropic drugs—antidepressants being the latest. While all these drugs are... Read more

The chemical effect of psychoactive meds is only part of their impact. In fact, people often develop complex relationships with the pills they take. Read more

Does our growing understanding of the brain and the prospect of further scientific discoveries mean there’s a new generation of magical pills on the horizon? Read more

After wading through the controversies and contradictions in the research literature on SSRIs, a critic of Big Pharma explains why he thinks these drugs may... Read more

Many well-intentioned therapists have suggested that their clients just “let go” of hate, as if it were a heavy load that they could simply drop to the... Read more

Pioneering trauma expert Bessel van der Kolk shares his thoughts on the differences between public and private trauma. Read more

Psychiatrist and author Norman Doidge believes that while the brain has an astonishing capacity for change, brain plasticity doesn’t always work out for the... Read more

It’s one thing to throw around the scientific-sounding language of brain science, it’s another to actually develop concrete clinical procedures based on... Read more

Twenty-five years ago, we believed that helping trauma survivors dig into dark and unspeakable horrors would set them free. But in this new age of trauma... Read more

The increasing popularity of neurofeedback is based on the growing evidence that a wide variety of psychological disorders can be understood as firing mistakes... Read more

Part of the epidemic of misdiagnosed ADHD in young children today results from a failure to understand how trauma often leads to difficulty learning in school. Read more

The authors of a provocative new book argue that, despite its sterling reputation, alcoholics anonymous has one of the worst success rates in all of medicine. Read more

No other single condition tests the therapeutic relationship quite so stringently, demands so much from the clinician, or combines so many disparate treatment... Read more

If we don’t open up the one-on-one therapeutic cloister, trauma sufferers may never learn how to engage in the give and take of real-life relationships. By... Read more

Most therapists find it relatively easy to feel empathy for the usual hyperaroused, vulnerable trauma client. But it can be a lot tougher to remain... Read more

In this video clip, Rick talks about how to activate positive mental states and help clients embody them so that they become permanent resources. Read more

Allen Frances learned first-hand how, even when motivated by the best of intentions, changes in the “bible of psychiatry” can have large-scale negative... Read more

Whether you’re a critic or a proponent of DSM-5, that fact that it exists and will affect your practice is undeniable. Between several new diagnoses, the... Read more

Ann explains how imbuing body parts with feelings can lead clients to more embodied and clarifying emotional experiences than talk alone can provide. Read more

We all know that the collaboration between therapist and client is the keystone of therapy. What many therapists may not realize is how much clarifying... Read more

Jeff explains the tools he uses to make therapy a true experience—including trance, novelty, and precision in his use of language, and resonant gestures that... Read more

What does inventive therapy look like? We often overlook that for all skilled therapists, there are well-established patterns and techniques underlying even... Read more

John Norcross gives us a clear and compassionate take on reactance—what it is, how it’s different from resistance, and how to begin with each extreme. Read more

Terry talks about grandiosity and the destructive behaviors it leads to, thus making leverage a part of the therapeutic process. Read more

Underneath it all, the narcissist is skeptical and frightened. That’s the first thing to remember, according to Wendy Behary, a recognized expert in treating... Read more

Gestalt Therapy pioneer Erving Polster is recognized as a master at bringing a quality of immediacy and connection into his work. Here’s a video clip that... Read more