Clinical Skills & Experience
The Sadness Ghost
A 6-year-old discovers the power of his imaginationIt’s not necessarily that sadness must always be avoided, but maybe we need to find a way to give it its place. Read more
The Stories We Live
In therapy—as in Fiction—There’s Always PossibilityBoth doing psychotherapy and the writing of fiction are about stories. The essence of the art of both pursuits is the openness to the possibility that, no... Read more
The Attuned Therapist
Does Attachment Theory Really Matter?In recent years, attachment theory, with its emphasis on early bonding, connection and relationship, has exerted as much influence over the field of... Read more
The Nightgown
In Search of the AnswermanA determined patient searches for therapeutic insight from an unlikely source. Read more
The www.Addiction
Few of Us Can Resist the Seduction of the InternetHave you ever noticed how often you surf the net or check e-mail when you feel bored or restless or depressed, as if relief is just a click away? The Internet... Read more
Beyond the Diet Mentality
Empowering Clients Through Attuned EatingAttuned eating can take people beyond the dead end of the diet mentality. Read more
Honoring the Mission
Don’t Be too Quick to Ease the Caregiver’s BurdenWithout the emphasis at the outset on identifying, honoring, and sustaining the caregiver's mission, you're unlikely to ever progress. Read more
Between Gay and Straight
Honoring a Client's Multiple IdentitiesA middle-aged man facing the challenge of coming out explores the uncharted territory of a "mixed-orientation marriage" Read more
Shame-O-Phobia
Why Men Fear TherapyShame is the least understood dimension of men's inner experience—by both men themselves and the people who live with them. This lack of understanding may be... Read more
Lions Without a Cause
Men's Animal Instincts Don't Fit the Modern WorldLet's face it: love means something quite different to men and women. A look at other species of social mammals offers some remarkable insights into the... Read more
Women Treating Men
Therapy across the Gender DivideGender shapes relationship from the very first moment therapist meets client, especially when the client is male and the therapist is female. Read more
Holding Your Ground with Narcissistic Clients
What to do when your hot buttons get pushedSome practical guidelines for handling confrontive and critical clients. Read more
Addicted to Sex
There are no shortcuts in treating SAEffective work with sex addicts must address deep-seated attachment wounds. Commentary by Joe Kort. Read more
Swept Away
Discovering the world of the sensesA young woman discovers the world of the senses. Read more
Using EMDR to Revive a Traumatized Vet's Marriage
Working with War MemoriesEMDR helps a young Iraq War vet and his wife emerge from the nightmare of his war experience. Read more
Higher Ground
What Clinicians Should Know about the "Vertical Dimension"Modern therapy has given scant attention to morally elevated emotions like awe, gratitude, and admiration, resulting in a skewed picture of how people actually... Read more
Erickson's Legacy
Strategic therapy rests on skillful information-gatheringStrategic therapy is less about technique than a search for the information that'll illuminate the solution to your client's problem. Read more
Autism's 5 Core Deficits Defined
Building Social and Emotional SkillsBy redefining Autism's five core deficits as opportunities to practice and develop skills, you can help your child make their own choices, coregulate, and... Read more
The Missing Piece
Helping Asperger's Clients Find ConnectionTo go through life with Asperger's as an adult is like walking onto a stage and being the only actor who doesn't know the lines or plot. But as the condition... Read more
Reversing Chronic Pain
Ten Steps to Reduce SufferingMore and more chronic pain patients are being referred to therapists after their physicians conclude that they show every appearance of being healed. Read more
Ultimate Questions
A Therapist Confronts Her Own Magical ThinkingA client's unexpected announcement makes a therapist confront her illusions of invulnerability. Read more
Working with Alcoholics
AA as a Crucial Adjunct to TherapyTherapists need to get beyond the common misconception about Alcoholics Anonymous. Read more
The Big Moment
Inspiration Vs. Perpiration in the Therapy RoomWe need Big Moments to move clients out of their ruts, their numbness, and their stuck places. But the Big Moment needs many little moments to make it stick. Read more
In a memorable scene in Fiddler on the Roof, the main character, Tevye, pretends to have been awakened by a nightmare that he concocts to convince his wife to... Read more
Alone without Loneliness
Discovering the satisfactions of single-womanhoodA young woman who's on her own for the first time discovers the difference between being alone and being lonely. Read more
The Tao of Improv
Embracing Life on the EdgeImprovisational theater offers a unique way of approaching relationships—and psychotherapy—that's generous rather than closed, support rather than... Read more
Breaking Through
Poet David Whyte Invites Us to the Edge of DiscoveryPoet David Whyte offers an idiosyncratic fusion of verse, myth, story, and personal charisma, demonstrating to audiences all over the world that psychology... Read more
Enlisting the ODD Child
How to move beyond the power struggleHelping kids with ODD begins with getting past the many myths surrounding the disorder. Read more
Practice Makes Perfect
There's No Shortcut to Lasting ChangeMany clients believe that the therapy process all by itself will magically improve their lives and relationships. We must help them recognize that without... Read more