Professional Development

What do you say to potential clients when they first call you or come in for a consultation? We may resist the idea, but in this initial phase, therapists face... Read more

Unless DSM more firmly joins the march toward biological psychiatry, it’s going to be left behind by NIMH. Read more

Peer consultation groups offer all kinds of rich possibilities for learning and collegial support---as long as you set them up properly. Read more

The pioneers in our field—Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, Virginia Satir, Fritz Perls, Salvador Minuchin, and others—all recognized that they were providing... Read more

Wonder if Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man ever needed couples therapy? What might a family therapist say about the sibling rivalry of the Super Mario Bros? It’s time... Read more

There are advantages to integrating an in-depth understanding of traditional therapy with a more coaching-oriented style—but therapists shouldn't lose sight... Read more

A therapist from a working-class background finds himself on a surprising mid-career journey into the belly of 21st-century capitalism as an executive coach. Read more

While the “empty chair” was once identified as a popular Gestalt therapy technique, for many therapists today, faced with empty appointment hours... Read more

You never get a second chance to have a first session, so make the most of it. Read more

What if you could predict how well a client would respond to psychotherapy? What if a simple test could tell you whether a patient needed psychodynamic therapy... Read more

The American Psychiatric Association is scheduled to publish the much-delayed fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) by May 2013. With... Read more

With nearly eight million Americans affected by the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and tens of thousands of troops returning from military... Read more

- Mental health systems under stress - The timing of trauma treatment - The revolt against DSM-5 Read more

We all have stories about the bureaucracies that stifle clinical creativity and seem to exist primarily to generate meaningless paperwork. Here’s a tale... Read more

A close-up look at a 20-year, multinational study that captures the heart of therapists’ aspirations—and perhaps the soul of our professional identity. Read more

A modest proposal about how to get out of your cubbyhole, enliven your conversations with others in the field, and experience a new kind of professional... Read more

Emerging from their monastic little cells, 3,000 psychotherapists had a schmooze-fest celebrating the power of face-to-face connection and joined forces to... Read more

Therapists usually enter the field because they’re drawn to it and have innate capacities to do the work. But whether they excel depends largely on their... Read more

That first session with a new client can be crucial to the success or failure of treatment. Read more

While many therapists like to trust their intuition, research shows how often "gut instinct" can lead us astray. Read more

"I realized that I'd never succeed as a therapist here unless I loosened up my customary boundaries between my professional and personal selves." Read more

A tipping point has been reached in the impact that psychotherapy research results, no matter of interest only among a small circle of academic, are going to... Read more

More than a time-consuming diversion, Facebook can play a central role in marketing your practice. Read more

A clinician explains how to help your supervisees practice therapy from the heart. Read more

From Freud to Zoloft, the story of therapy in this country has been the triumph of pragmatism over esoteric theory. Read more

The old face-to-face service model for our practices is no longer in sync with social and cultural shifts. It's time to refocus on how to serve our clients... Read more

Poet David Whyte offers an idiosyncratic fusion of verse, myth, story, and personal charisma, demonstrating to audiences all over the world that psychology... Read more

Regularly using a few simple feedback measures—plus paying close attention to your failures—can make you a better therapist. Read more

Although he influenced a generation of therapists with his strategic methods, Jay Haley was always more at home as an observer of behavior than as an... Read more

Effective clinical supervision requires an understanding of how supervisees develop and mature. Read more