
Science & Research
Exploring the evidence behind what we doLosing Our War on Stress
It’s time to reconsider our approachPsychologist Kelly McGonigal believes that stress isn’t the public health menace it’s usually made out to be—our compulsion to avoid it is often the... Read more
The Secret to Helping Agitated Couples Reel in Emotional Arousal
How Oxytocin Stimulates Trust and Connection, and Helps Relationships HealWhen clients are emotionally worked up, caught in fight-flight-freeze mode, all their hard-earned skills in empathic listening and responsible (and responsive... 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
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
A Brain Science Strategy for Overwriting Traumatic Memories
Creating Juxtaposition Experiences to Relieve Trauma SymptomsWhat we clinicians have learned in recent years about the intricacies of the brain's implicit memory systems has certainly helped us better recognize 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
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
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
Little and Often
Using Micro-Practices for Self-CareIt was a series of upending life events over a period of years—some bad, some good, all unexpected and disorienting—that gradually propelled me into a... Read more
Brave New Couples
What Can Science Tell Us about the Changing Face of Couplehood Today?Susan Johnson, developer of Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy, discusses what the science of love says about what couples can expect when they rebel too much... Read more
Addressing Race Therapeutically in Black Relationships
Testimonials from the 2015 Psychotherapy Networker SymposiumToday I attended a workshop called “Working with Black Couples: Overcoming Myths and Stereotypes,” led by Dr. Christiana Awosan. Being an African American... Read more
Mindfulness, Conscious Breathing Exercises, and Cyber Intimacy
Testimonials from the 2015 Psychotherapy Networker SymposiumAlthough I have read his books and seen many videos of him in action, today's Networker Symposium workshop was the first in-person opportunity I've had to hear... Read more
Improving Therapy Through Song, Mindfulness, and Self-Care
Testimonials from the 2015 Psychotherapy Networker SymposiumI attended the Networker Symposium's Creativity Day because I figured I might take a couple interesting facts home with me or meet a few nice people the day... Read more
Therapists are far more impressed with clinical fads than they should be. Read more
Stronger Medicine
Anti-Depressants Haven't Made Therapy ObsoleteAmericans have a history of valuing quick-fix solutions to difficult problems. But the simplistic psychopharmacological approach to depressive disorders... Read more
Nature, Pixelated
How the Virtual World Is Rewiring Our SensesFor the first time in history, we’re mainly experiencing nature through intermediary technology that paradoxically provides more detail while flattening our... 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
The Malleability of Memory
Putting Psychotherapy on the Witness StandDuring the false memory controversies of the 1990s, many therapists saw Elizabeth Loftus, one of the most honored psychologists in the history of the field, as... Read more
Rarely is someone always depressed, or always empty, or always without energy, or always suicidal. If you (or the person you’re helping) explores exceptions... Read more
Rediscovering the Myth
For John O'Donohue, Therapy Is a Journey into the Unknown SelfPoet John O'Donohue's introduction to the therapy field came through his unlikely friendship with neuropsychiatrist Daniel Siegel, known for his book The... Read more
VIDEO: Breathing Techniques that Reduce Anxiety and Stress Quickly
Integrate this Powerful Mood-Regulating Technique into Your WorkAre you at a loss when it comes to helping your high-strung, distressed clients? Maybe you’ve made some progress in helping your clients reduce anxiety, but... Read more
What is This Thing Called Love?
The Answers Are Being Discovered in the LaboratoryThe answers to some of the age-old questions about the trajectory of passion and the links between sex and love are being discovered in the research laboratory. Read more
The Power of Paying Attention
What Jon Kabat-Zinn Has Against SpiritualityJon Kabat-Zinn, one of the pioneers in mind-body medicine, prefers calling himself a student of Buddhist meditation to a Buddhist, and believes anything can be... Read more
The Tribal Classroom
Applying attachment theory in schoolsLou Cozolino believes that attachment theory and neuroscience may offer the key to transforming our troubled educational system. Read more
The Politics of PTSD
How a Diagnosis Battled Its Way into the DSMDuring Vietnam, there were proportionately far fewer reported cases of trauma on the actual battlefield than there'd been in previous wars. The primary reason... Read more
VIDEO: Unlocking the Emotional Brain
Confronting Self-Limiting BeliefsBruce Ecker shows how to apply the process of memory reconsolidation to bring about transformational change and therapeutic breakthroughs. Read more
VIDEO: Helping Clients Integrate Past and Present
Bessel van der Kolk on Integration and Healing in Trauma TreatmentImagine the helplessness of being unable to distinguish painful past experiences from present ones. According to Bessel van der Kolk, author of The Body Keeps... Read more
Wired for heterosexuality or homosexuality?
The difference between the gay and straight brainIt’s a topic that has been at the center of countless debates, both rational and irrational. Is there a clear biological difference between the heterosexual... Read more
VIDEO: A New Way to Engage Teen Clients
Dan Siegel on the Power of Teenage BrainDan Siegel, author of Brainstorm: The Power and the Purpose of the Teenage Brain, knows that nobody—especially an angst-filled teenager—likes being told... Read more
The Anatomy of a Psychiatric Consult
Solving the PuzzleFor many therapists, an air of mystery surrounds the role of psychopharmacology in mental health treatment. Here's a step-by-step tour of the complexities of... Read more