According to Ray Kurzweil, futurist extraordinaire, the singularity is approaching at the speed of Jimmy John’s delivery. The technological notion of the singularity asserts that computers, robots, and related super-intelligent machines will reach a stage when they match and then exceed the capabilities of human beings. When will the singularity occur? Ray has his calendar marked for 2045, so I should have the majority of my credit card bills polished off by then. Now, of course, we could dismiss Kurzweil’s predictions…
Brooklyn Zoo: The Education of a Psychotherapist
In this excerpt from psychologist Darcy Lockman's book, Brooklyn Zoo: The Education of a Psychotherapist, follow Lockman through an ordinary day as a post-doc at a notorious Brooklyn psychiatric hospital.
Heather Clague on Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Working with Society’s Most Marginalized Populations
Psychiatrist and psychotherapist Heather Clague offers reflections on the difference between private psychotherapy practice and working in the psychiatric emergency room, how prescribing medication broadens psychotherapy, and the joy and heartache of working with those society is "happy to ignore."
Creative Writing as Psychotherapy
“An interesting fusion.” That’s what my project Wild Words was once called by a fellow psychotherapist, and yes, he was looking down his nose at me. But I’ve discovered a huge demand for the fusion of body-based, nature-based, and narrative therapy, via which I help people to find creative flow in their lives. Here’s one recent example. A stooped 17 year-old man came to me. He had a mop of black hair and smelled of spirits. There were tensions in the…
Creatures of a Day
Read a story, "The Crooked Cure," excerpted from Irvin Yalom's new book, Creatures of a Day, about a peculiar client with writer's block.
The Book of Woe: The DSM and the Unmaking of Psychiatry
In this excerpt from his best-selling exposé, The Book of Woe: The DSM and the Unmaking of Psychiatry, psychotherapist Gary Greenberg pulls back the curtain on the DSM's surprising evolution and deconstructs the very notion of "diagnosing" our clients.
Gary Greenberg on the DSM and Its Woes
Psychotherapist and muckraking author, Gary Greenberg, shares the critical insights—and skepticism—that formed the basis of his two best-selling books, Manufacturing Depression: The Secret History of a Modern Disease and The Book of Woe: The DSM and the Unmaking of Psychiatry.
In Search of the Perfect Private Practitioner
It all began in my undergraduate abnormal psychology class after I made the curious observation that our faithful professor was absent for each and every one of our exams. The professor’s pattern of behavior struck me as odd. I leaned over and asked a fellow student who worked as a teacher’s aide what he knew about this since I figured he might just have the inside scoop. My cohort whispered, “You really don’t know. The guy is in private practice and…
Why Some Therapists Always Get Their Books Published
It’s a shame for you not to write a book when many therapists do it so easily. The problem: Most psychotherapists know about as much about the publishing business as they do about building a nuclear power plant. When I listen to therapists talk about writing their first book I generally hear something like, “Gee, I’d like to write a general, counseling, psychotherapy, or self-help book.” Let me assure you that the general counseling, psychotherapy, or self-improvement books are some of the…
Bad Therapy: Lets Talk About Torture…Wait, What????!!!
Well, this blog got awfully serious quick. I was going to write this one about addiction and alcoholism—not the lightest topic either—but with the release of the Torture Report, also known as the Senate’s highly-redacted executive summary from the Committee Study of the Central Intelligence Agencys Detention and Interrogation Program, I realized it would be morally remiss of me not to take this brief hot minute when the public eye is trained on this issue to share some information with…