The late 1960s and 1970s were exciting times for the fields of psychology and psychotherapy. Much of the enthusiasm was spawned by a body of landmark research. At the time experts postulated that humans had two distinct nervous systems: the voluntary and the involuntary. The voluntary nervous system allows you to brew your morning cup of Joe or take out the trash before you leave for work. The involuntary or autonomic nervous system controls your heart rate, blood pressure and…
Just Peachy
It’s getting colder in the Northeast. I love it—mostly I do—except that I am colder than cold, colder than most folks. I feel it in my bones. My husband and I are Florida bound for vacation soon, and then, we think, to live. Not just yet. The kids need a bit more raising first. So with the cold coming and the time being ripe, we take the kids (the same ones who still need a bit more raising, and two that…
Dial-Up Connection
Thirty-five years ago I got my first paid therapist job as a second-string telephone counselor for an enlightened radio station in Sydney, Australia. The radio station ran a daily one-hour program called “Kid’s Careline,” and my boss was the first string counselor who fielded on air calls from the radio audience. She was so brilliant at it that she kept three of us second stringers busy 9 to 5 fielding the calls that did not make it onto the air. It…
Jean McLendon on the Legacy of Virginia Satir
A longtime trainee and friend of Virginia Satir, Jean McLendon shares stories of her early years in training, the tremendous influence Satir has had on the field psychotherapy, and her ongoing influence in the 21st century.
Paradise Lost: When Clients Commit Suicide
A psychologist describes the trauma of losing a patient to suicide.
Infertility on Both Sides of the Couch
A psychotherapist treats a client struggling with infertility while facing it herself.
Calisthenics in Front of the Fun House Mirror
Sometimes my days bring to mind a funhouse mirror. I stretch, collapse, widen, or shrink depending on the clinical demands of the moment, fundamentally changing and fundamentally remaining the same, moment to moment and hour to hour. Yesterday in my first session of the evening I was speaking with a young woman about the reasons for her recent spotty attendance. I fielded an interpretation that I know in every molecule of my being is correct, that she is trying to convince…
George Silberschatz on Psychotherapy Research and Its Discontents
Clinician and researcher George Silberschatz, PhD, discusses both the benefits and limitations of psychotherapy research, as well as its misuse by therapists marketing their services.
Technology and Psychotherapy
A recent article on a study from the University of Zurich offered the headline, “Psychotherapy Via Internet as Good as If Not Better Than Face-To-Face Consultations.” It does not surprise me when I think about many of my clients’ everyday lives in the Bay Area: technology tends to be seen for the most part as a fun, useful and normal part of life. It also makes sense when I think about the ways that technology, if wielded strategically, can sometimes…
Charles Mansueto on Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
OCD expert Charles Mansueto explains the fundamentals of evidence-based treatment of OCD and related disorders, as well as common misperceptions therapists have about the nature, course and effective treatment of OCD.