A specialist in cults discusses a real-life example of a former cult member's struggle to recover from his traumatic experiences within the group, and offers treatment advice for this unusual and challenging population.
Training for the Treatment of Eating Disorders
Eating disorders are widely recognized as some of the most challenging psychological diagnoses. I was surprised to learn that they are also the most dangerous: eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any diagnosis. Many clinicians assume that eating disorders only occur in young women. However, research has shown that the frequency of eating disorders is rising across a wide range of client populations, including men, middle-aged, and the elderly. Regardless of the population you work with, sooner or later you will encounter clients with eating disorders.
Listening versus Hearing in Psychotherapy
In my memoir, The Gossamer Thread: My Life as a Psychotherapist, I describe my treatment of ‘Angie’, a young mother with horrific fantasies of killing her two young children by stabbing them through the heart with a kitchen knife. It was back in the 1980s and I was in the process of shedding my old behaviour therapy skin, realising I needed to listen to the client more carefully before embarking on any specific intervention. My therapy was a success, or…
Sue Johnson on Emotionally Focused Therapy
Emotionally Focused Therapy founder Sue Johnson discusses the attachment underpinnings of EFT, the approach's core techniques, and the new science of love.
Awakening to Awe: A Book Review
A review of existential psychologist and author Kirk Schneider’s latest work, which explores the nature and power of awe through interviews of people personally transformed by an emotion which has been much neglected by psychology.
Turning Blaming into Confiding in Couples Therapy
The defining task in a Collaborative Couple Therapy session is to create an intimate conversation out of whatever is happening—frequently a fight. Sometimes that means helping the partner who has just been accused deal with the accusation. Sometimes, and this is my focus in this write-up, that means reshaping the accusing partner’s angry statement. I speak as if I were that partner, translating his/her blaming statement into a confiding one, in a method similar to doubling in psychodrama. I show…
Training in Couples Therapy
Why might a therapist who works primarily with individuals consider studying couples’ therapy? If you work from an attachment perspective, as an increasing number of therapists do, then training in couples therapy may greatly inform and improve your work.
Lonnie Barbach on Sex Therapy
Renowned author, psychologist and sex therapist Lonnie Barbach discusses the early days of discovery in the human sexuality field, her pioneering work with preorgasmic women, and addressing sexual issues in individual and couples therapy.
The 7 real reasons why psychotherapists flunk their licensing and certification exams
A friend of mine (let’s call him Kurt to preserve confidentiality and perhaps more importantly not to embarrass him) told me was gearing up to take his state licensing exam. Had he prepared for the exam? “Come on Rosenthal, I just spent two of the best years of life in grad school and another three or so in supervision. I think I know this stuff by now.” “Really,” I remarked. “Who is the father of rational emotive behavior therapy?” “Come on dude, that’s…
Training in Microexpressions
There is a growing movement in psychotherapy towards reading clients’ facial microexpressions and body “tells”. One of the leaders in this movement is Stan Tatkin, PsyD, who teaches a Psychobiological Approach to Couples Therapy (PACT). I recently talked with Dr. Tatkin about how he uses microexpressions to enhance couples therapy.