The founder of Gestalt therapy with children and adolescents discusses therapeutic relationship building with kids and teens, the unique rewards of introducing expressive arts therapy techniques, and the challenges of being sufficiently directive in working with children.
The God of Hellfire Will See You Now
How often does a proto-Goth heavy metal rock star become a psychotherapist?
Robin Rosenberg on Treating Eating Disorders
A psychologist specializing in eating disorders discusses etiology, cultural factors, and treatment options for eating disordered clients and patients.
Sleep and the Therapist: A Poem
A therapist poetically chronicles an underreported occupational hazard.
Supervision of Executive Coaching
Last year I was tempted out of my retirement as a psychotherapist to provide supervision to a group of colleagues working with business executives. This was not psychotherapy but coaching, and my protests that I had never done any coaching or even read very much about it were overruled: they wanted me and they had every confidence that I would do a good job. I was flattered of course, intrigued too, and the extra money was welcome. So I began….
James Gilligan on the Psychology and Treatment of Violent Offenders
Renowned Harvard psychiatrist and violence expert James Gilligan offers insight into working with violent offenders in prison settings. Learn about the tragic childhood origins of violent behavior, as well as the fundamental principles of psychotherapeutic treatment of forensic clients.
Psychotherapy with Former Cult Members
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.