When I think about the men and women who were mentors or role models in my life, I feel sad and regretful. My father died when I was fifteen and I am sixty-six now. He and I were going through a difficult period that many teens and their dads go through. My relationship with him...
I started my private therapy practice almost thirty years ago. I was motivated to work for myself because I always had a problem with “authority”. I was not good at following orders I believed went against the best interests of my clients or were not logical. In my thirties, I combined arrogance, a sense of...
Anxiety can be gripping, debilitating experience. It can be triggered by internal body sensations, external events or anticipation of a situation going off track. Those who suffer from anxiety sometimes feel worried throughout the day. The fear can be experienced as deep background noise or a straight out panic attack. Panic attack symptoms are breathing...
Do you ever have these thoughts? “I have been in therapy for years, have attended self-help seminars, have taken responsibility for my actions, have taken a close look at my inner demons, but I still feel stuck. I still have problems with personal relationships and trust issues. Why does this nightmare continue?” This phenomenon may...
This blog is based on a compilation of several case studies. Thirty-seven-year-old Mary was struggling with ending unhealthy relationships. She realized that she was somehow attracted to men who were emotionally unavailable. They had anger management issues and were verbally abusive. She had been dealing with this relationship trauma for years. Regular talk therapy did...
You may have experienced talk therapy and other modalities, but have never felt they really addressed your problems. Give Sandtray Therapy a try. I have been a psychotherapist in private practice for almost thirty years. Fifteen years ago, I wrote a highly-acclaimed book titled Redemption of the Shattered: A Teenager’s Healing Journey through Sandtray Therapy....
My journey of dealing with my father’s death has taken place over five decades. At times, I travel down familiar roads only to end up spinning my grief around where it has no landing place. Other times I will go down those same roads and previously locked doors will fly open and supreme understanding flows...
Saving the Damsel/Dude in Distress Syndrome symptoms are: The intense desire to rescue someone who may be seriously self-destructive, drug and or alcohol dependent, and/or a victim of perpetrator of domestic violence. You feel this damsel/dude will not be saved without your intervention. You believe no one else either cares enough or is honest...
Here are signs to determine that it is time to say goodbye to a lover, friend, family member or acquaintance: He has betrayed you by sharing your secrets with others. She is almost always unavailable for support while you always show up for her. He has a substance abuse problem that he never admits to...
My father died fifty years ago, this month. I am sixty-five years old and I am going through a rebirth experience. Most of my life I have believed that my father didn’t love or approve of me. During the past fifty years, I was locked into a belief system that he despised me. Now because...
