Although I haven’t been to a therapist in more than five years, I spent many years on the couch talking to a therapist and working out the causes and (possible) solutions to whatever issues I had been facing a the time. As an adult child of an alcoholic, I started to attend therapy when I […]
Let’s face it: Sometimes life is hard. And sometimes, we all may need help with navigating our way through the messes that life sometimes hands us. In situations like those, it might be worth considering some type of therapy/counseling. One commonly asked question is: “Can I go to therapy even if don’t have a clinical […]
As a younger man, I would describe myself as an overly idealistic person. Now, years later, I describe myself as more of a “philosophical realist.” What is “realism,” and what does it look like in practice? The aim of realism is to attempt to see things as they are. This is, of course, extremely difficult […]
Life. It can sometimes challenge us in unexpected ways, and therapy is designed to help us overcome those challenges. In recent years, mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, and substance abuse have been on the rise, and through empirical testing, psychotherapy has proven to be as effective treatment method as medication (in some studies, […]
Fear is a natural human feeling, and how we interpret—and use—it is somewhat dependent on one’s culture. In the west, for instance, fear is often seen as a negative emotion, something we must “overcome.” But there are other ways to look at fear, and in his book, “The Gift of Fear,” author Gavin De Becker […]
Depression is a mental disorder that costs the heath system, economy, but above all the person suffering with this medical condition. Prolonged feelings of sadness and hopelessness may seem—to the person suffering—to be limited to subjective experience, but as it turns out, this mental health disorder which, according to the Centers for Disease Control and […]
Although depression has been around since perhaps the beginning of human civilization, the disorder has only come into focus in recent decades. Like many other mental disorders—such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), which used to be referred to as “shell shock”—depression has long been misunderstood, misdiagnosed, or unrecognized. The ancient Greeks first recorded depression, or […]
As children, we tend to be fearful of almost everything. Different sensations, sounds, strangers, fear of abandonment, manmade and natural objects can all induce panics or phobias. But as we age, some of those old fears may stay with us. Moreover, we may even develop new fears, which can manifest for years unless properly treated […]
Many Americans suffer from lack of sleep, broken sleep or other sleep related issues. Technology and our 24/7 world has, as it turns out, may contribute to difficulties getting a good night’s rest. In fact, recent research indicates a link between lack of sleep and symptoms of depression and anxiety. With restful sleep under threat, what […]
Born in 1921 in Providence, Rhode Island, Aaron Beck would go on to develop one of the most effective approaches to treating depression. Depression is a mental health condition which, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “ . . . is one of the leading causes of disease or injury worldwide for both […]