A creative clinician shares her romance with – and successful use of – narrative letter writing in therapy to deepen the therapeutic bond with her clients.
Psychotherapist and expert on experts, Tony Rousmaniere, explores the importance of "deliberate practice" (you know, what musicians and athletes do to master their crafts) for psychotherapists.
Therapy carries inherent risk, and eventually we’ll get into accidents, but what if we abandon the “do no harm creed” and build strategies into therapy for damage-reduction?
In the spirit of Irvin Yalom’s “Every Day Gets a Little Closer,” a therapist and her client share the richness of the therapeutic journey through collaborative writing.
Barry Duncan and Scott Miller provide a comprehensive summary of the Outcome-Informed, Client-Directed approach and a detailed, practical overview of its application in clinical practice.
The main elements of successful therapy include a positive therapeutic alliance, a clear focus, a coherent problem formulation, and improvised techniques—not a particular theoretical orientation.
Psychotherapist and researcher Barry Duncan discusses how routine outcome monitoring in treatment can harness client’s involvement and strengths to make lasting change.
Psychologist and supervision expert Brian McNeill explains his developmental approach to supervision, the challenges that all therapists face while learning their craft, and what supervisors can and must do to support beginning therapists in navigating these challenges.
Psychotherapist and muckraking author, Gary Greenberg, shares the critical insights—and skepticism—that formed the basis of his two best-selling books, Manufacturing Depression: The Secret History of a Modern Disease and The Book of Woe: The DSM and the Unmaking of Psychiatry.
Psychologist Margaret Clausen shares poignantly about the loss of her client to suicide, the steps she took to heal her grief, and the isolation and shame that many clinicians needlessly suffer in the wake of client suicide.
EMDR therapy originator Francine Shapiro describes the components of the psychotherapy and the latest research supporting its efficacy for a wide range of mental health issues.
Working in the here-and-now of the therapeutic relationship requires therapists to be fully engaged, and take risks in revealing themselves. But utilizing the transference and counter-transference makes for rewarding and powerful therapy.
Psychologist and neuroscience researcher Louis Cozolino describes the many twists, turns and theoretical orientations he's traversed in his over four decades in the field, the need for psychotherapists to be less passive, and the applications of neuroscience to psychotherapy both now and in the future.
Experiencing authoritarian wounding leaves lasting scars, but Eric Maisel offers useful therapeutic insight and tips to help clients mitigate its impact.
Mindfulness expert and psychotherapist, Ronald D. Siegel, shares his insights about how—and when—to integrate mindfulness practices into psychotherapy.
Best known for chairing the DSM-IV Task Force, renowned psychiatrist Allen Frances discusses flaws in the current diagnostic process, and how to mend our broken mental health delivery system.
Expert clinician and researcher Bruce Wampold talks about his "contextual model" of psychotherapy which, rooted in the most comprehensive and up-to-date scientific research, incorporates the most effective elements across all therapy modalities.
Clients of the best therapists improve at a rate at least 50-percent higher and drop out at a rate at least 50-percent lower than those of average clinicians. What is the key to superior performance?
Psychotherapy researcher and clinician Tony Rousmaniere teaches us that 10,000 hours of psychotherapy doesn’t make you an expert; focused deliberate practice is the path to excellence.
Encountering resistance is likely evidence that therapy is taking place. In fact, successful psychotherapy is highly related to increases in resistance, and low resistance corresponds with negative outcomes.
In a discussion of the growing problem of work-life balance in American culture, Dr. Philipson shares the stories of clients whose overidentification with work ended in disaster.
Dr. Sommers discusses the prevalent problem of cultural silencing called "niceness," and offers case studies and advice for addressing associated client issues of anxiety and helplessness.
Existential psychotherapist Irv Yalom offers insights into the therapist's role as an obstacle remover and fellow traveler. Excerpted from his book The Gift of Therapy.
Psychiatrist Ron Leifer gives a compelling account of the historical context of Thomas Szasz's career as the leading critic of the medical model of psychiatry, along with its implications for the profession of psychiatry and for free thought and speech in the United States.
If we could learn from all of our less-than-optimal therapy outcomes, we'd really acquire some true clinical wisdom. Here are some practical tips to increase your odds of success.
After suffering from a stroke herself, a therapist recounts her journey from patient to professional, culminating in her leading groups for other stroke survivors.
Psychotherapist Chris Peterson makes a strong case for welcoming all of our intense feelings—both loving and hateful—into the therapy process with clients to deepen the therapy relationship and its healing potential.
Psychologist Deb Kory pulls no punches in critiquing what is missing from our training programs, and calls for more authenticity, humor and humility in the ways we teach and learn to practice therapy.
In this excerpt from his best-selling exposé, The Book of Woe: The DSM and the Unmaking of Psychiatry, psychotherapist Gary Greenberg pulls back the curtain on the DSM's surprising evolution and deconstructs the very notion of "diagnosing" our clients.
Larry Beutler discusses how to incorporate scientific findings into psychotherapy practice and teaching, and what horse training has to do with any of this.
The founder of the first professional school of psychology, visionary, and gadfly Nick Cummings reflects on the history and predicts the future of psychotherapy.
The foremost psychiatric critic of our times, Thomas Szasz, engages in an in-depth dialogue of his life's work including freedom and liberty, the myth of mental illness, drug laws, the fragile state of psychotherapy, and his passion for humanistic values and social justice.
Mardi Horowitz discusses his research on psychotherapy for stress and trauma, his recent book on happiness, and what therapists can teach their clients about attaining it.
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.
Using a structured, written, organizational map can help clients disentangle their many problems, so they may begin effectively addressing them in therapy.
Internationally renowned author, Maggie Jackson, tells us that developing “uncertainty tolerance” in both clinician and client is key for building better outcomes.
Taking the long view, behavioral sciences expert, Allen Frances offers a pointed review of psychotherapy’s failures and achievements, with suggestions for a hopeful future.
