Why Did So Many Women Vote for Roy Moore?
On Monday, December 13, 2017, it became known that Doug Jones, a Democrat, had defeated Roy Moore, a Republican, in the traditionally Republican state of Alabama, for a seat in the US Senate. Mr. Moore seems to be, let’s charitably say, a colorful character.
Read MoreCancer and the Power of Placebo
An interview with author Dr. Paul Offit gives us some insight into the placebo effect, and its place in alternative medicine, complementary medicine and traditional, evidence-based medical treatment…
Read MoreThoughts to Ponder…
Here are some random thoughts about therapy… Every patient has within herself a physician or healer that is much more competent than the best psychotherapist. As the patient hears herself speak in therapy her mind listens and reconfigures itself, at its own pace, into a more integrated whole. The historical details of past trauma are often forgotten consciously but the body will always remember. A good therapist is primarily a listener who supplies the patient with a non-judgemental space to speak into. Therapy is an primarily an educational process that supports the patient’s own inner therapist. . The only way out of past trauma is to talk it out over and over until all the feelings connected with the trauma are completely spent. Sometimes the things that cause us most trouble with others are unacknowledged issues within ourselves. If you wish to start a revolution start with changing your inner self. When there is a conflict between will and feelings it is feelings that always win. Mother Nature is very generous but she gives you only two choices in some areas. One of these is in the area of relationships. You can try to have it your way always or you can have good relationships. You can have only one of two alternatives but not both. You choose....
Read MoreWhy Meditate?
Why meditate? Well, there are many reasons to develop a meditation practice. Let’s start with this: Meditation sharpens your concentration and your thinking power. A regular meditation practice will train you to think more clearly and more precisely. Gradually, your own subconscious motives and mechanics will become clear to you as you think about your life. As the precision of your thought increases and you start to acquire a direct knowledge of things as they really are, without prejudice and without illusion. A daily meditation practice is also a time to relax and do something good for yourself. Our daily lives are so full of stress and activity, and often that activity is in the service of someone else… a parent, a spouse, a child, a boss. A daily time set aside for meditation is something you do for yourself. It is a solitary endeavor that increases your relaxation and reduces anxiety. Is this reason enough to bother? There is only one way you will ever know if meditation is worth the effort. You must do it. And it is not enough to just sit. There are techniques to the practice of meditation that make it maximally effective. I encourage you to try it for yourself. Mediation is a wonderful way to reduce stress, work on healing, and take time for yourself. I can teach you meditation at my office or if you have a group of people at your work place, I can come to your business anywhere in The Woodlands. I am also available for consultation on the phone. Contact me if you are ready to take this important step in improving your life! ...
Read MoreLife Transitions – Family Support is Crucial
<h2> Life is Full of Transitions</h2> If you are alive, you will experience many life transitions. You will graduate from school, perhaps you will move to another city. You’ll start and end relationships. You might get married, have children, get divorced or watch someone you love die. You might change jobs or even change careers. All of these are life transitions, and while they often signal improvements or growth in your life, they are almost always also accompanied by stress. Read this about family support during the transition to adulthood, for instance. The transition from child or teenager to adult is one of the hardest transitions we have to make as humans, but it is by no means the last one. Often we downplay the importance or the difficulty of certain transitions, such as changing jobs, moving to a new city or getting into a new relationship. Even if the transitions have a net positive effect on our lives, the transition itself can be stressful and anxiety-provoking. The support of your family, whether your family by birth or a chosen family of friends, is crucial to maintaining your mental health during times of transition. But more important than that is how you take care of yourself during that time. The most important care during time of life transition is self-care....
Read MoreForgive and Forget
The topic of forgiveness comes up quite often in therapy. It is mentioned as a need or a wish by a patient who has been wronged or abused in their past. They are are often encouraged by friends or relatives to “just forgive” the wrong-doer. Some patients wonder about the concept of the turning of the other cheek. Let’s examine this topic from a psychological perspective, rather than from a religious one. When an abused person is told to forgive the abuser, the concerned loved ones usually say something like this: “It’s been a long time now, so why don’t you just get over it…” “he (or she) is too old, too sick or demented (or dead) and carrying a grudge does not really serve any purpose…” “if you hang on to this, it will just poison your life…” These are just some of the comments that a traumatized person might hear. While this type of advice is often well meant and not illogical, it is actually not helpful at best, and may in fact make the victim feel worse. Predictably the victim, for a variety of reasons, cannot “just get over” what happened. The reason for this difficulty in moving on is that forgiveness is not an event that can be implemented successfully by consciousness effort. The advice given is logical only, but does not address the emotional elements of events that are undigested and unresolved. To be successful, forgiveness has to take place on an emotional rather than an intellectual level. To attempt to make forgiveness an intellectually-based event will fail in every instance. Giving it time may work and, once the emotions have settled, a form of forgiveness may occur. Psychotherapy and psychological education is generally more effective in creating an environment for forgiveness. Therapy can help a person to grow so that feelings around the event can finally resolve. In psychotherapy, the patient is given the opportunity to express and communicate feelings that he or she was unable to express when the trauma occurred. Ideally, right after the traumatic event, someone would have listened to the patient speak until they had fully expressed their feelings and thoughts. Therapy is a space into which a patient can speak whatever needs to be spoken as long and as often as it needs to be said. In the process of recounting the injury, the patient also listens to himself or herself, and as he or she listens, his or her psyche develops its own understandings. There is often a sophistication and appropriateness to the insights that a patient develops that are often far beyond insights that a therapist might offer. In other words, every patient has their own inner therapist which is activated in the process of communicating to someone who listens with their full attention in an accepting atmosphere. It is the wise therapist that aligns herself with that powerful...
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