TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES VIA FREE WEBSITES
Parent Child Interaction Therapy – http://www.pcit.org/
This program provides a good review of basic limit setting protocols including, how to respond to negative behavior, shaping and the use of time out.
Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavior Therapy – http://tfcbt.musc.edu
Skill Training In Interpersonal and Affective Regulation – https://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/continuing_ed/STAIR_online_training.asp
These trainings identify core factors underlying the treatment of childhood trauma. Although Outreach interns will not implement trauma treatment, it can be very useful to understand the symptoms and impact of childhood trauma.
ADDITIONAL FREE RESOURCES
Psychotherapy.net provides a wide variety of articles by and interviews with some of the foremost practitioners of psychotherapy. Upon accessing the website, simply enter a topic you are interested in into the search bar, or click the INDEPTH ARTICLES button and review the dozens of topics which are available such as:
Addressing Common Myths about Childhood anxiety
Confessions of a Student Counselor
Setbacks in Psychotherapy
A Path Toward Self-Compassion and Healing
Therapeutic Reflections of a Former Gang Member
Counseling Gifted Clients
Interpersonal Connections: Noticing the Needs of Others
A Therapist’s Best Friend
Treating Compulsions
Psychnetworker.org is another free site with numerous articles on a wide variety of subjects. The site also contains videos with various price ranges.
RECOMMENDED READING
by William J. Doherty
In this excerpt from The Ethical Lives of Clients: Transcending Self-Interest in Psychotherapy, William Doherty helps therapists address their client’s relational ethical dilemmas.
Need Management Therapy: A Clinical GPS for Couples Work
by Robert N. Johansen
Discover a new tool for navigating a successful, safe therapeutic route through the volatile atmosphere of couples therapy.
by Sylvia Johnson
Couples therapy can unlock and heal the deepest of pains, those related to the loss of a child.
by Anna Lembke
In this excerpt from Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence, Anna Lembke introduces us to Jacob, who, like many of our clients, struggles with his own unique form of over-overconsumption.
Working Therapeutically with Generational Conflict
by F. Diane Barth
Clinicians can help families with elderly parents in crisis heal by addressing and revising their “go-to” stories.
Dr. Shelley F. Diamond: A Psychotherapist Facing Death
by Shelley Diamond
After being diagnosed with aggressive terminal cancer, a psychotherapist shares how she addressed grief, gratitude and loss professionally and personally.
On the Continuum of Real to Imagined Abandonment
by Pamela Garber
A therapist’s personal struggles can provide a roadmap not only for their own growth, but for that of their clients.
by Louis Cozolino
The challenge of therapeutic competence requires basic survival strategies that Louis Cozolino shares in his latest, The Making of a Therapist: A Practical Guide for the Inner Journey.
The Challenge of Retirement: Finding Meaning and Self-Esteem in New Ways
by Geraldine K. Piorkowski
A twice-retired clinician and educator shares insights from 50 years of working with and attempting to understand the human condition.
An Existential-Spiritual Journey During COVID-19
by Robert Gordon
In the shadow of COVID, a therapist and his client address their own uncertainties in order to experience freedom and deeper meaning.
Truth and Fiction in Psychotherapy
by Keith Fadelici
Therapists can best serve their clients by listening for their realities rather than pursuing elusive truths.
by Galit Atlas
Therapists working with abuse survivors will learn invaluable lessons about the intergenerational transmission of trauma in this powerful excerpt from Galit Atlas’ Emotional Inheritance.
Listening for Meaning in the Voices Nursing Home Clients Hear
by Tom Medlar
Therapists working in nursing homes can better help by listening to the voices in their client’s heads.
by David Jobes
Explore how to use therapeutic setbacks as powerful learning opportunities for both clinician and client.
Confessions of a Student Counsellor
by Andrew Dib
Counselors can most definitely benefit from the age-old adage “Healer, heal thyself!”
Successful Intervention with a Family Impacted by Treatment-Resistant BPD
by Daniel Lobel
Work more effectively with teens with Borderline Personality Disorder by being consistent, setting boundaries, and allying with parents.
That Tipsy Session: The Power of Self-Disclosure
by Anastasia Piatakhina Giré
Help your clients move from shame to self-acceptance by accepting your own personal vulnerability.
A Path Towards Self-Compassion and Healing
by Teresa Gill
Help victims of childhood abuse thrive by giving them the opportunity to value themselves and teaching them how to create compassionate connections with the people in their lives.
Unlocked: Online Therapy Stories
by Anastasia Piatakhina Giré
In an excerpt from “Unlocked: Online Therapy Stories,” Anastasia Piatakhina Giré shares intimate reflections on her work with Laila, whose harrowing escape to freedom is a tale of personal empowerment and the power of connection.
Therapeutic Reflections of a Former Gang Member
by Steve Alexander, Jr.
Learn from a former gang member, now therapist, how to capitalize on hard-learned life lessons.
by Irvin D. Yalom, MD & Marilyn Yalom, PhD
In this excerpt from A Matter of Death and Life, Irvin Yalom speaks from the depths of pain over losing his beloved wife and co-author, Marilyn; not only to fellow therapists but to all of us who have lost loved ones.
Counseling Gifted Clients: Journeys through the Rainforest Mind
by Paula Prober
Working with gifted clients is a challenging and fascinating opportunity to appreciate those with a “rainforest mind”.
Long-Term Psychotherapy and BPD, Part 2: A Dialogue on Trust
by Anne Harris and Trish Thompson
Return to the intriguing therapeutic dialogue between Trish and Anne as they deepen bonds of trust, using humor and their unique relationship for healing and growth.
Finding the Goldilocks Zone: An Antidote to Black-and-White Thinking
by Jeremy Shapiro
In the spirit of Goldilocks, clinicians can help clients find their way to thinking styles that are “just right.”
Long Term Psychotherapy and BPD, Part 1: A Dialogue on Hope
by Anne Harris and Trish Thompson
Join a therapist and client as they share their intimate work and insights in the experience of borderline personality disorder.
Holding Two Worlds Together—Apart: On the Duality of Being a Therapist
by Anna Zonen
Safeguarding our clients’ stories is a rare privilege that enhances our therapeutic bond and deepens our humanity. We take them with us and carry them outside of the therapy room. The resonances that work to create neural circuitry and bond the hearts and minds of our clients do the same for us—if we allow them to.
Interpersonal Connection: Noticing the Needs of Others
by David H. Rosmarin
Noticing others’ needs goes beyond improving their wellbeing; our own connection benefits as well when we develop finely-tuned empathy for other people.
Countertransference to Sexual and Developmental Trauma in the Psychoanalysis of a Disabled Patient
by Roberta Satow
At the fascinating and complex intersection of polio, psychoanalysis and sexuality, healing begins.
Emergent Anxiety: Facing a Post-COVID Life
by Jeffrey Chernin
As COVID recedes, new anxieties emerge and therapists will be on the front line to help.
Existential-Humanistic Therapy in the Age of COVID-19 in Vulnerable Populations
by Robert Gordon
Discover how Existential-Humanistic therapy techniques can be used as a catalyst for hope when working with clients who are struggling with the anxiety and fear left in COVID’s wake.
Caring for those Who Care for Our Pets
by Fay Roseman and Christine Sacco-Bene
Explore the unique mental health challenges that veterinarians face and identify opportunities for proactively supporting those who care for our pets.
by Daniel Fryer
Dogs may well be peoples’ steady companions, but they can also be a therapist’s best friend.
Treating the Compulsive Personality: Transforming Poison into Medicine
by Gary Trosclair
Helping clients with obsessive-compulsive personality disorder may seem like an uphill battle. Get tools for increasing your efficacy with these often misunderstood clients.
Understanding the Pandemic’s Impact Through a Developmental Lens
by Maggie Mulqueen
COVID has had devastating effects across the lifespan, but there has also been hope and renewal.
Accurate Empathy is the Heartbeat of Rogerian Psychotherapy
by Blake Griffin Edwards
Keep your clinical practice vital by mastering empathy, the heartbeat of therapeutic change.
How an Anti-Tech Group Therapist Became a True Believer
by Sean Grover
A self-professed techno-dinosaur share the lessons he learned evolving to meet the demands of online group therapy.
by Peter Allen
Learn how to tap into the power of your clients' stories to promote meaningful change and deepen the therapeutic bond.
The Therapist and the Marriage
by James Rudes, PhD & Guillermo Cancio-Bello, LMFT
Marriage, as a two-headed entity, can be doubly challenging for a therapist to treat. Here's how to find a focus that works.
Healing the Authoritarian Wound Through Writing: 8 Writing Exercises to Share with Clients
by Eric Maisel
Experiencing authoritarian wounding leaves lasting scars, but Eric Maisel offers useful therapeutic insight and tips to help clients mitigate its impact.
Introducing Grief: How My Clients and I Have Embraced the Exploration of Loss
by Stephen Grigelevich
Tips for helping your clients embrace grief and get unstuck from loss in their lives.
A Silent Dialogue: Coming Together During Troubling Times
by Tori Lester, MA & Lawrence Rubin
Join an unspoken silent dialogue between patient and therapist for some insight on the role self-disclosure plays in the therapeutic relationship.
Has Psychotherapy Lost Its Mind?
by Natan P F Kellermann
Despite “the era of the brain,” the mind is still kicking. Here are some thoughts allowing neuroscience to inform your work with clients.
Us Versus It: Racism, Family Treatment, and Eco-Systemic Considerations
by Paula Bamgbose-Martins
Clinician Paula Bamgbose-Martins shares important insights gained in her work with African American children and their families.
Dangerous Intimacies: Racism, Risk, and Recovery
by Rebecca J. Lester
Rebecca Lester shares her powerful clinical work with a client at the intersection of social work and cultural anthropology.
Imagine If We Could All Love This Way: Connection, Healing and Love in the Therapeutic Relationship
by Anna Zonen
Therapist Anna Zonen is not afraid to love her clients.
Family Therapy in the Age of Zoom: What a Long Strange Trip It Has Been
by Jay Lappin
An old-school family therapist attempts to reconcile the distancing forced upon us by the pandemic.
Treating the Somatic Sequelae of Moral Injury
by George Kraus
Psychotherapist George Kraus utilizes dynamic integrative somatic psychotherapy to help his client overcome moral wounding rooted in childhood abuse.
Helping Domestic Abuse Victims During Quarantine
by Lois Nightingale
Therapeutic planning with victims of domestic violence is even more challenging during the pandemic.
Psychotherapy with Coronavirus: A Novel Experience
by Natan P F Kellermann
What if Coronavirus were a patient seeking psychotherapy? Warning: Contains irony. Read at your own risk. Not approved by CE credentialing boards.
Countertransference: How Are We Doing?
by Peter Allen
Self-care, while helpful, is not the royal road to countertransference management.
by Pamela Garber
Empathy is a critical component to effective therapy, except when it contributes to a clinician’s blind side.
Beyond Resilience: Addressing Moral Distress During the COVID-19 Pandemic
by Melissa Abraham, PhD & Rachel E. Smith, MS, PA-C
In the coming months, psychotherapists will need to work knowledgeably and compassionately with clients wrestling with moral distress.
Integrating Technology into Mental Healthcare: Theory and Practice
by Russell DuBois
Integrating technology into mental health care is no longer a distant frontier.
by Anastasia Piatakhina Giré
A therapist struggles with her feelings of being put “on hold” by one of her more challenging clients.
Ego Liberation: A Buddhist Guide to Escaping Your Mental Prison
by Adam Brandt, LPCA & Drew Brandt
Perhaps, Adam Brandt ponders, therapeutic healing is predicated not in defining the ego, but rather in its liberation.
Who's Listening? Smartphones and Psychotherapy
by Maggie Mulqueen
Maggie Mulqueen asks fellow therapists to consider the good, bad and ugly of client cell phone use in session.
What’s the Limit? Maintaining and Understanding Boundaries in Psychotherapy
by F. Diane Barth
Psychotherapist F. Diane Barth takes a critical look at boundaries, both personal and therapeutic, as an essential ingredient to healthy relationships.
Trauma and the Reproductive Story
by Janet Jaffe
Clinician Janet Jaffe works with clients who have experienced traumatic reproductive loss, helping them to rewrite their narrative on the road to healing.
Grasping at Optimism: When Helping a Suicidal Client Means Letting Life Happen
by Pamela Garber
Psychotherapist Pamela Garber looks back over her work with a suicidal client and wonders if the therapeutic path she chose was correct.
The Performing Art of Therapy: Acting Insights and Techniques for Clinicians
by Mark O'Connell
An actor/therapist explores the converging demands of each role on stage and in the clinical space.
Developing a Therapeutic Voice
by Michael Alcee
Michael Alcee asks us to consider the art within the science of psychotherapy, and asks if, like art and artistry, it can be taught…and learned.
by Valery Hazanov
As a young therapist, Valery Hazanov reflects on his therapeutic relationship with an elder fellow Russian, and wonders if he made a difference.
by Pooja Gala, MA & Urvi Paralkar
Clinicians Pooja Gala and Urvi Paralkar reflect on the challenges of unlearning cherished notions about therapy in order to be fully present for their clients.
by Kayla Rees
Relatively new to her career as a psychotherapist, Kayla Rees mourns the loss of a young client to suicide.
How Self-Disclosure of Learning Differences Guides My Clinical Relationships
by Benjamin Meyer
Benjamin Meyer believes that disclosing his struggles with learning differences to clients has strengthened his therapeutic relationships.
Addressing Common (and Reasonable) Myths About Exposure-Based Therapy for Child Anxiety
by Deepika Bose
Doctoral student and former non-believer Deepika Bose explores and dispels the myths around using exposure therapy with children, confronting her own anxiety about the process.
by Christine Hammond
Reflecting upon personal experience, therapist Christine Hammond takes us into the personal and professional world of working with Alzheimer’s Disease.
Seven Mistakes in Clinical Supervision
by Daryl Chow
Clinician, researcher and author Daryl Chow asks us to consider what really works in clinical supervision and how to optimize client outcomes in the process.
Advanced Harm Reduction: Managing Intoxicated Clients
by Dr. Stanton Peele & Dolores Cloward
Clinician Stanton Peele and Coach Dolores Cloward challenge the notion that abstinence is the best policy for those with substance use disorders.
What Do I Say Now? Coping with Uncertainty in Unstructured Psychotherapy
by Michael R. Jackson
A seasoned clinician and psychology instructor explores his professional relationship with clinical uncertainty…and wonders.
Responding to an Immediate Negative Transference
by Roberta Satow
A psychoanalytic psychotherapist wrestles with her analysand’s challenging negative transference.
Train Professionals, Not Just Therapists
by Sarah Epstein
The fantasy of moving into a lucrative career may be just that for newly graduated clinicians lacking professional savvy.
Online Therapy: An Unexpected Space of Freedom
by Anastasia Piatakhina Giré
International psychotherapist Anastasia Piatakhina provides a place of refuge and healing through online therapy with women living in oppressive societies.
by Lori Gottlieb
A therapist confronts a clinical imbroglio when she discovers her own therapist is treating her client’s spouse.
by Maggie Mulqueen
Veteran therapist Maggie Mulqueen relocates her practice and unpacks surprising insights about change.
Introducing Multi-Lens Therapy
by Eric Maisel
Multi-lens therapy guides clinicians and clients to the root causes of their problems, offering pathways to change.
by Bill Macaux
Bill Macaux combines his executive coaching and clinical experience with Penberthy’s Interpersonal Circumplex to help a professional couple struggling to free themselves from the pull of family of origin issues.
Embracing Chronic Anger: A Prescription for Disempowerment
by Bernard Golden
Asking us to consider whether chronic anger is or is not a choice, psychotherapist Bernard Golden shares his clinical expertise with a chronically angry client.
by Anastasia Piatakhina Giré
Multilingual, multinational therapist Anastasia Piatakhina bridges language and music with a client struggling to find his true voice.
The Value of Evidence-Based Treatment That Fails
by Seth Gillihan
Considering both the successes and limitations of his methods, psychotherapist Seth Gillihan concludes that it is the caring that counts.
by Anastasia Piatakhina Giré
Self-described ‘displaced-person’ and therapist Anastasia Piatakhina shares her online work with a restless and disconnected hotel-session client.
Therapy with Latinx DACA Clients and Their Families: A Therapist’s Primer
by Jason Linder
Bilingual family therapist Jason Linder shares his first-hand experience getting to know and appreciate the resilience of DACA clients, and discusses how to work with them therapeutically.
Deliberate Practice in Psychotherapy
by Tony Rousmaniere
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.
Working with Teens: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
by Donna C. Moss
While shepherding her own children through adolescence, Donna C. Moss soon realized that working therapeutically with teens was a whole different challenge.
by Joseph Burgo
Recounting a failed relationship with an emerging psychotherapist, veteran clinician Joseph Burgo explores the origins, anatomy and far-reaching impact of toxic childhood shame.
Reflections of a Psychology Resident in Trauma and Acute Care
by Nina Silander, PsyD
En route to becoming a psychologist, a resident reflects on her clinical trials by fire in a Level-1 trauma center.
by Heather Clague
Loyal to psychoanalytic practice, psychiatrist Heather Clague ventures into the unfamiliar territory of CBT for the sake of her client…and herself.
In Praise of the Life of a Psychotherapist
by Catherine Ambrose
Looking beyond day-to-day rigors and challenges from behind the couch, seasoned clinician Catherine Ambrose reflects on the gratitude and growth she continues to experience helping others.
by Jacqueline Simon Gunn, PsyD
A psychotherapist bares all as she reluctantly accepts the referral of a troubled and troubling client who has had a long, hard fall from glory.
The Not-So-Great Gatsby: An Illustrative Look at the Use of Literature in a Therapy Session
by Dan Williams
Dan Williams recounts a session with a suicidal teenage girl in which he attempts to use a discussion of The Great Gatsby story to help her understand her own story.
by Anastasia Piatakhina Giré
A therapist reflects on her work with PhD students doing field work abroad and the healing that can happen doing online therapy at such a vulnerable moment in people's lives.
Becoming Myself: A Psychiatrist’s Memoir
by Irvin Yalom
After decades of writing about his patients' lives as they journey with him through therapy, Irvin Yalom finally puts himself on the couch in this touching memoir—his final book.
Drug Dealer, MD: How Doctors Were Duped, Patients Got Hooked, and Why It’s So Hard to Stop
by Anna Lembke
In this excerpt from Anna Lembke's book, Drug Dealer, MD, she illustrates the dangers early access to prescription opioids can have even for kids who are not at high risk for addiction.
Are High-Risk Clients Suitable for Online Psychotherapy?
by Anastasia Piatakhina Giré & Joseph Burgo, PhD
Two psychotherapists seasoned in long-distance Skype therapy discuss the unique challenges—and advantages—to treating high-risk clients online.
Straight Life Cycle/Queer Life
by Mark O'Connell
Queer therapist and writer Mark O'Connell shares a psychotherapy vignette about navigating traditional heterosexual milestones as a gay man.
If You Kill Yourself, Don’t Make a Mess: Paradoxical Intention with a Suicidal Client
by Dan Williams
In this raw but compelling clinical vignette, therapist Dan Williams uses paradoxical intention in an all-out effort to save his client from committing suicide.
Ayahuasca Is My Therapist (Or Is It?)
by Sean O'Carroll
Can Ayahuasca or other psychedelic medications aid or replace traditional psychotherapy, or is there a danger of "spiritual bypass"?
Tea with Freud: An Imaginary Conversation About How Psychotherapy Really Works
by Steven B. Sandler
In this delightfully imaginative excerpt from Tea with Freud: An Imaginary Conversation About How Psychotherapy Really Works, psychiatrist and author Steven B. Sandler, travels back in time to consult with Freud on some of his most challenging cases, and challenges Freud to think about his famous theories in new ways.
Queer Couch for the Straight Girl
by Mark O'Connell
Queer therapist, Mark O'Connell, describes therapy with a heterosexual woman client, and how claiming his queerness, rather than playing a role of "expert," helped his client create a new story for her life.
Bad Therapy: When Firing Your Therapist Is Therapeutic
by Charlotte Fox Weber
Therapist Charlotte Fox Weber describes an agonizing 5-year therapy as the client of a cold and withholding therapist, and the lessons she learned about what NOT to do with her own clients.
The Imprisoned Brain: Psychotherapy with Inmates in Jail
by Sudhanva Rajagopal
Sudhanva Rajagopal, a clinical psychology graduate student, ponders our animal nature as he relates the poignant complexity of working with inmates in jail.
Whiteness Matters: Exploring White Privilege, Color Blindness and Racism in Psychotherapy
by Margaret Clausen
Explore White privilege in the psychology profession and the importance of confronting it with education, curiosity & humility.
Losing Faith: Arguing for a New Way to Think About Therapy
by Scott Miller
Psychologist Scott Miller, who has spent years researching what works in psychotherapy, details the dark days after losing his faith in the profession, and his long journey back to loving and believing in his vocation once again.
In Bed With Your Therapist: The Paradoxical Intimacy of Online Psychotherapy
by Anastasia Piatakhina Giré & Joseph Burgo, PhD
Psychotherapists Anastasia Piatakhina Giré and Joseph Burgo, who conduct therapy with clients around the world over Skype, share about the unique aspects of being let into the intimate spaces of their clients homes.
What Remains: The Aftermath of Patient Suicide
by Margaret Clausen
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.
Brooklyn Zoo: The Education of a Psychotherapist
by Darcy Lockman
In this excerpt from psychologist Darcy Lockman's book, Brooklyn Zoo: The Education of a Psychotherapist, follow Lockman through an ordinary day as a post-doc at a notorious Brooklyn psychiatric hospital.
by Irvin Yalom
Read a story, "The Crooked Cure," excerpted from Irvin Yalom's new book, Creatures of a Day, about a peculiar client with writer's block.
The Book of Woe: The DSM and the Unmaking of Psychiatry
by Gary Greenberg
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.
Psychotherapy and the Care of Souls
by Thomas Moore
Famed Care of the Soul author, Thomas Moore, offers insights into what makes a good therapist. Hint: You can't learn it from a manual.
When the Therapist Loves and Hates
by Chris Peterson
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.
Bad Therapy: What You Didn't Learn in Grad School
by Deb Kory
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.
The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma
by Bessel van der Kolk
Read an excerpt from the highly acclaimed new book by world renowned trauma expert Bessel van der Kolk, MD.
On Quitting The Practice of Psychotherapy
by Michael Sussman
Former psychotherapist Michael Sussman discusses the perils of psychotherapy practice and the wisdom of knowing when to quit.
by Kerry Mulholland
A poem about the therapy experience from the vantage point of a client.
Psychotherapy with Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Clients
by Karisa Barrow
With attempted suicide rates greater than 40% in the transgender community, it's important for clinicians to be aware of the issues gender nonconforming clients bring to therapy, and to be knowledgeable about how best to support them. Karisa Barrow challenges therapists to deconstruct the gender binary, identify and work through prejudices, and seek guidance from gender specialists to ensure that we "do no harm."
After the Diagnosis: Helping Patients Cope With their Emotions
by Gary McClain
Psychotherapist Gary McClain discusses the importance of understanding clients' reactions to new diagnoses, the three main responses they have, and advocating for them with healthcare providers.
Psychotherapy with Alien Beings: Cultural Competence (and Incompetence) in Psychotherapy Practice
by Laura Brown
Psychologist Laura Brown critiques the limited and limiting methods so often used in psychotherapy training programs to promote cultural competence, and offers a model of intersectionality and integration that honors the full complexity of modern identities—including those of psychotherapists.
Love Sense: The Revolutionary New Science of Romantic Relationships
by Sue Johnson
In this excerpt from her most recent book, Love Sense: The Revolutionary New Science of Romantic Relationships, EFT founder Sue Johnson offers tools for couples and their therapists to repair wounded bonds and navigate the cycles of disconnection and reconnection that can make—or break—relationships.
Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving
by Pete Walker
In this excerpt from his newly-released book, Pete Walker offers therapists an accessible, compassionate and refreshingly de-pathologizing framework for treating clients whose childhood abuse and neglect have created lifelong suffering and instability.
Infertility on Both Sides of the Couch
by Wendy Iglehart
A psychotherapist treats a client struggling with infertility while facing it herself.
Paradise Lost: When Clients Commit Suicide
by Marian Joyce*
A psychologist describes the trauma of losing a patient to suicide.
Our Hungry Selves: Women, Eating and Identity
by Kim Chernin
Famed feminist and psychotherapist, Kim Chernin, discusses her work with women, body image and eating disorders over the past 40 years. Not surprisingly, eating disorders are at an all time high in our culture. She discusses what has changed and what seemingly never will.
Psychiatry by the Dumpster: One Man's Struggle with OCD
by Elias Aboujaoude
Psychiatrist and OCD specialist Elias Aboujaoude gives a poignant account of one man's struggles with severe OCD and his journey to recovery.
by Esther W. Wright-Wilson
Psychotherapist-poet Esther Wright-Wilson muses about the moment an insect intrudes on a therapy session.
Embracing Your Demons: An Overview of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
by Russell Harris
ACT trainer Russell Harris distills the essential components of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) into a simple framework, with case studies to help illustrate the theory and practice of ACT.
Transforming War Trauma: The Healing Power of Community
by Joseph Bobrow
Psychoanalyst and Zen master, Joseph Bobrow, PhD, describes his groundbreaking work providing healing retreats for traumatized veterans and their families.
by Simon Yisrael Feuerman
A psychotherapist shares the agonies and ecstasies of being in psychoanalytic group therapy and asks: Is psychoanalysis a religion after all?
The Tao of Anger Management: A Yield Theory Approach
by Christian Conte
Anger management expert, Christian Conte, PhD, describes his unique and highly effective approach to teaching and counseling violent offenders.
True Refuge: Finding Peace and Freedom in Your Own Awakened Heart
by Tara Brach
Clinical Psychologist and Buddhism expert Tara Brach, PhD, shares her insights about working with pain and suffering, meeting our edge and softening, and the simple but profound technique she uses with clients to bring mindful awareness into their daily lives.
Encounters with Suicide: A Psychotherapist Remembers Not to Forget
by Catherine Ambrose
A psychotherapist treating a suicidal client struggles with memories--and forgetting--of suicide in her own family.
by Reid Wilson
Anxiety Disorder expert Reid Wilson, PhD, offers a unique twist on traditional cognitive-behavioral treatment of anxiety disorders.
Grief and Gratitude: Working with Stroke Survivors
by Carol Howard Wooton, MFT & Gwyn Fallbrooke
After suffering from a stroke herself, a therapist recounts her journey from patient to professional, culminating in her leading groups for other stroke survivors.
Motivational Interviewing in End-of-Life Care
by Ellen Young
A social work intern grapples with a situation that would challenge even an experienced clinician: helping a loving wife decide whether to stop feeding her dying husband of 64 years.
The Spinoza Problem: An Excerpt
by Irvin Yalom
By imagining the unexpected intersection of Jewish philosopher Spinoza’s life with that of powerful Nazi ideologue Alfred Rosenberg, bestselling novelist Irvin Yalom explores the mindsets of two men separated by 300 years. Psychotherapy.net is pleased to publish this exclusive excerpt.
Psychotherapy with Older Adults: Unjustified Fears, Unrecognized Rewards
by George Kraus
A geriatric clinical psychologist debunks the stereotypes about working with elderly populations, and shares his discovery of the joy and gratitude that come from intimate contact with wise elders.
by Esther W. Wright-Wilson
Poems by Esther Wright-Wilson about those unsettling moments in therapy that we can all relate to.
Assessing Partner Abuse in Couples Therapy
by Albert Dytch
Learn how to spot the often subtle signs of partner abuse in couples therapy, and how to take effective action. This article includes the author's Abusive Behavior Inventory as a free download.
The Whole Truth: Coping Creatively with the Dark Side of Therapeutic Practice
by Lisa Mitchell
A therapist reflects upon the dark side of the profession—stress, anxiety, and burnout—and offers helpful insights as well as activities for combating these negative states using professional community building and art making.
Interrupting the Conversation: Gestalt Therapy Here and Now
by Norman Shub
Using a case study with a disconnected client, a contemporary Gestalt therapist debunks myths that have lingered from the heyday of Fritz Perls.
The God of Hellfire Will See You Now
by Matt Wolff
How often does a proto-Goth heavy metal rock star become a psychotherapist?
Sleep and the Therapist: A Poem
by Esther W. Wright-Wilson
A therapist poetically chronicles an underreported occupational hazard.
Psychotherapy with Former Cult Members
by Patrick O'Reilly
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.
Awakening to Awe: A Book Review
by Bob Edelstein
A review of existential psychologist and author Kirk Schneider’s latest work, which explores the nature and power of awe through interviews of people personally transformed by an emotion which has been much neglected by psychology.
by Philippa Perry and Junko Graat
Couch Fiction allows you to peep through the key-hole of the therapy room door and read the mind of the protagonists.
The Gossamer Thread: My Life as a Psychotherapist
by John Marzillier
Using three different case studies with clients, a British therapist describes his personal journey from his early career as a behavioral psychologist, to his later years, where he embraced a more intuitive and reflective psychodynamic approach.
Working in the Here-and-Now of the Therapeutic Relationship
by Nancy Gunzberg
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.
Preventing Psychotherapy Dropouts with Client Feedback
by Tony Rousmaniere
One beginning therapist shares his success with the Session Rating Scale in improving his practice.
Trusting the Client as the Agent of Change
by Tracy A. Knight
Reflections on the client's capacity for change, including a case study of a successful single-session therapeutic intervention.
It's Over Now: Termination and Countertransference
by Melissa Groman
A therapist explores the complex feelings that arise when a client terminates abruptly.
by Nancy Fishman, PhD and Jeffrey Kottler, PhD
Empathy and compassion generally serve us well with our clients, but aren't necessarily the skills we need to navigate the world of running a practice. This story, excerpted from Duped: Lies and Deception in Psychotherapy serves as a cautionary tale.
How Therapists Fail: Why Too Many Clients Drop Out of Therapy Prematurely
by Bernard Schwartz, PhD and John Flowers, PhD
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.
Walking A Tightrope: Family Therapy with Adolescents and Their Families
by Kenneth V. Hardy
Hardy brings family therapy to life with this compelling and instructive case vignette of his work with an African-American family.
Psychotherapy with Medically Ill Patients: Hope in the Trenches
by Tamara McClintock Greenberg
Working with clients who are medically ill not only requires us to learn more about the seemingly distant and disembodied relational aspects of medicine, but also forces us to confront painful existential realities on a daily basis.
A Psychotherapist's Guide to Facebook and Twitter: Why Clinicians Should Give a Tweet!
by Keely Kolmes
Dr. Kolmes offers firsthand insights into the uses of social media as a professional tool.
Healing Trauma Through the Body: The Way In is the Way Out
by Ariel Giarretto
Peter Levine's Somatic Experiencing Approach is brought to life in this in-depth case study of body oriented therapy.
Getting Off to a Powerful Start in Couples Therapy
by Ellyn Bader
Dr. Bader, a renowned couples therapist, gives an overview of essential first steps in therapy with every couple.
H2O Under the Bridge: A Case of Trichotillomania
by Elias Aboujaoude
Dr. Aboujaode provides an engaging and informative account of hair-pulling, in this exclusive excerpt from his book, Compulsive Acts: A Psychiatrist's Tales of Ritual and Obsession.
Beyond Psychotherapy: Working Outside the Medical Model
by John A. Martin
Dr. Martin shares his reasons for leaving the insurance game.
Weekends At Bellevue: A Memoir
by Julie Holland
A no-holds-barred account from the front lines of the psychiatric emergency room at America's oldest public hospital.
Emotional Flashback Management in the Treatment of Complex PTSD
by Pete Walker
Pete Walker provides a convincing argument for the recognition and proper treatment of emotional flashbacks and complex PTSD, which result from childhood neglect and emotional abuse.
Looking Out the Patient's Window Redux: Self-disclosure and Genuineness
by Irvin Yalom
Yalom is confronted to live up to his ideals of therapist self-disclosure and authenticity. Excerpted from the recently updated version of The Gift of Therapy.
Family Therapy and Resistant Parents: The Child Cannot Wait
by Leon Rosenberg
When do we shift from trying to work within the parent-child relationship to seeing the child as a separate entity needing to cope with a destructive parent?
The Man with the Beautiful Voice
by Lillian B. Rubin
Lillian Rubin's moving account of her challenging psychotherapy with a man struggling with his disability. Reprinted from the book of the same title.
A Crash Course in Psychotherapy: Moving through Anxiety and Self-Doubt
by Charlotte Dailey
A challenging client plunges a beginning therapist into a state of anxiety.
Supershrinks: What is the secret of their success?
by Barry Duncan, PhD and Scott Miller, PhD
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?
by Regina Huelsenbeck
Positive thinking isn't everything; life has a rhythm we must honor for our own mental health.
Lowering Fees in Hard Times: The Meaning Behind the Money
by Melissa Groman
One therapist's good, hard look at the question of negotiating therapy fees with clients.
Lessons from the Depths: Scuba Diving and Psychotherapy with Men
by Jeff Sharp
An insightful look into working with typical male concerns in therapy, including pride, shame, armoring, and competitiveness.
When a Patient Dies . . . Should the Therapist Attend the Funeral?
by Richard P. Halgin
Richard Halgin shares the story of a long-term client's unexpected death, and how he managed his professional boundaries around this tragic event.
"When I'm good, I'm very good, but when I'm bad I'm better": A New Mantra for Psychotherapists
by Barry Duncan, PhD and Scott Miller, PhD
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.
Words Against the Void: Poems by an Existential Psychologist
by Tom Greening
Humorous yet profound musings on psychotherapy and the human condition, excerpted from his recent book, Words Against the Void.
by Susan S. Hardy
Marriage and family therapist Susan Hardy explains the usefulness of "acting as if" in changing emotions and behavior.
My, How Couples Therapy has Changed! Attachment, Love and Science
by Sue Johnson
Renowned family therapist Sue Johnson discusses Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFT) in light of new research on attachment in adult love relationships.
Black and White Witchcraft: A Cultural Crossroads in Paris Inspires Therapeutic Innovation
by Tamar Kaim
An American psychology student reflects on her year of research at an ethnopsychiatric clinic in Paris, France.
Shades of Gray: When a therapist and her client are survivors of child abuse
by Lisa Cassidy
When are we far enough down the path of our own healing that we can safely go back and help someone else along? A therapist shares the story of confronting this urgent question with a traumatized client suffering from Dissociative Identity Disorder.
by Dennis Palumbo
An entertaining look behind the the scenes of the entertainment industry.
Psychotherapy in China: Western and Eastern Perspectives
by Stephen F. Myler, PhD & Hui Qi Tong, MD
Practical Psychoanalysis for Therapists and Patients
by Owen Renik
Renik argues that psychoanalysis must move beyond theory and focus instead on effectiveness.
Staring at the Sun: Overcoming the Terror of Death
by Irvin Yalom
In this exclusive excerpt from his latest book, Irvin Yalom delves into the ultimate existential concern, and how therapists can help clients in facing death anxiety.
In Search of Self: My Therapy with Rogers, Satir, Bugental, Polster, Yalom, & Maslow
by Deb Hammond
A psychotherapy student assembles her dream team for guidance toward self-actualization.
The Therapist Mourns His Mother's Death: Being With Clients While Heartbroken
by Bob Livingstone
Therapist Bob Livingstone offers grieving therapists advice about the effects of mourning upon therapeutic practice.
by Saira Bains
A therapist explores her experiences of racism by investigating her family's history of racist trauma.
When the Therapist Leaves: A Personal Account of an Unusual Termination
by Amy Urdang
A psychotherapist explores client-therapist boundaries and termination issues in a particularly intensive course of therapy.
Clinical Wisdom: A Psychoanalyst Learns from his Mistakes
by Herbert Rabin
Dr. Rabin shares lessons culled from 40 years of psychotherapy teaching and practice.
Tyranny of Niceness: A Psychotherapeutic Challenge
by Evelyn Sommers
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.
Angels in Crisis: How Mobile Crisis Intervention Changes Lives
by Bill Martin
A psychologist's poignant account of a challenging case referred by Child Protective Services while working on a mobile mental health crisis team.
Self-Help Snake Oil and Self-Improvement Urban Legends
by Steven Kraus
A psychologist's skeptical look at the science (or lack thereof) behind much of the self-help industry,
Resistant Clients: We've All Had Them; Here's How to Help Them!
by Clifton Mitchell
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.
by David Rice
Dr. Rice offers a new perspective on oppositional-defiant children based on temperament, and suggests effective therapeutic interventions for both parent and child.
Family Therapy with Families Facing Catastrophic Illness: Building Internal and External Resources
by Ellen Pulleyblank Coffey
Dr. Coffey discusses common challenges and interventions for families coping with terminal illness.
The Tao of Direction: Structure and Process in Clinical Supervision
by Jay Reeve
Therapist Jay Reeve offers advice on balancing structured, direct instruction and process-oriented exploration in supervision sessions with new therapists.
by Tom Greening
Lyrical reflections on psychotherapy.
Therapeutic Alliance, Focus, and Formulation: Thinking Beyond the Traditional Therapy Orientations
by Robert-Jay Green
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.
Letting the Patient Matter: Some Thoughts on Irvin Yalom's View of the Therapeutic Relationship
by Barbara Jamison
Jamison reviews highlights of Yalom's book, The Gift of Therapy. focusing on his willingness to engage fully and reveal himself in the therapeutic relationship.
by Saul Spiro
A satiric take on the Mental Status Exam.
by Myrtle Heery
Dr. Heery travels to Russia at the summoning of her soul, and rediscovers the living moment.
9/11 One Year Later: A Psychotherapist Reflects on His Experiences at Ground Zero
by Tab Ballis
We weren't expected to have any words of wisdom... and nobody did.
How To Be A Grown-up Even Around Your Own Parents
by Frank Pittman
People don't become grown-ups until they realize that their parents, however wonderful, were badly misinformed and sometimes stark, raving mad.
The Empty Chair: Making Our Absence Less Traumatic for Everyone
by Ann Steiner
What happens when a therapist becomes ill or dies? Dr. Steiner provides a valuable blueprint for therapists to prepare for unexpected absence and termination.
by Irvin Yalom
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.
Work Is Life: A Psychologist Looks at Identity and Work in America
by Ilene Philipson
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.
Psychotherapy Isn't What You Think: Bringing the Psychotherapeutic Engagement into the Living Moment
by James Bugental
In this exclusive excerpt from his book, renowned existential-humanistic psychologist Jim Bugental reflects on his philosophy of psychotherapy.
Breaking Barriers to Doing Corporate Consulting
by Louis A. Perrott
"Today's most enterprising therapists are realizing that the most promising opportunities for new business lie outside of the healthcare system."
The Path to Wholeness: Person-Centered Expressive Arts Therapy
by Natalie Rogers
Therapist Natalie Rogers shares an overview of this growing field of humanistic psychotherapy.
Transition Into Sports Psychology
by Joan Steidinger
Dr. Steidinger discusses the benefits of joining the growing field of sports psychology.
The Family Research Project: A Summary
by Stephanie Brown
Renowned substance-abuse specialist Stephanie Brown discusses effective therapeutic interventions for families of alcoholics during the recovery process.
Gottman and Gray: The Two Johns
by Hara Estroff Marano
One is the gold standard; the other the gold earner. Take a wild guess which is which.
by Irvin Yalom
An excerpted introduction to psychiatrist Irv Yalom's new novel about the challenging reunion between a therapist and his long-ago patient, who is now a philosophical counselor.
What Do We Believe and Whom Do We Trust?
by Jeffrey Kottler
We all know that clients may withhold critical information, but what do we do when they deliberately lie? Jeffrey Kottler explores this in an excerpt from his latest book, The Assassin and the Therapist: An Exploration of Truth in Psychotherapy and in Life.
The Psychiatric Repression of Thomas Szasz: Its Social and Political Significance
by Ron Leifer
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.