TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES VIA FREE WEBSITES

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.  

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

Keeping or Ending Commitments, Excerpted from The Ethical Lives of Clients: Transcending Self-Interest in Psychotherapy

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.

Full Container

by Sylvia Johnson

Couples therapy can unlock and heal the deepest of pains, those related to the loss of a child.

Our Masturbation Machines

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.

Survival Strategies

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.

Confusion of Tongues

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.

Setbacks in Psychotherapy

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.

A Matter of Death and Life

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.

A Therapist’s Best Friend

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.

The Story is Everything

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.

Blind Side

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.

En Attente (On Hold)

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.

My First Private Patient

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.

Unlearning to Learn

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.

The Murder of Hope

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.

Why I Hate Alzheimer’s

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.

Therapy with a Condom On

by Lori Gottlieb

A therapist confronts a clinical imbroglio when she discovers her own therapist is treating her client’s spouse.

Changing Places

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.

Let’s Meet in the Middle

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.

Language as Boundary

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.

Hotel Room Therapy

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.

Superiority and Contempt

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.

Give Me that Feedback

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.

Bare: Psychotherapy Stripped

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. 

PhDs in Therapy

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. 

Creatures of a Day

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.

Therapy: A Poem

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.

The Dark Intruder

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. 

The God of Psychoanalysis

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.

The Anxiety Disorder Game

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.

Two Therapy Poems

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.

Couch Fiction

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.

Duped and Recouped

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?

Cancer and The Secret

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.

Where's the Bear?

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.

Hollywood on the Couch

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.

Transforming the Wounds of Racism: An Autoethnographic Exploration and Implications for Psychotherapy

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.

Psychotherapy for Oppositional-Defiant Kids with Low Frustration Tolerance—and How to Help Their Parents, Too

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.

Existential Poems

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.

A Few Simple Questions

by Saul Spiro

A satiric take on the Mental Status Exam.

Food for the Soul

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.

The Gift of Therapy

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.

The Schopenhauer Cure

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.