A Memory

A memory popped up on my facebook today from 2016. I took a selfie in a bathroom mirror at a university after presenting at a conference. I drove from Pittsburgh to southern Illinois to present on my thesis by myself. It's been interesting reflecting on just how close I was to dropping out of undergrad [...]

Quarantine Day 19

Sun permeates trees, inviting Spring awakens dormant rootsLet it fill your lungs and spiritWith hope Lazy day today, though I did go on a walk and did a minimal amount of work. Fighting against cabin fever is so much easier when you can go outside and actually feel the sun warming your skin. I was fortunate [...]

Redefining Therapy

One of my friends is going through a hard time. Today we both went to the local Y and swam laps. I'm not his therapist, I'm his friend, but I found myself wondering about doing something similar with my clients. Or winning the lottery and opening a facility where I could have a session that [...]

Behavioral Addictions

This is truly one of my passions-- treating behavioral addictions. Behavior or process addictions actually activate the same pleasure pathways in the brain as substance addictions do... and they can be just as much if not more difficult to manage! This might include sex, porn, gaming, shopping, gambling, relationships... really, the possibilities are endless. Remember [...]

Autism in Adults

A lot of the information about autism out there focuses on kids... which makes sense, because autism is typically diagnosed at an early point in a child's development, but what happens when it's not? What happens when someone is on the cusp of a diagnosis or just flies under the radar? Maybe they are misdiagnosed? [...]

Therapists Receiving Therapy

I am a firm believef that good therapists receive their own therapy to become more and more self-aware and to never stop growing/pushing their growing edge. My own therapy started many years ago at a very bad time in my life when I thought my anxiety was going to take over and I would have [...]

Wellness Wednesday: Self Expression

In some ways I feel like my psychology and counseling training has ruined me. In the best possible way, of course. Let me explain. I spend a lot of time analyzing people. Dealing with their innermost thoughts and emotions. So when in my personal life people seem unwilling or unable to be forthcoming and honest [...]

The Tapes We Play

I'm about to run a group on self concept. A colleague just told me he regularly heard positive things about my groups even though I work on an as needed basis around my school schedule. The comment doesn't really penetrate or compute.  I tell the residents in the inpatient rehab where I work all the [...]

Wellness Wednesday: Fear

You know, I was in such a bad state last week that I started drafting this post. I do think fear runs my life much more than I realize, but I felt particularly awful and fearful last week. It's strange to revisit that because while I still deal with fear and anxiety daily, I am [...]

Night Terror Last Night

Feeling upside down today. My anxiety has been relatively calm since I returned from Belize, so I am not sure what, if anything, spurred this. I spoke with my therapist about my dream this morning. I had the sensation that it was a long and involved dream, but here are the bits I remember: I [...]