Blog
The Ghost Network: Mental Healthcare in Crisis
It is tragic that so many people who seek mental health care services are unable to obtain help. If a person is in crisis, days and even minutes matter. Imagine the frustration of desperately needing help and being shunned due to lack of access
True Grit is the Key to Success?
Why would an article on Tom Brady appear on a therapist’s website? What does football have to do with mental health? Everything.
How Trauma in Childhood Has a Long Term Impact
Children, who are dependent on adult caretakers, use minimization of the pain caused by trauma as a defense mechanism.
Is Addiction a Disease?
I agree with the author that it is misleading to consider addiction only as a disease.
The Effectiveness of EMDR for Sexual Trauma
I have discovered that often the only truly effective treatment for sexual and emotional abuse is EMDR. Shame, guilt and low self worth are often debilitating emotions resulting from sexual and emotional abuse.
Do dreams mean anything? Why do I feel like I’m falling? Or wake up paralyzed? We asked experts.
There are countless theories about why we dream, none of which fully explain exactly why it is that we dream. There is no concrete, evidence based data on why we dream.
Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Sleep: The Best Treatment
I have successfully used CBT for years in treating sleep issues. These techniques work for me, and I am convinced they can work for you as well. We all know the difference between having had a good night's sleep and a fitful night of sleep (or no sleep at all). The difference is night and day.
I Only See Gray
I will never forget the patient who gave me the best description of depression I ever heard. She was a 17 year old highly intelligent and very articulate patient on a hospital crisis unit who had attempted suicide.
Incompetence and Negligence at Oxford High School: Is Criminal Prosecution Warranted for School Officials?
As a mental health professional who has done a lot of study and research regarding school shootings, I am aghast at the level of incompetence by school officials who failed to follow the most basic protocols on how to handle a situation in which there were glaring warning signs that a tragedy was about to happen.
The Usefulness of Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR) during the holidays to treat PTSD, Anxiety and Depression
The more I use EMDR in therapy, the more I have come to value its transformative powers. I have found EMDR to be especially useful during the holidays. I have given some thought as to why EMDR is often very effective in dealing with intense negative emotions which may be exacerbated during the holidays.
Effective Treatment for ADD and ADHD During and After the Pandemic
There is no doubt in my mind that many of my clients who may have had mild or moderate symptoms of ADD or ADHD developed severe symptoms of both during the pandemic. The question is: what can be done to treat this uptick in cases of ADD and ADHD?
Times are Tough
These are extraordinary times, but mostly for all the wrong reasons. Previously, I wrote about existential angst, which is a terrible feeling of dread about the future.
It’s a scary time to be growing up. Teens and parents are bonding over that
This article perfectly illustrates what I mean by existential angst. Teens have it in spades. They are literally worried that the planet earth will become uninhabitable and that they or their children will be doomed.
Taking Care of Your Mental Health is a Beautiful Thing
The Washington Post article on October 12, 2021 titled "A record number of workers are quitting their jobs" dovetails nicely with the point I made in my previous blog post about many people re-evaluating their values and priorities. The social changes we are experiencing and witnessing are structural shifts which are likely to become permanent.
How Do We Cope in Such a Troubled Time? Existential Angst in the Age of Global Trauma
Existential angst is of course a part of the human condition. What makes the current era so viscerally intense is that we are all exposed to the same threats as a collective whole
How to Help Teens Stress Wellness
Teen stress has been heightened by a year of pandemic. How to help
Pandemic Lab: More drinking at home is linked to domestic abuse
An interesting article about how domestic abuse has risen during the pandemic and how drinking (especially at home) has led to this.
Mental Health Crisis Among Health Care Workers
The following is an article from the Washington Post that discusses the mental health crisis among health care workers about Stress on the front lines of covid-19.
"Stay 6 Feet Apart, We're Told. But how Far Can Air Carry Coronavirus?" - New York Times
Stay 6 Feet Apart, We're Told. But how Far Can Air Carry Coronavirus?
"Nurses Die, Doctors Fall Sick and Panic Rises on Virus Front Lines" -NY Times
My heart goes out to doctors and nurses who are demonstrating the true meaning of courage, namely, acting with grace and dignity and doing their jobs in spite of their fear of contracting COVID-19 (and many have come down with the illness and many more are likely to become ill and possibly die).