Category: Counseling
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I Need Help, Who Doesn’t?
“I need help” means a lot To admit that I need help is huge. It means I am ready to surrender something: resistance to change, false pride, coping mechanisms that no longer work, skewed perceptions of myself and reality, and the resistance to our inherent vulnerability as people. The first step is admitting I need help,…
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Relationships and the Marriage and Family Therapist
The Role of a Marriage and Family Therapist The focus of a marriage and family therapist or MFT in family counseling, couples counseling, or individual work is on relationship. It is the relationship one has with others and the relationship one has with the inner life of thoughts, feelings, sensations, intuitions, dreams, visions, fantasies and…
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Why is Dialectical Behavior Therapy helpful?
Webster’s Dictionary defines dialectical: a method of examining and discussing opposing ideas in order to find the truth. Dialectical behavioral therapy was adopted from the mindfulness meditation traditions that go back thousands of years. It has been very effective in treating those with symptoms of borderline personality. In the previous post, Fear of Abandonment, I…
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Do I Need Therapy?
Instead of asking your self, “Do I need therapy?”, first ask your self, “Would I like some help with my confusion?”, “Would I like support with feeling over whelmed?”, “Would I like to understand relationships better?”, and so on. Basically, “What would I like a little help with?” These sorts of questions help us…
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A History of Mental Illness in the Family
Many people have described to me a history of mental illness in their family. Some know of depression dating back several generations. Many know histories of alcoholism, psychotic breaks and hospitalization, anxiety and trauma symptoms that still show their faces generation after generation. I have seen patients over the years having psychotic episodes, major depressions,…
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The Art Therapist
The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance. – Aristotle Art has an essential place in psychotherapy. It provides expression for places within the self that are not yet known. If these places remain unconscious, they appear as struggle or staled maturity. A poem or story…
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The Art of Communication, The Inner and Outer Voices
As we refine our communication with others, we are refining our communication with our own inner life. The quality of communication with another is based on the quality of communication within ourselves. If I am judgmental with myself, I will be judgmental with another. If I can hear my inner voices empathically, I can do…
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Seeking Therapy, A Place to Start
Psychological tests on line can be a good place to start when seeking help with therapy. Sometimes these tests help us to become aware of our experiences throughout the day. Many times we are not even aware of the difficulty we are having because we have become numb or assumed “that’s just the way it…
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Men and Mental Health- Podcast
Men and Mental Health Here is a podcast I did with the guys from mancertified.com. This is a podcast concerning depression, a man’s resistance to psychotherapy, marriage, parenting and mental health in our culture today. http://www.mancertified.com/mancertified-episode-10-steve-lee-men-mental-health/ Men and Mental Health-Podcast
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Psychiatrist, Counseling Psychologist, MFT or LCSW?
Here are some basic differences to be aware of when you are choosing a counselor or psychotherapist. They all fit under that category. They all provide psychological guidance. What is the difference between: Psychiatrist, Counseling Psychologist, MFT or LCSW? What is a psychiatrist? They are the only ones that can write a prescription for medication,…
