By Debbie Devine MS, LPC Diplomate

Click here to contact Debbie and/or see her GoodTherapy.org Profile

“I just can’t do ANYTHING right,” my client sighed as she settled further into the couch. ‘I should just accept that I am fat, depressed and a failure at relationships. Nothing will help me.”

And as long as she chooses to continue talking to, and about, herself that way, she WILL be overweight, depressed and alone, and most importantly, unable to change, regardless of her therapist’s skills. For the fact is that every cell in our body responds to what we think and say about ourselves. (more…)

By Mary Ellen Barnes, Ph.D., RAS

Click here to contact Mary and/or see her GoodTherapy.org Profile

Alcohol rehabilitation treatment providers are nearly universally wedded to the outdated 12-Step model that only works for approximately ten percent of the men they were designed for, much less for women. Women, and their usually differing needs, motivations, and solutions, are merely lumped into this one-size-kinda/sorta-fits-all category with predictably poor results.

Many women find it impossible to access help that addresses their particular circumstances, life stages, degrees of alcohol involvement, and other relevant factors. This isn’t surprising, because there are very few programs available that offer these services. Since women generally are more comfortable talking about problems rather than actively making the changes necessary to solve them, we tend to shy away from newer models of treatment that ask more of us. This is unfortunate. The older, 12-step model of treatment, that is readily found in group meetings, undermines our strengths and plays into the “victim” mentality that society imposes on women who drink too much, rather than addressing individual women and their unique situations. (more…)

By Dr. Noah H. Kersey, Ph.D.

Click here to contact Noahand/or see his GoodTherapy.org Profile

It’s a bit disturbing to talk with engaged couples to hear all the various reasons why they choose to marry.

What many will not admit is that, sometimes, they are more in love with the “idea” of marriage than they are in love with the person they are about to marry.

Let’s examine this process from a physiological perspective.

When two people meet and begin their courtship they typically evaluate the relationship from their five senses. They might like how the person looks, how they smell, how they feel when they touch and so on. Then, they evaluate how the other person behaves in a variety of situations. (more…)

By Dr. Noah H. Kersey, Ph.D.

Click here to contact Noah and/or see his GoodTherapy.org Profile

There are four key steps to being successful in the counseling process:

Willingness

Many who need counseling either will not seek it or they come for therapy and are not willing to make any changes in their lives. They want others to change; they want their environment or circumstances to change but they are resistant to doing anything different themselves. It is surprising how much emotional pain a person can endure because they have difficulty embracing the idea of change.

Many individuals have difficulty with the process of change because it can create much anxiety getting outside one’s comfort zone. For some, it’s just being a creature of habit and the known is more preferable than the unknown. New habits, new methods of doing things, and changing thinking patterns or behaviors take a great deal of energy and time, as well as courage. (more…)