How Psychology’s Focus on Obesity Does More Harm Than Good
Psychology, taking its tune from medicine, has honed in on obesity as a problem its providers need to fix. Medicine views obesity/overweight as a disease; psychology has co-opted the disease model and posits weight as a behavior demanding therapeutic intervention....Continue reading→
12-Step Approaches: Pros and Cons for Alcohol and Substance Use Disorders
Success of 12-Step Approaches Most people are familiar with AA (Alcoholics Anonymous), NA (Narcotics Anonymous), and other 12-Step (self-help) groups. In fact, many treatment providers, when learning of a client’s alcohol or substance misuse, will immediately suggest that the client...Continue reading→
Mental Heath Insurance – To Claim or Not to Claim?
Mental Health Insurance: Before the millennium, many Americans lacked mental health insurance. The Affordable Care Act (aka, Obamacare) expanded on the Mental Health Parity Act to require most insurance plans to cover therapy and treatment for psychiatric disorders. With it,...Continue reading→
The Good Enough Mom
The Perfect Mom Are you a Pinterest-worthy mother? Do you create edible dioramas, crafted only out of bamboo shavings, low-glycemic fruit, and unconditional love? Have you found the perfect tipping point in meditating alongside little one, balancing modeling a spiritual...Continue reading→
Fighting Insomnia with Reverse Psychology
Do you have trouble falling asleep? Does bedtime create significant stress for you? You might be struggling with insomnia. According to the American Psychiatric Association, more than 50 million adults experience chronic insomnia, while even more have periodic bouts of...Continue reading→
The Link Between Exercise and Eating What You Want (Hint: It’s Not What You Think)
I remember spotting a woman at the grocery store not too long ago, wearing a shirt that read, “Will Work Out for Fries.” The problem with this sentiment, along with similar ones, is that it posits physical activity as compensation,...Continue reading→
Rejection Therapy and Social Anxiety Disorder
Meet Jia Jang. He’s an entrepeneur, author, and TED Talker. He’s also the owner of Rejection Therapy, a game designed to help people overcome their fears of rejection. A couple of years back, Jia sought to conquer these same fears...Continue reading→
Avoiding Reality via Alcohol/Drug Misuse
One of the frequent goals of alcohol or drug misuse – which can eventually lead to addiction – is the avoidance of reality. Let’s face it – reality is tough. Whether it’s difficult emotions or circumstances, family members or situations,...Continue reading→
Panic 101
One of the most frightening things that many of my patients experience is a panic attack – or worse, a series of them.  According to the DSM-5 (American Psychiatric Association, 2013), a panic attack is: “An abrupt surge of intense fear...Continue reading→
Building an Emotional Muscle
One of my favorite definitions of mental health is the ability to experience and express emotions in an effective way. It’s simple, but so on point. Recently, I came across this blog post on how parents can help their children...Continue reading→
Why Group?
Why would you want to sit in a room with complete strangers learning about their struggles and being encouraged to reveal your own? It might be daunting to consider group therapy when even the notion of individual therapy might be overwhelming...Continue reading→
4 Life Lessons from the Improv Stage
While living in Los Angeles, I tried out my hand at improv at the famed Second City. Each Sunday afternoon, our Improv 1 class gathered to play games, act out skits, and laugh together. As I was taking the class,...Continue reading→