Treating ADHD Without Drugs: Entering The Family Labyrinth
Understanding and changing family relationship patterns can make a huge difference for kids diagnosed with ADHD.
Cartoon Therapy
Amy: When my friend Jerry Clements showed me this cartoon today, I absolutely fell apart laughing. I felt like my psyche was on display. “How did they know?” I asked […]
“Chemical Imbalance”: The Seduction of Certainty
Part of the appeal of the “chemical imbalance” metaphor is that it people don’t have to feel ‘guilty” about their depression, or problems with their kids. But it can keep both patients and therapists from getting to the all-important bottom of things.
The Problem With Simple Formulas in Mental Health
The logic of “chemical imbalance” persuades both patients and practitioners that context and subjective experience are not important. But that logic interferes with the understanding the person’s pain, and what it’s made of.
Ask Amy & Dave
We’ve got a new feature on our blog. It’s called “Ask Amy & Dave”. It’s designed for our readers to ask questions about their own relationships, or any relationship of […]
Caring Relationships Can Help Heal Pain
Check out this Op-Ed from The New York Times by Internal Medicine physician Danielle Ofri. She cites a recent Canadian study which shows that empathic, caring conversation from their physical therapists actually reduced the patients’ pain more than a medical procedure designed to treat their condition.
The First Hundred Days: Women and The Men Who Love Them
Amy: All around the world, women–and the men who stand beside them–united in one voice to speak out against the newly elected Donald T. and everything he proudly stands for. […]
All Is Not Lost: The Power of Civic Activism
Amy: Last night I attended an enormous pre-Inaugural rally in New York that overflowed with energy and determination. We listened to a variety of speakers–actors, artists, politicians, activists, who exhorted […]
The Mystery of the Vomiting Woman
How Mental Distress Can Masquerade as Disease: Here’s a live case story which shows how grief can manifest as abdominal pain.
The King of Love
In the U.S. today we celebrate the birthday of the great peace activist and spiritual leader Martin Luther King Jr. In Nina Simone’s song about Dr. King, she called him […]
A Taste of Experiential French Cuisine: ‘Plaisir’ and ‘Jouissance’
Dave: There are two kinds of pleasure in both reading and in psychotherapy; plaisir (pleasure) and jouissance (to be defined later). ‘Pleasure’ is the general term for reading enjoyments of […]
A Slightly Exotic Image of Therapeutic Experience
Meaningful Psychotherapy: It is designed to produce the sense of possibility, and offers ‘whole person’ changes, not simply cognitive adjustments or pain relief.
Meryl Streep Stands Up To Bullies in Her Golden Globe Speech
Check out actor Meryl Streep as she receives the Lifetime Achievement Awards at the Golden Globes. She is a model in courage. We need to emulate her.
“The Mean Dad”: Finale
Here’s the Grand Finale of a difficult, satisfying family therapy case. I think we all, patients and therapist, learned a lot.
The “Mean Joke”: A Chosen Weapon of Dictators
Check out this insightful Op-Ed by writer Jonathan Raban. He talks about the use of language, especially, the cruel joke, as preferred weapon for dictators to demonstrate their power.
From “The Mean Dad”: The Kids Lead The Way
In this installment of Case of The Mean Dad, the parents finally reintroduce their kids into the therapy sessions. Sometimes, indeed, children are the best therapists!
