Mental Health

This morning I led a gardening therapy group for my 25 residential teenagers. I introduced the group by teaching them how to work with the plants, by way of some Ericksonian metaphors: When a baby is born, no one knows what it’s going to turn into. It’s just this bald, screaming, helpless little thing… it […]

I regularly provide counseling to help people stop smoking, and often use hypnosis as a part of my approach. One of the first questions I hear from people is: Does hypnosis really work? Can it really help me stop smoking? I’m not an advertiser — I’m a clinician and a scientist, so I tend to […]

Many times the most difficult thing about making a change is deciding to. It is the terrible ambivalence that keeps us from taking steps to improve our health, to strengthen our relationships, and to break free from patterns of behavior that damage and hold us back. Many people take the first major step of coming to therapy […]

Mindfulness meditation is a deceptively simple technique with a wide range of benefits and a growing body of research support. It’s become the basis for popular psychotherapies like Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy. General Benefits of Meditation From a neurological perspective, regular meditation practice has been associated […]

Are your mind and body working against each other? Psychological stress is so powerful that it can practically tear your body apart. Studies correlate stress with chronic pain, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, cancer, dementia, infections, and just about every other medical problem you could possibly experience. Why? Because stress causes inflammation. And inflammation inhibits your […]

Your spiritual beliefs can be your most powerful tools for positive transformation. Psychotherapy based on the integration and amplification of spirituality is referred to as “transpersonal” — because the nature of spirituality is that it helps to bring us outside of ourselves, and to connect us with higher powers and higher realities. Transpersonal therapy often […]

Depression is extremely common, and extremely treatable. More than 1 in 5 adults will experience a diagnosable mood disorder at some time during their lives, with major depressive disorder being the most common (this is what some counselors call “clinical depression.”) If you’re suffering from depression, you already know how many different kinds of problems it can […]

After a traumatic event, most people feel a little bit like they’re losing their minds. Because rape challenges your basic sense that the world is a safe place to live. The feeling of being violated causes such a huge rush of emotion — everything from anger to fear to guilt to sadness — that it […]

Here’s what the scientific research says about the effectiveness of hypnotherapy for weight loss: One study took an existing 9-week behavioral therapy program for weight loss (something like Weight Watchers or Jenny Craig), and added hypnosis to it to see whether patients receiving the hypnosis-enhanced version would get better results. At the end of the […]

On this page I’ll explain how and why psychotherapy and hypnotherapy are safe and effective treatments for IBS symptoms. I’ll explain some of the causes of IBS — how it relates to diet, lifestyle, stress, and even relationships. And then I’ll explain some of the techniques that I use to help my clients achieve lasting relief […]

If severe, recurrent headaches are putting a strain on your ability to live life your own way, mind-body psychotherapy may help you regain your physical comfort and peace of mind. For over a decade, I’ve used the tools of psychotherapy and hypnosis to help people overcome debilitating medical symptoms. On this page, I’ll provide information […]

An extremely frightening or distressing event such as a serious accident, assault, or rape can sometimes inflict a psychological injury that lasts much longer than the event itself. The emotional shock which follows is called post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. The symptoms of this disorder fall under three categories: Avoidance – After exposure to a traumatic event, many […]

The terms psychotherapy and counseling are often used interchangeably, but many people believe that there is a difference between them that is important for both clients and clinicians. That is why there are separate degrees and professional organizations for counselors and clinical psychologists. I personally am a Licensed Professional Counselor, with a Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology. I am […]

Many people think of hypnosis as a special type of therapy — hypnotherapy. However, when it comes to psychological interventions like psychotherapy and coaching, I think that hypnosis can usually be better thought of as a tool that is used to facilitate therapy. Just like there are many different styles of psychotherapy which reflect the underlying […]

When you’re considering psychotherapy, you should remember that the most important aspect of the treatment, in terms of predicting whether it will be effective for you, is the relationship itself. A deeply trusting and cooperative relationship with your therapist must be developed in order for all the other things that need to happen to happen. […]