Contributed by Rich Simon
Esther Perel on Adapting to Uncertainty
And How Relationships Are Changing in a PandemicThere’s a profound change occurring in our relationship to space. In working remotely, it feels at times like we’re doing home visits. In video calls, we... Read more
The overwhelming shift to teletherapy this year represents the first wave of a sea change in the field of therapy—nothing less. We’ll need to marshal all... Read more
How can therapists of all races and ethnicities support their clients of color in voicing their experiences of racial oppression and naming what they need to... Read more
Dealing with Cybertrance Mindfully
Tara Brach Shares a Personal StoryWith so much of our lives being conducted in front of screens right now, it can be easy to lose sight of the world around us, and this can make for some tough... Read more
The Addict in All of Us
Gabor Maté's Unflinching VisionCanadian physician Gabor Maté believes that addictive behaviors are woven into the very fabric of our materialistic society. Read more
What is it like for the more than six million women in the U.S. who face reproductive challenges? In simpler terms, what happens when you want a baby but... Read more
The stories in this issue are notable not only for their therapeutic wisdom, but also for their authors’ capacity to connect with us in a time of... Read more
Something’s afoot in the therapy world, and some clinicians will surely wrinkle their brows at it. Although it comes in various forms, the catchiest term for... Read more
Busting the Myth of the One-Size-Fits-All Marriage
An Interview with Esther PerelEsther Perel traces the development of her approach and the wider response to her ideas about sexuality and intimacy. Read more
VIDEO: Facing Difficult Emotions
Tara Brach on the Power of Deliberate PracticeOur brain has hundreds of strategies for resisting emotional pain. But according to psychologist and renowned Buddhist Tara Brach, resisting pain... Read more
VIDEO: The Power of Predictability
The Cornerstone of a Strong Therapeutic AllianceProviding familiarity and predictability is one of our greatest tools in therapy, and can provide much-needed comfort to clients who aren't used to it... Read more
The pace of our daily schedules can make it hard to look up from our appointment apps and ponder the bigger picture: Why are we doing this thing called... Read more
VIDEO: What Keeps Clients Coming Back?
The Power of TransparencyIn today’s Information Age, therapy clients are more informed—and have greater expectations up front—when it comes to the look and feel of therapy... Read more
Many of us overlook our physical environments, and perhaps especially our work spaces, which may be so familiar that we no longer really see them. In this... Read more
VIDEO: Esther Perel on Speaking About Sex
Getting Comfortable in Couples TherapyMany traditional approaches to couples therapy are built on the assumption that if you help a couple clear up the emotional issues in their relationship, sex... Read more
Learning to Bear the Unbearable
How MDMA WorksOver the past three or four decades, Bessel van der Kolk has been as influential as anyone in shaping the landscape of the trauma treatment world. As an... Read more
VIDEO: Learning to Let Go of Trauma
Bessel van der Kolk on the Power of Creating a NarrativeImagine the helplessness of being unable to distinguish painful past experiences from present ones. According to Bessel van der Kolk, author of The Body Keeps... Read more
The dimensions of the opioid epidemic are staggering, and the national conversation around drug abuse has begun to change. Today, more and more voices are... Read more
Fighting the Epidemic
An Interview with the Author of DopesickAn interview with Beth Macy, author of Dopesick, on solution-oriented journalism and creative ways of confronting the opioid crisis. Read more
VIDEO: The Biggest Threat to Remarried Boomers
Helping Partners Deal with StepfamiliesSuccessfully combining families as part of remarriage is always challenging. But it's especially hard when older re-couplers have adult children, who may or... Read more
VIDEO: Steve Andreas on Heading Off Resistance
What to Do in the Very First SessionWhen both client and therapist are unclear about the source of resistance, it can bring treatment to a halt. Renowned therapist Steve Andreas believes that... Read more
For a long while, most of us thought we had the signs and signals of teenage girls down: the growing obsession with friends, the pain of peer rejection, the... Read more
How both therapy and the challenges adolescents face have changed in the digital age. Read more
VIDEO: David Burns on Overcoming Resistance
Exploring Why Clients Might Not Want to ChangeDo you have a client who you can't seem to help, no matter what techniques you try? In this brief video, master clinician David Burns—one of the developers... Read more
VIDEO: Helping Kids Find the Answers Inside
Here's a Fun Exercise That Gets Your Young Clients InvolvedWouldn’t it be great if we had a magic therapy wand to wave in front of our young clients and give them all the answers they need? What if this magic wand... Read more
In the true tales published in this issue, the storytellers made a leap of faith, dropping all pretense of professional omniscience and trusting their... Read more
Therapy in a Challenging World
Highlights from Symposium 2019Rich Simon, Networker editor, tried to highlight the role therapists can play in a world so turned upside down that "crazy has become the new normal." Read more
For many years after, body therapy remained a semi-underground movement within the field. Now increasing numbers of clinicians are utilizing highly... Read more
VIDEO: Susan Johnson on the Power of Emotion in Couples Work
The Behavior Patterns That Kill Romance, and How to Beat ThemSusan Johnson explains how attachment science can help couples discover a pathway to optimal lovemaking. Read more
VIDEO: Jack Kornfield on the Role of Ritual in Clinical Practice
Simple Rituals Can Help You Be Fully Present with Clients in PainIt can be difficult to leave your emotions in the consulting room at the end of the day, especially when a client's story is heartbreaking or horrifying. But... Read more
VIDEO: Esther Perel on How to Talk with Men About Intimacy
Framing Intimacy as a Regular Part of LifeIt's not always easy to get men to talk about intimacy and sex. But according to renowned sex therapist and author Esther Perel, there's a way to weave... Read more
VIDEO: Janina Fisher on Collaborating with Clients in Trauma Treatment
The Secret to Tapping Into Inner ResourcesFor many traumatized clients, even beginning to explore a traumatic event can be an act of bravery. According to therapist and trauma expert Janina Fisher, in... Read more
VIDEO: Peter Levine on Trauma Treatment's "Greatest Tool"
Tapping into the Power of the BodyAccording to trauma specialist Peter Levine, the body is the therapist's greatest tool in helping clients understand and heal from a traumatic event. So... Read more
In this issue, we hear from therapists who are moving beyond the confines of their offices to work with traumatized communities with enormous needs and few... Read more
The Masculinity Paradox
An Interview with Esther PerelThe #MeToo movement has returned the field to many of the issues feminists raised decades ago. This time, however, there’s a new focus on avoiding... Read more
VIDEO: Peter Levine's Somatic Tools for Self-Soothing
Creating a Path to Client IndependenceOften, traumatized clients find that they become dependent on their therapists to help them handle their extreme emotional states. But according to Peter... Read more
Here, we focus on today’s young adults (many of whom bristle at the label millennials). Not only have they ushered in many of the changes taking place in the... Read more
The Man Who Became an Adjective
No One Writes about Psychology Like Malcolm GladwellNo one writes about psychology with more irresistible readability—and book sales—than 2019 Symposium featured speaker Malcolm Gladwell. Read more
VIDEO: Dan Siegel on Engaging Teen Clients
They're More Interested in Brain Science Than You ThinkDan Siegel knows that nobody—especially an angst-filled teenager—likes being told what to do. That’s why he takes a more roundabout approach to... Read more
When I first heard about the growing research on the therapeutic use of psychedelics to treat trauma, I was frankly a bit bemused. But it’s been hard to... Read more
Learning to Bear the Unbearable - September/October 2018
How MDMA WorksAs a researcher and outspoken advocate for therapeutic innovation, Bessel van der Kolk has been as influential as anyone in shaping the landscape of trauma... Read more
The Challenge of Psychedelic Therapy
How It Could Change Your PracticeWith his latest book, How to Change Your Mind, noted author Michael Pollan has drawn a comprehensive portrait of the growing psychedelic therapy movement. In... Read more
VIDEO: When is It Trauma? Bessel van der Kolk Explains
Is Your Client Traumatized? For the Answer, Look to the BodyOften we hear things from clients like “My relationship ending was so traumatic for me,” or “When my uncle passed away, I was totally traumatized.”... Read more
VIDEO: What to Do When Your Client Cries
Making Tears Your Therapeutic AllyMany times, when clients cry, clinicians feel an urge to rush in and “fix things” that aren’t broken, which can actually make things worse. Watch as Jay... Read more
VIDEO: How Symptoms Reveal the Path to Growth
IFS Developer Richard Schwartz on Befriending the Inner "Protector"Often, our attitudes toward anxiety symptoms are misguided, says Richard Schwartz, the originator of Internal Family Systems. By understanding responses... Read more
VIDEO: Why Not All Mental Health Problems Are Psychological
Minding the Body Means More Than Just Taking a PillMost therapists recognize that physiological processes hugely influence emotion and behavior. But according to psychiatrist Robert Hedaya, too many tend to... Read more
VIDEO: Why We Need to Talk with Psychiatrists
How Being “On Call” Keeps Kids from Falling through the CracksAccording to therapist Ron Taffel, author of Breaking Through to Teens, kids who need the extra boost from medication need their therapists to go the extra... Read more
We may look back on June 2018 as a tide-turning moment in public awareness of severe depression for reasons virtually all of us hate. In this issue, we... Read more
Taking on the largely unnamed complexities of the #MeToo movement for men, this issue explores how therapists can help men respond to women’s experiences in... Read more
The Symposium and the Psychology of Shopping
Highlights from Symposium 2018In Networker editor Rich Simon’s introduction to the conference, he likened it to a deeply stimulating marketplace of ideas, where clinicians get an expanded... Read more
VIDEO: Tara Brach on Awakening from the Cybertrance
Dealing with the Challenges to Mindfulness in a Digital WorldIt should come as no surprise that, in our culture, immersion in cyber activities far outpace the interest in mindfulness. But how do you deal with the... Read more
Increasingly, therapists are becoming important players in a new era of more conscious aging, as more people make their way to our offices with issues related... Read more
VIDEO: What Infidelity Looks Like
All Types of Cheating Have This in CommonOf course, sexual affairs are red flags for infidelity, but there are common elements that make any outside relationship an infidelity. Sex therapist Tammy... Read more
VIDEO: Tony Robbins on “The Art of Fulfillment”
Being Content Doesn’t Have to Mean Choosing Happiness Over SuccessThe bad news? We all have a two-million-year-old brain that keeps us constantly anxious and self-critical. The good news? It doesn’t have to define who we... Read more
VIDEO: How to Think Scientifically about Medications
Why Having a Hypothesis Works for the Non-Medical TherapistDespite the increasing popularity of psychiatric meds as the go-to remedy for everything from seasonal depression to social anxiety, drugs are often not the... Read more
VIDEO: Why Anticipating Relapse Is Our Best Defense Against It
How to Mobilize the Client’s Support SystemIt’s always cause for celebration when depressed clients nears the finish line of treatment, feeling energized, empowered, and more content with their life... Read more
Three decades ago, doing therapy was a relatively uncomplicated affair. After graduate school, you set up shop as a family therapist, a psychodynamic healer... Read more
Remembering Salvador Minuchin
A Networker TributeTo be a young, intellectually curious therapist in the 1960s and ’70s was to fall under the spell of the new systems practitioners, who were redefining what... Read more
VIDEO: What's the Difference Between Brain and Mind? Dan Siegel Explains
The Distinctions between Neuroscience and PsychotherapyWith all the buzz about brain science, is it possible to lose sight of the mind? Dan Siegel, a pioneer in the applications of brain science to psychotherapy... Read more
VIDEO: Helen Fisher on the Truth about Adultery
Match.com's Scientific Advisor Weighs InIn a world of new and emerging norms about commitment, intimacy, the right to personal happiness, and open relationships are there also new patterns? Has the... Read more
VIDEO: Tony Robbins on Overcoming Limitations
Leading Yourself and Your Clients to GreatnessAccording to life strategist and bestselling author Tony Robbins, there may be more that therapists can do to help clients create the life they want, rather... Read more
VIDEO: Tony Robbins on “The Absolute Truth” of Change
…And Why We Need to “Update the Software”Peak performance strategist Tony Robbins says he operates from a simple premise—if a person shows up looking for your help, it means they want to change. And... Read more
In this issue, we take a stab at understanding this larger social phenomenon, a perilous downward spiral of faultfinding that we might call the National Blame... Read more
A Q & A with Tony Robbins
A Personal Look at his Biggest ChallengeWhat it’s like to be the focus of so many people’s hopes and expectations for how they might change their lives? Read more
Ever wish you could bring about change in your clients faster? Life and business strategist and 2018 Symposium presenter Tony Robbins says it’s easier than... Read more
VIDEO: The Tony Robbins' Key to the Process of Change
How Much Does Your Particular Approach Really Matter?What do all good therapeutic techniques have in common? In the following video clip from his interview with Networker Editor Rich Simon, peak performance... Read more
VIDEO: Tony Robbins on the Power of Love, "the Ultimate Weapon"
How to Help Your Client Master the Dance Between Fear and DesireWhat do life coaches and therapists have in common? According to renowned life and business strategist Tony Robbins, plenty. In this clip from his interview... Read more
VIDEO: How to Broach the Subject of Medication with Kids
When Is It Necessary? An Expert Explains.Given the stigma still attached to psychiatric drugs, it’s no surprise that today’s kids might have reservations about taking them. But as a specialist in... Read more
VIDEO: Stepfamilies: Great for Parents, Grief for Kids?
Patricia Papernow On The Double-Reality New Stepfamilies FacePatricia Papernow, an expert in working with stepfamilies, helps us understand the fundamental issues and unique hurdles most stepfamilies must navigate. Read more
This issue doesn’t try to resolve all the myriad challenges of couples work. Instead, it opens up a conversation about the things couples therapists rarely... Read more
Everywhere at Once
Esther Perel Is Becoming Therapy's Most Visible PresenceBy questioning some of the fundamental premises of traditional marriage, couples therapist Esther Perel has become, at least for the moment, psychotherapy’s... Read more
VIDEO: Lisa Ferentz on Planting the Seeds for Post-Traumatic Growth
Removing the Glass Ceiling for Trauma SurvivorsIt’s not always easy to tell trauma survivors in the midst of deep suffering that one day they’ll find meaning in what happened to them. But according to... Read more
VIDEO: Ron Potter-Efron on Helping Clients with Anger Problems
"Building a Bridge" from the Old Brain to the New BrainIs it possible to overcome the typical oppositional response of a client with anger issues? According to Ron Potter-Efron, the key to working effectively with... Read more
VIDEO: Ken Hardy on Getting Through to Inner City Youth
Helping Traumatized Kids Discover Their Inner ResourcesIn its coverage of race-related discord, the media has fixed on lurid images of violence and destruction without providing much context for understanding the... Read more
Even if the diagnosis of “internet addiction” is legitimate (and many experts think it isn't), surely it can't apply to the billions of people on the... Read more
VIDEO: Frank Anderson on Bridging the Chasm between Psychotherapy and Psychiatry
How to Discuss Meds with Your ClientsPsychotherapists are usually on the front lines of mental health treatment, trained to spot and assess everything from changes in mood to unusual physical... Read more
The Courage to Connect
Highlights from the 2017 SymposiumYear after year, therapists have come to the Networker Symposium expecting to escape the turbulence of everyday life and the real world. But this year... Read more
Editor's Note: May/June 2017
Thoughts on StorytellingThese days, when psychotherapy is supposed to be “evidence based” and “empirically validated,” standardized and manualized up the wazoo, therapists... Read more
VIDEO: Combining Trauma Treatment with Family Therapy
Making Sure Treatment Sticks Outside the Therapy RoomFar too often, trauma survivors appear to progress in therapy and then go home and fall right back into the same old patterns of negative emotion and... Read more
In spite of what seems to be as many different therapy methods as stars in the sky, and in spite of reams of outcome studies, no empirically studied model... Read more
VIDEO: Janet Edgette on Getting Real with Kids in Therapy
The Perils of Being Too EmpathicWe all want to build strong relationships with our clients, but when working with adolescents, don’t overdo the empathy, says therapist Janet Edgette... Read more
VIDEO: Dan Siegel Explains Why Brain Integration is the Key to Good Mental Health
Here's What a Healthy Mind Looks LikeAccording to Dan Siegel, understanding the connection between the brain and the miraculously various operations of the human mind and body is the first step in... Read more
VIDEO: A Breathing Antidote for Stress Responses
A Six-Minute Exercise for Overcoming StressOur depressed clients don’t only exhibit their symptoms through speech and vocal tone. You see them in their body language too—in slouching torsos, folded... Read more
VIDEO: Maggie Phillips on the Four Levels of Traumatic Pain
Exploring an Uncommon Side Effect of TraumaWhen Maggie Phillips and Peter Levine co-authored Freedom from Pain, they aimed to explore what’s been missing from the field’s treatment of chronic... Read more
This look back at the last 40 years of this magazine and our profession comes at a time when we could all use perspective on what we’ve learned from the... Read more
Turns in the Road
Highlights from the Networker JourneyOut of all the hundreds and hundreds of articles that have appeared in the Networker over the past four decades, we’ve chosen a small sampling that captures... Read more
In this issue, our contributors reveal, in ways that were all quite stunning to me, the magnitude and vast social implications—for us and our profession—of... Read more
Living Brave
From Vulnerability to DaringWith millions of people having seen her TED talks and read her books, researcher and bestselling author Brené Brown is a phenomenon. But aside from her... Read more
Clearly, therapists must always respond with empathy, understanding, and attuned clinical expertise to clients’ suffering. But the theme of this issue is... Read more
Today, with all the presumed advances therapists have made in reducing mental suffering from previously untreatable conditions, is there a solution, a cure, a... Read more
At this year's Symposium, we invited veteran therapists to tell their true stories of their “most unforgettable session,” and those stories are the focus... Read more
VIDEO: Making the Case for the Emotional Man
Pat Love Explains Why We Need to Rethink the "Empathy Gap"Have you ever wondered if some men in your practice are simply unable to listen, connect, and empathize with their partners? According to Pat Love, it’s more... Read more
VIDEO: When One Partner Wants Out
Discernment Counseling for the Mixed-Agenda CoupleIn at least 30 percent of couples who come to therapy, partners enter the consulting room with different agendas---one wants a divorce, the other wants to save... Read more
VIDEO: Attuning to Reluctant Teens
Getting Through to Shut-Down KidsMost therapists are aware of the perils of trying to connect with teenage clients. Teens are often brought to therapy against their will by adults, which can... Read more
I found talking to the transgender kids and their parents that I interviewed for this issue not only enlightening and educational, which I expected, but also... Read more
VIDEO: Using Yoga to Calm the Revved-Up Client
The Yoga Breath’s Universal ApplicationRich Simon interviews Amy Weintraub about the use of yoga in therapy. Read more
VIDEO: Susan Johnson on Attachment Issues in the Bedroom
How to Help Couples Have "Hold Me Tight" ConversationsIn a brief video, Susan explains how to create moments of emotional sharing so deep that they automatically translate into couples' lives. Read more
I suspect that no matter how sophisticated we become about sex in the abstract, there’s some half-hidden, unacknowledged suspicion within most of us that... Read more
This issue of the Networker is an attempt to explore what we can contribute as a profession to the “conversation about race,” which, as lame and ungainly... Read more
VIDEO: Overcoming Barriers to Self-Compassion
Tim Desmond on Self-Compassion in TherapyIn this video, Tim walks us through his process for engaging a client who’s resistant to self-compassion. It’s a great step-by-step example that will give... Read more
The Healing Power of Emotion
New Perspectives. New Approaches.Emotion shapes and organizes our experience and connection to others. It readies us for specific actions and motivates us to change—research now confirms all... Read more
VIDEO: Treating Anxiety
David Burns on the Paradox of ResistanceDavid Burns explains how he addresses outcome and process resistance in a way that quickly leads to meaningful and lasting change with clients. Read more
Over the course of their careers, most psychotherapists discover that to be genuinely helpful they must learn to do something more than simply wield a set of... Read more
VIDEO: Depression Is Not a Disease, It’s a Wake-Up Call
James Gordon on Healing without AntidepressantsDepression is not a disease, so the promise of antidepressants as a cure just doesn’t hold water. That’s the assessment of James Gordon, M.D. and he should... Read more
VIDEO: The Mindful Path Out Of Depression
Zindel Segal on Helping Clients Take The First StepWhat’s happening when a client suffering from symptoms of depression is willing to follow the therapist’s voice with eyes closed? According to Zindel... Read more
VIDEO: Changing the Brain to Take In the Good
Rick Hanson on 5 Simple Steps to Use Right AwayIn this brief clip, Rick walks us through surprisingly simple steps that can shift our memory systems to internalize positive experiences and states with equal... Read more
VIDEO: Four Steps To Get Potential Clients To Contact You Now
Joe Bavonese on how to make your website a magnet for new clientsWhat if you could immediately to make your website more compelling and more effective in helping potential clients connect with you? Joe Bavonese, marketing... Read more
VIDEO: The Rewards of More Direct Contact with Potential Clients
Lynn Grodzki On An Opportunity Presented From Tough TimesIn this quick clip, Lynn Grodski invites us to think entrepreneurially about how to make the most of just one of the new opportunities she sees in today’s... Read more
At this moment in history, we seem to be in a divorce-busting mode, relatively speaking, and so fewer therapists are likely to tacitly encourage divorce as... Read more
VIDEO: Why Clients Will Pay More For An Intensive Session
Casey Truffo On Structuring A Therapeutic IntensiveWith some clients, issues, or circumstances, an hour is not quite enough time to dig in. That’s why it’s great to have an “Intensive Option.” Think of... Read more
Throughout history, for most people it was just expected that work was a difficult, tedious, underpaying, and often soul-killing grind. But in today’s world... Read more
Defusing Male Shame
Understanding the Significance to Male ClientsShame is an emotion that isn’t healthy. Unlike guilt–which causes remorse for something you did wrong–shame can cause someone to feel as... Read more
VIDEO: Men and Intimacy
A Relational Approach to Helping Male ClientsAccording to Patrick Dougherty, the biggest problem men have in psychotherapy isn’t that intimacy and the language of emotion is such foreign territory, but... Read more
There’s been a decline in the public’s utilization of psychotherapy as a consequence of the rise of what might be called the Gang of Three: DSM, Big... Read more
VIDEO: Who Should You Talk To?
Janina Fisher on how and when to speak to a client’s “child part”When an adult is in your consulting room, it’s understandable if you use adult language and logic. But at certain points in the healing process, you may need... Read more
VIDEO: How to Help Clients Cope With Overwhelming Emotion
Joan Klagsbrun on Three Focusing Techniques That WorkIntense emotion in the consulting room can leave some clients overwhelmed; others shut down. Either response can derail your session. Now here’s some help... Read more
Meditation for Slow Learners
Mindfulness Goes Big TimeOver several thousand years, different cultures around the world have discovered how to nurture the seed of a specifically human capacity for mentally stepping... Read more
Editor's Note - January/February 2015
Nurturing the seed of the specifically human capacity.Over several thousand years, different cultures have discovered how to nurture the seed of a specifically human capacity—a saving grace, as it were—for... Read more
The Reluctant Guru
Staying in the Moment with Jon Kabat-ZinnA Conversation with Jon Kabat-ZinnSince he first developed Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction in 1979, Jon Kabat-Zinn has not only become a key figure in... Read more
VIDEO: After Infidelity: Focus on the Feelings, Not the Facts
How Understanding the Desires HelpsWhat’s the true nature of your feelings for your lover? An honest answer to that question is what a therapist needs in order to help a couple decide how to... Read more
Do therapists have a responsibility to educate people about society's role in generating unprecedented levels of depression? Read more
VIDEO: Alternatives to Prescribing Meds for Children and Teens
The Need for Treading Softly with Meds and ChildrenSometimes psychoactive medication can work wonders with agitated young clients in the throes of a psychological emergency. But psychiatrist Robert Hedaya, an... Read more
VIDEO: Breathing Techniques that Reduce Anxiety and Stress Quickly
Integrate this Powerful Mood-Regulating Technique into Your WorkAre you at a loss when it comes to helping your high-strung, distressed clients? Maybe you’ve made some progress in helping your clients reduce anxiety, but... Read more
VIDEO: Focusing Techniques in Therapy
A New Practice of Inner ListeningHow can you more effectively work with a client whose emotions have become all-consuming? Read more
VIDEO: When Meds Pave the Way for Successful Therapy
Reducing Arousal with MedsSteven explains that clients are rarely cured by medication or therapy alone. Read more
VIDEO: Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction and Your Practice
Exploring Sensations with Mindfulness TechniquesClients who struggle with PTSD, depression, and other stress-related conditions may have a tough time staying engaged in the consulting room. No matter how... Read more
VIDEO: Incorporating Energy Psychology in Your Practice
Getting Clients Comfortable with Energy PsychologyIt’s not within the standard protocol of talk therapy to tap on clients’ acupuncture points as they focus on a problem or goal. Even therapists convinced... Read more
VIDEO: Beginning Therapy with High-Conflict Couples
Tips from Ellyn Bader and Peter PearsonHighly distressed couples seek out help for immediate solutions for their pain and suffering. Why is tackling the issues head-on a big mistake for a therapist? Read more
The Power of Paying Attention
What Jon Kabat Zinn Has Against SpiritualityJon Kabat-Zinn is acknowledged as one of the pioneers in mind-body medicine--a field that integrates ancient spiritual traditions like yoga and meditation with... Read more
Has the time come to consider whether the profound changes in our economy, technology, and culture over these last couple of decades have opened up a breach in... Read more
VIDEO: Adjusting Lifestyle Habits for Mental Health
Connecting the Dots between Biology and BrainworkIf you’ve got a client who frequently oversleeps, binges on junk food and alcohol, and passes up fresh air for hours in front of the television, there’s a... Read more
VIDEO: Engaging Kids who Hate Therapy
How to Talk to Kids in a Way They UnderstandConnecting with today’s youth doesn’t mean being able to recite Justin Bieber’s latest hit. According to Janet Edgette, author of Adolescent Therapy That... Read more
VIDEO: Unlocking the Emotional Brain
Confronting Self-Limiting BeliefsBruce Ecker shows how to apply the process of memory reconsolidation to bring about transformational change and therapeutic breakthroughs. Read more
VIDEO: Bringing the Family Into Trauma Treatment
Mary Jo Barrett on Family ConsultationsIn this brief video clip, Mary Jo explains why bringing the family into therapy should be our first stop when treating trauma. Read more
VIDEO: Somatic Tools for Self-Soothing
Peter Levine Describes How Somatic Experiencing Helps Clients Self-RegulateIn this brief video clip, Peter demonstrates a body awareness technique that includes loud, vibrating deep breaths to help clients minimize anxiety and... Read more
VIDEO: Helping Traumatized Clients Understand their Automatic Responses
Richard Schwartz Explains Why Panicked Trauma Responses are Also Defensive OnesIn this brief video clip, Richard explains how trauma survivors can have a dialogue with the damaged inner parts—the “Exiles”—by first consulting their... Read more
VIDEO: Helping Clients Integrate Past and Present
Bessel van der Kolk on Integration and Healing in Trauma TreatmentImagine the helplessness of being unable to distinguish painful past experiences from present ones. According to Bessel van der Kolk, author of The Body Keeps... Read more
VIDEO: Presencing Secure Attachment
An Experiential ApproachWhat keeps people stuck in destructive relationship patterns? While Attachment Theory has provided some answers as to how those patterns originate, many... Read more
VIDEO: A Paradoxical Approach to Panic
The First SessionWith years of experience treating anxiety-riddled clients, Reid Wilson, author of Don’t Panic, knows a thing or two about helping people rein in the... Read more
VIDEO: When Emotional Hurt Becomes Chronic Pain
How to Treat Chronic PainCoauthor of Freedom from Pain, Maggie has found that Attachment Theory is a useful framework for understanding the unreleased trauma that often lies at the... Read more
VIDEO: Stop Shooting the Messenger
The Case for Hearing Anxiety OutAs far as universal human experiences go, anxiety is usually seen as a heinous beast. Clients hate it and therapists offer ways to get rid of it—but not many... Read more
VIDEO: Attachment Work with Cut-Off Kids
Becoming Part of the Young Client’s StoryWhen Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy developer Daniel Hughes first started working with children who struggled with serious behavioral and emotional... Read more
VIDEO: Winning the Anxiety Game
How to Change the RulesThere’s a reason agoraphobic people stay home and acrophobic people stay grounded. No one enjoys the way that panic feels. But the trouble with trying to... Read more
Wired for heterosexuality or homosexuality?
The difference between the gay and straight brainIt’s a topic that has been at the center of countless debates, both rational and irrational. Is there a clear biological difference between the heterosexual... Read more
An Attachment-Based Approach with Couples
Harnessing Emotion in Couples WorkWhen a couple leaves the consulting room, what keeps them from falling back into the destructive, deep-seated behavioral patterns that brought them there in... Read more
VIDEO: A New Way to Engage Teen Clients
Dan Siegel on the Power of Teenage BrainDan Siegel, author of Brainstorm: The Power and the Purpose of the Teenage Brain, knows that nobody—especially an angst-filled teenager—likes being told... Read more
VIDEO: Getting Anxious Families to Loosen Up
A Homework Assignment for Anxious KidsAnxiety is a demanding beast, with a long list of conditions that must be met to keep it at bay. It forces anxious children and their families to banish... Read more
VIDEO: Supplementing Attachment Theory
More Tools, More SolutionsWhile developing Coherence Therapy, Bruce Ecker, coauthor of Unlocking the Emotional Brain, spent a lot of time uncovering the differences between... Read more
Editor's Note - July/August 2014
An adequate substitution for psychotherapy? Our Love Affair with PsychotropicsIn the age of Big Pharma, meds have flattened all before them in their virtual conquest of the mental health field. Over the years, antidepressants have come... Read more
VIDEO: Single-Session Cures with Anxiety Problems
Are You Asking the Right Questions?When it comes to understanding your clients’ inner world, words can only go so far. Clients can use words to tell you what they’re conscious of (“My... Read more
VIDEO: Connecting with Avoidant Clients
What Secure Attachment Looks LikeFor those who struggle with early attachment injuries, even the presumably safe presence of the therapist can often evoke feelings of desperation, fear, and... Read more
VIDEO: Anxiety As a Co-Therapist
How to Make Your Clients’ Anxiety Their AllyDanie Beaulieu, author of Impact Techniques for Therapists, sees anxiety in a different light. “I was tired of looking at anxiety as a pathology,” she says... Read more
VIDEO: How to Become a Lifelong Learner
The Principles of NeuroplasticityAccording to Michael Gelb, a world-renowned speaker on innovative approaches to enhanced learning and author of How to Think like Leonardo da Vinci: Seven... Read more
VIDEO: The Neurobiology of Worry
How the Brain Creates Neurobiology RutsIn this brief video clip, Margaret Wehrenberg, cognitive behaviorist and author of The 10 Best-Ever Anxiety Management Techniques, offers some facts about the... Read more
What Makes Psychotherapy Possible
Clarifying the Fundamental Task of TherapyStephen makes it clear that hard scientific evidence now exists for what most therapists instinctively know: successful therapy depends utterly on establishing... Read more
VIDEO: Examining DSM-5's Most Controversial Change
Gary Greenberg on the Bereavement Exclusion“When DSM-III came out and the major depression diagnosis was created,” Gary tells us in this brief video clip, “it was immediately clear that many... Read more
VIDEO: Beating Relapse to the Punch
How to Preempt Anxiety RelapseBefore David Burns wraps up therapy with recovered clients, he makes sure they’re well prepared for relapse. In this brief video clip, he breaks down the... Read more
Neuroplasticity Isn’t Always for the Best
Why Therapists Should Know about the Plastic ParadoxPsychiatrist and author Norman Doidge believes that while the brain has an astonishing capacity for change, brain plasticity doesn’t always work out for the... Read more
VIDEO: Stopping the Anxiety-Go-Round
Lynn Lyons On Helping Anxious KidsFifteen-year-old Grace doesn’t know it yet, but her troubling anxiety symptoms are run of the mill. Like most anxious kids, it’s not the content of her... Read more
VIDEO: Assessing the Unintegrated Brain
How to Change the Brain in TherapyIt’s one thing to throw around the scientific-sounding language of brain science, it’s another to actually develop concrete clinical procedures based on... Read more
VIDEO: The Hidden Toll of DSM-5 on Psychotherapy
How Increasing Medication Sales Hurt the Therapy ProfessionAllen Frances—author of "Saving Normal: Has Psychiatric Diagnosis Gotten Out of Control?"—is one of DSM-5’s most outspoken critics, but his ultimate... Read more
VIDEO: The Neurobiology of Anxiety
How to Incorporate Brain Science into Your Treatment ApproachAccording to Margaret Wehrenberg, when it comes to clients with panic disorders, the first thing to discern is what they’re doing to avoid panic. “The... Read more
VIDEO: What Distinguishes the Male and Female Brain?
How the Evolutionary Story Lives within Each of UsWhy do young boys tend to roughhouse while young girls lean towards relational play? According to Louann Brizendine, these and many other differences observed... Read more
VIDEO: The Increasing Role of Biology in the DSMs of Tomorrow
How Genetics Shape PsychopathologyRather than continuing to lament the deficiencies of DSM-5, forensic psychiatrist David Mays wants to focus on what's ahead for the psychotherapy field. In his... Read more
VIDEO: The Key to Dramatically Accelerating Anxiety Treatment
Being Anxious Doesn’t Mean You’re Anxious to ChangeMost therapists assume that, just as any rational person with a broken arm would be an eager customer for medical care, surely a person suffering from severe... Read more
VIDEO: How to Install New Mental States
What Therapists Should Know about Brain ChangeUntil recently, the impact of brain science on the everyday work of most therapists has been pretty limited. According to Rick Hanson, that’s because we’ve... Read more
VIDEO: How to Make Clients Feel Safe
Today's Video: Bringing Polyvagal Theory into Your PracticeHow can therapists acquire neuroscientific knowledge without becoming brain scientists themselves? Even more pressing, what real-life practical therapeutic... Read more
Why DSM-5 Is a Step Forward for Psychotherapy
Find Out About the Benefits of Dimensional DiagnosisIn this video clip, Regier talks about how the new definition of a major depressive disorder in DSM-5 better enables clinicians to diagnose clients who exhibit... Read more
Editor's Note - May/June 2014
Trauma, the alluring diagnosis of the therapy profession.No other single condition tests the therapeutic relationship quite so stringently, demands so much from the clinician, or combines so many disparate treatment... Read more
Engaging the Emotional Brain
Highlights from Symposium 2014To get through to clients in our increasingly ADD culture, therapists must learn to evoke a deeper, more visceral engagement with them. At this year’s... Read more
VIDEO: Creating Antidote Experiences in Therapy
How to Turn Positive Mental States into Enduring TraitsIn this video clip, Rick talks about how to activate positive mental states and help clients embody them so that they become permanent resources. Read more
Understanding the Dangers of Diagnostic Epidemics
The Most Powerful Psychiatrist in America on Why DSM-5 Is a Step BackwardAllen Frances learned first-hand how, even when motivated by the best of intentions, changes in the “bible of psychiatry” can have large-scale negative... Read more
VIDEO: How Meeting Condition Criteria Doesn't Equal Mental Disorder
Jack Klott on One of the Diagnostic Changes in DSM-5While the publication of DSM-5 came with many surprises, few were as shocking—or as controversial—as the number of changes made to diagnosis specifiers... Read more
VIDEO: DSM-5 and the Elimination of Disorders
Martha Teater on the Removal of Asperger's from DSM-5Asperger’s no longer exists—at least not in the DSM-5. And there are other changes, like the omission of sexual addiction, that many therapists are... Read more
VIDEO: Like It or Not, DSM-5 Will Affect Your Practice
Martha Teater on One of the Major Changes in DSM-5Whether you’re a critic or a proponent of DSM-5, that fact that it exists and will affect your practice is undeniable. Between several new diagnoses, the... Read more
The Best DSM Ever Written?
Jack Klott, an Advocate for DSM-5, Speaks OutJack Klott discusses the DSM5 and why it's a triumph in the field, despite its flaws. Read more
VIDEO: Is Psychotherapy Becoming Overly Diagnostic?
Allen Frances on Why DSM-5's New Diagnoses Aren't NecessaryOne of the most note-worthy changes in the DSM-5 is the abundance of new diagnoses that are included in this new edition. Many DSM-5 critics worry that this is... Read more
Discover How DSM-5 Will Affect Your Practice
Martha Teater on One of the Major Changes in DSM-5Martha Teater discusses a huge change in the DSM-5 that many therapists are still adjusting to—diagnosis-specific severity scales. Read more
VIDEO: What to Do When Therapy Stalls
Bill Doherty on Handling the Issue of Progress Before it's a CrisisBill talks about a proactive approach that can lead to positive developments when therapy starts to stall. Read more
VIDEO: Letting the Body Lead
Ann Randolph on Truly Embodied EmotionAnn explains how imbuing body parts with feelings can lead clients to more embodied and clarifying emotional experiences than talk alone can provide. Read more
VIDEO: Psychotherapy as Experiential Drama
Jeffrey Zeig on Bridging the Gap between Knowing and RealizingJeff explains the tools he uses to make therapy a true experience—including trance, novelty, and precision in his use of language, and resonant gestures that... Read more
What Really Motivates Resistant Clients
Finding Emotionally Compelling Reasons to ChangePush up against a resistant client, you get more resistance. Try a comforting, helpful approach, and you can undermine a client's motivation to act. So what's... Read more
Making Creativity in the Consulting Room Productive
Steve Andreas on the Clinical Mastery of Virginia SatirWhat does inventive therapy look like? We often overlook that for all skilled therapists, there are well-established patterns and techniques underlying even... Read more
Defiance vs. Compliance—Two Faces Of The Reactant Client
John Norcross on Different Approaches that Work with Each ExtremeJohn Norcross gives us a clear and compassionate take on reactance—what it is, how it’s different from resistance, and how to begin with each extreme. Read more
Should You Have Leverage Over Your Clients?
Terry Real on Why Male Grandiosity Necessitates LeverageTerry talks about grandiosity and the destructive behaviors it leads to, thus making leverage a part of the therapeutic process. Read more
Getting to the Heart of the Stuck Couple’s Story
Peggy Papp on Using Metaphor for New Insight, Fresh Language, and Forward MovementHow can a therapist cut through a couples’ intellectualizations, defensiveness, and ritualized use of language? The key is to bypass the language and explore... Read more
Is Therapy Creative?
Erving Polster on Rethinking the Concept of CreativityErving Polster talks about the concept of creativity how he sees it and how it is applied to the work we do with our clients. Read more
VIDEO: How to Engage a Narcissist in Therapy
Wendy Behary On The Keys To Successfully Treating NarcissistsUnderneath it all, the narcissist is skeptical and frightened. That’s the first thing to remember, according to Wendy Behary, a recognized expert in treating... Read more
VIDEO: Making Something New Happen In the Consulting Room
Erving Polster on Creativity in TherapyGestalt Therapy pioneer Erving Polster is recognized as a master at bringing a quality of immediacy and connection into his work. Here’s a video clip that... Read more
Editor's Note - March/April 2014
DSM, Psychotherapy's World AlmanacEven though the grumbling about DSM-5 does seem to have reached some kind of tipping point, it isn’t clear at all what alternative would be any better... Read more
The Debate Over DSM-5: A Step in the Right Direction
A Step in the Right Direction: An Interview with Darrel RegierThe vice chair of the DSM-5 Task Force is bemused that the release of what was intended to be a more accurate and rigorously researched manual has raised such... Read more
VIDEO: Where Do You Want to Take Your Clients?
Courtney Armstrong on Approaching Sessions from a New AngleWatch this clip to hear Courtney Armstrong talk about a specific client she saw who needed guidance more than she needed understanding. Read more
Dealing with Dishonesty in Couples Therapy
David Schnarch on Not Taking Lying PersonallyPart of the healing process is seeing and understanding how clients operate in their day-to-day existence, so a client who's being dishonest in their life... Read more
VIDEO: Working With The Borderline Client
Dick Schwartz Demonstrates How to Minimize ReactivityWhen a deeply troubled client begins a first session by shifting erratically through different mood states and periodically going numb, many therapists... Read more
VIDEO: The Art of Evoking Felt Experience
Using Positive Emotional Imagery to Counter Negative BeliefsMost of us have been trained—at least in part—to appeal to the cognitive mind of our clients. But, according to Courtney Armstrong— who trains mental... Read more
The Debate Over DSM-5: A Step Backward
A Step Backward: An Interview with Allen FrancesAs the man responsible for the previous edition, the foremost critic of DSM-5 is perhaps the last person you’d expect to trash this latest, biggest version. Read more
VIDEO: What Does a Client Really Want from Therapy?
Stephen Gilligan on the First Step Toward a Creative BreakthroughIn this clip Stephen Gilligan talks about one of the techniques he employs to help new clients be more specific in setting their therapy goals. Read more
VIDEO: The Inevitability of Challenging Clients
Janina Fisher on Seeing the Cracks in the FoundationIn this clip Janina Fisher talks about how years of experience do not guarantee easy clients and how she reacts when faced with a challenging case. Read more
When Depressed Clients Blame Themselves
Elisha Goldstein on Treating Depression with Self-CompassionTo help depressed clients figure out what they need to heal, mindfulness specialist Elisha Goldstein has developed several effective self-compassion practices... Read more
VIDEO: In Search of the Therapeutic Breakthrough
Bruce Ecker on Finding the Underlying Reasons for Detrimental BehaviorsWatch this clip to hear Bruce talk about a client unwilling to leave an abusive situation and the approach he uses to uncover the underlying reasons why. Read more
VIDEO: Using Corrective Experiences in Attachment-Based Therapy
Diane Poole Heller on Bringing the Concrete to the AbstractDiane Poole Heller talks about one of her therapy techniques: Corrective experiences. Read more
VIDEO: When "One-Size-Fits-All" Doesn't Measure Up
Courtney Armstrong on Creatively ConnectingCourtney Armstrong discusses how she connected with some clients who weren't interested in traditional therapy approaches. Read more
The Therapist as Improv Actor?
Ann Randolph on Using Acting to Access EmotionsAnn Randolph talks about one acting technique in particular that can easily be incorporated into therapy sessions to help clients express their emotions. Read more
What Type of Depression is It?
Margaret Wehrenberg on Working with Low-Energy Depressed ClientsMargaret Wehrenberg identified specific types of anxious/depressed clients and has honed different treatment techniques that are effective. Read more
What’s happening when a client suffering from symptoms of depression is willing to follow the therapist’s voice with eyes closed? According to Zindal Segal... Read more
Practicing Meditation Against All Odds
Zindel Segal on the Three-Minute Breathing SpaceZin Segal discusses how clients can achieve mindful awareness of their emotional states in just three minutes. Read more
Understanding Trauma and the Cycle of Growth
Mary Jo Barrett on Discovering How Clients LearnMary Jo talks about the first stage of trauma treatment, where she teaches clients about the natural cycle of growth in order to discover how they prefer to... Read more
Are Antidepressants the Answer?
Michael Yapko on the Safety and Effectiveness of AntidepressantsMichael Yapko lays out a variety of reasons why antidepressants are not the solution for every client suffering from depression. Read more
How To Follow Clients’ Subtle Clues To Deep Healing Places
Diana Fosha Shares an Example from Her Own WorkDiana Fosha uses an example from her own practice of how therapists can begin to catch incongruity Read more
Does Your Depressed Client Even Want to Change?
David Burns on Using Paradoxical Agenda SettingDavid Burns talks about how to set an agenda for therapy. Read more
Editor's Note - January/February 2014
The Impassable DivideMore and more therapists have begun wondering how far all our impressive-sounding talk about the brain has gone in improving therapy’s effectiveness. After... Read more
Learning What a Depressed Client Needs
Elisha Goldstein on Individually Treating Cases of DepressionElisha Goldstein asks clients what they need in tough moments and explains why it helps them learn to trust themselves. Read more
Why We Focus on the Negative
Rick Hanson Explains the Evolution of the Negativity BiasMuch can be made of the power of positive thinking, but the real question is, why do we tend toward the negative in the first place? Read more
Working Through the Childhood Wounds that Feed Depression
Judith Beck on Understanding Emotions IntellectuallyJudith Beck talks about an intellectual technique that she uses when doing childhood work with adult clients suffering from depression. Read more
A Conference for People Who Hate Conferences
Networker Symposium 2014: Psychotherapy’s Most Celebrated Anti-ConferenceGenuine learning is conveyed via experience; something happening that resonates emotionally as well as intellectually, something that literally alters the... Read more
Letting Emotion Out and In
Susan Johnson on the Value of Using Emotion in Couples WorkSusan shares the latest research that backs up the central principle of EFT Read more
VIDEO: Desiring Change, but Clinging to the Familiar
David Burns on Turning Resistance into the Voice of ChangeDavid Burns discusses the key to reaching resistant clients—and it's not a new technique. Read more
Coaching with Feeling
Jeff Auerbach on the Key Differences Between Therapy and CoachingJeff Auerbach discusses the differences between therapy and coaching. Read more
Losing Focus as a Therapist
Mary Jo Barrett on Being Better Attuned to ClientsMary Jo Barrett talks about grounding during session to be in the moment. Read more
From Good Person to Ethical Professional
Mitch Handelsman on the Effectiveness of Ethics AcculturationMitch Handelsman explains integrating psychotherapy and ethics acculturation. Read more
To Self-Disclose, or Not to Self-Disclose?
Ken Hardy on Why Not Self-Disclosing Can Hurt TherapyPsychotherapy Networker Founder Rich Simon talks to Ken Hardy about how self-disclosure is part of the power structure in the therapy room. Read more
VIDEO: Talk Like a Therapist—Even from the Podium
Lynn Grodzki on Attracting New Clients by Being OurselvesLynn Grodzki shares about speaking with audiences about your therapy practice and how to leave your audience wanting more. Read more
VIDEO: Ending Therapy: The Importance of Planned Termination
How to Ease the Transition Out of the Therapy RelationshipLisa Ferentz discusses how to effectively terminate therapy with a client. Read more
Our Habits, Ourselves
What Role Do Habits Play?Psychotherapy too often fails to help clients like myself make changes in their lives because of the blind spot at its core—it undervalues the central role... Read more
VIDEO: Social Conditioning, Or Are We Just Born That Way?
The Neuroscience Behind Primary Gender TraitsLouann Brizendine talks about one of the key neurobiological distinctions between the sexes: the need to reproduce vs. the need to nurture the helpless. Read more
VIDEO: Finding the Hero in Troubled Youth
Ken Hardy on Trauma Treatment that Taps into the Hero that Resides in All YouthPN Founder Rich Simon talks with Ken Hardy about finding the heroism amongst young clients that helps them survive. Read more
How to Protect Yourself in the Ethical Gray Zone
Frederic Reamer on the Importance of DocumentationFrederic Reamer explains the importance of documentation and how it can save you from potential legal woes, even when you’re sure you’re in the right. Read more
Editor's Note: November/December 2013
First Comes the Hard WorkRomantically infatuated with the idea of psychological revelation—aka the therapeutic “breakthrough”—therapists too often ignore the fact that a... Read more
How To Talk About Sex With Men
Esther Perel Shows How Easy It Can BeEsther Perel introduces the subject of a man’s sexuality, sexual practice, his approach to sex, and its place in his life in an effortless, organic way. Read more
Moving Beyond DSM-5
David Mays on the Future of PsychotherapyDavid Mays talks about his disappointment in how medications are currently used and prescribed, the changes he’s seeing taking place, and what those changes... Read more
Male-Friendly Psychotherapy
How Brain Science Illuminates Gender DifferencesPat Love explains how the brain engages and reflects with the emotional state of others and why it comes down to gender. Read more
Examining the Most Controversial Change in DSM-5
Gary Greenberg On The Bereavement ExclusionWhen examining the various changes made in DSM-5, Gary Greenberg finds the most controversial one to be the removal of the bereavement exclusion from the major... Read more
Empowering Today's Parental Authority Figures
Ron Taffel on What Families Can't Function WithoutRon Taffel discusses how Generation X and Millennials handle authority and raising kids differently than their parents. Read more
Taking Off The Gloves
David Schnarch On How Confrontation Speeds Up Couples TherapyCouples therapist David Schnarch shares how speed helps give relationships hope. Read more
Responding to the Critics of DSM-5
Darrel Regier On Why Diagnostic Changes Were MadeDespite the number of criticisms it has incurred, there was a method to the so-called madness of DSM-5. Read more
VIDEO: Anxiety as a GPS
Danie Beaulieu On How to Make Panic An AllyDanie Beaulieu explains how panic can function as the voice of clients’ internal GPS, telling them when they are making a “wrong turn” in their lives. Read more
Rethinking the Autonomic Nervous System
Stephen Porges on a Popular Neuroscientific MisconceptionFor decades therapists have been taught that there are two sides of the autonomic nervous system complementing each other. But according to Stephen... Read more
What's The Value Of A Diagnostic Category In The DSM?
Gary Greenberg on the Role of Economic Factors in the Shaping of the DSMGary Greenberg deconstructs the DSM and how it affects the field and your practice. Read more
Therapist and business coach Lynn Grodzki provides an eye-opening road-map to both the shift in clients’ attitude and how we as therapists can most... Read more
You’re Never Too Old to Change
Michael Gelb On The Most Effective Methods Of ChangeMichael Gelb discusses time-tested wisdom that helps people change their lives. Read more
Finding the Missing Link to Chronic Pain
Maggie Phillips On The Levels Of Unreleased TraumaMaggie Phillips describes how attachment issues can play a big part in unreleased trauma. Read more
Editor's Note: September/October 2013
Keeping Private Practice AliveIf we wish to stay professionally alive, it’s time we recognize that the idea that we must choose between being dedicated clinicians and being smart business... Read more
Teaching Neuroscience to Our Clients
How One Client Effectively Applied Dan Siegel’s Neurobiology LessonPsychotherapy Networker Founder Rich Simon listens to Dan Siegel about neuron "sponges," empathy, and how it all impacts depression. Read more
Breathing To Balance The Stress Response System
Learn How To Use Breath Work To Alleviate AnxietyWatch Richard Brown and Patricia Gerbarg demonstrate a therapeutic breathing exercise used to treat anxiety in session. Read more
Is Sexual Orientation Hardwired In Our Brain?
Louann Brizendine On How Sexual Preference Is DeterminedPsychotherapy Networker Founder Rich Simon asks neurobiologist Louann Brizendine about sexual orientation and the brain Read more
Bringing Stressed Clients Into The Present Moment
Elisha Goldstein On The “Mindful Check-In”Psychotherapy Networker Founder Rich Simon talks with Elisha Goldstein on the meditative technique he calls a "mindful check-in." Read more
Becoming a Part of the Child Client’s Story
Dan Hughes on the Effectiveness of Psychological Hand-HoldingDaniel Hughes has many techniques to suggest when working with troubled children who have put up a wall. Read more
How the Brain’s Negativity Bias Impedes Change
Rick Hanson On Understanding Why We Focus On The NegativePsychotherapy Networker Founder Rich Simon talks to Rick Hanson about negativity bias and how it can be one of the biggest challenges to helping clients... Read more
How Addressing Nutrition Makes Talk Therapy More Effective
Leslie Korn On Nutrition’s Leading Role In Optimal Mental HealthSince psychotherapists are not routinely trained to factor in the role of nutrition, Leslie Korn’s focus on why and how to incorporate nutritional... Read more
How Attachment Issues Undermine True Intimacy
Sue Johnson On Identifying And Healing The Wounds Of AttachmentSue Johnson shares how EFT helps couples get and stay closer. Read more
Depression Is Not A Disease; It’s A Wake-Up Call
A Conversation with Dr. James GordonJames Gordon shares a technique he uses with clients to help them get out of hopeless thought patterns. Read more
Bringing The Mental Health Benefits Of Yoga To Your Clinical Practice
Amy Weintraub Demonstrates How Easily It’s DoneAmy Weintraub shares a quick 3-minute tutorial on how to breathe to calm the stress response system. Read more
Editor's Note: July/August 2013
The In-Session Breakthrough FantasyAs a growing body of research shows, deep change doesn’t come when clients just talk about their problems: it results from the impact of an emotionally... Read more
From the Editor: May/June 2013
When the Tough Get TherapyThere are some clients who yell at us, manipulate us, go broodingly silent on us, have uncontrollable emotional breakdowns in session, disappear for weeks at a... Read more
On With The Show
Celebrating the Craft at SymposiumThis year, 3,000 practitioners came to our annual Symposium to explore the fundamental question: are we any closer to unraveling the mysteries of psychotherapy... Read more
Editor's Note: March/April 2013
What’s Wisdom Worth?The pioneers in our field—Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, Virginia Satir, Fritz Perls, Salvador Minuchin, and others—all recognized that they were providing... Read more
VIDEO: Our Bottom Line Responsibility as Therapists
Rick Hanson on Working with the Brain for Lasting ChangePeople seek us out because they want change. Some want to be less anxious or less depressed, some want to be better able to control themselves in interactions... Read more
Editor's Note: January/February 2013
Fretting Over the AnxiousThrough our lives, most of us develop what can only be called a deeply personal relationship with our anxiety. There’s a good reason for this. A predilection... Read more
Motivating the Resistant Male Client
Terry Real On Why Leverage Is Key With MenYou’ve probably worked with men who’ve been dragged, kicking and screaming, into therapy by their partners. But how do you work with a client who doesn’t... Read more
Editor's Note: November/December 2012
Pushing Past Our LimitsThis issue of the Networker is about what coaches like Andrew can teach psychotherapists, and the role that challenge and incorruptible truth-telling can play... Read more
Editor's Note: September/October 2012
Playing the Conversational InstrumentEven though talking and listening to people may come naturally to most therapists (if not, we’re in the wrong profession), as the writers in this issue make... Read more
Even in this supposedly "individualistic" society, people identify deeply with their group or "tribe." Particularly in times of social, economic, or political... Read more
Born a serf, die a serf; born "phlegmatic" or "choleric," die that way. [...] modern times (and even now in some parts of the world), the very idea that... Read more
With all the clutter of trainings and CE offerings of mixed quality that are out there today, our goal is to provide a coherent, reliable road map for... Read more
To the bold, expansive systems thinkers of the '60s and '70s, it seemed perfectly natural that if we really wanted to help our clients change, we couldn't... Read more
Editor's Note: July/August 2012
Ethics and BoundariesThe hallmark of the therapeutic encounter is that the therapist is an expert, trained in a particular skill-set to conduct a rather odd, rarified conversation... Read more
Editor's Note: May/June 2012
Our Emotions: Unruly, Unnerving, InvaluableThis issue maps out not only what the latest science tells us about how emotion works, but also how therapists can more fully acknowledge within themselves the... Read more
Editor's Note: March/April 2012
Looking Back on Therapy’s Unfolding StoryAll therapy is about stories—the stories clients tell therapists and the (we hope) more truthful and helpful stories therapists and clients construct... Read more
Still Crazy After All These Years?
A Look at 30 Years of the NetworkerRemember mimeograph machines, the Milan Group, the False Memory Foundation, DSM–III, the Family Therapy Networker, and private practice before managed care... Read more
Editor's Note: January/February 2012
Kids These DaysThe old compact between family and society—each doing its part to protect and promote the whole—seems to be badly strained, if not flat-out broken. Thus... Read more
Editor's Note: November/December 2011
The Gritty, Hot-Blooded Work of Couples TherapyThis issue’s contributors aren’t just convinced that therapists should do more couples therapy, but that risk-taking and turning up the heat in the therapy... Read more
Editor's Note: September/October 2011
The Mindfulness Binge/Minding MindfulnessI first became aware that there was such a thing as meditation as part of my immersion in the cascade of mind-body-spirit esoterica unleashed by the human... Read more
Editor's Note: July/August 2011
Extended Life, Elongated GriefAs the writers in this issue powerfully demonstrate, medical science has made extended dying and its impact on relatives and loved ones—what psychologist... Read more
Editor's Note: May/June 2011
A Community of PracticeThe Networker has always been a community affair. From our first issue, every glimmer of an idea for an article or theme of this magazine has been a group... Read more
Editor's Note: March/April 2011
Creating a 21st-Century Learning CommunityThis issue is noteworthy not only for its subject—tracking the influence of attachment research on psychotherapy theory and practice—but also because it... Read more
Editor's Note: January/February 2011
Eating To Live, Not Living To EatThe old maxim "You should eat to live, not live to eat" may sound wise, but it's based on a profound misreading of the fundamental facts of human biology. Read more
Cyberspaced
Sherry Turkle Sees e-Life at the CrossroadsMIT professor Sherry Turkle has spent the last 30 years studying what our machines have come to mean to us, and how they're altering—sometimes... Read more
I can still remember sitting in a workshop at the American Orthopsychiatric Association conference in Chicago in 1982 and feeling dumbstruck. The presenters... Read more
Late adopter that I am, it doesn’t seem like so long ago that, after many, many attempts to learn how, I finally sent out my first e-mail, whispered... Read more
A few years ago, my Aunt Esther, the family historian, finally told me about a rumor that had fluttered around the edges of my family when I was a small child... Read more
Force of Nature
A Former Supervisee Recalls a Master Therapist at WorkI first met Marianne in 1980, when she descended upon the therapeutic wilderness of Washington, D.C., from Mount Olympus (otherwise known as the Philadelphia... Read more
It seems odd that after nearly 50 years of focusing on gender norms and how they affect women, the inner world of men would remain as dimly understood as it... Read more
Readers whose preferred clinical stance is one of safe therapeutic neutrality be forewarned—this provocative issue on the growing debate over the legacy of... Read more
This issue examines whether our increasing knowledge of all those multisyllabic brain processes has really made us more effective practitioners. Read more
In the Networker offices, our usually frantic pace achieves new levels of mania in the early fall. Even as I sit here at my computer, we’re scrambling to... Read more