Bringing Mindfulness to Your Practice
When meditation helps . . . and when it doesn'tI'm interested in integrating meditation into my psychotherapy practice. What's the best way of doing this, and are there situations in which meditation can be? Read more
Stop the Merry-Go-Round
Sweeping changes are urgently needed in today's foster care systemA few other states and cities, including New York City and Illinois, have made changes in their foster care programs similar to Alabama's. But first, both went... Read more
My Life as a House
Turning an address into a homeI'd turned corners I'd never expected to turn. I hadn't had a grand vision. I'd rebuilt my life without knowing where I was going, the way an oyster builds a... Read more
When You're 64
You May Be Ready to Retire, But What About Mom and Dad?With the life expectancy of the elderly rising, today's Boomers, much maligned for their presumed selfishness, are facing a far more daunting challenge in... Read more
Us and Them
Daring to tackle the troublesome issue of raceI don't know if [Kevin Costner]'s loose-limbed approach would relieve the tension in L.A. But somehow he has such a fully developed emotional immune system... Read more
From the Editor
Serious" therapists tend to look askance at this roiling flood--when they're not recommending it to clients or actually writing it themselves--but it's therapy... Read more
The 8-Minute Cure
Can Watching Dr. Phil Change Your Life?Phil McGraw, or Dr. Phil, seems not to be "on television," but rather to emanate from television. Authoritative and comforting, he confronts victimhood with... Read more
From the Editor: May/June 2005
So why are we taking a look at family therapy in this issue? Enough time has now passed to see that what happened to family therapy has a lot more to do with... Read more
Maestro of Consulting Room
At 83, Salvador Minuchin is still reflecting on clinical wisdomAt 83, family therapy pioneer Salvador Minuchin, the most dazzling therapeutic practitioner of his generation, continues on in his search for clinical wisdom. Read more
Beloved Stranger
Temperament and the Elusive Concept of NormalityAn understanding of the inborn dimensions of human temperament reveals that the concept of "normal" is far richer and more expansive than previously imagined. Read more
Maestro in the Consulting Room
At 83, Salvador Minuchin is Still Reflecting on Clinical WisdomAt 83, family therapy pioneer Salvador Minuchin, the most dazzling therapeutic practitioner of his generation, continues his search for clinical wisdom. Read more
Getting Over It
We're more resilient than we realizeTherapists often assume that people going through grief or trauma must always emotionally work. But through the experience if they are to recover, recent... Read more
Blindsided: When Tragedy strikes too close to home
I nod numbly as I try to absorb the image of building a coffin for one's child. [Eric]'s son, Paul, is 15 years old. He's slowly dying from a brain tumor. n... Read more
From The Editor: March/April 2005
In what other line of work would people struggle with such relentless honesty, not only to tell the truth about their failings, but to learn something about... Read more
Across the Great Divide
Middle Age in the Rear-View MirrorAs they've aged, the Boomers have kept redefining previous generations' ideas about the stages of the life cycle. But while the pop bromide may insist that "50... Read more
In Praise of the Older Therapist
Probing the Heart of Clinical WisdomAmong the more curious findings of the therapy-research literature is the failure to show that experienced clinicians get any better results than novices... Read more
Bitter Pill
Ritalin and the Growing Influence of Big PharmaResearchers and practitioners alike have long been concerned that Ritalin use in childhood could lead to later drug abuse. But when a University of California... Read more
Finding the Right Lever
A primer for Changing the WorldA veteran therapist offers lessons on how any therapist can get started in trying to make a difference in the wider world. Read more
Unspoken Son
Sometimes, or closest ties aren't blood tiesOne vivid memory: I'm two years old, playing outside our apartment building in Queens. Every now and then, another child looks up at the building and yells... Read more
Undercurrents
Knowing that I needed to have a high pizzazz quotient to help [Maria]'s family develop healthier undercurrents quickly, I brought the whole family together... Read more
Invasion of the Kid Snatchers
Marketers spend $15 billion a year to turn children into compliant consumersA book review of Consuming Kids: The Hostile Takeover of Childhood by Susan Linn and Born to Buy: The Commercialized Child and the New Consumer Culture by... Read more
Of Good Girls and Bad Girls
Becky Sharp may have been the first feminist heroineThe camera moves in so close on each of the characters that we feel we can read their minds. Such is the skill with which this remarkable film has been acted... Read more
The Power of Paying Attention
What Jon Kabat Zinn Has Against "Spirituality"Jon Kabat-Zinn, one of the pioneers of mind-body medicine, discusses common misconceptions about meditation and why "spirituality" is one of his least favorite... Read more
Mirror Mirror
Emotion in the Consulting Room is More Contagious Than We ThoughtEmpathy may be the life's blood of good therapy, but scientifically, it's remained a rather fuzzy concept. Now a serendipitous lab discovery is showing how... Read more