therapy
I completed the level one EMDR training in 1998 and this groundbreaking way of healing has evolved deeply over time. What an honor to speak with Deany Laliotis LICSW about her monumental contributions to the development of relational EMDR therapy. Listen to Social Work Talks wherever you get your podcasts or check out the links…
Read More
In Mitzki’s critically acclaimed song and music video, “Your Best American Girl,” she starts out feeling cute. Then, she is rebuffed in exchange for an “All-American” prototype that she doesn’t fit into. That most Americans do not fit into. True to Mitzki’s wise – though, absurd – style, she turns to herself for answers.…
Read More
This post marks my 50th Therapy Jam Session post! I started this blog almost 5 years ago in September 2018. For years I had wanted to start a therapy blog, but I struggled with writer’s block. So, guess when an idea for a blog finally came to me? Two months after my first child was…
Read More
If you want to explore one of the most 180-degree-turn-glow-up-Lewks of the last decade, then buckle up for the Melanie Martinez fashion journey. At least in an artistic sense, it appears she’s hard-core exploring how to differentiate from a culture and relationship system she grew up in. Let’s call her whole fashion journey Differentiation-Core. Even…
Read More
The Billboard Hot 100 provides a fascinating reflection of American culture. When I see artists like Morgan Wallen absolutely crushing it on this chart, I know I’m going to be in business for a long time. Wallen’s sound has heart, catchy rhythms taken directly from contemporary R&B and mixed with some classic country sounds –…
Read More
“Be where the client is at.” This phrase – despite and because of its grammatical flaw – was written and spoken and repeated by several social work professors in my early graduate training. A willingness to refrain from my own agenda in order to respect and deeply probe the psychological space and experience of my…
Read More
The book jacket for Diary of a Mad Housewife describes the novel as “a classic of urban women’s fiction that gave a wry voice to the nascent feminist stirrings of the 1960s.” I’m not sure how I missed it on my mother’s bookshelf while growing up in the 70s, but she confirms that it was…
Read More
“It’s Bad Bitch O’Clock, yeah, it’s thick-thirty…” may have been the most mindful declaration of 2022. It is a statement of intention in the here and now. It is a statement of power. It tells you what time it is. So often mindfulness practice leans towards serenity and calm. But Lizzo’s smash hit, About Damn…
Read More
Family therapists love a good genogram. For those unfamiliar with this term, a genogram is a comprehensive family history framed through the psychological lens of Family Systems Theory. Family Systems Theory is a relationally oriented approach to therapy emphasizing the formative importance of the family landscape. Systemic therapists believe that relational patterns are often passed…
Read More
Engaging in therapy, it is quite common to look back on past choices and scan for patterns. Reflecting on past decisions often illuminates insights about the present and the future. Honest examination in this mode is a template for therapeutic change. Let’s say a therapy client is working on a pattern of choosing unhealthy relationships.…
Read More