therapy

What’s the Difference between Talking with a Shrink and Talking with a Friend?

By Elisabeth LaMotte / October 11, 2019

Atlantic Monthly reporter Olga Khazan reached out last month to discuss what it is like to practice therapy in Washington, DC. She was curious about what it means to work in a city where so many professionals have top secret security clearance or work in fields like politics and reporting where it can be complicated…

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Samantha

By Spencer Northey / September 12, 2019

Backstroke Raptor by The Story Pirates Lyric Excerpt (for full lyrics click here) NARRATOR IT WAS DINNER TIME FOR THE FAMILY OF MONSTERS SAMANTHA HAD SOMETHING ON HER MIND AFTER A THREE COURSE MEAL SHE FINALLY FOUND THE COURAGE TO TELL HER MONSTER PARENTS WHAT SHE FELT INSIDE SHE SAID (As SAMANTHA) MOM AND DAD…

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Maybe You Should Talk to Someone

By Elisabeth LaMotte / August 16, 2019

Lori Gottlieb took a circuitous route to becoming a therapist. A stint as a production assistant in Hollywood led her to become a script reviewer who developed a love for storytelling. To enhance her editorial understanding of a promising new show she was editing, (ER!) she began shadowing doctors in a local emergency room and…

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The Witch Elm

By Elisabeth LaMotte / April 21, 2019
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There are many schools of psychology, and a significant thread that connects them all is the acknowledgment of a human tendency to repeat the past. Cognitive Theory explores learned thoughts while Behavioral Theory explores learned behaviors. Systems Theory suggests that if a dynamic or pattern is familiar, it feels more comfortable, so the security of…

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Just Hold On

By Spencer Northey / November 5, 2018
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Just Hold On Steve Aoki & Louis Tomlinson Wish that you could build a time machine So you could see The things no one can see Feels like you’re standing on the edge Looking at the stars And wishing you were them ‪What do you do when a chapter ends?‬ ‪Do you close the book…

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A Moveable Feast

By Elisabeth LaMotte / August 12, 2018
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The therapeutic benefits of writing have been touted and encouraged by clinicians for decades. Research continues to demonstrate that writing can improve mood and help alleviate depression. Newer research proposes that writing and then editing and revising a personal narrative can become a catalyst for individual change and increased levels of happiness. Reading Earnest Hemingway’s…

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The Stories We Tell

By Elisabeth LaMotte / July 13, 2018
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Family secrets are often discussed in therapy. The secret is rarely a reason that an individual or a couple initiates therapy. But, if a therapist takes a complete family history, certain secrets or unanswered questions from the past often surface. And these secrets often relate to present challenges and can be useful points of exploration…

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Educated

By Elisabeth LaMotte / April 26, 2018
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Overcoming childhood trauma is a frequent focus for clients in therapy. When someone grows up in an abusive household, it is quite common that harmful dynamics feel normal and difficult to see or address, even as children grow and embark on adulthood. Many therapy clients ask questions like: “How can I get over my childhood?”…

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Little Fires Everywhere

By Elisabeth LaMotte / April 9, 2018
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Fans of Everything I Never Told You will relish the journey into Celeste Ng’s new novel, Little Fires Everywhere. Shaker Heights, Ohio (where Ng lived during part of her childhood) shapes a fitting backdrop for Ng’s tale about motherhood, family, secrets, coming-of-age and intimacy. The Richardsons present a glowing portrait of familial perfection. They reside…

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How can I scale back all of this emotional labor?

By Elisabeth LaMotte / March 3, 2018

Tension about the imbalance of emotional labor in heterosexual marriage has been an ongoing conversation topic in my therapy practice for decades. By emotional labor, most female clients are referring to the emotions they experience related to an unfair balance of physical or mental labor associated with managing a household. Women experience a strong aversion…

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