What does “setting healthy emotional boundaries” mean? No parent sets out to sabotage their child’s development. But when a parent fails to provide healthy emotional boundaries, they unwittingly cause lasting damage to their children’s ability to trust others and embrace intimacy. Separation, individuation As children mature, they naturally seek independence. From the moment they learn […]
Have you ever heard someone yell, “I’m not angry?” If you have, then you’ve witnessed an unwanted feeling in action. Disowned feelings are those prickly emotions that you attempt to block out of awareness. You tell yourself you’re not feeling them and give them the cold shoulder. Unfortunately, ignoring unwanted feelings comes at a high […]
Depersonalization and dissociation block access to feelings. Think of the times that you felt flooded with feelings—intense emotions such as joy, sadness, love, or fear. Such feelings can be electrifying. As they flow through you, they pack a powerful punch. They can deepen your empathy, keep you emotionally attuned to yourself and others, and guide […]
Are you frustrated with your weekly sessions and thinking of quitting therapy? Perhaps you have friends who gush about their therapist and brag about the progress that they are making. You wonder why you don’t share their excitement. (See “Is Your Therapist Helping You Enough?”) What do you do when therapy isn’t delivering results? When therapy […]
Samantha visited my psychotherapy office for a consultation. She was frustrated with her employer and witnessed men being promoted while she wasn’t even considered for new positions. Fearing a backlash against her from her boss (a man) and her colleagues (also men) if she spoke up, she started to experience panic attacks and insomnia. As […]
Personality traits that every therapist needs. For nearly 25 years, people in my office have shared their secrets, their fears, and their hopes. They’ve confessed wrongs, explored love and relationships, worked through childhood traumas, explored dreams and nightmares; some lasted a few sessions, others stayed for years. Every now and then, a person asks me, […]
Freud wrote “Analysis is, in essence, a cure through love.” What did he mean? You share your dreams, fantasies, and longings; unearth your ambitions and passions, and spill your deepest, darkest secrets, while your therapist listens intently, captivated, hanging on your every sigh. After such cozy and intimate attention, many people are left wondering: “Are […]
Burnout and the Psychotherapist “THE TALKING CURE” an exciting new one-act play produced by the New York Theater Festival at the Guild Theater, Jan 26, 28 & 29th, opens with Dr. Arthur Russo, a Manhattan psychotherapist suffering, feeling tormented by his patients. “In the beginning seeing patients was a pleasure. But after twelve long years, […]
Doubt the value of your therapy? Maybe your therapist is the problem. You shopped around, dipped into your savings, and found a psychotherapist for yourself. But after a handful of sessions, you (and your bank account) aren’t feeling any better. Before you berate yourself, doubt the value of therapy or begrudge your karma, consider this: […]
THE TALKING CURE A One Act Play Written by Sean Grover , Directed by Alan Wynroth, Music by Hannah Jane Ginsberg Twenty-four hours in the life of Dr. Arthur Russo, a Manhattan psychotherapist, who is undone by four challenging patients and an unexpected tragedy. THE TALKING CURE gives audiences a rare peek into the personal struggles of a […]
