Monthly Archives: August 2011

Asking Clients Permission | offering choices to clients in counseling | tips for psychotherapists

Quick summary: What do you do when you think that an intervention will be helpful, but you are worried that the intervention might lead to the client to leave therapy? You can always ask permission before you attempt a new technique or intervention with a client.

Asking for feedback in therapy | collaborative psychotherapy | empowering the client | tips for psychotherapists

Quick Summary: A good technique to put in place as a practicing psychotherapist is to regularly ask your clients for feedback and to offer suggested alternative to what you are offering. the ability of the therapist to adapt to the client’s unique needs is a good predicator of successful therapy outcomes.

30 Common questions psychotherapist should be able to answer succinctly | tips for therapists | how to market your private psychotherapy practice

Quick Summary: I will list some very common question that I have received from clients concerning my psychotherapy practice… therapist should be able to answer these questions succinctly, authentically, intelligently, and with professionalism… your response should get the listener interested and wanting to ask a follow up question. Many people suggest that you have around 3 – 5 seconds of undivided attention to answer questions concerning your business. Practice your answers to the below questions so as to prepare yourself to best market your practice. Remember, anyone that you meet could be a potential referral source… your ability to answer these questions well in all settings will greatly impact your business.

Teenage Drinking | Solving Youth Substance Abuse | restraint theory, individuation, overpopulation, cultural priorities and freewill

Quick summary: I will be offering a brief discussion on what some of the factors are which seem be contributing to excessive teenage drinking in the United States. I will follow each proposal with a solution.

Weight loss – what does that food mean to you? Insight, reflection, and replacement in achieving weight loss goals.

Quick summary: I will discuss why certain foods seem or feel impossible to give up and offer a brief suggestion as to what you can do to overcome such an obstacle. Food (as with many other things in life) often has a symbolic importance which is more influential or otherwise important that the simple tangible object that it seems to be.

Parenting fundamentals – The basics for co-parenting your children

Quick summary: I will very briefly outline what I have found to be the most common ideas shared in the immense amount of parenting literature out there. I will give you ideas to think about as you work with your partner to create a supportive environment for your children.

Why should I focus on my Breathing? – Worry reduction.

Quick summary –Normally breathing is something which is done automatically – you don’t think about breathing it just happens. When you intentionally focus on your breathing you give your mind something to do and this limits your minds ability to worry, which is often the source of your distress. Breathing is happening in the present moment (as opposed to the future or the past) – when breathing is done intentionally our minds must focus on the present moment (and generally speaking there is often nothing to worry about that is occurring at your present location in the present moment).

Realistic Weight Loss Work Sheet – Keep what you love, substitute and add where you can, and remove the unimportant

Quick summary: When it comes to weight loss the tortoise wins and the rabbit ends up going the wrong way. Unrealistic eating plans get in the way of your weight loss goals (some even make things worse). If you are using too much personal restraint you may be setting yourself up to fail. This questionnaire will help you to create a reasonable plan to achieve an eating pattern that can be maintained for a lifetime. Moderation, Balance, and Realistic Expectations will help you find hope and wellness.

Euphoria and gratitude… a runners high at 9,000 feet

Quick summary: If you can teach yourself to feel gratitude for a greater diversity of things… then you can add a positive association to any experience that you want.

Forming Secure Attachments – Handout for parents and caregivers

Handout concerning helping a child to form a secure attachment – an alternative to behavioral intervention and other parenting strategies that might not have worked for your child

Components of the Obesity and Nutrition Problem in our Shared Country

Quick summary: I am providing a list of themes with very brief explanation of how they are related to obesity and other nutritional concerns in our country. Some of the themes are more related to the individual while others are more related to society as a whole.

Why some fail to lose Weight – Restraint theory

Quick Summary: Restraint theory suggests that restrictive diets lead to failure and in some cases actually increase weight gain. The theory was developed after research was showing that people on restrictive (don’t eat any of these ‘bad’ foods diets) had almost an 80% rate of failure and people were often gaining back more weight than they had when they started the diet. This post will look at how restraint theory can explain some of the failures of weight loss programs and will finish with a more reasonable solution for people trying to lose weight.