ACT as an effective therapeutic approach
When a new client comes to my office, her/his first question is: "What type of therapy do you do?" followed by a second: "How long will it take?" Answering the second is easier. It depends on previous experiences in therapy, changes wanted, defense mechanisms at play, and how removed someone is from feelings and sensations. The answer to the first varies with the client just as my therapeutic response differs for each client. I work collaboratively with each person to develop personal goals and an effective way of working together. I do not have — and never expect to have — a one-style-fits-all approach. Read more about ACT...
How to Know When You or Your Child Needs a Therapist
For children, the key is when they are out of synch with their developmental stage. "No, I won't" tantrums may be developmentally appropriate for a child of 2 or 3 but not for a 5 or 6 year old. Usually by age 4 or 5, a child is able to tell a parent what she/he wants and to accept that wants are not always instantly satisfied. They are able to separate from parents or caregivers without undue crying or clinging. So if your child cannot separate without experiencing an emotional meltdown, you might want to schedule some family and/or parenting sessions to talk about or play out the feelings and situations. It's important for your child not to feel there's something wrong with him/her (or in fact with a parent). Unless there's a serious mental illness in play, you can explain it as a "communication issue" or "there's too much anger and/or tension when our family interacts with each other."
Other signs for children are lack of interaction with peers such as a child who never wants to go on play dates or go to birthday parties. School behaviors can be a sign that some early intervention is needed. Some children are overly anxious, hyper vigilant, or believe they can't succeed. At school, they may continually say "I can't do this" or bang or slap their heads in frustration. All of these can be raised and talked about and/or played out with puppets or small figures with a child-oriented therapist. Read full article
The Sand Tray
For children, playing is what they do. Expressing feelings is not easy for them. They do not have the verbal expertise and developmental sophistication to participate in the more traditional "talk" therapy. Sometimes they do not even know the words. But by working in the sand tray, children are using figures to tell their stories. "Playing out" their experiences and feelings is natural. It is also a self-healing process for them. Sand tray allows the therapist to enter the child's world, instead of asking the child to "come up" to where the adult stands.
Adults can also use the sand tray to make their own miniature worlds. In life and therapy, adults can get stuck on a painful issue. Using sand tray figures can free them from their self-consciousness or anxieties.
Read the full article here.
Hypnosis and Change
Hypnosis does not involve a swinging watch. That's for stage magicians not therapists. Instead therapeutic hypnosis is the practice of letting go, of relaxing deep into yourself, of accessing old feelings that have been walled away. It is being used increasingly to help relieve anxiety and depression. It's about reclaiming inner, buried resources.
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Hovering Helicopter Parents Don't Make Resilient Kids
Are you one of those parents who "hovers" over your child every time they complain or present a problem? When they come home from school, do you want to jump in and fix their problems? Call up a kid's parents who was mean to them? Or call up the teacher who "lost" your child's homework and made them do it again?
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