Category Archives: Demystifying Therapy

Top 5 Lessons Learned about Myself as a Therapist

I have been a therapist for 20 years now and I have learned a lot about myself: My strengths as a therapist are also my limitations. I am a strong thinker, good at analyzing and making connections and understanding new things. These are strengths that help me in my work. However, my strengths are also…

What Happens When A Therapist Gets Sick?

The last time I had to stay home sick it occurred to me that people might be interested in some of what happens behind the scenes from the therapist’s perspective. Here’s a play-by-play: Early Saturday morning: Wake up in the wee hours of the morning with a fever. Feel miserable. Hope that I will feel…

On Lying and Connection in Therapy

Lots of clients and therapists feel strongly that clients should not lie to their therapists and, if they do, it makes the therapy totally ineffective. I disagree and here is why. Of course, I would prefer my clients to be honest with me. Honesty is connected; dishonesty interrupts the connection. I don’t like when people…

Importance of Weekly Therapy

I was happy to be asked to contribute to a blog post for National Psychotherapy Day about why therapists recommend weekly therapy. While I do see clients less frequently than weekly sometimes, I prefer to meet with clients weekly when possible. Here is an excerpt from the article talking about why: Meeting weekly enables more…

Confronting Racism as a White Therapist

“The first thing you do is to forget that i’m Black. Second, you must never forget that i’m Black.” —Pat Parker As a white psychotherapist, it is my responsibility to recognize the complexity of my clients’ life experiences and to acknowledge the societal forces that have affected them (and me). One of those societal forces…

Responding To Violence: We Are All In This Together

Every time there is a mass shooting (or any other incidence of violence), I feel the need to write something that would be helpful for people. “I’m a therapist,” I think, “Certainly I should be able to say something that will help people to deal with what happened.” But I haven’t been able to do…

Leaving The Land of Insurance: A Therapist’s Story

Once upon a time, there was a brave therapist starting a private practice. Having worked previously in an agency, she was used to having clients use their health insurance to pay for therapy sessions. So she contracted with health insurance companies to provide psychotherapy for clients and set up her practice in the Land of…

Call Me, Maybe

Some therapists caution clients that if therapists allow them to call between therapy sessions then that is a sign they have a bad therapist. They say these bad therapists will enable them not to get support from other places in their life. They imply that these bad therapists will prevent clients from being independent. They…

Top 10 Reasons to Get Individual Psychotherapy

Therapy can be great if you have a therapist who is right for you. Are you wondering whether to try individual therapy? Here are some reasons to consider it: You feel stuck in some way and can’t seem to get unstuck no matter how hard you try. A good therapist can help you figure out…

7 Tips For Handling Your Anxiety About Starting Therapy

One challenge in getting psychotherapy for anxiety is that often people are too anxious to go to therapy. After all, beginning therapy involves making phone calls to find a therapist, going to a new place, telling a stranger about your feelings, being vulnerable, and talking about your anxiety — all things that might make people…