Category Archives: Demystifying Therapy

“Behavioral Health” or “Psychotherapy”?

The new popular term for the kind of work I do as a psychotherapist seems to be “behavioral health.” This is a term often used by health insurance companies and, as a result, by agencies providing therapy services. I don’t like it.1 What I don’t like about “behavioral health” is that it implies that psychotherapy…

Understanding How to Trust

Do you keep trusting people only to have your trust betrayed? Do people take advantage of you? Or do you find it difficult to trust anyone and prefer to rely only on yourself? Do people think you are paranoid or too suspicious? If the answer to any of those questions is “yes”, you probably never…

Change is Paradoxical

People usually come to therapy wanting to change their lives in some way. It seems logical that if we want change in our lives we have to focus on what we want to change and devote our energy to changing. Why is it, then, that our efforts to change so often fail? As a Gestalt…

The Difference between a Therapist and a Friend

When I started graduate school to become a therapist, I thought that being a therapist would be easy. I figured that helping clients with their problems was no different from talking with friends about their problems and, since I talked to friends all the time, it would be a cinch. Wrong. I quickly learned that…

Your First Therapy Session

If you’ve never been in psychotherapy before you may be wondering what your first session with your therapist will be like. New experiences — like your first therapy session — can be both exciting and anxiety-provoking. Knowing what to expect may reduce your anxiety and allow you to pay more attention to your excitement. All…

Are You A “Difficult” Person?

Have you had trouble in your relationships with friends, partners, co-workers, or family members? Does it seem to you that nobody understands you? Do you find yourself getting angry and aggressive? Do you think everyone else has a problem, not you? Have you tried therapy before but felt like the therapist was an idiot who…