By: Allison Weliky, MA

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This paper begins an examination into the possible characteristics of a non-racist white therapeutic Counselor. To begin addressing this topic, many questions must be asked around the history of race in this country. Therefore, significant energy is put into understanding the origins of what we call “race” and “white” in the United States. The history of counseling is examined, in its beginnings as a predominantly white professional group and clientele, and its first attempts to deal with “multicultural concerns.” This discussion brings to light, that as with other aspects of “American” life, the counseling profession has been embedded in a racist system. The discourse suggests that as counselors come to terms with this reality, they must ask themselves what their agenda is in counseling people of any race and how willing they are to acknowledge their own racial privileges. (more…)

By: Jennifer Baxt, LMFT, LMHC, NCC, DCC

Online counseling for substance abuse <!– @page { size: 8.5in 11in; margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } –>

There are hundreds or even thousands of people throughout North America who suffer from substance abuse, either with prescription drugs, street drugs or alcohol. Many of these people are unaware that help is just a phone call, visit or click of a button away; others are aware of the help available but they don’t feel that it will do them any good. Most are aware of the live help lines or the crisis lines they can phone in order to talk to someone, but most don’t feel that these will help them. What they need is therapy or proper counseling, but most will do their best to avoid talking to a stranger in person about their problems. For people who want help, but are uncomfortable talking with a therapist or a counselor in person, there is online therapy or counseling. (more…)

By: Mitchell Milch, LCSW

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Anger is a lit match that can be blown on and cooled or thrown onto a pile of paper on which kerosene is poured. It’s an opportunity for friends and lovers to resolve conflicts to the benefit of both parties and bring these parties closer to each other or it can be an invitation to start a war and turn partners into enemies. The following recommendations approach anger as an opportunity to build bridges and meaningful connections. (more…)

By: Jennifer B Baxt, LMFT, LMHC

There are many situations or difficulties that can hurt a family unit. It could be that a parent or both parents are suffering from substance abuse problems, a member of the immediate family has passed away, or even poor communication. Families that do not spend much time together and where clear communication is lacking can have difficulty in remaining a strong family unit. Many do not realize it, but one of the first things needed to having a strong and happy family unit is communication. Without proper communication, there can be a lack of trust, an increased chance of misunderstanding and a good chance that the family could eventually fall apart; meaning that each member of the family will go their own separate way. (more…)

By: Greg Madison Ph.D.

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(Published in The Focusing Connection, 2003)
*Focusing is a natural way of being with our own experience, patiently, until it becomes
more clear. Information on Focusing can be found at www.focusing.org
Unbeknownst to most clients, psychotherapy remains governed by many theories and
boundary ‘rules’, the actual purpose of which may be to protect the therapist from his or
her own anxiety . In this short piece, an existential therapist uses Focusing to attempt to
remain open to the difficult experience of being with a dying client. Through this example
of his work in an acute hospital setting, Greg suggests that Focusing can be a crucial
aspect of redefining therapy as a human relationship rather than an expert one.
The medical and nursing team called me to meet Loyola, a patient who was refusing to
accept her terminal diagnosis and return home. Walking onto the ward I became aware of
a nervous feeling in my stomach. Although feeling nervous is not unusual for me, I
decided to focus on this particular ‘nervousness’ and it soon became clear that it was
about carrying the staff’s expectation that I would convince Loyola that she had to go
home. The nervousness was that she might see my ulterior motive and realise that she
could not trust me to hear her experience. But finding the meaning of my nervousness at
that moment felt exciting and it suddenly became easy to set aside the staff’s expectation.
I approached Loyola feeling open to her and much freer to really meet this new person.
When I entered her room, she was sitting up in bed and her short hair and slim figure
gave her the appearance of a young boy rather than the 54-year-old grandmother that she
was. She responded to my openness and with a broad smile indicated that she was happy
to talk with me. (more…)

By: Greg Madison Ph.D.

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Eugene Gendlin is an existential philosopher who wants to point us back to our lived
experience. He invites us to stand in our experience and then to ask from there, ‘What kind of
world is this?’ ‘What is a human being if this kind of experience is possible?’ He wants to
return the human being to a central place in our various ways of understanding life. Since the
1950s, Gendlin’s interests have lead him from the writings of Dilthey, Heidegger, Merleau-
Ponty, etc. into collaboration with imminent psychotherapists and psychological researchers. Gendlin saw therapy as a unique place where the process of symbolising experience could be explored. (more…)

By: Barrington H. Brennen

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Question: Dear Sir: I have a wonderful mother. She and my father are now retirees, each having worked for more than 40 years for the Government. My mother is always kind and helpful. She has a warm heart and gentle spirit. However, I’ve discovered that she finds it difficult to say no, especially when it comes to taking care of her grand children. Some of my siblings are taking advantage of her generosity by using her as their full-time baby sitter, which I notice makes her overly tired at times. At the age of 78, those energetic grand children are running around her in circles, leaving her breathless at times. I’ve noticed that she is more tired during the week than rested. But mom would not give up. It this right? Should we over work our grand mothers? Should we use our grand parents as full-time baby sitters? I want my parents to enjoy their retirement to the fullest, but I believe that the baby sitting is getting in the way. (more…)

By: David Raughton, MFT

Often in psychotherapy there is an emphasis on current problems, the therapy relationship, emotional expression, or exploring the origins of emotional or behavioral patterns. Sometimes overlooked is the importance of beliefs about one’s self and others in the healing process. Three approaches to healing with an explicit focus on thoughts and beliefs are Cognitive Therapy, Hakomi Therapy, and A Course in Miracles. In this article I will summarize each of these approaches, and describe the importance of changing beliefs to heal the heart. (more…)

By: Derek Ayre

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One of the biggest barriers to success I find when consulting with new clients is there tends to be a difficulty in committing to transforming the way they handle their problems and my first task is establishing a commitment to make the changes necessary, especially where phobias are concerned. (more…)

By: Diana Frank

Many of us are faced with challenges in our lives. Some of us are challenged with emotional struggles, some of us are faced each day with reminders of our physical ailments, and some of us are reminded daily of limiting beliefs that have controlled our lives.  Regardless of how great or small these challenges may be, our quality of life can not only be improved, but it should be more pleasurable as well. An amazing way to improve your life is through an exceptional technique called Theta Healing. (more…)