The Therapy Beat

In a world of new and emerging norms about commitment, intimacy, the right to personal happiness, and open relationships are there also new patterns? Has the... Read more

When we therapists believe a secret's revelations would be dangerous, the client receives a frightening message about him- or herself and about the world. We... Read more

There’s a troubling trend toward viewing people who differ from us politically not just as uninformed or misguided, but as ill-motivated and dangerous... Read more

In this issue, we take a stab at understanding this larger social phenomenon, a perilous downward spiral of faultfinding that we might call the National Blame... Read more

It seems clear that to understand America’s crisis of identity—the fundamental changes that have occurred in the last few generations, and the thoughts and... Read more

Despite his four decades in the public eye, most therapists are only vaguely aware of Tony Robbins and his take on personal change. But if you attract millions... Read more

What it’s like to be the focus of so many people’s hopes and expectations for how they might change their lives? Read more

In the 12 years since Hurricane Katrina, what have mental health professionals learned about being helpful in the wake of natural disasters? Read more

I made my first appointment with Gloria one autumn afternoon. I needed a still point, a peaceful promontory in the ocean of loud, unrepentant excuses I heard... Read more

When I was 5 years old, I experienced something that made me feel viscerally, mentally, emotionally, and inescapably connected to everything and everyone... Read more

Given the stigma still attached to psychiatric drugs, it’s no surprise that today’s kids might have reservations about taking them. But as a specialist in... Read more

Patricia Papernow, an expert in working with stepfamilies, helps us understand the fundamental issues and unique hurdles most stepfamilies must navigate. Read more

By questioning some of the fundamental premises of traditional marriage, couples therapist Esther Perel has become, at least for the moment, psychotherapy’s... Read more

The election of Donald Trump and the resurgence of populism throughout the West were fueled by a renewed pull toward certain notions of traditional... Read more

Despite all the intellectual excitement it generated, the hard truth is that, so far, the systems revolution hasn’t led to very effective ways of doing... Read more

Although they make up nearly a quarter of the population, children are rarely a central part of therapists’ practices. Why? The most effective interventions... Read more

The rise of text therapy is raising ethical questions for its practitioners. Read more

I've been in full-time private practice for almost 30 years. In that time, three patients in my practice killed themselves. Each suicide has left me... Read more

This issue doesn’t try to resolve all the myriad challenges of couples work. Instead, it opens up a conversation about the things couples therapists rarely... Read more

In this second part of a three-part series adapted from the upcoming book Mindful Aging: Embracing Your Life after 50 to Find Fulfillment, Purpose, and Joy... Read more

It’s not always easy to tell trauma survivors in the midst of deep suffering that one day they’ll find meaning in what happened to them. But according to... Read more

Even if the diagnosis of “internet addiction” is legitimate (and many experts think it isn't), surely it can't apply to the billions of people on the... Read more

More and more therapists, regardless of how they feel about internet addiction as a diagnosis, are advising clients about the healthy use of their digital... Read more

Our compulsive use of digital devices is best understood as the result of their ability to tap into a deep anxiety in the human psyche about “missing out.” Read more

Eugene Gendlin and his work on Focusing and the “felt sense” left an indelible mark on modern mind–body approaches to psychotherapy. Read more

Is teen suicide contagious? Clinicians weigh in on the controversy around 13 Reasons Why. Read more

By Candyce Ossefort-Russell - I was appalled when I encountered the heavily publicized resilience book by Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, Option B: Facing... Read more

Psychotherapists are usually on the front lines of mental health treatment, trained to spot and assess everything from changes in mood to unusual physical... Read more

With traumatized adolescent clients, it’s emotion that gradually changes emotion—not rational explanation or interpretation, not snazzy techniques or... Read more

These days, when psychotherapy is supposed to be “evidence based” and “empirically validated,” standardized and manualized up the wazoo, therapists... Read more