Clinical Skills & Experience

Asha recently gave her therapist a homemade necklace, which he accepted, thinking it innocuous enough. Now, she brings it up almost every session... Read more

In one violent Chicago neighborhood, embattled gang members see themselves as UPOWs—urban prisoners of war. To introduce them to a new set of survival... Read more

Therapists are always on the lookout for new approaches and techniques. But in a profession with alarming rates of burnout and professional isolation, the best... Read more

An approach that emphasizes acquiring skills rather than focusing on problems helps a young boy in China tackle his problems at school. Read more

When you’re young, a car isn’t just a car—it can be a freedom machine. Read more

The #MeToo movement has returned the field to many of the issues feminists raised decades ago. This time, however, there’s a new focus on avoiding... Read more

Should you do when your client is behind on their session payments? Five clinicians weigh in on this Clinician's Quandary. Read more

Basketball has taught me many lessons. I learned about trust, relationships, and teamwork. I learned the power to regulate feelings. It would shape my... Read more

After careful review of the usual stereotypes—technologically adroit, social media fixated, with a touch of narcissism—one 30-something therapist belatedly... Read more

Many young people transitioning into the uncertainties of adulthood today are feeling more scared and alone than ever. One therapist has discovered that a key... Read more

Admitting her bafflement with some of her millennial clients, a veteran therapist accepts her ignorance and gets advice from some of the young people in her... Read more

A paradigm shift around weight and wellness is taking on old stigmas. Read more

A young introvert in college learns to embrace her temperament as a gift, rather than a problem. Read more

Feminism has given women a new narrative, but it hasn’t offered men a particularly new one that they can identify with. Ultimately, the lives of women will... Read more

We all know therapists who seem magically able to establish a powerful sense of trust and connection with even the most distrusting clients. But are there... Read more

A therapist recently joined a few online dating apps after finding herself newly single. She's seen several clients come up in these apps, and suspects they've... Read more

In his Symposium address, Dan Siegel challenged some common myths about adolescence and suggested that the aspects of adolescence that can drive us... Read more

A therapist recently moved to a new town and discovered that his client's daughter attends the same school as his son. The client recently... Read more

Our last Clinician’s Quandary received an overwhelming number of responses. Here are a few more that didn’t make it into Part One but offer other useful... Read more

Sometimes during sessions, Jonathan checks his phone for emails or updates, even though his therapist has asked him not to. She suspects Jonathan's... Read more

As a researcher and outspoken advocate for therapeutic innovation, Bessel van der Kolk has been as influential as anyone in shaping the landscape of trauma... Read more

Only one percent of patients suffering from acute back pain have a significant structural abnormality in their back, and a remarkably low percentage of back... Read more

How to handle end-of-session bombshells therapeutically—and still wrap up on time. Read more

Author and therapist Kay Redfield Jamison explores what we can do to address the suicide epidemic. Read more

Confronting grief in a laundromat. Read more

A clinician accustomed to treating trauma in her private practice is also an investigator of an MDMA-assisted psychotherapy research project. From this dual... Read more

Many times, when clients cry, clinicians feel an urge to rush in and “fix things” that aren’t broken, which can actually make things worse. Watch as Jay... Read more

A male client uses his therapist in hypothetical examples, which the therapist finds inappropriate. Recently, when they were discussing healthy dating habits... Read more

Most clinicians know that if a person has suffered one bout of serious depression, he or she is much more vulnerable to another one. But most therapists still... Read more

Clinicians interested in applying coaching skills in psychotherapy believe that working more from a collaborative partnership position—like a personal... Read more