Elisha Goldstein, Ph.D. is in private practice in West Los Angeles and co-author of A Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Workbook, Foreword by Jon Kabat-Zinn (New Harbinger, February 2010). He synthesizes the pearls of traditional psychotherapy with a progressive integration of mindfulness to achieve mental and emotional healing. He contends that we have the power to transform our traumas and habitual patterns that keep us stuck in perpetual stress, anxiety, depression, or addiction and step into greater freedom and peace. He offers practical strategies to calm our anxious minds, transform negative emotions and facilitate greater self acceptance, freedom and inner peace.
Dr. Goldstein, who comes from a family of psychologists, advocates that mental health comes from an approach that looks at all aspects of the self – physical, mental, emotional, and even spiritual.
As a licensed Psychologist, he teaches mindfulness-based programs on his own and through InsightLA. He has spoken at the UCLA Semel Institute and Anxiety Disorder Clinic, the UCLA Mindfulness and Psychotherapy Conference headlining Thich Nhat Hanh, Jack Kornfield, and Dr. Daniel Siegel, University of Washington, among others, and is the author of the popular Mindfulness and Psychotherapy blog on Psychcentral.com and Mentalhelp.net. He has been published in The Journal of Clinical Psychology and quoted in the New York Daily News, Reuters, NPR, UCLA Today, Beliefnet.com and The Week Magazine.
In his new book, A Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Workbook (New Harbinger, February 2010), he and Bob Stahl, Ph.D. offer professionals and lay people a book that takes them step-by-step through the clinically proven program Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction and provide over 8.5 hours of audio for guided meditation practice to support the transformation of stress, pain, and illness into greater awareness, freedom, and peace. His previous popular CDs include Mindful Solutions for Stress, Anxiety, and Depression, Mindful Solutions for Addiction and Relapse Prevention, Mindful Solutions for Success and Stress Reduction at work, Mindful Solutions for Adults with ADD/ADHD (coming soon – produced in collaboration with Lidia Zylowska M.D.) and an online multimedia program, Mindfulness, Anxiety, and Stress.
He currently offers individual and group psychotherapy in West Los Angeles and does mindfulness-based coaching nationally and internationally via the phone.
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7 Comments to
“About Elisha Goldstein, Ph.D.”
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annette amir
8:01 am on
May 20th, 2009Fifteen years ago I refused to go to my first born son’s wedding because it was in a tiny Baptist church. I was born of Jews but am an atheist and try my best to be a Buddhist but would never have the audacity to call myself one; I’m not good enough. Although my daughter-in-law was at first angry with me too, she has forgiven me and we are friends, buddies, mother/daughter, everything! But my son barely says hello to me. I understand now why he turned to this little church, which he has since abondoned. He was a sheriff’s deputy who was singled out by the department and practically put into house arrest mostly because he was too good at what he did and actually arrested a drunken friend of the Sherrif’s! David and I were both atheists when he was younger. My daughter-in-law says he no longer reads the Bible, conributes or attends church, but he refuses, despite my many attempts, to reconcile with me. My feelings 15 years ago were that I was the mother of Jonathan Pollard or someone who hurt the Jews. Asking me to attend his wedding at the Baptist Church was like telling me to come to his wedding at Dachau or Bergen Belsen. My cying over this has ended and I’m very happy in my life, but I love this man so much I wish we could love again and laugh again the way we used to before I leave this earth. Any suggestions? Annie Marcos Amir
Hi there,
I’m so sorry for this disconnection, I hear the love for him in your voice. You can only continue to reach out, but often times the other has to come back to the relationship on their own volition. You may want to try and work with the loving kindness meditation (search on web for it or go here http://blogs.psychcentral.com/mindfulness/2009/05/feeling-fear-lovingkindness-a-path-to-healing/) and continue to tell him that you’re there for him when he’s ready.
Also, for your earlier question: When someone posts their first comment ever in any of these blogs, that comment will await moderation to keep out spam. Once a person is approved, every comment will just show up automatically.
May you become connected again with your son.
Joseph Putnoki
3:19 pm on
April 11th, 2010I feel for you too. I may not live long enough or perhaps be in a condition to appreciate the possibility became actual if my daughter on her own volition return to our relationship she severed after finding my concerns confronted her choose to reject my attempts of reconciliation enlisting professional help. First she grudgeingly agreed since could not fault me on facts but then reneged when her husband blasted me for extracting a promise from her under duress. I asked her to take sample of my correspondence to a professional to evaluate it and find out if her reactions are not warranted. She told me she done so and the advise received was she has the right to not to tell me her reasons why she does not answer my questions, why not telling me what am I doing that is incorrect, uncaring, non-supporting, this is her right, full stop. Now she feels “free” of accountability, honesty, courage and responsibility. Thanks to that peculiar and simple advice. Some professionals do a lot of damage! But it suited her agenda. While I am not perfect and don’t hide behind this, I DID AS AND STILL DO WHAT I CAN, gave enormous support to both mother and daughter they decided to conduct themselves this way.
Her mum also blasted me and I was accused without evidence and was shot as a messenger many times. I have a life threatening condition that predispose me to danger and quick death they don’t think of this. I don’t figure enough apparently. I refrain from listing what I have done for them as self-glorification is not my intention nor do I solicit sympathy. I do know others reading stories on this site their hearts go out for us. Ours go out to others too. It was unthinkable to me a year ago.-
It is next to impossible to cope well enough with the knowledge of my daughter is at risk health wise and financially and I can’t help. For 40 years tried to save her mother from heart disease and cancer both came to pass. I was hooted down. I noticed some mental health issues with my daughter emerging and effects of what parental modelling had on her. They choose denial, and seek those who succour their discomforts that includes the pangs of conscience… Not being a masochist I don’t quite enjoy the pain they cause me.-
Dr. Goldstein:
I’m a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in Concord, NH. I’ve recently launched a website called mindfulhub.com. Would love for you to take a look at it, have your clients look at it (I’m offering free worksheets for therapists and clients using mindfulness) and would love to have you as a guest blogger some day. I’ll be linking your way. I wish you twenty minutes of peace each day.
Donna Torney, MA, LCMHC
Hello Donna,
It looks like you are doing some wonderful work, thank you!
Stay connected and be well,
Elisha
I have been struggling with forgiving my ex-husband for terrible behavior, for treating me poorly to the point of emotional abuse, and for lying (I am still discovering lies he told when we were marrried). His whole family has “let him off the hook” for a lifetime of irresponsibility and neglect and I could not longer do that despite my best efforts to wear pink glasses and force the marriage to work on the surface. I don’t want to forgive him. I don’t want him to continue walking away from the emotional disasters he created. I know spiritually it’s not my place to see karmic justice, but I have not been able to let go of my anger despite his apologies and his tears. The one line in your article about the victim’s low selt esteem has made me cry all day…so the work I have to do is on myself. BUt how do I profess to be spiritual and not forgive? This is a dilemma for me.
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