Acting appeals to most of us-something about taking on a different persona, exploring unfamiliar motives and gestures is alluring. With roots in *psychodrama, role-playing in individual and family psychotherapy offers an exceptional tool for patients struggling with a variety of issues.

When I ask patients to begin writing or tape-recording their own viewpoints on their problems, for many it is the first time they have faced their problems head-on, rather than sidling up and taking quick peeks at them. The most important perspective recorded in the initial PPP is how you think your problems are affecting your life. For

What therapy isn’t is a panacea. Yet, that seems to be precisely the present paradigm. When people are lonely, questioning their lives, feeling shut out or shut down and they don’t know where to turn, today, in the 21st century Western World, a therapist’s office is often where they land.

There are some people in therapy who don’t need to be. Some say “If you think you need therapy, you probably do.” This is simply not always the case.

Assuming that all the important qualities in choosing a psychotherapist are present to an adequate degree, which one would definitely clinch your choice if present in a high degree?

We wrote that a competent therapist doesn’t believe that psychotherapy/psychology is not “an overarching, flawless religion.” Yet, as we get involved in deeper conversations about therapy, it appears to us that there really are two fiercely oppositional (even religious), camps when it comes to all matters psychotherapeutic!

I have seen, through gathering some qualitative and anecdotal data, a marked decrease in social anxiety, isolation, improved personal relationships, decreased aggression, diminished panic attacks, and decrease in use of psychopharmocology noted by multiple clients. And every client reported taking their work “out of the stables and into the world”.

Horses are both empathic and intuitive creatures. They are also without judgment, betrayal, or dishonesty that can be found in personal relationships. They work as a bridge between human-human bonding and teach people who have experienced emotional pain to come back to affection and intimacy in a healthy way.

I have found it to be especially profound for addicts, trauma survivors, and persons with eating disorders as these persons are often so “stuck” in how they relate to others.

You are doing very exciting work with horses and yoga and psychotherapy. Please share with us how you got started doing this.

I was working with combat veterans and survivors of military sexual trauma for the Department of Veterans Affairs and had wanted to explore equine therapies for some time.

At first, we thought: wouldn’t it be interesting to learn about how we all think about spirituality, religion, and God. And what better way than a readers’ poll? This idea evolved from your comments on this God in Therapy post