Kids Who Need Their External World to Match Their Internal Chaos
Sometimes I find myself wondering why my kids make messes in every room they enter? Why do they drag every single toy/paper/pencil/art supply out of its drawer and leave it scattered around my house?...
Lucid Dreaming and the Conscious Unconscious
Last week we talked about Anomalous Cognition, which is a term used to describe the mind’s ability to receive or perceive information that is otherwise unknown or unknowable....
I Never Get Used To Anxiety
I’ve been talking lately about comorbid disorders because I, and I imagine you as well, live with one or more of them. My chart probably looks a lot like yours –...
7 Ways Seeing a Therapist Is Better Than Talking to a Friend
Ditch the notion that therapy sucks. I’m a bit biased about the positive effects of seeing a therapist, but I often have a new client come to me and say,...
An Open Letter to the Media: On “Severe” Autism and Inspiration Porn
Recently, a high school senior named Jack graduated– and this made international news.
Most high school seniors graduate from high school. So, what made this particular senior’s graduation so significant?...
Today I Love People Who Talk
The water hasn’t reached the patio yet, and the kayaks are still here. And, I have pants on.
Today I love people who talk about things....
The Purpose of ABA According to the BACB Guidelines (with tips for parent training)
In the executive summary of the ABA Guidelines for ASD developed by the BACB, the following statement is made: “The purpose of this document is to inform decision-making regarding the...
Get Motivated: Using Lists to Create a Balanced Daily Schedule
I don’t really like the word “motivate” at all. To me, it seems like a dressed-up “should,” which is on my least-favorite-words list, and carries with it a sense of dread and obligation: I need to motivate myself to go jogging....
How to Tell Emotionally Neglectful Parents From Emotionally Healthy Ones
There is an old saying about how there are a million ways to parent wrong and only one way to do it right.
Although this is a massive oversimplification,...
When Relationships Look Different in the Light of Sobriety
I wondered if the bitter taste of the endings would overpower all the other memories of my first sober loves. I met C at the most inopportune moment imaginable: I...
The Relationship Between Failure, Shame and Humility– and What You Can Learn About Change from Flying a Kite
Growth takes risk. And risk leads both to learning and failing.
Why is this important to understand? Because you are bound to fail at something. If you shame yourself for that failure....
9 Ways to Manage an Anxious Person
Veronica was looking forward to coming home, having a glass of wine, and watching the latest episode of her current binge. Work was particularly difficult today with two key employees...
2 Steps to Release Perfectionism
Any recovering perfectionists out there? I certainly am! I grew up with a compulsion to get everything right. But at a certain point, I realized there was a serious cost to this;...
How My Weight Gain Contributed to My Son’s Disordered Eating
Ever since I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 1991, I’ve struggled with my weight. At that time, I weighed 125 and was prescribed lithium to control my highs and...
Don’t Talk To Erica In the Morning
It’s one thing to not be a morning person, it’s another thing to suffer from insomnia. My entire childhood I suffered from chronic hypo mania, and my family didn’t know much about mental illness at the time so,...
Obesity and the Pregnant Therapist
In our book A Womb of Her Own (Routledge 2017) author Meredith Darcy describes the challenges of the pregnant therapist in working with obesity in the client. She writes as follows:
Abby had difficulties relating to others and would use food to self-soothe and regulate affect. ...
Secrets and Lies in Psychotherapy: We Now Know More Than We Ever Did Before
Psychotherapy is a topic of endless fascination and has been for more than a century. PsycINFO, a database of publications in psychology and related disciplines dating back to 1883, includes more than 38,000 books on psychotherapy,...
Neurodiversity and Relationships: Neighbors and Small Talk and Staying True to Myself
My husband and I were on the couch the other night sharing an intimate moment. (Don’t worry if you’re reading this, Dad; it’s PG.) On the couch in our home,...