Hi. This website is mainly a place for me to share what I’m learning about therapy, trauma, and the practice of presence. Some of what I write is for therapists and some is for the people who sit across from us, though we’re all walking the same path and working on the same stuff. I hope you find something of value…
If the blog is hard to navigate, try starting with the search page.
More on Clinical Strategies for Nurturing Knownness
More and more, I’m realizing that the essence of the work I do is creating an inviting space between people to be vulnerable and explore their inner worlds and those of other people with compassionate curiosity. I do this in my individual work and in my family work. I think this co-created space is the fertile ground in which psychological growth occurs. Here’s an example of how a young boy, his mother, and I created this space together. When done well, this strategy invites amazing insights from children that you would never see coming otherwise.
Long Post Describing How to Manage Children's Behavior with Nurturance
This long vignette is meant to try to articulate what I do as a therapist that I really value but that is often lost in our current world of parent management training, behavioral therapy, and evidence-based treatments. I'm happy to respond to comments or questions.
Transforming Hurt to Healing
It's so hard to deal with anger (speaking personally for myself). Here's how I try to work with it in therapy.
Today's Touching Moment
Snippet of a therapy session with an awesome mom rooting for her child overwhelmed by anxiety.
Loss and Love
I work with a group of advocates who champion the cause of encouraging adoption of transition age youth. They go around the city talking to youth about holding on to the hope for unconditional family love and commitment, and they recruit parents to fulfill those dreams.
They hurt today when one young man in the audience despaired, “fuck family!”
Wonderment post Trauma
, a patient of mine comes out from under the dense fog of childhood trauma
Protecting Children's Worlds
Today, a mother shared memories of being one of those little children who dallied walking to and fro from school, dreaming up fantastic elaborate worlds of little fairies hiding under blades of grass, building cities in piles of sidewalk snow. She was punished by her teachers for being so late, and now she worries that her own child will lose that precious imagination if labeled ADHD and medicated.