6 Ways Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Can Help You

psychoanalytic psychotherapyWould you want to work with just any therapist, or would you rather work with one who could be more effective than his or her peers?

Recent research has shown therapists in the psychoanalytic tradition can be more effective with their clients because their goal is not just symptom relief but to find the underlying causes of what is hurting you.

Psychoanalytic psychotherapy has been developing for more than 100 years. Sigmund Freud, a

pioneer in the field, has a bad reputation in some circles because of his emphasis on sexual fantasies. While his theories were not completely correct, he is acknowledged for making revolutionary advancements in the field. Continue reading

Mid-week Special:The Body Talks

THE BODY communicationWhen Albert Einstein met Charlie Chaplin, Einstein said,“What I most admire about your art, is your universality. You don’t say a word, yet the world understands you!”

Silent film star Charlie Chaplin epitomizes the power of nonverbal communication.  Think about it for a moment: he mastered the use of facial expressions and body language to convey messages in a medium where words were not an option.  He did so to such a degree that in 1998 – well into the age when words, music, and CGI could tell the story in the movies – film critic Andrew Sarris called Chaplin “arguably the single most important artist produced by the cinema, certainly its most extraordinary performer and probably still its most universal icon”.

Chaplin can help us understand what we were talking about last week: the importance of showing up.  When you show up there will be a language spoken, even if words are not.  As in Chaplin’s day, it will be the language of your body. Experiences and feelings are expressed by your movements, your posture, your silence, and your stillness. Continue reading

Mindfulness and Meditation for Reflection

mindfulnessLast week, we talked about winter being a natural time of reflection and introspection. I gave you 5 questions to consider to help you use winter as your own season of contemplation.  It is important to remember that this process only works if you give it time.

Think of it like starting a garden. You do not run out and dig deep holes in random places. The first step is to look at your land, the area you have, and begin to dream and imagine what your garden will become. Then you need specific information about how to grow a garden that accounts for a number of variables, including where you are, what soil you have, and what purpose the garden will serve.Only then can you begin to turn the soil.

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5 Questions to Consider as 2016 Begins

5 questions to ask yourself to start the new year and winterAs the holidays come to an end and the new year kicks in, I want to talk about winter as a time to meditate and be introspective. It is a time to grow deep roots.

The lessons nature teaches us at this time of the year are about death and resurrection, rest and introspection. In the cold, dark months the leaves fall from the trees, many plants die, and the weather is cold and inhospitable.

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