Many people are reading and hearing about the therapeutic use of psychedelic medicines like MDMA, psilocybin and LSD. Michael Pollan’s book on the subject has ignited an interest ..along with numerous podcasts and films celebrating the use of psychedelics to help with emotional problems. I visited a meetup group and took note of the number of people attending who used these drugs to try improve their mental health. I would like to add several notes of caution here.

The research results that are cited are a result of factors that are hard to replicate by yourself: careful screening...

A recent trend in psychotherapy research is to add the effects of a psychedelic medication to a therapy session. The renewed interest in these medications ( psilocybin, LSD and MDMA)  is due to a number of factors: the cost and length of time psychotherapy alone can take, especially when dealing with issues such as substance addictions, end of life anxiety, post traumatic stress, isolation and depression; the high failure rate of some therapies to effect certain conditions; and the high safety rate of these medications compared to other psychiatric medications.  The combination of a long therapy...

There comes a time for each of us when we face the task of rebuilding an adult life from the ground up. We might be changing a lot of things at once and struggle to take action and make decisions. Job loss, loss of a significant other, death of a family member, an empty nest, or a change in economic circumstances are some of the life experiences that  trigger the need to make multiple changes.There are also many wonderful life experiences where we start over: a new job in a new city, graduating from school, leaving military service, retiring from a long term job and changing marital or parental...

Anxiety issues affect about 30% of the United States adult population at one time or another, according to the research done by the World Health Organization. Anxiety comes about for many reasons: genetics, your ability to manage body sensations, your emotional life, the perception of threats to your well-being and the culture in which you live. Anxiety is the most common mental health diagnosis given and therefore has a wide variety of treatments.

Treatments that have been shown to be effective for anxiety vary quite a bit and it is not always easy to predict which ones will be helpful...

Whenever an accomplished man comes forward acknowledging serious issues with depression, it comes as a shock to all who saw him as a success. Men who are deemed to be accomplished in life are seen as having it all. There is little room left for that man to have feelings that don’t fit the outward picture. Far too many men are suppressing feelings and needs that are simply human. It is easy for a man to feel as though he exists primarily to care for others and to deny as long as possible that he himself is in trouble emotionally.

Research on socialization of emotions, much of it...

Retirement is a major life transition, as life-changing as having a new baby or getting married. All major life transitions, even those we have anticipated and hoped for are stressful. Leaving the world of school and student life and entering the workforce is a major life change that we may have forgotten about. We adjust ourselves to work throughout the years with a limited amount of free time and learn how to navigate the systems of our workplace, to advance ourselves and reach certain goals. Our lives are more continuous and similar from season to season. Typical planning for retirement consists...

Recently I read a theory of happiness ( based on research studies) that summarized and discussed the four most important areas that contribute to feeling happy. I have found this to be very useful in the therapy that I do and would like to share this with you. The four attributes that seemed to contribute most to feelings of satisfaction and well-being in life were the following: competence,autonomy, connection and security.

COMPETENCE: It is important to feel like a productive and competent person who has something to contribute in life. Having a talent or working hard to develop a skill...

Are there really as many unhappy attorneys as we are led to believe? A new study was released this month with the largest sample size of employed attorneys ever studied. The findings showed a significantly different trend than past studies. In the past, the longer attorneys were in the field, the more they tended to have problems with alcohol, depression, anxiety and stress. This recent study of 12,825 employed attorneys found a complete reversal of that pattern.  Lawyers with the highest rates of alcohol abuse were younger associates working in private law firms. Men had significantly higher...

Many people will engage in a period of self-help before they will consider calling for a therapy appointment.
Sometimes self-help works well and sometimes it is actually harmful. The current estimate is that about 5% of people who engage in self-help endeavors end up being harmed by them. The greatest harm is done because of the following:

1. Unrealistic expectations that do not function as promised. The best-seller “The Secret” could easily encourage someone to believe that all you have to do is visualize and it will come true. A positive vision is necessary but not...

When you are looking for help with an issue, you may be confused about what services to seek. Here is a general explanation of the services that can be useful to you. The most recently developed of the helping services is coaching. It is such a new service that there are no minimum requirements for providers and no licensing laws developed. Anyone can call themselves a coach.The letters after a coach’s name have no legal definition and may vary depending on the programs he/she has attended. It may be more beneficial to find a licensed mental health professional who is also trained in coaching...