I invented The Egg Meditation after reading Becoming a Woman by Dr. Toni Grant. The book was the first time I encountered the idea that as women, we are losing our yin. Dr. Grant never used that language, but as a Jungian she taught that humans are made up of different components or subpersonalities, and that as modern women; we are emphasizing our active “doing” parts at the expense of our quiet “being” parts. Today, women are
On my 16th birthday, I asked for a cat of my own: a delicate and high-strung silver point Siamese. I named her Ina after a cat that lived on the shoulder of a hippie I’d met downtown the previous summer. Ina was a very anxious cat, not in small part because of the way we taunted and teased her.
Ina produced a litter of kittens whose father we never identified because the kittens were
Many people conceptualize that their problem is “low self-esteem.” Their belief is that when they start feeling better about themselves, they will act to improve their lives. Often the student therapists I teach agree and want to design therapy to address this. To me, they have all got it backwards.
Back in the 90s, schools across the US started programs to boost self-esteem. They were
For starters at this richly poignant little eatery, my charming companion ordered the house signature cocktail, the Robust Symphony, while I enjoyed a gutsy White Zinfandel with resplendent sulfites. We shared the appetizer of Pork Rinds with Pear Grantinee – personally, I found
Some unfortunate people suffer from depression all their lives. There may be a sneaking suspicion it’s their fault in some way, which is not true. Lifelong (chronic) depression is an illness that can be as debilitating as heart disease, and if untreated can even be
I’ve been trying to sleep for eight years. Oh, I sleep all right, but I’ll wake up at 4 a.m. raring to go with no question of going back to bed. Or I’ll stay up late even though I’m exhausted. For a while I enjoyed it -- there’s a high that comes from extended periods of no sleep, but every high is followed by its evil twin the low, right? Before this,
When pent-up emotional trauma gets released in psychotherapy, it’s a giant upheaval to the entire system – physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. The release changes lives for the better, of course. All that secret, shameful, repressed garbage can
People think that bliss states are dependent on buying and owning the right things, being in the right environment, finding a sexy partner, or years of spiritual discipline. The truth is,
People who are new to psychotherapy often wonder what they should be doing in the time between sessions. Anxious to grow and evolve, they’re unsure how to aid the process, and their appointment next week seems far off in the future.
The psychotherapy sessions themselves are concentrated, intense 50-minute “hours” one or more times a week. They can be
He looked like Bradley Cooper but he didn’t have a job. At cocktail parties, I’m used to receiving a show stopper response when I reply that my profession is “therapist” or “shrink,” but this was a new one. “Psychotherapy,” he