Category: Mental Health

How Therapists (Often Unintentionally) Stigmatize Polyamorous Clients

Posted on

This is the fourth in a series of articles about the intersections of polyamorous identities and psychotherapy, adapted from Rami Henrich and Cindy Trawinski’s article in Sexual and Relationship Therapy, “Social and therapeutic challenges facing polyamorous clients,” as well as supplemental materials that didn’t make it into the final research paper. In this installment, we […]

How to Establish Sexual Values

Posted on

by Melissa Fritchle, LMFT This post was published by Sexology International, and can be found here. Melissa Fritchle is a licensed marriage and family therapist, sex therapist and sex educator in Santa Cruz, CA. Her focus is holistic, always honoring the integration of the mind, body and spirit and diversity. She is adjunct faculty for two Bay Area […]

Trans Equality — National LGBTQ Health Conference 2017

Posted on

by Elizabeth Duke, PsyD April 28-30th I had a wonderful opportunity — to attend the National LGBTQ Health Conference 2017!  The event was sponsored by Northwestern Institute for Sexual and Gender Minority Health and Wellbeing as well as Center on Halsted Sexual Orientation and Gender Institute. The conference was specifically geared toward research that could help […]

What Basson’s Sexual Response Cycle Teaches Us About Sexuality

Posted on

by Jo Flannery, AMFT The following article has been adapted from “Taking a Closer Look at Basson’s Model of the Sexual Response Cycle,” Jo Flannery’s article for Sexology International. It has been edited from its original format. To read the original article, click here. There is no one reason people choose to have sex. Rather, […]

Why Therapists May Misuse Their Power—and How to Avoid It (Video)

Posted on

Why do we sometimes misuse power even when we know better?  That question is at the core of POWER: A USER’S GUIDE, the latest book by coach, facilitator, educator, and author Julie Diamond, Ph.D. In this video, Julie speaks with LifeWorks’ Cindy Trawinski about power dynamics in therapeutic relationships, as well as how therapists can […]

The Distinction between Personal and Positional Power (Video)

Posted on

Why is learning about “personal” versus “positional” power so important? That question is at the core of POWER: A USER’S GUIDE, the latest book by coach, facilitator, educator, and author Julie Diamond, Ph.D. As its title suggests, Power: A User’s Guide is a how-to manual for anybody—parent, boss, teacher, politician, social activist—for whom wielding authority […]

YOUR First 100 Days

Posted on

by Braden R. Berkey, Psy.D. The first 100 days of a first term presidency is viewed as the period when the new leader’s power and influence is at its greatest, and what the administration accomplishes during this time is seen as predictive of how much traction its agenda will have. Donald Trump has published his […]

Managing After the Inauguration

Posted on

by Rami Henrich, LCSW The days following the 2016 US Presidential Election were difficult for many people. No matter which candidate you supported, you may have found yourself overwhelmed by distressing news reports, tense conversations with loved ones, and your own complicated feelings. Now with the inauguration over and the new administration taking shape, many […]

Social Work & Politics — Approaching the Election

Posted on

by Brandon Haydon, LCSW As a clinician, I’ve observed how election cycles tend to bring about unique client issues and features in therapy. Let’s dig into social work and politics. A brief review of social media, op-eds, and the blogospheres suggests the powerful impacts of the recent U.S. presidential campaign perhaps more than others. Many […]

Beliefs and Success: What Box Did You Crawl Out Of?

Posted on

by Julie Diamond, Ph.D. Beliefs and success – are they connected? How much do your expectations influence your ideas about success? And where do those deeply-held beliefs originate? Our friend and colleague, Julie Diamond, has written extensively about these issues, and we would like to share the following article, which originally appeared on her site. Julie […]

Therapist Bias

Posted on

by Cindy Trawinski, Psy.D. Bias influences all of us — even therapists. In fact, one 2011 study indicates that as many as 50% of clients identifying as polyamorous had seen therapists that they felt lacked cultural competency or were biased. Meanwhile, a 2006 study by Drs. Keely Kolmes, Wendy Stock, and Charles Moser found that […]

We Are One

Posted on

by Kate Koester, LCPC Recently, as a way to express his gratitude for deep and vulnerable sharing in a group, a friend of mine spoke these words, in the Lakota language — “Mitakuye Oyasin,” — meaning “we are all related,” or similarly understood as “we are one.” The effect it had on me was visceral […]