Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Defined
From the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH): Obsessive-compulsive disorder, or OCD, involves anxious thoughts or rituals you feel you can’t control. If you have OCD, you may be plagued by persistent, unwelcome thoughts or images, or by the urgent need to engage in certain rituals. You may be obsessed with germs or dirt, so [...]
Depression, Counseling, and Medication
(A disclaimer: I am not a physician and cannot prescribe any medications. But I collaborate with doctors on a regular basis regarding the patients we are mutually treating and I have no shortage of opinions on the subject.) Major depressive episode has been called the “common cold of mental illness” because it is estimated that [...]
Can People Change?
Which is it? Can people change or not? The answer depends on how one defines success or change. We can talk about sexual preference (whom do you desire) or sexual behavior (who do you actually have sex with) or sexual identity (how do you view or describe yourself). If sexual orientation is defined solely in [...]
When You Don’t Know What to Do
People don’t know how to listen. We talk, we offer advice, we occasionally work up the courage to confront, but we seldom listen to others. Helping – sharing the burdens of others – begins with listening. Listening starts with simply being present. Don’t know what to do when a friend is depressed or anxious or [...]
First Aid for Emotional Hurts: Overview
A few weeks ago I received an email from Randall House Publications: would I mind reviewing a new book they have published? Not at all; give me a free book and I’ll read it and share my thoughts on this blog. First Aid for Emotional Hurts: Helping People Through Difficult Times by Edward Moody is [...]
How to Measure Marriage Counseling
People often ask me about my success rate in marriage counseling. The short answer is, “I don’t know. I’m not a researcher.” The longer answer involves issues like: how do you define success? Most would say that the couple is happily married. What’s “happy”? How long? If they’re still married a month later, is that [...]
Parents Who Hover
My secretary fielded a phone call the other day: a mom wanted to make an appointment for her 19-year-old son AND she wanted to come in – by herself – for the first session BEFORE I saw the young man. I overheard her explain that “I don’t have to ask him; I already know that [...]
Mini Rant
“Can you reduce your fee? You’ve been recommended by our pastor/physician/friend, but we don’t think we can afford to see you?” I am asked that question – or some version of it – on a regular basis. Occasionally the answer is ‘yes’. It depends on a number of things: the severity of the problem we’re [...]
A Real Marriage
Love, at least in a marriage, is a combination of passion and commitment. One of the more difficult – and increasingly common – problems in marital therapy is what does one spouse do when he or she realizes commitment is the only thing keeping their partner in the marriage? Passion, that feeling of being in [...]
The Business of Divorce
In a recent blog entry (The Divorce Industrial Complex) Al Mohler writes: Few Americans seem to understand that marriage is being undermined by what can be called a “Divorce Industrial Complex” that includes lawyers, counselors, court personnel, and various others. I suppose I should be offended. I am one of those counselors who benefits financially [...]
