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After PTSD More Trauma A terrific article appeared in the New York Times this week on PTSD, called “After PTSD, More Trauma.” It’s about a veteran who came home traumatized and saw a new graduate therapist at the Department of Veterans Affairs. The therapist decided to apply Exposure Therapy to cure him and predictably, it made him much worse. When I regained consciousness, I was pacing the lobby of the theater, looking at people’s hands to make sure they weren’t…

Yesterday’s Washington Post featured a poorly written article on The Parity Act of 2008 that painted an inaccurate and unhelpful view on mental health reimbursement policies. The truth is, people need to be savvy in knowing how to get reimbursed for their mental health care. They need to know that a large percentage of out-of-network fees they pay to psychotherapists must, by law, be reimbursed by the consumer’s health insurance company. While some states legislate a specific time period health…

As we know, there is sexual assault in the military. And it isn’t just women who are assaulted, it’s men too. So, what can we do about it? What we do about sexual assault is process it as trauma. Sexual assault is a traumatic event that has to be processed and brought out into the open. And more and more people need to talk about it— we have to advocate for better education and advocacy around it not happening in…

Several brilliant articles have recently brought some true light to what the national epidemic of depression really means, two of which I’d like to discuss. In Dr. Kevin Passero, N.D’s article Depression-A National Epidemic? and Overcoming Depression Without Meds by Rich Simon at Psychotherapy Networker, we learn about the over-diagnosis of depression in the U.S., and are reminded of the inefficacy of anti-depressants—despite how quick many physicians are to prescribe them. Listen here as I discuss my experience in working with clients who have…

The New York Times published an article entitled “A Natural Fix for A.D.H.D.” in Sunday’s paper that is incredibly compelling and spot-on in terms of what the A.D.H.D./A.D.D. epidemic in this country is really about. The problem isn’t A.D.D.: The problem is boredom, stagnation, lack of any creative or physical outlet. In schools, they’ve cut art, they’ve truncated recess and the gym schedule—gym isn’t even mandatory anymore. They’ve cut all of the healthy outlets for children. The other thing that’s…

The New York Times published an article from Saïd Sayrafiezadadeh’s “Couch” series on Sunday titled “My Mother’s Psychotherapy—and Mine.” Sayrafiezadadeh said of his mother, “Her relationship with her treatment nearly killed her. How would I fare?” The author recalls that when he expressed feelings of hopelessness regarding the alleviation of the unhappy memories, the therapist’s solution was to “keep coming and talking about it.” This intentional development of a dependent relationship between client and therapist is not only ineffective as…

The Effect of Exercise on Depression Exercise is a wonderful complement to therapy and life in general. Exercise releases endorphins, tones our bodies, releases tension and stress and boosts our immune systems. Research proves that exercise increases professional focus and productivity and reduces “sick days.” The Washington Post published an article last week that describes a recent study in mice that has shown “that exercise helped rid the body of kynurenine in, a stress-induced amino acid associated with mental illness.” Swimming &…