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I finished reading Seligman’s ‘Authentic Happiness’.  Overall, I quite enjoyed it and it was a good reminder for the coming New Year, to take stock of one’s strengths, and to design a good life for oneself.  I think that many of us in the Western World are lucky in that we no longer have to expend energy on basic survival; instead, this book reminds us that we can construct a pleasant, meaningful and related existence. Here are some pros and…

When I went to graduate school in 1988, we were educated in psychological testing, statistics and research design, and psychopathology.  At the heart of psychology was the treatment of psychological ills and the removal of suffering.  Since that time, there has been an emergence in the field of ‘Positive Psychology’—psychology that is strength based and focuses on promoting happiness, as opposed to relieving suffering.  My other book that I will be reviewing at the end of the break is Martin…

So occasionally I read and review a self-help book to use in my practice.  Feel free to read along with me if you would like.  The one I have been recently reading is about forgiveness.  It’s called “8 Keys to Forgiveness” by Robert Enright, and can be found here on Amazon.  It’s available as a kindle book, as well.  Before I bought it, I specifically looked for something that was not spiritual in nature.  In my initial search, I found that…

I have a lot of couples that come into my office looking for tips.  This article is a decent one with some very practical suggestions.  Enjoy. Date Night

I ran across this article the other day, and now am looking forward to seeing the movie.  It’s about a man who, following a relationship break-up, decides to give up his worldly possessions.  He films the process, for a year, and creates a documentary.  Here is a link to the article:  documentary about giving up ones’ possessions One example of a tiny house When I moved to Denmark four years ago, I originally decided that I was going to bring…

Many of my clients are non-Danes married to Danes.  Here is a fun and insightful article about choosing to marry someone from a different culture.New York Times article– foreign spouse

I remember when Prozac first came out, in the late 1980s.  It was marketed as a kind of miracle cure for depression, and was considered a preferable alternative to the then MAO-inhibitors and Tricyclics that were being prescribed at the time.  Prozac was marketed as having almost no side-effects, which was in stark contrast to the available drugs for treating mood disorders. Soon after doctors started prescribing Prozac,  we began to get complaints from patients about their ability to orgasm…

Several famous psychologists have written about the existence of an ‘authentic self’.  Notably, Carl Rogers used this term as marker for when one has achieved psychological health.  Donald Winnicott also spoke of the ‘true self/false self’ dilemma.  He believed that ‘true self’ actually produces a feeling for people– a sense of rightness, or ‘this is me’.  Something about this notion has always attracted me, both as a person and as a psychologist.  Many of my overachieving clients seem to be…

For a long time, researchers knocked Freud’s idea of the unconscious because it could not be ‘proven’.  However, today, technology makes it possibly for us to quantifiably measure response time to certain associations as a way to determine biases about which a person might not be 100 percent conscious.  A test has been created to examine just this phenomenon.  It’s called the Implicit Associations Test and it was developed at Harvard.   Click here to take it and get a…

Esther A couple of years ago, we purchased a beagle mix from a nearby kennel.  After reading a lot of information about therapy dogs, I decided to see what kinds of programs were available in English, in Denmark.  I was unable to find anything so I read up about the mere presence of animals in the therapy session.  Not surprisingly, there is a wealth of data about the calming effects of animals.  With the goal of bringing ‘Esther’ to work,…

Most people have suffered from stress and anxiety, at some point in their lives.  I ran across this article today and decided to share it. http://www.latina.com/lifestyle/health/anxiety-facts-symptoms

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, commonly known as OCD, can be extremely debilitating.  About two percent of adults suffer from this disorder.  In popular media and culture, OCD is often represented as manifesting itself as excessive hand-washing and concern with tidiness.  However, it can also manifest itself in other ways, as is demonstrated in this article and video. http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/video/2016/apr/27/my-sexual-thoughts-drove-me-mad-then-i-realised-it-was-ocd-video?CMP=share_btn_fb