From our Psychologists

One of the central aspects of my work as a psychotherapist relates to working with people who have survived interpersonal trauma. By interpersonal trauma I mean the various types of experiences which people may have, in which they are treated by others in any way that leads to their being psychologically overwhelmed.

Have you ever asked yourself, “Why does so-and-so keep going for the same type of partner even though their parents were abusive?” It may be a repetition compulsion.

Good sleep is fundamental to feeling good during waking hours, and to general mental health.  Ten to fifteen percent of adults suffer from chronic insomnia.  Up to 75 percent of older adults experience insomnia.  Lack of sleep is estimated to cause productivity losses of more than 411 billion USD per year, in the United States alone.

In couples therapy I often meet couples who struggle with the pursuer-distancer dynamic. In this blog post I will explore how attachment theory can help couples understand and overcome the problems this dynamic creates.

You have been looking forward to meeting your best friend for lunch. As you think that you should soon leave the house to walk the short distance to the place where you have agreed to meet, your heart starts racing, your breathing gets faster, your hands become sweaty, your head spins and everything around you seems to get fuzzy.

“Don’t worry about a thing, cause every little thing gonna be all right” sang Bob Marley in his “Three
little birds” song. There is some wisdom in Bob’s words, at least in the first part of the famous chorus
line. For we can never know if everything is, in fact, going to be all right.

I am writing this in January of 2023 and this is the time of year that everyone makes a commitment to go to the gym.  Countless health journalists write about the benefits of exercise as they document their battles with sweat and music.

by Claudia Cararra, Ph.D. Emotions guide our choices, shape our preferences, help us to keep away from danger and motivate us toward rewards. In fact, in every emotion is implicit a response (the word emotion derives from latin moveo = to move) that – based on our previous experiences with the given situation – prompts us toward a specific reaction. In other words, emotions cover a crucial role in our survival by representing our own fundamental perspective on the world…

Part II. In this installment, I will review the costs of BetterHelp and some of the other legal/ethical issues that they are currently facing.

Part I. This blog is a two-part series where I walk the reader through the process of signing up for and receiving services through the mental health platform, BetterHelp.com. I will give you some background about why I did this, as well elaborate about some of the pros and cons that I noticed during my experience. Other legal and ethical issues will be explored in Part II.