Over the past several weeks, I have been posting blogs on the subject of addictions and the treatment of addictions. I have now assembled those various postings into an article which I’ve included in the Library portion of my web site. I hope that people will find this article of interest; that it will give […]

An important dimension in the process of working with addictions is how the client and I examine other ways of healthier coping. I often say to clients that everyone deserves a break, some respite from what is difficult in life. We often talk about some of these more positive respites (developing hobbies, doing meaningful volunteer […]

From my clinical experience, I have often seen that these behaviors have persisted for a very long time in a person’s life. It is not surprising to see that during the person’s childhood (perhaps beginning in adolescence) there was some use of some substance as a means of coping. In these circumstances, it is important […]

When working with addictions, it is vitally important to understand the role that predictability, and the desire for predictability, has in a person’s life. The repetition of these behaviors creates habit; and with any habit, a person comes to know just what he is going to experience. If it is the habit of drinking to […]

Psychotherapy is about discovery. At the heart of the work that the client and I do is the quest for discovery. It might be to discover just what is causing distress and suffering in the person’s life. In this regard, our quest is multi-leveled. There is of course the immediate level: a loss that the […]

Through the use of these habitual behaviors, a person endeavors to cope with something troubling in his or her life. At the heart of the behavior, then, is the intent to cope. But cope with what? Through psychotherapy we make this inquiry, and often what we discover is that the addictive behavior is an attempt […]

A recent New York Times article (“Quality Time, Redefined”) takes a close look at what is happening inside the American living room during this age of rampant technological development. As the article puts it: “One family. One room. Four screens. Four realities, basically.” Given the proliferation and accessibility of communication devices (the laptop, smart phone, […]

These days I work a lot with clients coming to psychotherapy with issues related to addiction. These people are often struggling with dependence on alcohol, marijuana, pornography, sex, food and other habitual behaviors. They often feel stuck with these behaviors and may have made attempts to stop that failed in the past. Sometimes, these behaviors […]

This morning I am thinking about how psychotherapy, at its essence, is about thinking. About the client and I thinking together. Joining our minds. I wrote about this some months back, and again this morning, the power of psychotherapy, the creativity really, is on my mind. Psychotherapy is about the client and therapist using their […]

In the early ‘90s, the author John Gray published his now famous book about the differences between the genders. And since then there has been fascinating research about biological and psychological differences between men and women. From my own research conducted through my work with men and women, I have to differ form Mr. Gray’s […]