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In This Issue:
Nothing strikes at the heart of therapists more than the prospect of a suicidal client; and yet perhaps nothing is more meaningful in our work than helping a fellow human being navigate through the depths of such nihilistic despair and regain a sense of purpose and even joy. In our featured interview, Lisa Firestone explores both the challenges and rewards of working with suicidal clients. She offers many nuggets of clinical wisdom based on her extensive research and experience, including how to better understand and explore inner critical voices, how to take all threats seriously (even chronic ones), and the important of helping clients develop healthy coping strategies before urging them to stop cutting and other self-mutilating behaviors. Remember that new age sensation The Secret, touting the “law of attraction” as a way to bring riches and success? Therapists mockingly dismissed this as another form of self-help snake oil—and yet, did we throw out the baby with the bathwater? Did The Secret share some tenets with CBT or positive psychology? In Cancer and The Secret, Regina Huelsenbeck takes a nuanced perspective, arguing that of course a positive outlook is important and impacts our overall well-being. But she astutely notes that “this shiny-happy-people approach can be problematic for individuals facing loss, depression, and physical illnesses like cancer.” Furthermore, it could actually worsen their condition if a person feels like there is something wrong with them because they can’t be happy. And as always, I’ve drawn a new, state-of-the-art cartoon for your amusement. Is everyone including your mother telling you to get your own website? You know that it is more necessary than ever in these challenging economic times—potential clients are googling you even before making a phone call, a website is an inexpensive way to convey who you are and what you do, yellow page ads are really passé—and yet you still put it off. You could go into therapy to analyze this resistance, you could hire a business coach, or go to a practice building seminar….or you could JUST DO IT. But how? Where to begin? Psychotherapy.net has done the legwork for you, and found the simplest, most reliable, cost-effective solution. TherapySites provides all you need, templates and easy tools to create your site, web hosting, domain names, and excellent customer support—all for a low monthly fee. And we’ve negotiated a special deal for you: Get one month free by going through Psychotherapy.net. Plus six months in the Psychology Today Therapist Directory. It’s so easy that I’ve created my own website this week in just a couple of hours (don’t judge it too harshly--it’s still a work in progress!).Plus, since our last issue we have released several new DVDs we think you might be interested in: The Therapeutic Community and Encounter Groups for Addictions are two DVD series that are essential for all professionals who work in substance abuse treatment. Sex, Love and Intimate Relationships and Voices about Relationships address such compelling questions as: What is healthy sexuality? What is love? What prevents most people from being able to sustain romantic, meaningful relationships that satisfy their needs and desires? In What Works in Psychotherapy with Scott Miller, Miller shares some refreshing news about the importance keeping your unique therapy style. Also, we have released the next five Psychotherapy with the Experts DVDs: Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy with John Krumboltz, Mind-Body Therapy with Ernest Rossi, Transactional Analysis with Mary Goulding, Integrative Therapy with Allen E. Ivey, and Adlerian Therapy with Jon Carlson. Look for 5 additional titles in this series still to come in the next few months! One sad note to end on. Elizabeth Bugental, Jim Bugental’s wife and an esteemed therapist and writer in her own right, passed away on February 23, only five months after Jim died. I learned much of what I know about therapy and about life from Jim and Liz, and the sudden loss of both of them leaves a great void for myself and many of my colleagues.Best Wishes, Victor Yalom, PhD p.s. As always, if you have an idea for an article, or a joke for our humor section, please let me know. Check out our Guidelines for Submission. March, 2009 |
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