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Metaphor is a figure of speech that consists of naming, describing, or qualifying something through its similarity or analogy to something else. It’s not just about songwriting or poetry-- we use metaphors all the time. After all, we all “fall in love” or “get stuck” at some point in our lives.
In the psychoanalytic approach, metaphors have always been very important, since the unconscious mind is
This post includes brief summaries of four articles, and two books I read recently. Three articles are from 2017, and one article is from 2019. I found the articles from 2017 as I researched topics for a few classes I was teaching last fall.
All articles are from the Journal of Marital and Family Therapy. As a MFT, I always start my research in this journal.
My regular disclaimer for these posts is: While MFTs are referenced throughout the summaries, the information is relevant to all psychotherapists, regardless of discipline.
In the following video, my guest is Dr. Robert T. Muller, author of Trauma and The Struggle to Open Up. Dr. Muller and I discuss the topic of clients’ ambivalence toward their trauma histories, how this ambivalence is challenged, naturally, through clients’ life experiences, as well as how the ambivalence may show up in the therapeutic encounter.
To view the video, or read the transcript,
Couples counseling today is so much more effective than in decades past. There is almost too much information out there to guide therapists. It can be overwhelming.
I have seen many discussions about two of the main therapeutic models for couple therapy: Sue Johnson’s Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy, and John and Julie Gottman’s Gottman Method. The discussion can be, like so many discussions, very polarized at times. But there is such a richness and joy to learning from both (not to exclude all of the other contributors to the field right now) that the idea of folding together some of what these models offer seems inevitable.
Series Intro
Dr. Schooley and her co-author, fellow professor and family therapist, Jim Hibel, are currently writing a book on the small systemic skills that therapists can intentionally practice in order to increase their effectiveness. In this video series, we review the systemic therapy skills that will be included in their book.
If you haven’t already read, or viewed, part one from this series, do that now!
This post is the first of several articles in which I discuss the systemic therapy microskills, with Dr. AnnaLynn Schooley.
Dr. Schooley and her co-author, fellow professor and family therapist, Jim Hibel, are writing a book on the small systemic skills that therapists can intentionally practice in order to increase their effectiveness.
Socio-cultural factors influence almost all significant relational interactions between clients and themselves, clients and their significant others, as well as clients and therapists. Language, economic status (and sense of mobility), ethnicity, gender, privilege, among other identities through which clients (and therapists) navigate their realities intersect in therapeutic interactions.
Failure to name and discuss these factors leaves clients to continue entrenched stories of self and relationships, and limits clients’ options for negotiating their needs and pursuing their sought-after changes.
For today’s post, I chatted with Kristin O’Rourke, a licensed clinical social worker in the state of New York. Kristin heads a group practice in Rockland County, where she and her team specialize in working with children and families.
Included in this post is a section of our conversation, during which Kristin details how she engages parents in therapy, when a child is the identified patient.
Mindfulness is popular.
You likely have worksheets, lessons, techniques, and theories that help your clients understand mindfulness and its benefits.
You understand mindfulness and its benefits.
But, as we therapists know, sometimes understanding doesn’t foster motivation, or change. The fact is, therapists struggle to implement mindfulness, along with a “self-caring” lifestyle (Kissil and Niño, 2017).
Lately, I’ve been reviewing the history of the marriage and family therapy (MFT) field. Including the stories of MFT pioneers, the shift represented in the field from treating the individual to treating the system, and the core concepts that mark systemic thinking and systemic therapy.
It’s been fun!
I’ve decided to begin a systemic therapy series to review the major concepts of systems theory, as well as how to begin and maintain the systemic perspective.
Conceptualizing a case systemically can be challenging, because of the many family members and influences that are relevant to our work with clients. In the practicum courses I teach, students are required to write a case summary and present the case to the class. In this post, I outline and explain the sections of the case summary assignment.
Feeling confident when offering therapy to families is a goal for many therapists and counselors. When we face the limitations of an individual perspective on treatment, we are left to wonder, “What theory, or techniques, can help this client comprehensively?”
Dr. Scott Sells explains two techniques from the Family Systems Trauma Model (FST) that will reframe family problems and help lead to second-order change. FST is applicable to your work whether you see individuals, couples, or families.