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It’s April, and we all know what that means – Spring has sprung, warmer weather is finally here…oh, and yes: less than two months until graduation!
If you’re like me, you’ve probably been daydreaming thoughts of relaxing and celebrating your accomplishments.  But also, somewhere deep inside there lurks a wondering at the future, of the unknown.  [...]

For Christmas, Santa gave me the DVD set of the first season of the HBO show “In Treatment” – in which Gabriel Byrne plays Paul, a psychotherapist who runs a private practice out of his home.  Each disc is one week’s worth of sessions with 5 clients.  The last episode on each disc is Paul’s [...]

I’ve started my clinical internship, and the impact on me has been immediate and profound.  In fact, the interns were given a caseload of clients on day one – no foot-dragging here!  We immediately got to get our feet wet in the profession.
It is true what they say – the more you know, the more [...]

We know that depressed persons have difficulty enjoying things which previously brought them pleasure.  A recent study described in Science Daily shows that this loss of enjoyment occurs on a neural level.
Healthy subjects and recently depressed subjects were asked to provide a list of their favorite music, as well as music they felt neutral about.  They [...]

I am currently working on putting together a short, general conflict resolution workshop with a group of young adults, who it turns out are experiencing conflict amongst themselves.
In speaking with a mediation professional for advice on what skills would be best to teach them, or what specific activities to do, I was told first to [...]

This summer I’ve been involved in a community theater production of “Sweeney Todd”.  It’s a dark and complicated musical, with layers upon layers of character interaction and hidden motivations.
A line from one of the songs which has been stuck in my head for a while goes:  “Being close and being clever ain’t like being true.”  It [...]

Good morning friends and fans of the SOE.  Pardon my absence, but last week I was involved in my week-long Addictions course, which, combined with commuting and life and all that, ate up my free time (not to mention brain-space, heh). 
 
I really enjoyed the course, particularly because it involved some art therapy techniques (not [...]

In a recent issue of the ACA’s journal, I was intrigued by a study comparing forgiveness interventions with an alternate treatment.  Forgiveness is a touchy and complex subject, but it seems reasonable that by “taking control” of past hurts, clients would then limit the tendency to project the effects onto future relationships.  It should be [...]

This weekend in casual conversation the subject of overindulging in vices came up.  It left me with more questions than answers, and I’m looking forward even more now to my Addictions class which is coming up in a couple of weeks.
 
Are certain activities okay as long as they don’t interfere with other responsibilities and relationships?  [...]

I was reminded of John Lennon’s immortal lyric while reading an article in the most recent issue of Counseling Today.  The article, while being mindful of the pressures of modern life and our difficult economic times, presents a treatise on, and tips for, balancing one’s life – that there’s more to life than work. 
 
For [...]