Solution-focused brief therapy is a highly effective, concentrated therapeutic method that helps clients identify the path forward when faced with life transitions, interpersonal issues, or emotional distress. Solution-focused approaches are ideal for those faced with anxiety, stress, minor depression, relationship issues, family conflict, or children with behavioral issues. The duration…
Virtual reality therapy is a new form of therapeutic treatment that involves the use of avatars—realistic, computer-generated images of a virtual mental health professional that clients can talk to. A 2022 study noted that when discussing difficult, painful subjects in a therapy session, 30% of test subjects actually preferred talking…
Geek therapy is a way of integrating nerd-culture artifacts into the therapeutic process as a means of building rapport with clients. This modality can help people with gaming and fantasy proclivities find points of resonance between make-believe and real-world concerns. All therapy approaches basically strive for similar successes, and does…
Motivational interviewing (MI) is a method some counselors use to help their clients overcome their ambivalence toward positive change. MI is a client-centered, directive counseling approach that can help clients identify and strengthen their own motivation. MI works by eliciting ‘change talk” to deepen a client’s intrinsic commitment to change. …
Therapists possess and utilize many skills, but a very important response for them to master within their practice is empathetic responding or active listening. Empathic responding is when the counselor clearly communicates the feeling their client has expressed, as well as why they possess those feelings (again, according to the…
I’m about to put myself out of a job. Okay, I may be exaggerating a bit, but I do think the following idea could decrease a lot of arguments and lead to better relationships. Introducing: The Internal Emotion Thermometer Let’s first think about the concept of having an internal emotion…
There’s a big difference between tolerating your best friend’s bad advice and accepting the psychiatric services of a random guy in Chicago. Unfortunately, unlicensed mental health providers can slip through the cracks and wreak havoc on a person’s psyche. These three true-life stories showcase how important it is to check…
Valerie Proctor Greene, Licensed Psychotherapist and Life Coach at Thriveworks Chesapeake, leads an online workshop titled “Identifying Cultural Issues Including Bias in the Counseling Room.” Below, you’ll find information about Greene, followed by highlights from her presentation: About Valerie Proctor Greene, Licensed Psychotherapist and Life Coach: Greene is passionate about…
For the last 40 years, I have been a therapist devoted to serving and assisting many different types of people, from children to adults, individuals, families. Due to my many years of experience, people are constantly asking me for my outlook on different theories. As flattered as that makes me…
Humor can improve the client-therapist relationship and overall success in therapy. A study from The American Journal of Psychotherapy surveyed 110 clients and their therapists about the use of humor in therapy. It found that clients who reported more humor in their therapy sessions also reported greater pleasure in therapy….
Many of us make our problems out to be much bigger than they are; fortunately, a counseling technique called externalizing the problem can help. Externalizing the problem helps us gain a better perspective: rather than personalizing it, clients in therapy are able to separate themselves from the problem at hand….
It’s important the client feels engaged right away, in that the therapist feels welcomed and receives dedicated care from the get-go. Once the client and counselor have decided they’re a good match, the counselor can help them feel more comfortable by explaining everything they’ll need to know about the first…