When clients experience anxiety, their first response is often to avoid whatever (or whomever) might be causing it. But when clients become trapped in a cycle of avoidance, it can keep them from the very activities and people they value most. So how can we help clients see the cost of their avoidance strategies – […]
What We Might Be Missing – Listening for Racial Stress in Session
There may be times when a client comes into a session with a specific story about racism that they experienced, and they want to talk about it. But according to Usha Tummala-Narra, PhD, a client’s experience of racial stress will usually come up much more subtly – and it could be easy to miss if […]
Tara Brach, PhD, and How to Work with Chronic Self-Judgement
What would you say to a client who feels as if they’ve wasted years of their life trapped in a cycle of harsh self-judgement? You see, feeling like you’re “never enough” is very common. According to Tara Brach, PhD, this sense of inadequacy leads to some of the most pervasive suffering in our culture. In […]
A Compassion-Focused Approach to Self-Critical, Negative Thoughts
For some clients, not an hour goes by without an intrusive thought from their “inner critic” . . . . . . and the shame, blame, and fear that it stirs up can be paralyzing. So how can we help clients who struggle to keep these unwelcome thoughts in check? Well, Dennis Tirch, PhD, has a […]
The Neuroscience of Mindfulness and Fear
When a client is afraid, there’s a practice that can help them stay grounded in the present . . . . . . instead of getting hijacked by panic and “worst-case scenario” thinking. And that practice is mindfulness. In the video below, Tara Brach, PhD will get into how mindfulness disrupts the neurobiology of fear, […]