Clients who ruminate often think of it as a helpful problem-solving tool – that if they dwell on a problem long enough, they’ll gain new insight into how to fix it. But as we know, rumination can keep clients stuck in cycles of depression and self-doubt. So, in the video below, Christine Padesky, PhD […]
Helping Clients Expand Their Comfort Zone
When it comes to treating anxiety, clients sometimes focus more on final outcomes than progress. But working with anxiety is often a daily process – a series of gradual (and often uncomfortable) steps to widen their comfort zone. So how can we motivate clients to embrace this process? In the video below, Kelly McGonigal, PhD […]
Working with Self-Harm: Pat Ogden, PhD with a Safe Replacement for Harmful Actions
In the aftermath of trauma, some clients turn to self-harm to relieve intense feelings of shame, anxiety, or even emotional numbness. Over time, these harmful behaviors can become addictive – and helping clients break that cycle can be a challenging process. So in the video below, Pat Ogden, PhD explains how she helps clients gain […]
When Racism Triggers Emotional Reactivity
For many clients, racism can be a deeply emotional topic. The experience of racism (and the scenes of racial injustice that occur far too often) can trigger a wave of painful emotions that threaten to shift clients into a state of reactivity and overwhelm. Shelly Harrell, PhD worked with a client who found herself in […]
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 […]