As a therapist certified in EMDR (eye-movement desensitization and reprocessing) therapy, I have found this approach to be very effective in helping many clients for a variety of issues. The current treatment guidelines of the American Psychiatric Association designate EMDR therapy as an effective...

Years ago, I spent countless hours delving into the topic of trauma. I worked intensively with some trauma survivors, talked to specialists in the field and read many, many books. Back then two things really stood out to me about trauma.

Fear is a basic, yet powerful emotion. It shows itself to us in many forms; a racing heart, surge of energy, “butterflies” in the stomach. These physical cues usually result from our most primal form of fear that sets off the fight, flight or...

This past weekend I was watching Disney’s Chicken Little with my son and I thought it was a great movie. I couldn’t believe I had never watched it before. It’s geared towards a younger audience, but it has many important life lessons to teach...

In the last blog on this topic I talked about how families differ in their handling of emotions. Parents are the primary role-models for how emotions are to be dealt with in family units. Children learn how to process their emotions by watching what...

This week I was listening to a lecture on anxiety and the speaker talked about “optimal anxiety.” Now, when I first hear the word “anxiety” I do not feel warm and fuzzy. However, the speaker stated there is a healthy form of anxiety that...