Author: William Bishop, LPC, LMFT, AAMFT Approved Supervisor
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Relationship feel stuck? Try pretending that you don’t know everything about your partner
So what is the solution… pretend that you don’t know your partner at all… the more that you can honestly engage in this suggestion the more you will find that you actually don’t know your partner as well as you thought (in a good way).
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Mind won’t stop ruminating? Take your shoes off to encourage a state of mindfulness
A state of mindfulness is when you are entirely in the present moment… this means that 100% of your attention is on your sensory, cognitive, and emotional ‘unconditionally accepting’ observations of the moment that is happening (as opposed to being distracted by focusing your attention on the past or the future). To encourage a state…
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Drink too much? Try being yourself in your life… choose to stop inhibiting yourself
Many people find themselves drinking significant amounts of alcohol to uninhibited themselves… there is a simple and perhaps strange question that doesn’t seem to be given enough space or attention surrounding our drinking culture… I am not arguing here that there are not indeed some rather positive benefits of overindulgence, and by looking at these…
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Overcoming anger | are you angry with another or are you truly angry with your self?
Quick summary: the answer to the title question is almost invariably “both”, but to move forward with the false dichotomy noted I am going to comment on how anger is often an emotion that we feel for ourselves…though we are often quick to blame something external for our feelings. Though the environment might have done…
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Asking for feedback in therapy | collaborative psychotherapy | empowering the client | tips for psychotherapists
Quick Summary: A good technique to put in place as a practicing psychotherapist is to regularly ask your clients for feedback and to offer suggested alternative to what you are offering. the ability of the therapist to adapt to the client’s unique needs is a good predicator of successful therapy outcomes.
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30 Common questions psychotherapist should be able to answer succinctly | tips for therapists | how to market your private psychotherapy practice
Quick Summary: I will list some very common question that I have received from clients concerning my psychotherapy practice… therapist should be able to answer these questions succinctly, authentically, intelligently, and with professionalism… your response should get the listener interested and wanting to ask a follow up question. Many people suggest that you have around…
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Immediacy | tips for therapists | How to use immediacy | experiential techniques
Quick summary: a quick set of tips for therapists on using immediacy in therapy.
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Weight loss – what does that food mean to you? Insight, reflection, and replacement in achieving weight loss goals.
Quick summary: I will discuss why certain foods seem or feel impossible to give up and offer a brief suggestion as to what you can do to overcome such an obstacle. Food (as with many other things in life) often has a symbolic importance which is more influential or otherwise important that the simple tangible…
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Parenting fundamentals – The basics for co-parenting your children
Quick summary: I will very briefly outline what I have found to be the most common ideas shared in the immense amount of parenting literature out there. I will give you ideas to think about as you work with your partner to create a supportive environment for your children.
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Why should I focus on my Breathing? – Worry reduction.
Quick summary –Normally breathing is something which is done automatically – you don’t think about breathing it just happens. When you intentionally focus on your breathing you give your mind something to do and this limits your minds ability to worry, which is often the source of your distress. Breathing is happening in the present…
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Realistic Weight Loss Work Sheet – Keep what you love, substitute and add where you can, and remove the unimportant
Quick summary: When it comes to weight loss the tortoise wins and the rabbit ends up going the wrong way. Unrealistic eating plans get in the way of your weight loss goals (some even make things worse). If you are using too much personal restraint you may be setting yourself up to fail. This questionnaire…
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Euphoria and gratitude… a runners high at 9,000 feet
Quick summary: If you can teach yourself to feel gratitude for a greater diversity of things… then you can add a positive association to any experience that you want.
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Components of the Obesity and Nutrition Problem in our Shared Country
Quick summary: I am providing a list of themes with very brief explanation of how they are related to obesity and other nutritional concerns in our country. Some of the themes are more related to the individual while others are more related to society as a whole.
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Why some fail to lose Weight – Restraint theory
Quick Summary: Restraint theory suggests that restrictive diets lead to failure and in some cases actually increase weight gain. The theory was developed after research was showing that people on restrictive (don’t eat any of these ‘bad’ foods diets) had almost an 80% rate of failure and people were often gaining back more weight than…
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Jung’s Theory of Synchronicity, Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious
Quick summary: I have been reading a great book titled the ‘Tao of Psychology’ which spends a good deal of time explaining Jung’s theory of archetypes, the collective unconscious and synchronicity. My intention is to make these very abstract concepts more accessible so that more people can receive guidance by paying attention to the subjective…
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Placebo effect – an underrated healer
Quick summary: I am going to suggest that we might be able to use mindfulness to gain control over the ‘placebo effect’ thereby positively influencing recovery of physical and mental disturbances. In scientific investigation it is always important to rule out the placebo effect when studying the effects of an intervention. To do so, researchers…