Thoughts From a Therapist
How Therapy Works
What changes in therapy, symptoms as adaptations, the relationship as the work, and notes for clinicians.
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What Is Happening to Me When My Trauma Is Triggered? The Four Stages of a PTSD Response
Why PTSD triggers feel like the trauma is happening again. A therapist tracks three of his own traumas through the four stages: spike, interpretation,…
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Why Are We So Afraid of Artificial Intelligence?
Are we afraid of artificial intelligence, or of what we have already done with our own? A therapist on projection, ecology, and the fear…
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Why Does My ADHD Make Me So Anxious? The Four Stages of a Trigger in a Branching Mind
ADHD anxiety is rarely one spike. A branching mind turns a single trigger into many, and the thinking meant to help blocks the contact…
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Why Do I Get Triggered So Easily? The Four Stages of an Emotional Reaction
Why we still react after years of work: the three stages of an emotional reaction, what can and cannot change, and why sensitivity is…
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Self of the Therapist: The Capacities That Make a Balanced Therapist
What makes a good therapist goes beyond training. Explore the emotional, relational, embodied, ethical, and existential capacities behind the work.
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Can AI conduct therapy? | Will AI Replace Therapists?
A conversation with AI about trauma-informed therapy gave me an answer to a question I had not been asking. AI may become very good…
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Is My Job to Make You Feel Better?
Sometimes therapy is meant to settle the nervous system. Sometimes it’s meant to challenge it. The harder work is recognizing which one you came…
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Understanding Anxiety Is Only the Beginning | The Gap Between Insight and Action
Understanding anxiety is only the beginning. Learn how insight, physiology, habits, and values work together to reduce anxiety by turning awareness into meaningful action.
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Using Immediacy in Therapy | Staying With Experience When the Mind Moves On
Immediacy in therapy brings attention back to the client’s present-moment experience—especially when the pull to move past emotion and into explanation begins to take…
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Intellectualization in Relationships | When Insight Replaces Contact
Highly intelligent couples often default to analysis instead of connection. This post explores how intellectualization protects us—and how it can quietly limit intimacy when…
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An Integrative Alternative to the DSM | A Coherence Map of Mental Health
An integrative framework for understanding mental health beyond symptom classification. The Fractal Field model maps how identity, relationships, embodiment, values, and meaning interact to…
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Somatic Descent Into the Hidden Narrative: A Clinical Vignette about Anger and Grief
She came into therapy with a sharp, immediate reaction whenever the subject of suicide emerged. Her face tightened. Her posture stiffened. The anger arrived…
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Nature, Nurture, and the Rhythm of Our Relationships | When Strengths Become Overused Skills
This content challenges the notion that all relational patterns stem from childhood experiences, emphasizing the importance of both nature and nurture. It highlights how…
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Emotional and Social Intelligence as a Living Balance | A Map for When You Want to Grow
This content discusses the importance of emotional and social intelligence for personal growth, emphasizing the need for balance in various capacities such as self-awareness,…
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The Fractal Field Model of Intelligence
The text redefines intelligence as a dynamic system integrating cognitive, emotional, and relational dimensions. It presents a Fractal Field Model emphasizing coherence as essential…
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The Fractal Field of Mental Health
The text outlines a fluid and dynamic model of mental health, emphasizing that it encompasses multiple interdependent dimensions: Individual, Relational, Embodied, Integrity, Dialectical, Engaged,…
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Curiosity Without Judgment: Understanding the Adaptive Logic of Our Behavior
The article explores the importance of distinguishing between judgmental and curious forms of questioning when reflecting on our behaviors. It emphasizes that understanding the…
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Self of the Therapist: Core Dimensions
The content explores various dimensions influencing therapeutic relationships, emphasizing the impact of personal relationships, attachment styles, communication, and cultural values. It highlights the integration…
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The Building Blocks of Emotional and Social Intelligence
The blog explores emotional and social intelligence, emphasizing their role in enhancing mental, emotional, and spiritual wellness. It highlights essential capacities like empathy, self-awareness,…
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Interventions in Relational Counseling
Relational therapy utilizes various acronym-based models to guide therapists. It emphasizes the importance of integrating different theoretical approaches for effective interventions, highlighting key intervention…
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