My Mind is like a Bad Neighborhood…
In the Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy classes, we have been focusing on the way feelings manifest in the body. We have been learning to use the body’s wisdom to increase our … Continue reading
Unfolding Your Own Myth
Prepare Create a comfortable quiet space for yourself and put a large sheet of paper before. Have your favorite journal by your side. Use a gratifying writing instrument, be it … Continue reading
5 Incredible Anger Tips the Hulk Never Used
Dr. David Banner, as many of us know, is a mild mannered doctor who when injured or pushed past his limit turns into the raging Incredible Hulk. The image of … Continue reading
The Calling of Spring
The change of seasons is a time when nature leads us through transition. She wakes us up and reminds us of the passage of time, puts us in a temporary … Continue reading
8 Weeks to a Better Brain
The current issue of the Harvard Gazette has a fascinating article entitled Eight Weeks to a Better Brain that shines new light on the real and measurable positive effects of … Continue reading
March 3, 2012: Communication Skills Workshop in NYC
One-Day Communication Skills Workshop Next Date: March 3, 2012 ‘From Isolation to Connection: Learn to speak, so you can be heard, and to listen, so you can hear. Do … Continue reading
Hazy Recall and Depression
I’ve been teaching Mindfulness as a tool to deal with depression and anxiety for a number of years, and the other day, a friend forwarded me this article from the … Continue reading
New York Public Library
Even under renovation, the beauty of the New York Library is striking.
Allow: A poem by Danna Faulds
In my psychotherapy practice, I encourage my clients to bring more awareness and mindfulness into their daily lives. We can so oftentimes feel rushed, scattered and onto the next thing, … Continue reading
Breaking Our Hearts Open
There are times in our lives when the pain and the suffering are too much to bear; when the heart ache wants to eat us whole and all we want … Continue reading
Falling Into Letting Go…
Sometimes we find ourselves tightly wound to our beliefs, remembering who hurt us, who we are angry with, and who disappointed us. We hold grudges, cling onto resentments, and feel … Continue reading
Mindfulness in the Morning
-As you wake up, see if you can notice how you are doing before you automatically jump out of bed. Take inventory: How does your body feel? Do you feel … Continue reading
12/3 Communication Skills Workshop in NYC
Communication Skills Workshop in NYC Saturday12/3 in NYC, 11-3pm Communication skills training in NYC for couples and individuals: problem resolution, resolve conflict, communicate more effectively.
11/12 One-Day Anger Management Workshop in NYC
ONE DAY ANGER WORKSHOP – November 12, 2011- www.MidtownMFT.com Midtown MFT provides an in-depth look at the core of anger. If you experience frequent, intense anger and behave destructively to … Continue reading
New Women’s Anger Group in NYC begins 11/8/2011
Women’s Anger Management Group, Anger Class, in NYC, Midtown, New York – 2 spaces left!! When anger is kept inside without a voice or when it continually erupts it can … Continue reading
How Not to be a Chicken Little
Many of us at some point in our lives have heard the tale of Chicken Little. The story begins with Chicken Little having a perfectly normal day minding his own … Continue reading
Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT)
This article is co-authored by Larry Torrent and Mary Myers One of the greatest challenges facing those who have experienced depression or chronic anxiety is the question of how to … Continue reading
Along our Journey…
Remember that life may lead you to a place unexpected. Have faith that you are exactly where you need to be.
“We’ll See”
“We’ll see” was often a phrase that we heard growing up that would send us away rolling our eyes and knowing that the answer was probably a no. As I … Continue reading
Transform your Anxiety: Part 2
I wrote previously about a great creative exercise to help transform the meaning and shape of anxiety, from a place of overwhelm where it feels like our entire being, to … Continue reading
A Buddhist Perspective on Anger
I recently attended a weekend workshop about anger from the Buddhist perspective, and I was reminded of some beliefs that are present in the way I work with clients struggling … Continue reading
Witness: A Poem from Danna Faulds
When I can be the witness, all manner of miracles occur – old wounds heal, the past reveals itself to be released,
Quote on Emotions from Jim Rohn
“Our emotions need to be as educated as our intellect. It is important to know how to feel, how to respond, and how to let life in so that it … Continue reading
Poem: Absence of the Imaginary
I crouch in the stillness of the cold, sharp air as first light appears, suddenly surrounded by the absence of imaginary things. Unruly thoughts dissipate. Touched by the light water, … Continue reading
Longing
Longing, defined as a strong, persistent desire or craving, especially for something unattainable or distant, can show up in many forms. Longing to be somewhere else, to be with someone … Continue reading
A Poem about Self-Discovery
Slide into the unknown The Beloved is waiting Climb down the rickety ladder Into the mysterious cave of your body Where your own quiet music plays
Communication Skills Workshop in NYC
Communication skills training in NYC for couples and individuals for problem resolution, to resolve conflict and communicate more effectively. From Isolation to Connection: How to speak and listen in ways … Continue reading
Anger in Our Closest Relationships
Sometimes we feel the angriest with the ones we love most, and we find ourselves in repeating patterns of reactivity, when what we really crave is to be heard and … Continue reading
Our Greatest Strength is our Vulnerability
Vulnerability is our capacity to be wounded, emotionally or physically. We tend to go through life creating shields and armor to protect us from what we fear and cannot control, in others and in ourselves. Strength is coming into something new with defenses down, with the trust in ourselves to know that we will have the capacity to respond from our intuitive and knowing selves.
Everything In Life Is Only For Now…
When going through a difficult time in our lives we tend to think that the challenging period is going to last forever. Below is a funny, helpful song from the … Continue reading
Meditation Produces Brain Change in Just 8 Weeks
Implications for Trauma Treatment Need more incentive to meditate? A recent study headed by Sara Lazar and colleagues at Massachusetts General Hospital documented measurable changes in brain regions associated with … Continue reading
The Saturn Returns: The Journey from 20-something to 30
This article helps name and support the journey from 20-something to 30-something. If anxiety has plagued you through this period you are not alone… During our terribly awkward teenage years, … Continue reading
Transform your Anxiety: Part 1
This is a great creative exercise to help you move from a place of overwhelm, when anxiety feels like your entire being, to a place of clarity, where anxiety has … Continue reading
Understanding Our Anger
Have you ever noticed how your judgments about what you think is happening can quickly fuel and escalate a situation? And later look back and see that much of what … Continue reading
Stay in the Chair: For clients unsure of the process of long-term therapy.
Stay in the Chair…It Will Happen: For Clients Unsure of the Process of Long-Term Therapy. A very common first question by clients who haven’t been in therapy before is “How long … Continue reading
“You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment. Fools stand on their island of opportunities and look toward another land. There … Continue reading
“When we are mindful, deeply in touch with the present moment, our understanding of what is going on deepens, and we begin to be filled with acceptance, joy, peace and … Continue reading
Imagine
Imagine Lyrics, John Lennon Photograph by Jackie Sherman Imagine there’s no heaven It’s easy if you try No hell below us Above us only sky Imagine all the people Living … Continue reading
In the Deep, Dark Cold of Winter Comes the Warmth of Story!
Now’s the time of year to deepen your roots in preparation for a greater blossoming. One way to do that is through discovering your own myth — your deepest and … Continue reading
The Call to Adventure, Part 1
This article was published with permission from Juliet Bruce, PhD John Lennon said, “Life happens when you’re making other plans.” That’s when story begins. We don’t tell the stories … Continue reading
2/4 Communication Skills Workshop in NYC
Saturday 2/4 in NYC, 11-3pm Communication skills training in NYC for couples and individuals: problem resolution, resolve conflict, communicate more effectively. From Isolation to Connection: How to speak and listen … Continue reading
Women’s Anger Group: Begins Tuesday February 7
Women’s Anger Management Group, Anger Class, in NYC, Midtown, New York !! When anger is kept inside without a voice or when it continually erupts it can cause great distress. … Continue reading
You moved me through each room: Poem by Nick Flynn
You moved me through each room ~ after hypnotherapy All the rooms are empty, as if no one had ever lived in them. You ask where am I & I … Continue reading
Unwritten: Song Lyrics, Natasha Beningfield
For a new beginning… “Unwritten” I am unwritten, can’t read my mind, I’m undefined I’m just beginning, the pen’s in my hand, ending unplanned Staring at the blank page before … Continue reading
My Mother’s Body: a poem by Marie Howe
By Marie Howe, from “The Kingdom of Ordinary Time.” Bless my mother’s body, the first song of her beating heart and her breathing, her voice, which I could dimly hear, … Continue reading
One-Day Anger Workshop
Anger Management Workshop in NYC If you experience frequent, intense anger and behave destructively to yourself or others when angry, you may benefit from this workshop. Saturdays, 11-4pm Scheduled Dates … Continue reading
Men’s Anger Group in NYC
Anger Class, Group, for Men in NYC, Midtown Manhattan “Anyone who angers you conquers you” ~ Anon Our support group for men offers a safe forum in which men can … Continue reading
Beginning the Journey of Healing
It’s also helpful to realize that this very body that we have, that’s sitting right here right now, with its aches and it pleasures… is exactly what we need to … Continue reading
The Summer Day: Mary Oliver Poem
The Summer Day: A poem by Mary Oliver Who made the world? Who made the swan, and the black bear? Who made the grasshopper? This grasshopper, I mean- The one … Continue reading
The Hero with a Thousand Faces: Joseph Campbell Quote
We have not even to risk the adventure alone, for the heroes of all time have gone before us. The labyrinth is fully known. We have only to follow the … Continue reading
Story Imagination
Originally published by Juliet Bruce, Ph.D How to Create a Thrilling Life with a Story Imagination I’m my own best client. Recently I brought about a miracle in my life … Continue reading
Inner Landscape Collage
This is a creative experiential exercise used for accessing a deeper space within ourselves, to allow space for our inner wisdom to guide our awareness. Preparation: First, collect some magazines that interest … Continue reading
What to Remember When Waking: David Whyte
A Poem by David Whyte: In that first hardly noticed moment in which you wake, coming back to this life from the other more secret, moveable and frighteningly honest world … Continue reading
Sanctuary: A Guided Meditation
This is a great meditation for daily practice to feel soothed, comforted, at peace, to reduce stress, to reduce anxiety, or to come out of anger. Close your eyes and … Continue reading
Letting Go to Receive
Fall wakes up in me an expectation of change, a loss of the ease of summer, a distant knowing that winter will eventually arrive, a readiness for wind and autumn … Continue reading
Rock Creek Park
While at the Psychotherapy Networker Conference in DC, March of 2010, I spent a few hours in Rock Creek Park capturing a few images…
The Journey, Poem by Mary Oliver
One day you finally knew what you had to do, and began, though the voices around you kept shouting their bad advice– though the whole house began to tremble and … Continue reading
I Will Not Die an Unlived Life: Dawna Markova
Dawna Markova wrote… I will not die an unlived life. I will not live in fear Of falling or catching fire. I choose to inhabit my days, To allow my … Continue reading
Juliet Bruce PhD, Contributing Author
We welcome Juliet Bruce PhD as a contibuting author to ‘Our Guide for Growth’ Therapy Blog. Juliet Bruce is a writer, expressive arts mentor, and story coach in New York … Continue reading
Gratitude
I had the honor and privilege to attend a Heal the Healers training this past Thursday, sponsored by the Joyful Heart Foundation.*. Lauren van Dernoot Lipsky, author of Trauma Stewardship, … Continue reading
Measure of a Man: Song Lyrics, Clay Aiken
About the love of a man… If one day you discover him Broken down he’s lost everything No cars, no fancy clothes to make him who he’s not The woman … Continue reading
I Survived You: Song Lyrics from Clay Aiken
For the end of a relationship…moving on “I Survived You” I see the picture clear now, the fog has lifted. The wool you tried to pull over my eyes was … Continue reading
New Beginnings
When something isn’t working we CAN make a change. It seems like such an easy concept to name. The fear that comes with it, and the comfort and predictability of … Continue reading
Stress
Ahhh…..the wonderful holiday season is upon us. Stress thrives at this time of year, and without awareness, it can overwhelm us. We can jump in and allow ourselves to ride … Continue reading
Changing our Patterns
Think back to some difficult childhood times. How did you cope? Did you sleep with the radio loud to drown out your parents fighting, or did you spend all your … Continue reading
Embracing the Journey
It’s also helpful to realize that this very body that we have, that’s sitting right here right now… with its aches and it pleasures… is exactly what we need to be … Continue reading
Conscious Communication: Part 1
One of the most common and challenging issues couples face is communication. Most couples coming to therapy have not yet figured out how to navigate troubles as a team, resolving … Continue reading
Conscious Communication: Part 2
Someone asked me, in response to last weeks article – “How do I know if I am treating my husband consciously, the way I would want to be treated?” My attempt … Continue reading
Living with Intent
A large focus of my practice is helping people become conscious. This involves being genuine and authentic with ourselves, taking ownership over our needs and wants, listening and responding to … Continue reading
Trust
How do you know that what you do, or are doing, is the right thing for you and those close to you? I’m not sure that we can always know … Continue reading
New Cheese
‘The Quicker You Let Go of Old Cheese, The Sooner you Find new Cheese’ – is a great quote in a great book entitled “Who Moved my Cheese” by Spencer … Continue reading
