Have you ever had an experience where you see yourself doing something you know you shouldn’t be doing — a behavior that you yourself don’t support or condone — but you find yourself doing it anyway? Cognitive dissonance is that disconnect between what we believe and what we do — it’s an experience we all have at one time or another. While it can be uncomfortable and stressful to act in a way that feels contrary to what we believe, it’s a common experience....

Therapists have hard jobs. They hear about difficult, sometimes traumatic experiences each day, as their clients share their issues. They too occasionally have personal problems and things they would like to work through. You might wonder, however: Do therapists just know how to handle their issues, based on their training? It’s often said that everyone can benefit from therapy, but what about therapists?Just because they’re trained, doesn’t mean therapists don’t sometimes need help themselves....

The beginning oftherapybrings up complicated emotions. You might feel relieved that you’ve been able to unburden yourself, or even awe at the way your therapist “gets” you. Like every relationship, there is usually a honeymoon period, in which you admire and respect your therapist, confident in their ability to heal you.Over time, however, the newness fades and the work gets harder. People often put their therapist on a pedestal at first, but the therapist is bound to fall eventually....

Whether you’ve been seeing your therapist for a few months or a few years, it’s very likely that at some point during the treatment you will feel likenothing is happening. “What am I really getting out of this?” you’ll wonder. “Is this still working for me?” This feeling of stuck-ness is common and it doesn’t mean you’re “failing” attherapy.Plateaus happen in almost every therapeutic relationship eventually, and they can look different depending on why you’re in therapy....

If I asked you to describe what a depressed person looks like, you probably wouldn’t have pictured someone like me. While I was struggling withdepression, I still showed up to work every day, took care of my appearance, and did my hair and makeup everyday. I didn’t lock myself in my apartment with dishes piling up in the sink — you would have no idea based on just on appearances.I hadn’t (yet) experienced that major, suffocating form of depression that makes getting through every single day a herculean task — but I also didn’t feel like myself....

Updated on 9/22/2021 No matter how big or small the challenge, condition, phobia, disorder, or addiction may be, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is an evidence-based psychotherapy treatment method that can help you change negative responses to uncomfortable situations. Chances are, you have already seen this treatment method mentioned in a self-help article or know someone who has benefited from it. It’s a popular treatment method due to its affordability, short-term treatment horizon, and itsempirically supportedeffectiveness....

We have all apologized at some point in our lives. We are taught from a very young age that when you do or say something wrong, you apologize.Period.But what if you didn’t do anything wrong? What if you are just being yourself? Sometimes we apologize too easily for things that do not need an apology or explanation, and many times we do this unconsciously without even realizing it — but it doesn’t have to be that way....

Last week I was using my husband’s laptop to respond to some quick emails before heading to work. I was frantically typing away, wanting to hit send as fast as possible to still make my train, when a notification popped up on his screen: “don’t bite your nails today, Brian!” I laughed out loud and wondered — can you really break a three-decade habit with a Google Calendar reminder?It turns out the answer isyes....

When External Validation Becomes Unhealthy Your boss tells you “well done” on your latest project. You get an A on your term paper. Your significant other tells you you look nice. These are all examples of external validation: affirmation from a source outside yourself.It’s not inherently bad; in fact, we all begin life in a state of complete reliance on external validation.As children, we rely on it to learn appropriate behaviors....

Being a good friend means being there for someone while they’re hitting some bumps in the road. It means offering love and support when you notice someone needs it the most. It can mean simply being a shoulder for them to cry on — but that can be hard to do when it comes to helping an online friend, someone you may never have met in person. With everyone spending more and more time online, online friendships are becoming more and more common....

Updated July 21, 2021. Body positivityis getting more attention in the media these days, and that’s a good thing. Despite this, it’s still not uncommon for anegative body image to impact our lives at one time or another. In general, that’s okay. It’s normal to occasionally fixate on a stubborn zit, a bald spot, or a roll of belly fat. However, this can become a problem when we start obsessing over a feature we dislike, making it a bigger issue in our mind than it might actually be in reality....

Online therapy is a relatively new development in the healthcare industry. The ability to access therapy without the need to physically travel is a tremendous innovation — making mental health services available to thousands of people who might not have been able to access nor afford treatment in the past. Online therapy — also known as teletherapy, e-therapy, or cyber-therapy — has experienced a growth in popularity due to its accessibility....

These days, there are more ways to find a therapist than ever before. But, some might feel it’s important and more helpful to work with a therapist of a particular background, which can make the search more difficult. It can even be tough to make this request. If you’re in this situation, what should you do? How Cultural Differences Can Hinder Therapy With my own new clients, one of the things I often come across is that they’ve tried therapy before, often with a therapist of a different cultural background than themselves....

Updated 8/20/2024Therapy can be a critical tool in managing and improving mental health. It offers many benefits, from gaining a better understanding of yourself and your needs to overcoming personal challenges and healing from past trauma.While there’s no rulebook on the frequency of sessions you need, figuring out how often to see a therapist can determine how quickly you’ll see results. In someresearch, seeing a therapist twice a week leads to a faster and more significant reduction in depressive symptoms, but that’s not going to be the case for everyone....

Updated 12/14/2023. Whether you’re going to college for the first time or going back to school after a long summer break,the transitioncan be extremely stress inducing. This shake up can cause symptoms of anxiety or depression, whether or not you have a preexisting mental health condition.It’s totally normal to experience mixed emotions and stress when the start of a new semester rolls around.You don’t have to let these emotions take control and get in the way of you having a great time at school....