Category Archives: Therapy Notes

In their song from 1975 Simon and Garfunkel observed that “there must be 50 ways to leave your lover”. They were wrong of course. There is many, many more ways to end a relationship and over the years I have … Continue reading →

I want to express my gratitude to those of you who have shuffled your appointment around or given it up altogether because someone experiencing acute depression, anxiety, grief, loss or trauma has needed an urgent appointment. I don’t like to … Continue reading →

Our inability to accept our lives the way they are is a major source of suffering. I have presented many of you with this formula: Reality + Resistance = Suffering If we get rid of the Resistance (which is always … Continue reading →

Love is an interesting phenomenon. It is one of the few things that I’ve come across that the more you give the more you have. With most other things like for instance time, energy and money the more you give … Continue reading →

Based on their observation of our closest relatives the primates, evolutionary psychologists have proposed  that the human brain is hard-wired to compare our status in relation to our peers. In other words, we continuously judge ourselves in relation to other … Continue reading →

In the month of Valentine’s Day it seems appropriate to write about love. Love is risky business. When we love somebody we put ourselves out there with the risk of getting hurt. We spend a lot in therapy discussing all … Continue reading →

Many of you would’ve heard me say that we walk around with a torture instrument on the top of our necks. I don’t mean this as a joke but I’ve come to this conclusion after much thinking about why so … Continue reading →

This is probably something that you should know about me as a therapist: I would never ask you to do anything I’m not prepared to do myself. So whatever I suggest in therapy you can be sure that I’m doing … Continue reading →

I’m afraid I have some bad news: Medicare will in 2013 only give rebate to 10 sessions a year for psychological services. No exceptions. Ever. Refer to the entry “What makes a psychologist reach for a drink” to see what … Continue reading →

The German philosopher Schopenhauer (1788-1860) had a fable that Deborah Luepnitz in her entertaining book of psychotherapy case stories paraphrases like this: “A troop of porcupines is milling about on a cold winter’s day. In order to keep from freezing, … Continue reading →