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By Cedar Barstow, MEd, CHT There is power in a pause—a lot of power. When asked why he played so well, piano virtuoso Artur Schnabel responded, “I handle notes no better than many others. But the pauses; that’s where the art resides.” A pause is simple, almost invisible. What does a pause do and how can […]

By Sarah Swenson, MA, LMHC As a therapist, I often hear from clients that they’ve read mindfulness books or downloaded apps. I ask if they find them helpful. Usually, there’s a micro-gap between my question and the answer. I interpret this gap to mean, “well, not really,” though I most often hear “yes.” I have an

By Zawn Villines The limbic system is a set of brain structures that plays a role in emotions, particularly those that evolved early and which play an important role in survival. Research has linked the limbic system to feelings of motivation and reward, learning, memory, the fight or flight response, hunger, thirst, and production of

By GoodTherapy Staff Our circumstances don’t define us. Regardless of what happens in life, we always have the power to choose our attitude. So what’s the difference between someone who remains hopeful despite experiencing great suffering and the person who stubs his or her toe and remains angry the rest of the day? The answer

By Melissa Eisler This is a guest post, written by Sara Schairer, founder of Compassion It, a nonprofit and global social movement that inspires compassionate actions and attitudes. Take it away, Sara … Research indicates that compassion makes us happier, healthier, and even more attractive to others. So how can we begin to incorporate more compassion into

By Shauna Tominey “I don’t recognize you.” This was the first thought I had when my daughter was born. She didn’t look like me (at first), and I soon learned that she didn’t act like me, either. I was a quiet and content baby, or so I’d been told; my daughter was anything but. On our first

By Jill Suttie Emotions can be mystifying at times. After all, who hasn’t been waylaid by sudden anger out of proportion to whatever prompted it, or felt gloomy for seemingly no reason? To add to the complexity, we also have beliefs about our emotions—whether they’re a positive, manageable force in our lives, or unwanted interlopers that wreak

By Jack Kornfield                                                                            rh2010/Adobe Stock Awareness of your breath can serve as a steady basis for awareness in all you

By Melissa Eisler Curiosity can be defined as “the desire to learn or know about anything.” When I think of curious individuals, I think of people who are not just interested in learning facts and knowledge, but as those who are hungry for new interpretations and perspectives – even if they think they might already

Contributed by Tom Rhodes, MFT Most of you as clinicians, and likely some among you as prospective clients and curious readers, have heard of dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT). In a nutshell, this is a psychotherapeutic modality focusing on behaviors that are not helpful in getting one’s needs met in relationships and life at large and are often