Children’s Books

Graciously re-posted courtesy of www.AllisonJupiter.com Since I have become a mother, I have had the opportunity to re-read many children’s books.  During this process, it has made me realize how the lessons of these books can be applied to many of the issues my patients face.  Here are two of my favorite children’s books that are good […]

Renovation of our minds: How to transform your mind to think more positively.

Therapists work with many different types of people, people whose stories and struggle are each different and unique. One common thing I have noticed as a therapist is how powerful our thoughts truly are. Thoughts can either be your best friend or the toughest meanest bully you can ever encounter. The power however is in […]

Negative Emotions: Toxic or Healthy?

“Neurosis is always a substitute for legitimate suffering.” —Carl Jung Experiencing negative emotions is an unavoidable dimension of human life: fear, anger, jealousy/envy, anxiety, depression, insecurity, hopelessness, inadequacy, etc. We all grapple with these feelings at one time or another and on any given day their intensity can be minute, moderate or severe. Either way, […]

Your Daily Practice

What does your daily practice consist of? If you’re like most people, this question leads you to draw a blank. “My daily practice??…what do you mean, like meditation or yoga or something…?” No, not exactly. Those things could very well be part of your daily practice, but what I’m referring to is something more fundamental […]

Emotional Pain Cannot Be Killed

A recent NY Times article stated that “Drug overdose fatalities in New York City tripled between 1990 and 2006, a new study reports, and most of the increase came from the growing abuse of prescription pain medicines.” These statistics simply reinforce what we already know anecdotally: medications designed to alleviate physical pain are increasingly being […]

deciding to live consciously and creatively

Effective therapy in NYC and beyond is about helping people create new realities in their lives—internally AND externally. And creating new realities starts with a decision to participate consciously and creatively in the present moment. Deciding to step into a conscious/creative mindset is so subtle as to almost be unrecognizable as an action that we […]

The Variety of Addictive Experiences

We welcome Chris Kingman, LCSW to the Real Deal as a regular Contributor with this post!  WATRD Editor.  Taking an historical perspective often illuminates complexity while simultaneously deepening our understanding of the subject in question. In thinking about addiction, it is valuable to remind ourselves that human beings have been failing miserably in their attempts […]

I Had a Dream

I had a dream the other night.  Actually, it was more a nightmare.  It was Ambien-induced; I took the sleep aid because I was having trouble sleeping (obviously).  Not my usual habit but it was an easy way out.  Or so I thought until the dream/nightmare came along. In it, I was visiting a friend […]