Justin’s Blog: “The Jog”

Mark* was generally confident in his therapy, but bringing up sex….well, he got a little sheepish.  He had these small avoidances that he never realized were behavioral and cognitive avoidances.  For example, he would never have sex with his wife when the kids weren’t away from home.  He intentionally steered conversation away from topics with […]

Yvette had a hard time breaking through in therapy. She knew and understood well the rationale for putting in the work. Her grasp of when she felt anxious and distressed, and even what to do, was excellent. I mean, the research speaks for itself, right? Just do it- just practice what your therapist teaches? I […]

“I feel like I really love my baby, but, I just don’t know. I have these terrible thoughts that pop into my mind. Thoughts of harming my baby. I actually vomited last night it made me so upset. I don’t know why I’m having these” “Everyone around me, including my pastor, seems to think I […]

When clients become experts in doing exposures (Social Anxiety, PTSD, OCD, Phobias), they become used to facing fear, disgust, and other uncomfortable feelings square on without tricks and escapes- while still pursuing the valued behaviors and thought processes they want.  Sounds too good to be true?  It’s not, but it takes discipline and hard work, […]

As a faith leader, you are the real front door to mental health. Despite the fact that doctors and hospitals may be attributed this designation, many people feel most comfortable talking about mental health issues with you first, and even at times exclusively.  You are as a whole sought out 50% more than doctors or psychiatrists to help alleviate mental and emotional problems- this puts you on the front lines.

OCD in context. You may already be very familiar with references to OCD, especially in the larger culture.  “I’m soooooo OCD” is a phrase, often unhelpful to true sufferers, that reflects the current sentiments of many as to what it is.  Neat.  Picky.  High Standards.  Demanding.  This is NOT necessarily OCD in and of itself.  […]

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is a mental health psychological treatment, or psychotherapy. The range of problems it treats is broad, from anxiety and depression to substance abuse and relationship problems.  It is considered gold standard treatment. Let’s nerd out and understand a bit more about where it comes from and ideas on how it works!

Both in the office and in my life I offer a simple reminder: just because you tremble or are afraid or feel distressed DOESN’T mean you’re doing it wrong.  In fact, maybe it’s very right.  An unbelievably common misconception among human beings is distress = bad.  Sure, distress is uncomfortable.  Yes, it signals something feels […]

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In poker, a “tell” is a sort of behavioral or observable change that, usually unbeknownst to the person, can reveal information that can be used for another player to get the upper hand.  Smirks, scratching of the nose, looking away, smiling- expert poker players work hard to conceal these (why many wear sunglasses). Notice Something […]

If you have experience with cancer treatment, you may already know what is meant when I say, “cut out the margin.”  Margin is the edge or border of tissue that is being removed through surgery.  Why can’t you just cut out the “bad” part?  Why must you go further?  Simply, it is only deemed clean when all […]

Despite how great food at Chick-fil-A is, there is a significant correlation between consuming chicken and oil being imported to the U.S.  Does this mean anything?  Probably not. If you have ever dug into statistics- in the news, in school, or even through your own research- you may have learned an important principle: “Correlation does not equal causation;” […]

Teddy pumped the sanitizer bottle for the second time in three minutes.  “I know, I know, it doesn’t help when I haven’t touched anything else, but I want to be sure.  You never know these days, right?”  Freda waits to enter gatherings and meetings until everyone else has shown up- “It just helps me know I […]

How much do you charge? This is a very loaded question, indeed.  I’m going to give you straight answers to how much therapy actually costs, and why.  If you are a consumer of health services, you’ve likely asked it many times between doctors, dentists, and insurance plans.  Therapy is no different, yet it is unique […]

Experiment:  Look at the picture above.  What do you feel?  Those feelings are real.  However, how you interpret what you feel makes all the difference (whether you think cats are cute, a nuisance, practical, fun, allergic fur balls, or pure joy). I see a common phrase that goes around: “Feelings are not facts.”  While I agree […]