During my residency training at Harvard's McLean Hospital from 1956-1959, the treatment of choice for all of our patients was intensive psychodynamic psychotherapy.
7 Vote(s)
September 15, 2010
Electroconvulsive Rx: A Memoir and Essay (Part 1)
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August 18, 2010
Some treatments work, some treatments do not: Why the confusion?
by Michael D. Anestis, M.S. Research on mental health and psychotherapy provides us with remarkably helpful information on a daily basis. Over the past several decades, a number of treatments for specific diagnoses have been rigorously tested in scientific trials,...
14 Vote(s)
14 Vote(s)
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August 4, 2010
Albert Ellis’ ‘All Out’ Approach Offers Insight On Better Living For All Of Us
Albert Ellis - one of the most influential psychologists of the 20th and 21st centuries and a pioneer in the self-help movement - created Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), one of the most successful forms of psychotherapy...
6 Vote(s)
6 Vote(s)
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July 13, 2010
Treating the soul? That’s not psychotherapy.
by Michael D. Anestis, M.S. Hey folks. Thought I'd check in with a short post on a point that I have been thinking about since my last PBB article. In that article, I discussed the importance of psychological diagnoses and...
17 Vote(s)
17 Vote(s)
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June 5, 2010
Dramatology: A New Paradigm for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy
My patient, Gwen, a 69-year-old office worker, sometimes made me wonder if I was conducting psychotherapy or engaging in combat. I had been seeing Gwen for 10 years, after she had been through 35 years of group and individual therapy and had numerous trials of various medications.
8 Vote(s)
8 Vote(s)
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May 20, 2010
Ethical Aspects of Self-Disclosure in Psychotherapy
The issue of self-disclosure in psychotherapy is one of complexity and some evolution. Most discussions about the practice refer to boundary questions because self-disclosure by the therapist to the patient is a boundary issue. Self-disclosure has, of course, a number of dimensions, including clinical, therapeutic, technical and-in some cases-legal or regulatory.
9 Vote(s)
9 Vote(s)
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May 19, 2010
Can Choir Singing Improve Irritable Bowel Syndrome?
A Swedish investigation has compared choir singing and group discussion in irritable bowel syndrome in the current issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics. Singing in a choir is very popular in the Nordic countries. This activity has been associated with increased longevity, and it induces feelings of relaxation and energy...
5 Vote(s)
5 Vote(s)
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February 19, 2010
Psychotherapy Brown Bag YouTube Channel Update - 2-18-10
We just added some new content to the PBB YouTube channel. In this video, we discuss Madelyn Gould's 2005 study that debunked the myth that assessing for suicide risk is dangerous and likely to increase depression and/or thoughts of suicide...
5 Vote(s)
5 Vote(s)
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February 6, 2010
Boundaries and Benefits of Psychotherapy
In this essay I give my views on the boundaries of individual psychotherapy-their necessity and the process of learning them, accepting them, then gaining from and leaving the therapy process.
7 Vote(s)
7 Vote(s)
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February 4, 2010
Using logic to understand mental illness and psychotherapy: Applying the principles of Karl Popper (1959)
by Michael D. Anestis, M.S. The summer before I began graduate school, I received a package in the mail from Florida State University. The package contained my first assignment as a graduate student, which consisted of reading two articles by...
9 Vote(s)
9 Vote(s)
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