I attended a conference today on synthetic cannabinoid drugs, such as “Spice,” K-2, and “bath salts.” These are drugs made by altering the chemical properties of an existing drugs, primarily THC (cannabis, or marijuana). Although their popularity seems to have followed from the popularity of “club drugs” such as ecstasy, they are not chemically based… Continue Reading Synthetic Cannabinoids – A Scary Brew

I’ve been using the Life Style Assessment technique (originated by Alfred Adler, and developed further by Bernard Shulman and Harold Mosak) for many years, as a way to help clients understand their basic life convictions and help in setting goals and direction in psychotherapy. This technique can also be of great value for couples.

I have been talking this week to some individuals who are Facilitators and Advisors to SMART Recovery groups in Chicago, and have learned that more meetings are taking place than ever before. This is a positive development for people struggling with drug and alcohol dependence, and for the professionals who need self-help resources to provide… Continue Reading SMART Recovery expands Chicagoland meetings

The American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) has issued a new definition of “Addiction” as of August, 2011. This definition stresses the neurobehavioral aspects of addictive disorders and essentially defines them as “brain diseases.”

My very first post on this website was about what it can be like to make the decision to seek counseling. It’s a topic worth revisiting. Many people can make use of counseling even though they’re basically doing OK – they’re making progress in work or school, they have friends and relationships, and there are… Continue Reading The Decision to Seek Counseling

(Author’s note: This post follows from the earlier post on new findings about addiction. I had originally added this as a comment to further discuss alternatives to AA and other 12-step approaches. I have moved that comment into this separate post.) S.M.A.R.T. Recovery (Self-Management and Recovery Training) was started by a group of mental health… Continue Reading Choices in self-help for substance use disorders

I received a link today to an online poll being conducted by a therapy practice in Alaska, which asked the respondents to give their opinion on the question of whether licensing boards should require that therapists have gone through their own therapy as part of their training. I gave my response (which I’ll explain a… Continue Reading Should therapists in training be required to be in therapy?

“Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp, or what’s a heaven for?” — Robert Browning I’ve found that young adults – especially some of the young men I work with – who seek help with depression often have a lot of difficulty that involves feeling that they can’t achieve the things that they wish they could… Continue Reading Struggling for Significance

Counseling and psychotherapy are often used interchangeably, which can be confusing to people seeking help. Most of us who work in the field tend to use the two terms a little differently. Counseling is usually used to refer to getting help for less severe problems or for situational issues. Psychotherapy is usually used to describe… Continue Reading Is it Counseling or Psychotherapy?

It’s always been confusing to know all the professions that provide counseling and psychotherapy. When I received my Master’s degree at what was then the Alfred Adler Institute in 1986, the only licensed non-medical professions that could provide counseling and psychotherapy in Illinois were social workers (with a master’s degree) and psychologists (who must have… Continue Reading Counselors, psychologists, social workers…