Tag Archives: therapy
Is Your Therapy Safe? 6 Questions to Ask a Potential Therapist
Understanding Harm in the Mental Illness Industry A lot of people have been harmed in one-on-one therapy. Not just disappointed, but harmed. They have been gaslit, pathologized, controlled, dismissed, punitively misdiagnosed, and worse. That happens within a system built around … Continue reading
Posted in Mental Health
Tagged abusive systems, CBT, cognitive therapy, connection, modalities, questions, safety, techniques, therapy
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Games Therapists Play
The pop psychology book, “Games People Play” was published in 1964. I remember reading it as a teenager in the 70’s. It described common relational patterns among people, like the “Yes, But” game, in which a person complains, another offers … Continue reading
Posted in Mental Health
Tagged games, Games People Play, gaslighting, manipulation, pop psychology, talk therapy, therapist, therapy
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Why I Quit Therapy
Over 6.5 years, I was traumatized by 13 therapists. Even the intake, first session, and attempt to explain my history put my nervous system back into the same defensive state. In session, I frequently encountered misattunement that prompted their disbelief, … Continue reading
The Great Misdiagnosis: Why Medical Trauma Requires a Different Lens
The standard treatment for PTSD is the problem. It nearly killed me. And then the standard treatment for that was even worse. It locked me into psychiatric hospitalization for 8 days and nights. There, my rights were violated, I received … Continue reading
Posted in PTSD
Tagged medical abuse, medical harm, Medical PTSD, MPTSD, PTSD, therapy, treatment
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Survivors in the Lurch: How Doctors Disregard Their Role in Resolving Medical Trauma
Recently, I heard the same line I’ve been hearing for years. A prominent pain specialist told me that doctors don’t have the time to help me recover from medical PTSD. The conversation always drops straight into the same rut: “Are … Continue reading
Posted in Accountability, Healthcare
Tagged attunement, Doctor, doctor-patient relationship, doctors, Empathy, IPNB, Medical PTSD, MPTSD, pain, pain specialist, relationship, therapy
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Clinical Harm: An IPNB Perspective on the Therapist’s Agenda
When a therapist repeatedly interrupts, dismisses a client’s distressing experiences, or imposes their own agenda, it can have significant negative effects on the client’s nervous system, often triggering a state of dysregulation. Here’s what happens from an Interpersonal Neurobiology (IPNB) … Continue reading
Posted in Mental Health
Tagged agenda, dysregulation, Efforting, fight, flight, freeze, relationships, shame, therapist, therapy, Trauma, trust
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Foundations of Regulation: Interpersonal Neurobiology Made Easy!
The Foundations of Regulation course helps you understand and experience your internal responses, without pressure, judgment, or performance. Everything is optional, and every practice is designed for you to explore at your own pace. You learn the key Interpersonal Neurobiology … Continue reading
Posted in Neurobiology
Tagged Foundations of Regulation, interpersonal neurobiology, IPNB, Nervous System, relationships, self, therapy
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The Therapist’s Mirror: How Lack of Self-Awareness Can Dysregulate Clients
A therapist who lacks the capacity for self-awareness and attunement may, at best, provide surface-level support, but they’re also likely to cause harm, especially to trauma survivors. Without the ability to co-regulate and deeply connect with their clients’ internal states, … Continue reading
Posted in Mental Health
Tagged attunement, Behavioral Health, co-regulation, dysregulation, healing, IPNB, Mental Health, Regulation, therapy, Trauma, trust
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Dear Doctor: I Have Lots of Therapists. Including You.
Your Presence Is the Treatment. Or the Harm. It is striking how many doctors, especially pain specialists, have doubly verified that I have a good therapist. Or a therapist. That I’m “in mental health care.” I understand why they ask. … Continue reading
Posted in Mental Health
Tagged Behavioral Health, doctors, IPNB, Medicine, Mental Health, neurobiology, pain specialists, Psychology, therapist, therapy
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The Nervous System Knows: Why Safety Comes First in Trauma Recovery
When Dr. Stephen Porges says “safety is the therapy,” what he means is that the foundation for any healing—especially from trauma—is the experience of felt safety, not just physical safety. From an Interpersonal Neurobiology (IPNB) perspective, this means that our … Continue reading