Lately I’ve been thinking about the many ways that creativity serves the human spirit. As a writer and artist, I have always thought of my imagination as a tool to explore the boundaries of my medium, whether it be words or a drawing pencil. But just before the state issued social distancing mandates, I had …
The Culture of Addiction
In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts is a personal and compassionate look at addiction from a doctor who treats some of the hardest cases. In this book, what Dr. Gabor Maté faces is not just addiction in its most obvious forms but addiction as it prevails in our society at large, at every level of …
The Gift of Failure
A few years ago I reconnected with my college boyfriend on Facebook. When he asked what I was up to, I hedged a little, writing of my successes and omitting my perceived failures. No need to share those with him, right? When I asked what he was up to, he wrote back, “Everything has gone …
The Goose in the Bottle
The other day I read an article by William Doherty that really sparked my imagination. Doherty argues that the job of therapy is not simply to help each individual manage his or her own symptoms, but to recognize the ways that society and culture affect and create the problems that each individual must face. Doherty …
What Is Self-Compassion?
Self-compassion is trending in the therapy world. It’s an old concept, but lately it’s picked up steam, thanks to Kristen Neff’s work. Neff, a researcher at the University of Texas at Austin and a meditation devotee, has come up with an 8-week program called Mindful Self-Compassion. It is designed to teach the skills of self-compassion …
Dealing With Introversion
In her entertaining memoir Maybe You Should Talk To Someone, Lori Gottlieb writes that “therapy is about understanding the self that you are. But part of getting to know yourself is to unknow yourself--to let go of the limiting stories you’ve told yourself about who you are so that you aren’t trapped by them, so …
Foster Powell Counseling 