by Harper West | Jun 29, 2015 | Uncategorized
When one or both members of a relationship have a lack of assertiveness it can lead to relationship problems. In the short term, not speaking up may feel like a good solution. Unassertive people have good intentions: “If I don’t say anything negative or speak up, it...
by Harper West | Jun 9, 2015 | Uncategorized
A young patient of mind yawns regularly in session — and big yawns that she doesn’t cover with her hand… but manners are a topic for another post. Many therapists might either be offended at her boredom or check on how much sleep she is getting. I knew that it was...
by Harper West | Jun 6, 2015 | Psychoactive Medication
It appears that when James Holmes shot up that movie theater in Colorado he may have done so partly because he felt hopeless that his mental health would ever improve. Apparently, he wrote in his journal that he had been told he had a “broken brain”. He had been given...
by Harper West | May 19, 2015 | Uncategorized
I walked out into the waiting room at work to meet a new family for therapy and they arrived in the waiting room at the same time. The father was pushing their 6-year-old son into the room. The son was very clearly afraid, hesitant and clingy. The father was irritated...
by Harper West | Apr 22, 2015 | Accountability, Relationships
It is a truism in psychotherapy that those who actually should be attending therapy are the ones who rarely find their way into treatment. In “Pack Leader Psychology” I categorized personalities into three types: Dominators, Submissives and Avoiders. Dominators are...
