by Harper West | Oct 9, 2025 | Emotions
Standing on a Vermont hillside watching the total solar eclipse was the purest experience of awe that I can recall having. As the moon slid slowly in front of the sun, it made concrete the fact that earth is not some solid, sedentary rock, but a ball flying through a...
by Harper West | Dec 22, 2023 | Emotional Intelligence, Emotions, Parenting
Carlson’s therapy sessions often start the same way. He comes in loaded with energy and talking a mile a minute. He uses the chair less to sit in, but more as a climbing apparatus. Sure, he’s a 7-year-old boy and they often are energetic, but this behavior is next...
by Harper West | Sep 21, 2023 | Emotions
I was quoted on the psychological implications of yawning, of all things! We yawn for many reasons, not all of them known, but many people don’t know that it can be in response to the anxiety of others and as a signal to try to get them to feel safe....
by Harper West | Oct 27, 2021 | Emotions, Relationships
Where does communication go wrong? Often, I find that when clients tell me about their communication struggles what goes unsaid is often more important that what is said. In addition, I find that saying what is being experienced in the moment is very powerful, but it...
by Harper West | Aug 15, 2021 | Emotions
When I was a beginning therapist, I was concerned about yawning in front of a client. I knew that making someone feel I was disinterested was not only rude, but would disrupt the therapeutic alliance and trust. Yet I was working two jobs and often 14 hours a day, so...
by Harper West | May 28, 2019 | Emotions, Parenting, Shame
This blog on parenting is a nice description of an instance of how parents often misread a child’s behavior. I recommend that parents always look for the deeper emotion beneath a child’s actions or words, and the most powerful of these emotions are fear...
