More individuals are gaining access to the mental health care they need thanks to dramatically increased access to health insurance that covers mental health care in the US. With that increase, we’ve seen a corresponding increase in individual’s utilization of Emotional Support Animals to provide companionship at home while they pursue counseling and therapy to […]
A new policy began this semester (Spring 2017) at San Francisco State that prevents Student Health Services therapists and doctors from writing letters of support for students in need of emotional support animals. Doctors are still allowed to prescribe psychotropic medication, just not animals. The new policy will refer students to off-campus health care when […]
Anxiety disorders are among the largest growing demographics of therapy seekers in the United States. What is often overlooked is the difficulty anxiety sufferers face in seeking out, beginning, and sticking with treatment.
On multiple occasions, I have heard people declare that their animal is their soul mate. This might seem really strange to a lot of people, however, there are many people who do not get their needs met by other humans. As I psychotherapist, I have treated many people who have been so hurt by […]
Have you ever traveled on a plane and wished you had your living, supportive therapy tool with you for support? I have spoken to countless people who feel so much more comforted having their ESA with them. I recently spoke to a woman who had a dying relative and was anxious and depressed because she had to travel […]
Do you know anyone who functions better when they have the support of someone else around? What if that someone else was an animal? It could be a dog, cat, bird, lizard, or whoever helps to make one feel more secure when they’re out in the world.
Mother’s Day Blues So much has been written about the complexity of the mother daughter relationship. Generally, it’s from the perspective of the daughter who never got her needs met from her mother. But what about the mother whose daughter seemed oppositional from the time she came out of the womb? In fact she was […]
I have spoken to many women who have been riveted to the Jodi Arias trial. Not since the murder of Nicole Brown Simpson, have so many people opened their eyes to domestic violence.
I’ve been thinking a lot about love addiction lately, perhaps it’s because of my fascination with the Jodi Arias trial. Arias slaughtered her former boyfriend because of what I believe is an extreme case of love addiction.
For years we have been debating the pros and cons of gun control. However, it wasn’t until the horror of imagining what those poor, innocent children’s last terrifying moments were like, have we taken it this seriously. Child and Family Therapy This is an extremely complicated issue and there are no easy answers. Do we […]
I have seen many young women in my practice who have had one major goal their entire lives. That goal is to get married. The goal is so strong that it not only overrides the ability to think rationally, but it blinds them to how unsuitable their partner might be. Being a bride is so […]
Why do women give themselves up in relationships? I think that almost every woman I have seen in therapy has lost multiple IQ points when she’s in a relationship. Why is that? Why do so many women get desperate when they’re involved with someone?
Do you know individuals who are incredibly engaging and inventive, but also tend to be irritable? They might have extreme mood swings, but then again, the moods might be subtler. These men and women possibly could have bipolar disorder.
The genders are very confused in our modern time. When I was younger, our roles were clearly delineated. After the feminist movement, men seemed to become very perplexed with regard to their roles. Do they open doors for women? Can they compliment women or are they setting themselves up for a sexual harassment case? There […]
How many times have we heard our friends complain about how badly they have been treated by their boyfriends? Ladies frequently relate to other people by complaining to each other. We all are familiar with the phrase, “misery loves company.” So, we whine and complain and our female friends bitch and complain and we feel […]