Get your Greek on…

July 7th, 2018jm@ownhope.org0 Comments

Did you know that much of CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) is based on the work of the Athenian philosophers (Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle)? One common skill taught in CBT is Socratic questions which can be used as a means of stepping away from our initial (and provocative) interpretation of an event and coming to a more reasonable conclusion. Socratic reasoning takes a conclusion (or anything really) and begins with a process of asking open-ended questions. This can be helpful when we are struggling with depression or anxiety because we are more likely to come to the worst possible meaning of …

States of Mind is on the agenda for today….

July 2nd, 2018jm@ownhope.org0 Comments

I do a pretty cool Star War’s analogy for this if I do say so myself.

Self-Validation

June 28th, 2018jm@ownhope.org0 Comments

DBT and CBT are both pretty big on changing how you think as a way of changing how you feel. Both recognize cognitive distortions which are faulty patterns of thinking that develop during periods of distress and/or can act as a catalyst for distress. One component of both therapies involves helping folks change their thinking habits so they are less vulnerable to high levels of distress and are less prone to engaging in ineffective behaviors. One way to challenge ineffective thinking is to engage in self-validation. There are six levels of validation, for this post we’re going to focus on …

EMDR – it really isn’t that mysterious.

June 26th, 2018jm@ownhope.org0 Comments

The goal of EMDR is for an individual to feel no distress or the least amount of distress possible when confronted with a traumatic memory, thought or prompting event. EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is still the subject of some controversy despite being recognized by the World Health Organization and the United States Veterans Affairs, Center for PTSD as one of three strongly recommended, evidence based models of care for PTSD. EMDR uses many of the same techniques as other therapies including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. EMDR simply repackages what’s always been done in a way that is contained in …