What do you think is the most frequent complaint when people seek therapy? In my experience, it is a variant of “I feel bad, and want to feel better”. The specific emotions that need to change vary from person to person. Sometimes it’s about getting rid of anxiety or sadness. Other times, it’s about changing […]
How to Stop Feeling Bad Read More »
We all yearn to belong to others. You can see it in infants who cry out for their mother. You can see it in teenagers who crave the attention and approval of their peers. And you can see it in lots of advertisements which hook their adult audience with promises of attracting the perfect partner
The Key to TRUE Belonging Read More »
Question #1 What is the central theme of the book? The central theme of A Liberated Mind is that we have to create modern minds for the modern world, and that we’ve been feeding processes that are actually doing the opposite. We see the costs in our mental and physical health. We see the
A Liberated Mind – My Writing Process Read More »
In every area of life science if you stop and ask the question about a structure or process “why is this like that” the answer will ultimately be “because it evolved that way.” If the answer is thoughtful, the details of how it evolved will then be presented. In every area of the life sciences
The Simplifying Vision of Evolution Science Read More »
When ACT first appeared on the scene in a big way, mainstream CBT was not exactly thrilled. In 2004 I’d declared the arrival of the “third wave,” in 2005 Get Out of You Mind and Into Your Life appears, and in 2006 a five-page story in Time Magazine about that book of mine cast ACT
The Future of Evidence-Based Behavior Change Read More »
The key to the human mind is to understand human symbolic communication. That is not an original idea – in fact it is commonplace. But it turns out that that it is devilishly hard to do. It is not for want of trying. If you put the words “human” and “language” into Google Scholar you
Smoking kills. We all know it. The last 50 years have seen an explosion of anti-smoking campaigns as public health officials realize that smoking is a chief cause of cancer, cardiovascular illness and a host of other diseases. To some extent these campaigns have worked: We are seeing a dramatic reduction in smoking among younger
A Radically New Way to Quit Smoking Read More »
We practice a kind of hypocrisy in the behavioral health area that’s not only embarrassing but counterproductive. Much of modern evidence-based psychotherapy has focused on the use of concepts like mindfulness, acceptance, and compassion. This trend stretches across many different psychological modalities from the mindfulness-based cognitive therapies, to dialectical behavior therapy, to compassion focused therapy,
Moving Toward Compassion in the Psychological Sciences Read More »
The West African Ebola crisis is holding up a mirror to the world, and what it is reflecting back is worrisome. I was listening to the news reporting yesterday with a mixture of interest and horror. The horror was not just about what is going on in these West African countries. It was the horror
Behavioral Science and Local Empowerment Are Needed to Help Solve the Ebola Crisis Read More »
