Digital media, including social media, became a centerpiece of day to day life at a seemingly exponential rate. Before I graduated high school in 2006, I remember many evenings spent …
Couples Therapy Palo Alto: Relationships in the Tech World.
Being a Marriage and Family Therapist in the Bay Area specializing in Couples Therapy Palo Alto, means I have the privilege to meet clients from very diverse backgrounds. One of …
Family Stress Test
Family Stress Test Stress is a natural and normal “by-product” of every family’s life. In fact, family stress can bring out the best of us: as we stretch to meet …
Disorganized Attachment
Mary Ainsworth’s work on attachment identified three attachment categories (secure, insecure avoidant, and insecure ambivalent/resistant). The development of the disorganized/disoriented classification evolved as a part of Mary Main’s doctoral research …
Should Same-Sex Couples Receive Fertility Benefits?
“We want to start a family,” says Sarah Soller-Mihlek, a Brooklyn guitar instructor, speaking into a camera. “We’ve always dreamed of becoming parents,” adds her wife, Jill. The couple made …
Embracing Negative Emotions Actually Has a Positive Impact
Anger, frustration, fear, and other “negative emotions” are all part of the human experience. They can all lead to stress and are often seen as emotions to be avoided, ignored, …
Stop Telling Your Depressed Friends to Cheer Up
There’s a deep well of encouraging phrases most people turn to when trying to cheer up a friend or loved one: “You’ll do better next time.” Or “It’s not really …
The Otherworldly Alien Hand Syndrome, Animated
Alien hand syndrome (AHS) is a condition in which a person experiences their limbs acting seemingly on their own, without control over the actions. The term is used for a …
Why Self-Compassion Beats Self-Confidence
“Be more confident,” a friend once told me as we made the rounds at a swanky networking event where I felt terribly out of place. Faking confidence is easy: I …
How Self-Compassion Beats Rumination
A new study suggests that self-compassion improves mood, largely by helping us avoid negative rumination. “I can’t do this right,” says my patient Carla. “I know I’m going to fail. …
Why Pride is Good
Try to forget about the idea of pride as a deadly sin. The latest research shows that pride can be a powerful motivational force. It’s true that “hubristic pride” – …