Two of the conditions I treat (using CBT — Cognitive Behavioral Therapy — and skills from DBT — Dialectical Behavior Therapy) are TINNITUS and MISOPHONIA. There are reportedly 50 million people in the US with tinnitus (ringing or other sounds in the ears, generated by the brain and not heard by others). There are probably many,…
In February, 2013, the Tinnitus Practitioners Association held the 1st International Misophonia Conference in Phoenix. It was attended by audiologists (and two psychotherapists, including me) who had an interest in learning about this relatively recently defined disorder, known as Selective Sound Sensitivity Syndrome (4S), or Misophonia. The 2nd Conference was held in Feb 2014 in…
I was walking through my neighborhood and passed a row of beautiful white roses in someone’s yard. Although I had been hustling along to get somewhere in particular, I remembered the expression, “Stop and smell the roses.” So I bent down to smell them, and to my disappointment, they had no odor. Pretty white flowers,…
In my practice as a therapist, over the years I have seen many adolescents and young adults. They have individual life issues they are struggling to handle, but they also have a lot in common. Some recurrent themes in our discussions are: defining self as distinct from family understanding their values and beliefs – where…
When I was in graduate school, I had a professor who used to say, “Hope is the girl next door.” In other words, he did not believe in hope. He was a Holocaust survivor. He grew up as a child wandering the streets of Poland alone feeling very helpless. I guess hope did not play a part in his…