Have you ever found yourself doing the same thing over and over? The very same thing you swore you wouldn’t do next time? This is a common theme we see in our San Francisco therapy practice. One way to interrupt the cycle of repeating behaviors is to use a DBT skill called Cope Ahead. Cope…
In the previous two posts, we’ve talked about why therapists ask about your childhood. We’ve explored: how your childhood sheds light on who you are today; and the reasons why you might feel resistance discussing your childhood or family during therapy (and the reasons are many). This post is about the “payoff” for talking…
In our Bay Area therapy practice, clients often ask why they need to discuss what happened in their early years. You may wonder the same. How will dwelling on the past help you move forward with your problems today? In Part 1 of this three-part series, we explained the reasons why most therapists ask about…
The question “Why do we need to talk about my childhood?” comes up often in our San Francisco therapy practice. If you’re new to therapy, you may wonder why your therapist asks about how your childhood was. After all, you came to therapy because of something happening today, not necessarily because of what happened when…
When was the last time you took a true vacation? One where you turned your phone off and completely unplugged from work. Can’t remember? If so, you are not alone. Here in our San Francisco therapy practice, we work with a lot of people who struggle to take time off from work. You may personally…
Emotions can be confusing and overwhelming at times – and common myths about emotions can make things worse. Some myths imply that you should be in control of your emotions at all times. Other myths equate emotions with the truth of who you are. Growing up, you may have learned that certain emotions mean you…
June Gloom. Fogust (for our lovely August). If you’ve lived in San Francisco for any length of time, you’ve heard these phrases. And of course, the most famous, “The coldest winter I ever spent was summer in San Francisco.” Although this last one is attributed to Mark Twain, there’s some debate about who actually said…
In our San Francisco therapy practice, we see many people who struggle to understand their emotions. Some experience emotions as overwhelming and wish they didn’t feel things so strongly. Others experience emotions as confusing or scary and wish they didn’t have to feel them at all. No matter where you fall on this continuum, you…
In the first post of this series, we looked at How Self-Criticism is Hurting You. It’s something we see in our San Francisco therapy practice with a great many people. Which means we have a lot of experience helping our clients navigate their way out of the hurtful path of self-criticism and self-judgment. In part…
Do you often judge yourself harshly? Self-criticism and self-judgment are the most common underlying issues we see in our San Francisco therapy practice. Under the outward struggles people are dealing with – work stress, relationship problems, depression, or addictive behavior – there is very often a deep sense of feeling flawed. This sense of feeling…