Blog for Better Living

Music for Mental Health

By: Jen McWaters, Psy.D. | July 5, 2019

Music is an integral part of our culture, history, and daily lives. It provides the backdrop to our favorite movies, our significant life events, and our most vivid memories. Hearing a song can nostalgically bring you back to the first time you heard it and who you were with. It can also evoke painful emotions […]

The Alphabet Soup of Sexual and Gender Diversity

By: Michael Toohey, Psy.D. | May 24, 2019

In 1969, after the Stonewall Riots — the violent demonstrations by gay community members in response to a New York City police raid at the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village — did men and women in sexual minorities become vocal and active in defining themselves. ‘Gay’ was the first all-encompassing term. It applied to anyone […]

Therapy Changes Welcomes Dr. Michael Toohey

By: Michael Toohey, Psy.D. | March 8, 2019

Joining Therapy Changes feels like the culmination of a lifetime of service dedicated to helping others. I started helping others in the 8th grade as a volunteer when my junior high school opened a facility for severely developmentally delayed youth. In high school, early 1980s, I helped lower classmen affirm their own sexuality while I […]

Therapy Changes Welcomes Dr. Kimberly Nenemay

By: Other | December 14, 2018

Written by Kimberly Nenemay, Psy.D. My interest in psychology and people in general is a meandering story that began when I was very young, and continues to this day. At college, I quickly became aware of my interest in studying a wide range of subjects. A liberal arts education was important to me once I […]

Are You Coping with SAD?

By: Jen McWaters, Psy.D. | November 9, 2018

I always feel better when I’ve had some time outside in the sun. The sensation of sun on my skin makes me feel more relaxed and rejuvenated. What about you? People by the millions travel every year to sunny beaches for vacations so they can soak up some sunshine. Even in sunny places such as […]

Integrating Yoga Practices into Therapy

By: Rochelle Perper, Ph.D. | November 2, 2018

“Come with me to a yoga class!” said my friend Caroline to me sometime last year. “Why on earth would I want to go to a stretch class with strangers I don’t know?” I thought to myself. If you relate to this sentiment, you are not alone. I harbored great skepticism about the practice of […]

Coping with Suicide Loss

By: Rochelle Perper, Ph.D. | June 15, 2018

Co-authored by Dr. Rochelle Perper and Dr. Francine Martinez “So ask me if I am alright. ‘I’m fine; I’m always fine.’ You see this look in my eyes. ‘No, I’m fine. I am always fine.’ There is a corpse behind my smile. ‘Listen, I am fine. Always, always fine as fine can be.’ ‘Are you […]

Self-Forgiveness: Letting Go of What We Cannot Change in the Past

By: Other | April 27, 2018

Written by Paul Paris, Ph.D. When we talk about forgiveness, we typically think in terms of forgiving others. When others have wronged us, we often struggle with the ability to forgive them. Maybe they haven’t yet acknowledged or apologized. Maybe they have passed away, and we can’t let go of what they did or how […]

Talking to Your Child About Violence

By: Other | March 9, 2018

Written by Anke Reineke, Ph.D. In the past weeks we have seen and heard a lot about violence in school. Such violence has an impact beyond the place where it happened. Violence in our world today is all around our kids, in the media, in our communities, and even in our schools. Our kids are […]