Happy-looking people take a walk in the woods as small-print disclosures scroll across the bottom of the TV screen and a soothing voiceover explains possible side effects. As the scene closes, one of the actors looks squarely into the camera and says, “Ask your doctor if nature is right for
Tag: Creativity
Creativity
“Once there was a tree … and she loved a little boy” — from The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein ***** I recently returned from a wonderful week in Nova Scotia featuring painted clapboard cottages against blue skies and a seascape of majestic hills and swirling tides. With
In his book The Gift of Therapy, Irvin Yalom explains the vital role of learning about a client’s “leisure-time activities,” “hobbies” and “recreation habits,” yet he never defines what leisure is and how it is connected to mental health or mental health counseling. Many other well-known mental health theorists have
Barely able to breathe, a young man battling a panic attack hesitantly enters the group room and makes his way to an empty chair. He and a dozen others “check in” and are then guided through a simple, calming breathing exercise. The lights are dimmed and the group members are
When Inside Out, the latest Pixar movie, was announced this past summer, I was excited to see how the writers would represent complex human inner experiences in a fun and child-friendly way. As a counseling psychology graduate student, I often find myself trying to explain concepts about emotions to children
How much would you pay for a piece of equipment that had the ability to modify a person’s mood within minutes, reduce anxiety, heal grief and bring couples closer together? Fortunately, you already have access to this powerful therapy tool, and it costs you little to nothing. Its name is
Therapeutic gardens are far from new, but they fell out of favor for at least 30 years or so due to several factors. These included society’s reduced focus on gardening and nature in general, skyrocketing property values that saw much of the open space in any given town sold for
When Richard Watts’ counseling graduate students arrive to class for a unit on Albert Ellis and rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT), they’re in for something a little different. Watts, a professor at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas, pulls out his guitar and sings songs he’s written to illustrate
These days, when I’m not working with clients, I find myself spending more time in my home woodshop, a place where I feel free, creative, expansive and courageous. In spite of this, it is also a place where I have made plenty of half-hearted attempts and experienced numerous failures. Recently,
Fan culture has gone mainstream. Whereas once the celebration of popular media was confined mostly to small, under-the-radar TV show and comic book conventions, today myriad fan gatherings take place — both on the Internet and off. Shows and characters that not so long ago would have been considered “niche”