Holistic Psychotherapy
Am I Mine?
August 3, 2011 | 
Author 
[Currently appearing in Huffington Post, Religion section.]
Am I?
Yesterday I sat watching a storm tumble in as they can do only in this region of the country — catapulting, cranky and fast. There were spiny shards of lightning, whipping sheets of rain you could see approach from a distance of 30-40 miles, and a thunder roll that had three large dogs shaking behind my legs.
Posted in Blog, Christian Counseling, Faith-based Counseling, Holistic Psychotherapy | 
Tags: belonging, Chesterton, creation, fear and control, God, grace, Magic, religion, self-esteem | 
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Living On YouTube.
[This article appeared in Huffington Post in the first week of July, 2011)
There's a man I know who is talented, empathic, possessed of a keen intellect and frightened of everything. The fear has been built the way thunderstorms gather over mountains — imperceptibly at first, then slowly, silently but with great force. With every approaching rumble, it has shut his world down piece by piece. First it was work, then it was social activities, then it was driving and finally it was family. His universe has folded in like a sheet, corner over corner, until it has reduced his life to spending the day in front of the computer trolling YouTube. He didn't understand how it all happened and his anguish was palpable — so was my confusion.
Read more on Living On YouTube….
Posted in Holistic Psychotherapy | Tags: alcoholic, Fear, home-bound, internet, love, video, youtube | No Comments »
Emotional Twinkies
As it appeared in Huffington Post this past week:
I know a woman struggling with having an affair. Not the actual "having", but the idea of it. She ruminates about the man in question day and night. Should she, shouldn't she. She is married, has a daughter and the man she is fantasizing about is also married, though apparently he has made it clear that he is more than interested in her. The attraction is mutual, and there are all sorts of innuendos and near-misses — a brush against the hand, a bump in the hallway — all day at work.
Read more on Emotional Twinkies…
Posted in Faith-based Counseling, Holistic Psychotherapy, Psychotherapy | Tags: addiction, American culture, dope, emotional, entitlement, fast food culture, twinkies | No Comments »
Radiating Concern? Some Reassurance…
This is from a colleague who is an expert in biochemistry and human physiology, as well as other sciences. I am going to be posting more from this person in the near future. I will always mention it, but this person prefers to remain anonymous. Suffice it to say, that I would not be posting it on my page if I didn't believe in its veracity and in the skill of the professional.
Read more on Radiating Concern? Some Reassurance……
Posted in Holistic Psychotherapy, homeopathy | Tags: exposure, hazmat, radiation, safe levels | No Comments »
Toxic Venting!!
Another article on Huffington Post…
Toxic Venting: When To Stop Listening
Or whilst I can vent clamor from my throat, I'll tell thee thou dost evil. — The Great Bard
An Orthodox priest I know and respect a great deal recently wrote to me about a meeting he'd had with some parishioners. They were upset about some personal issues and were soliciting his help, at least on the surface. As the conversation stretched on, it turned out that they were thoroughly uninterested in anything he thought, and even less in anything he had to say besides, "You poor thing." "Perhaps," he wrote with some bemusement, "sitting and venting your troubles is not as healthy as we think."
Posted in Faith-based Counseling, Holistic Psychotherapy | Tags: listening, narcissism, toxic, venting | No Comments »
Thank you…on Forgiveness and Narcissism.
Dear Judith,
I recently read and commented on your article, “Should You Forgive Narcissists Who’ve Hurt You?” and my life has changed. I want to thank you.
I always knew something was terribly wrong with my mother. I’m 50, and I’ve spent my life trying to figure it out and deal with it (what an understatement!). Your article led me to research Narcissistic Personality Disorder. My mother, without question, has it. She is also has Borderline Personality Disorder. I had known about the BPD, but not the NPT. After a lifetime of invalidation, finally I’m finding validation that what I experienced really did happen.
Read more on Thank you…on Forgiveness and Narcissism….
Posted in Blog, Holistic Psychotherapy | Tags: forgiveness, narcissism, thank you, Verbal First Aid | No Comments »
Getting Sober the Old Fashioned Way: Fear
Some people need rehabs. Some people need one-on-one psychotherapy. Some people need consequences. Dire ones.
Everyone is different when it comes to their addictions.
There was one woman who needed surgery.
Read more on Getting Sober the Old Fashioned Way: Fear…
Posted in Blog, Holistic Psychotherapy, Psychotherapy | Tags: addiction, Fear, Psychotherapy, sober | No Comments »
Fear and the Psychotherapist: A Personal Confession
According to experts in neurobiology, when we are afraid we are at our least intelligent. Literally. We stop thinking like grown human beings with our cortex and frontal lobes and start thinking with that small walnut of a lizard brain we call the limbic system.The other day I had a personal experience of just how foolish fear can make a person. With all my training in psychotherapy, trauma, and crisis counseling, with all my years in the trenches seeing the very worst that humanity is capable of, with all the professional composure and philosophical peace I have made with the suffering and idiocy of the world, I still acted like an ass in a thunderstorm. One little peel of thunder and off went my adrenal glands, madly galloping away with my cerebral cortex, disappearing into the sunset, never to be thunk [sic] of again.
Read more on Fear and the Psychotherapist: A Personal Confession…
Modern Medicine: Healing or Stealing?
About a year ago I heard a sermon about two brothers, Cosmas and Damian, both of whom were doctors. Trained in Syria they practiced as physicians in the seaport Ægea, now Ayash, on the Gulf of Iskandrun in Cilica.
Read more on Modern Medicine: Healing or Stealing?…
Posted in Holistic Psychotherapy, Psychotherapy, Verbal First Aid | Tags: healing, Holistic Psychotherapy, insurance, St. Cosmas, St. Damian, Verbal First Aid | No Comments »
Verbal First Aid presented in Huffington Post
For a full article on ways to help your children through grief and loss, go to: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/judith-acosta-lisw-cht/death-and-dying-talking-t_b_621011.html
Posted in Holistic Psychotherapy, Verbal First Aid | Tags: children, Dying, grief, Huffington Post, Verbal First Aid | 4 Comments »