by guest blogger Susan Albers, Psy.D., author of 50 Ways to Soothe Yourself without Food

Whether you agree or totally disagree with a plant based diet isn’t the issue. The primary benefit of seeing Forks Over Knives is that it shows change is possible. Before your client can modify their eating habits, they need hope and to truly believe that change can happen. This film successfully meets that goal. The film follows a few individuals from all walks of life and at various ages who are on multiple medications and have critically elevated cholesterol and blood sugar levels. Within a short period of time, these individuals got off their medications and significant improved their lab results. The change is dramatic. The viewer is left with the impression that what you eat does matter to your health and that you can make changes that will significantly improve your well-being. It appears attainable and completely in reach no matter who you are or how old. In other words, Forks over Knives is likely to change the perception of the client who thinks it is a waste of time to be more mindful and attentive to what they eat.

Quick Tip for Therapists by Robyn Walser, PhD, co-author of Learning ACT, ACT for PTSD and The Mindful Couple

Clients may become withdrawn or shut down in session when talking about difficult topics or encountering painful emotions. This may be due to fear of evaluation, thoughts about judgment, or just a simple desire to escape painful experience. These situations can be difficult for the therapist and sometimes end in awkward attempts to get the client re-engaged, including moving away from the difficult topic or pursuing the client with questions about why they have withdrawn. These actions can actually reinforce the shutting down.

Quick Tip for Therapists by Lisa Firestone, PhD, co-author of Conquer Your Critical Inner Voice

No matter what area in life an individual struggles with, everyone encounters those self-critical thoughts that increase anxiety and interfere with the ability to achieve. You can help clients conquer this self-saboteur by asking them to vocalize negative thoughts that they have toward themselves.

This exercise will help clients identify their inner voice as an enemy they’ve come to internalize that holds them back and tries to keep them from being who they really are.

by guest blogger Pavel Somov, PhD, author of Eating the Moment

Emotional eating is misunderstood and often unnecessarily demonized. However, emotional eating -- that is, eating to feel good, often termed "compulsive eating" -- isn't the problem. It's emotional overeating and mindless emotional eating that can be both psychologically and physically unhealthy. Emotional eating works as a coping strategy and stress reliever if approached with mindfulness and moderation.

excerpt from When Love Stumbles by Randi Gunther Ph.D.

For most of us, those feelings of being deeply known and unconditionally treasured first occurred when we were small children. Protected from the more conditional demands of the outside world, we could express our needs and feel entitled to their fulfillment. As an adult newly in love, we are likely to activate those childhood desires, sharing the words, phrases, and feelings that we remember from that time.

by Suzanne Phillips, Psy.D., ABPP, co-author of Healing Together

The news of Bin Laden’s death has erupted on national and international levels in a mix of feelings. Attached to the thrill of justice served and military courage recognized are shadows of fear and the pain of catastrophic loss.

For survivors and the thousands who lost so many loved ones on 9/11 this is not only long awaited news, it is a déjà vu of that September day.

Once again there are ongoing calls of condolence and remembrances, non-stop media reports, and the visceral pain of losing a Dad, a child, a partner, a firefighter, a friend, a community, and the illusion of safety.

What Does this Mean for Emotional Healing?

excerpt from Splitting by Bill Eddy LCSW, JD, and Randi Kreger

Regardless of where you are right now in the separation and divorce process, we recommend an assertive approach (in contrast to an aggressive or passive approach) in dealing with the potential splitting that may already have begun. …An assertive approach involves actively learning about personality problems, cultivating energy for dealing with such problems, documenting events (what happened and what was said), and actively presenting your information to legal professionals, the court, or both.

It’s perfectly understandable and normal to feel like responding aggressively when someone acts aggressively toward you. You might try to eliminate your partner from your life and from your children’s lives, or trash her the way she trashed you, but this common mistake backfires in court. Legal professionals may view you as the splitter and an equal party (or the primary party!) engaged in misbehavior. Even if that isn’t true, you don’t want to give your partner any ammunition to use against you in out of court. An aggressive approach by you can increase your partner’s unwanted behavior. Resist the urge to act aggressively, and mentally prepare yourself; in the long run you will be very glad you did.

Quick Tip for Therapists by Bill Knaus EdD , author of The Procrastination Workbook.

Part two of a three-part series on client procrastination

If your client dodges making meaningful changes, this could be connected to a habit of procrastinating. Indeed, you can anticipate that practically every client you see will sometimes procrastinate on following through on dealing with the problem(s) they came to you to help them resolve.

by guest blogger Ronald Alexander, Ph.D., author of Wise Mind, Open Mind

Most of us were taught that creativity comes from the thoughts and emotions of the mind. However, the greatest singers, dancers, painters, writers and filmmakers recognize that the most original, and even transformative, ideas actually come from the core of our being, which is accessed through an "open-mind consciousness."

In ancient traditions, open-mind consciousness was considered to be a spiritual awakening, the great enlightenment that dissolves the darkness of confusion and fear and ushers in peace, happiness, clarity and contentment. Today the notion that there's one formulaic way to achieve this spiritual awakening and creative vibrancy has been blown apart. You don't have to run off to a monastery or practice meditation for 30 years before attaining a breakthrough.

excerpt from Bipolar 101 by Ruth C. White, PhD, MPH, MSW and John D. Preston, PsyD, ABPP

Stress has such an impact on our minds, bodies, and spirits that it exacerbates mental illnesses such as bipolar disorder. Stress is a significant trigger for episodes of bipolar disorder. Obviously, people who don’t have bipolar disorder get irritable, impatient, and short-tempered when faced with chronic stress, but for people with bipolar disorder, uncontrolled stress can lead to dangerous manic or depressive symptoms. The degree of stress we have in response to environmental stressors is partly genetic but can be controlled when we learn behaviors that minimize its impact on our psyches, relationships, and bodies.

Coping with stress has to do with our response to our environments. Having bipolar disorder can be very stressful and creates anxiety that reinforces symptoms. But with psychotherapy and medications that reduce anxiety, those of us who have bipolar disorder can learn how to live in the present moment without worrying as much what might happen if we have an episode. When in the midst of an episode, we may feel anxious that it might result in a hospitalization. Though we may feel we have no control over whether or not that happens, learning to cope with our stress in a healthier way helps us focus more effectively on managing our symptoms, which reduces the likelihood of being hospitalized or having a severe episode.