In this episode we continue our discussion of mindfulness. We start to delve into the details of how to begin the practice of mindfulness. This practice enables us to become more aware of our experiences, our feelings, and our thoughts. If we want to make changes for ourselves we must first become aware of the things we need to change. Increasing awareness is our first step to change. Mindfulness will help us with this. Dan Siegel (www.mindsight.com) suggests we engage in a process of...

In this episode we continue the discussion of prioritizing, but we shift to how the emphasizing of one thing over another can relate to our relationships. When make one relationship the priority, and focus our energy and efforts on one relationship over others we can improve all of our relationships one at a time. It is not possible to make significant improvements in relationships when we are multitasking people. We have to prioritize even for a short period of time to make substantial games...

We are back from a 3 month hiatus with episode 19. Life's priorities moved me away from the podcast for a while, but now I am up and running again. I hope to keep the episodes coming every week to 2 weeks. The focus of the podcast will remain psychological in nature with a shift at times to the integration of spirituality and psychology.  In this episode I give an update on the APA accreditation process of our school district's internship program. We also consider the development of the 5th...

Psychology is a part of the healthcare field. The healthcare field is oriented towards pathology. It is about what is wrong with us. When you go to your primary care physician they ask you what's wrong, you tell them the symptoms, they give a diagnosis a treatment. You don't go to the PCP because you're healthy. It's the same with the psychologist. Most people go because they have a problem. We diagnosis and provide a treatment. The focus is on what is wrong with individuals. We try to...

Psychology includes a wide variety of types. One type of psychology is school psychology. The school psychologist primarily works at an elementary or high school. They provide various services including counseling, crisis intervention, consultation, and psychological evaluation. In this episode we talk about the roles of the school psychologist, and we focus specifically on the psychological evaluation portion of their duties. In the school world the evaluation is called a psychoeducational...

The fourth part of four episodes on anxiety. The workshop has wrapped up, and we are reviewing what was presented at the workshop here in episode 16. The workshop at St. Peter's Episcopal average around 25 people per week. There was a lot of positive feedback about the presentations. I hope to be able to do more workshops in the future. If your group is interested in a presentation on anxiety, depression, relationships, parent/child communication, or a wide variety of content about psychology...

We continue our discussion of getting to know our anxiety. This episode looks at anxiety as something to be embraced. The conversation starts with looking at the words of Jesus. He promises that life is full of trials, but that we aren't alone. We are to embrace the anxious experiences, and through those experiences we go through we will find success.  We look at the story of Joe Kowan from a TED talk about how he dealt with his fear of public speaking. Check out his story...

In this episode we continue the discussion of anxiety and how to manage it in one's life. We are keeping with the concept that we want to embrace our anxiety instead of deny it and ignore it. In the last episode we learned more about our anxiety to help it be our frenemy instead of our enemy. In this episode we start to look at some practical ways to manage the anxiety. We review the biological causes, and then cover three techniques.  This episode is connected to a 4 week workshop at St....

In this episode we are learning more about what is anxiety. Most of the time we see anxiety as an enemy. It lurks in the shadows. It's a monster that keeps up paralyzed, and holds us captive from engaging in our lives in a full and meaningful way. What we want to do is move our anxiety from enemy to frenemy to friend. This means we need to get to know anxiety in a more intimate way. We need to bring it out of the shadows, and see it for what it is.  What we learn here is that anxiety is...

Episode 12 is focused on a question from listener. There was a request to follow up the spirituality in therapy discussion with, "what would I do with a client from something other than Christian?" My answer is that i approach therapy for each client in the same manner from a client centered approach. The focus of therapy is what the client wants to talk about. If they want to discuss religion that becomes the focus because they are steering the conversation that way. If they are going deep...

In this episode we interview Dr. Michael Redivo. He is the Executive Director of Desert Heights Academy. It is an alternative school specializing in working with beahviorally and emotionally challenged 5 to 22 year olds. It is tough, but rewarding work.  Dr. Redivo talks about their developmental approach which emphasizes the growth of the student. He has developed an innovative model entitled Productive Conflict that shows kids and adults how to manage conflict in a positive way.  Dr....

Sometimes engaging in psychological work is heavy. Over the weekend I had a profound encounter with a person seeking an evaluation for disability. We connected, and I was reminded of how much pain is all around. I was interviewed last week for Rhett Smith's podcast. We discussed kids and stress. In this episode I review an article from APA about helping teens with...

In this episode we discuss depression. We look at the symptoms, possible causes, and ways to address others who may be suffering from it.  First we look at the connection between anxiety and depression and moderate to severe picky eating in children. Check out the article at:  The symptoms of depression are: http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/03/living/young-picky-eaters-more-depression-anxiety-feat/index.html 1. Depressed mood most of the day, almost every day, indicated by your own subjective...

In this episode we address the question I am asked which is do you do Christian counseling? I do believe that my faith affects how I practice, and I am able to bring faith and theology into counseling. I don't always discuss theology in sessions, but I make it a part of the therapy if the client wants it to be a central theme. We will talk about some approaches psychologists take towards faith and counseling, and we will discuss my process to bringing faith into the...

Today we sit down with Dr. Lisa Merrin. She is a school psychologist inthe Phoenix area. She has worked in the field for 20 years providing service to students, supervising new psychologists, and now guiding a new venture in her district. We talk school psychology, the future of the field, training new psychologists, and an exciting new project she's working on. Dr. Merrin notes that school psychologists are challenged with managing copious amounts of special education compliance requirements...

In this episode we interview Dr. Andy Hogg. He is a private practice psychologist in Flagstaff, Arizona. He works with a wide variety of clients from adolescence to adults. He has special interests in sex therapy, Jungian theory, and training future psychologists. Listen in as we talk about these different issues, and learn a lot about what it means to be a psychologist practicing in such fascinating areas. Here are some links to different items we talk about. Spiritual Conversations with...

In Episode 5 we discuss Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. We review the symptoms, treatment, and go over examples. OCD is more than having to be on time every where, or organizing your music collection alphabetically by genre.  We also look at the recent news from American Psychological Association, and how individuals within the professional organization were involved in consulting with the Department of Defense on torture during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Check out the New York Times...

In the fourth episode we take a look at Bipolar Disorder. What is it? What are its symptos? Can we treat it? I go through the basics of what is Bipolar Disorder, and make some suggestions on how to manage it. We also will modify the format of the podcast for solo rounds. We are adding a new segment titled Did You See That? Psychology in the News. We will take a look at music therapy for people with Alzheimers.  According to the Stanford University School of Medicine Biploar Disorder is"Also...

In Episode 3 we turn to the question that I am asked, "What's a Psychologist do?" To answer the question I interview Dr. John Stapert. He is an Arizona private practice therapist. As we'll see he does a number of different things that all advance the field. John has won the Mentor of the Year award from the Arizona Psychological Association. He has served as the President of AZPA. He has been the resideny Director of Training for the Arizona Psychology Training Consortium for 10+ years. He...

In Episode 2 we will explore the world of Carl Rogers and Client Centered Therapy. As people ask me about my job and what I know about psychology I always come back to what I'm best at, client centered therapy. It's what I am trained to work in, and it's what I use with most of my clients.    We will talk about the 3 keys to practicing client centered therapy. 1. Be genuine 2. Give unconditional positive regard 3. Be interested and show empathy We will explore the process of finding the...

Each time I tell someone what my job is they are curious or they are worried. They want to know more about psychology, or how I can help them. Or they want to stay away from being analyzed. If you've ever been curious about the "mysteries of psychology" join me for Everything is Psychological.   This is the beginning of the podcast adventure. Everything is Psychological will explore the world of psychology, and how it weaves through our lives. Our experiences are shaped by our emotions and...