Evil Never Sleeps: The Dilemma of Vigilance
I remember sitting with my peers as we were all about to see our first patients in treatment. Dr. Gary Rupp, the head of the counseling program, asked us about…
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Treating ADHD: An Overview of Medication
The previous six articles* discussed the frequency of ADHD, the myths surrounding ADHD, a look inside the ADHD brain, an understanding of the brain’s executive functioning abilities, what happens when…
Read MoreTrauma, Sex, and Marriage
In order to try to stay current with today’s research that impacts the work that I do each day, I, like many of you, read and listen to many different…
Read MoreHow to Suffer: An Easter Meditation
To be human is to suffer. After all, the first sound most of us make is a cry. This is not intended to be a cynical view of life, along…
Read MoreWhat ADHD is Not: Sluggish Cognitive Tempo
We have an imposter in our midst! I know that sounds dramatic, but what I mean is that we are aware of a disorder that seems like ADHD and is…
Read MoreWhat Happens When ADHD Goes Untreated?
The Pathways of ADHD ADHD always begins in childhood. How it looks going forward, however, may differ from person to person. We speak often about the sequelae of ADHD, meaning…
Read MoreWhat Exactly Is ADHD? Your Brain’s Executive Functioning Abilities
If we were to describe really good administrators, we might say that they are organized, efficient, good delegators, good at prioritization, not easily overwhelmed, and more proactive than reactive. It…
Read MoreA Look Inside the ADHD Brain
If you could look inside the brain of someone diagnosed with untreated ADHD, what would you see? Would the brain look any different from a non-ADHD brain? If so, how…
Read MoreExposing the Myths Surrounding ADHD
Physicians have been aware of the condition we know as ADHD for nearly 2500 years. Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine (who lived in Greece between 460-375 BC), described some…
Read MoreWhat We Need to Know About ADHD
When I began my career as a psychologist I could never have predicted the impact that ADHD would have on so many of my patients. Working with children and college…
Read MoreQuestions at the Crossroads
“When you come to a fork in the road … take it.” Baseball Hall of Famer, Yogi Berra In “Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002),”…
Read MoreCHOOSE YOUR GOD CAREFULLY: Looking Deeply at How We See or Don’t See God
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes Indeed you’re gonna have to serve somebody Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord But you’re gonna…
Read MoreWhere Does God Fit into Therapy or Analysis?
The horrors of 9/11 struck during my psychology internship year at the University of South Florida. These acts were carried out, as we know, by men who claimed deep devotion…
Read MoreGod and Psychotherapy
For Spring of 2021, I have developed and will teach a course in our Tampa Bay Institute for Psychoanalytic Studies entitled, “Religious Faith, Spirituality, and Psychoanalysis.” It is the first…
Read MoreDiagnosing America
The Importance of an Accurate Diagnosis Every two years, in order to renew our licenses, health professionals are required to take a 2-hour course on medical errors, the third leading…
Read MoreThe Road Less Traveled: Otherness in Divisive Times
This may be the most controversial and difficult article I have published yet. I have found myself writing and re-writing for over two weeks now. What I am concerned about…
Read MoreLife in the Midst of a Pandemic
Over the last three weeks, I have worked from home, talking with people over the telephone or by FaceTime. Nobody is unaffected by this virus. In fact, many of us…
Read MoreWhat Happened to Me When I Was Little? The Neurobiology of “Stuckness”
Psychoanalysis has at times been referred to as the “forbidden journey” because it takes us places we (and our early caregivers) would rather not see or feel or remember. Psychoanalytic…
Read MoreIt’s Never Too Late to Have a Happy Childhood!
In the previous article, “What Happened to Me When I Was Little?”, we looked at the research of Dr. Allan Schore regarding just how impressionable infants are: rather than babies…
Read MorePains of the Past: How Old Wounds Can Sabotage a Marriage
Many couples have the same argument, unresolved, throughout their marriages. At times, it may feel or sound like different topics, but beneath the surface lurks the same issue; it is…
Read MoreHealing & Miracles: A Reality?
“God’s spirit is on me; he’s chosen me to preach the Message of good news to the poor, sent me to announce pardon to prisoners and recovery of sight to…
Read MoreA Tiny History of Psychoanalysis in America
I feel it is important to talk about the unique benefits of working with a psychoanalyst especially since so many today are unaware of what psychoanalysis has to offer. Many…
Read MoreADHD & Marriage
Not much can hurt quite like the suffering in a painful relationship. Can we fix it or should we nix it? A person with the urge to leave the marriage…
Read MoreMoney & Marriage
Few issues create as much distress within a marriage as money. That is because it often isn’t about money itself, and so the stew continues churning because the real issues…
Read MoreThe Interplay of Work and Marriage
When work and marriage are in balance and going well, the world seems like a wonderful place. So, if one person(or both) has work that is meaningful, relatively well-paying, reasonably…
Read MoreThe Complexity of Sexuality
How can sexuality create challenges in a marriage? Let me count the ways! Virtually every couple I treat discusses at least some aspect of their sexual relationship. Often, the room…
Read MoreIntimacy Requires the Dance of Communication
“Our Communication is Terrible!… …Can you help us with this?” Hands down, one of the most common complaints I hear about relationship issues is that communication has broken down. I…
Read MoreHow Do We Handle Change Without Drifting Apart?
He marshaled all of his know-how to construct the raft that could withstand the vicious ocean breakers offshore. He had food and water for the journey; he even had a…
Read MoreGottman: A Resource for Marriage Issues
Gottman Training in Order to Bring You the Best Over the last several months, I have been fortunate to receive training in the Gottman Couples Therapy Method and am presently…
Read MorePsychosoma: What If It’s NOT All in Your Head … and It’s NOT All in Your Body Either?
Over the last few years, I have been fortunate to teach courses on psychosoma at the Tampa Bay Institute for Psychoanalytic Studies. Each time I do, I am amazed and…
Read MoreWhy It Is Impossible to Forgive…Almost
After preaching a sermon on forgiveness as a young pastor, I found myself face to face with a woman in her thirties, a mixture of fury and fear on her…
Read MoreThe Pain of Spiritual Disconnection
By Dr. Steve & Renée Graham Have you ever found yourself frustrated by your computer? Unless you are particularly techno-savvy, I imagine you might have moments that strain your patience.…
Read MoreUnconscious Roots of Illness
I would like to introduce you to Dr. Gabor Maté, a most remarkable man. Born in Budapest, Hungary in 1944, he was only two months old when the Nazis invaded…
Read MoreHealth Care Gone Haywire
Health Industries Run Amok Many of us are frustrated with our current medical system. Frankly, it feels much more like disease-care than health-care. Because of the tremendous financial motivations of…
Read MoreConflict: Being Ripped Apart and Smashed Into
The Conflict Within “Where do you think all these appalling wars and quarrels come from? Do you think they just happen? Think again. They come about because you want your…
Read MoreDifficulty Finding a Faith Community and Spiritual Practices?
Recently, my spiritual director recommended a book to me, Soul Types: Matching Your Personality and Spiritual Path (by Sandra Hirsh and Jane Kise). Before I could read it, Renée snagged…
Read MoreIntroduction to Spiritual Direction
What is Spiritual Direction? This may sound new to many of you, but it has been around for a long time. It is actually an ancient Christian practice. It is…
Read MorePathological Accommodation and Christmas
Last month at our Tampa Bay Psychoanalytic Society meeting, I found myself literally jolted by a concept: Dr. Shelley Doctors elucidated the psychological process called “pathological accommodation,” in which a…
Read MoreThe Challenges of Parenthood
Babies change everything! From the moment a couple realizes the stork is on its way, nothing is ever the same. All of a sudden there is a third, an other.…
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