The self-care trap
While I have often found myself to be somewhat skeptical about the concept of self-care, I recently listened to a podcast (3) on the topic that helped me crystalize my…
By: Dr. Perrotta
Welcome!
Why another blog is probably the first question many people would ask when realizing that the Centers for Family Change has a blog. The answer: it is our aim to offer a blog that is unique, that offers the reader (lay person and professional) an opportunity to consider some of the more complex issues in the mental health field. In past blogs we have touched on topics ranging from the adolescent mental health crisis to the impact of outside investors on the provision of mental health services to family cut-offs to questions related to how therapy works and how therapy can potentially be helpful/beneficial. The blogs are meant to stimulate critical thinking about issues, not offer answers.
The blogs are written by Peter Perrotta, PhD. Dr. Perrotta is the President and one of the founders of the Centers for Family Change. He has been a practicing psychologist for over 35 years and has watched our field evolve and change over that time. It is our hope that his thoughts and insights can help all of us consider complex issues in a thoughtful and constructive manner.
Finally, you are welcome to copy these articles and share them with friends or colleagues. However, we do request that you be sure to attribute the materials to Centers for Family Change.
Dr. Perrotta
Ph.D.
What does the future hold
Two podcasts recently caught my attention. The first examined the impact of venture capital on the American economy (1). Gretchen Morgenson, the co-author of “These are the Plunders: How Private…
Family Cut-offs
The first thing that popped into my head when I was reading the listserve discussion of estrangement or cut-off from parents was of two clients I had previously worked with…
Will therapy work for me?
In thinking about how to best address these issues I first thought about trying to delve more into the research, but as the author of the New York Times article…
Challenges to Quality Mental Health Care
The founders of Cerebral (an on-line telehealth company) may have started out with idealistic motives, but reporting clearly suggests that if this was the case that the company transformed into…
The Kids are not Alright
Those of us old enough to remember the Who, likely remember the song titled “the kids are alright,” an anthem to the spirit of young people. Sadly, this is no…
The Mental Health Crisis: Whose crisis is it?
Thomas Insel, M.D., former director of the National Institute of Mental Health, in his most recent book, “Healing: Our path from mental illness to mental health” (1) argues that our…
What makes therapy work: Part II
The debate about what accounts for therapy’s benefit has raged within the field for decades. Back when this writer was in graduate school the debate tended to be between more…
Why does Therapy Work: Part I
It seems that the world in which we live is increasingly judgmental, factionalized, and distracted. Clearly, social media and technology interfere with people’s capacity to listen to each other in…
The Importance of Structure
When I was first introduced to family systems therapy in the 1980s one of the preeminent models was “Structural Family Therapy” which emphasized hierarchy and boundaries. The focus on hierarchy…