Blog Feed: Catherine Boyer Psychotherapy Blog

What's the one thing you can do that will improve your health and reduce your risk of:DementiaDepressionDiabetesDeath (yes, death)And those are just the D's. To learn more, watch this terrific video by MD Mike Evans, whose emphasis is preventative medicine. The video is an animation - so it also has humor.The punch line is: Exercise. But it doesn't have to be that much or that much at any one time. This is a video that is very worth watching.Catherine Boyer, MA, LCSWPsychotherapy on the Upper We [..] > read more

31 Ways to Take Care of Your Brain

Published on 2012-05-07 06:36:00

Earlier this year, Sharon Begley (one of my favorite science writers) wrote an article for Newsweek called > read more

A Neuron as Private Investigator

Published on 2012-04-23 07:02:00

This film noir takeoff was one of the entries in the > read more

Expressing Emotions through Music

Published on 2012-04-16 06:58:00

Psychologist Dan Levitan went to a performance of a classical music composition he normally loves - Mozart's piano concerto - and didn't enjoy it. Same notes played, but a very different experience.He and a graduate student designed a study to figure out what made the difference between a lackluster performance and a spectacular one.It turns out it was all about how the performers expressed emotion through music. > read more

What is Eusociology?

Published on 2012-04-09 07:20:00

If you do a search for the term eusociology you won't find much - yet. That may be changing. I just read a fascinating article about the subject in last week's Newsweek, titled > read more

Two Different Types of Thinking

Published on 2012-04-02 07:22:00

This is a very interesting, thought-provoking four-minute video by Nobel prize winning psychologist Daniel Kahneman. > read more

The Brain on Love

Published on 2012-03-25 19:06:00

Yesterday's New York Times Sunday Review section cover story was titled The Brain on Love. It starts out talking about IPNB - Interpersonal Neurobiology. > read more

Finding a Male Therapist

Published on 2012-03-19 06:52:00

Need Therapy? A Good Man is Hard to Find. > read more

10,000 Sing Beethoven's Ode to Joy

Published on 2012-03-12 06:39:00

I'm posting this DatabaseofMusic YouTube video here because...It's beautifulIt's upliftingIt wonderfully demonstrates the possibilities in group energy and connectionIf you are reading this and you have been depressed, did listening help you? It's likely that it did. Music has that power.Joy is part of the spectrum of emotions we are supposed to have. Depression can take that away... please act to get it back. Finding a counselor is a good start. Other things that can help in addition to psychot [..] > read more

Change Your Emotional Style

Published on 2012-03-05 07:19:00

Emotions are important. We don't have phrases like these in our language for no reason:I knew in my heart...I had a gut feeling I shouldn't...One of the brain researchers whom I most like following is Richard J. Davidson, PhD, who runs the Laboratory for Affective Neuroscience at the University of Wisconsin. He and Sharon Begley, my favorite science writer, have teamed up to write The Emotional Life of Your Brain. It's subtitle is "How Its Unique Patterns Affect the Way You Think, Feel, and Live [..] > read more

Five Top Regrets when Dying

Published on 2012-02-27 06:22:00

This article from The Guardian is not directly related to psychotherapy but is too important not to post.Australian nurse Bonnie Ware recorded the expressions of regret of her patients who were dying. The article is about the top five."I wish I'd bought more stuff" is not on the list.Catherine Boyer, MA, LCSWUpper West Side Counseling > read more

The Divided Brain

Published on 2012-02-06 06:40:00

Iain McGilchrist, London psychiatrist and author, narrates this RSA animation about the left and right hemispheres of our amazing brains.You'll hear that much of popular understanding of the functions of the left and right hemispheres is incorrect (language, for example, does not reside solely in the left hemisphere). The reality is much more interesting.If you enjoyed this animation you may want to read McGilchrist's rich and broad book on the subject, The Master and His Emissary.Catherine Boye [..] > read more

Powerful Video, Can't Explain It, Just Watch

Published on 2012-01-30 14:20:00

That's the name of the video. It's four-minutes that will bring you to tears as well as make you smile, a powerful lesson about judgements and making a difference.If you watched it, I bet you want to share it, too.Catherine Boyer, MA, LCSWPsychotherapy for Change > read more

Antidote to Winter Doldrums

Published on 2012-01-23 07:37:00

This is a wonderful ten minute TEDx video. (TEDx videos are independently organized TED events. ) The video is by Louie Schwartzberg and is titled Nature. Beauty. Gratitude. The video features the exquisite time lapse photograph that Schwartzberg has won awards for as well as interviews of a child and an elderly man who have truly got happiness figured out.Weren't those faces wonderful?Catherine Boyer, MA, LCSWPsychotherapy on the Upper West Side > read more

How Your Brain Benefits from Aerobics

Published on 2012-01-16 07:08:00

Mayo Clinic neurologist J. Eric Ahlskog, MD, PhD, spoke last fall about a recently conducted review of the research on aerobic exercise and benefits to the brain. The researchers concluded that "you can make a very compelling argument for [aerobic] exercise as a disease-modifying strategy to prevent dementia and mild cognitive impairment, and for favorably modifying these processes once they have developed.In the Medscape Medical News article about the research, Dr. Ahlskog was quoted:...exerci [..] > read more

Mindfulness in Psychotherapy

Published on 2012-01-10 07:00:00

I find myself more and more often teaching mindfulness in my psychotherapy practice because I see how many ways it can help my clients. With a regular practice - even just five minutes a day - we can experience many benefits.Here are just a few of the things you are likely to experience:Having the space in the moment to respond to others rather than react (and regret)Stress reductionIncreased self-careMindfulness training increases compassion and sense of connection to othersA more integrated br [..] > read more

Forbes Magazine on Why the Grinch Stole Christmas

Published on 2011-12-23 13:03:00

This article came my way and I couldn't resist putting up the link.Forbes Magazine: Neuroscience Explains Why the Grinch Stole Christmas.In the well known Dr. Seuss story, published in 1957, the Grinch has an epiphany regarding his loneliness - and returns Christmas to Whoville. Loneliness can be especially hard during holidays. If that's true for you, I hope the article gives you hope.Catherine Boyer, MA, LCSWUpper West Side Counseling > read more

The Power of Perspective

Published on 2011-12-19 07:35:00

If you are in need of a little perspective, this short video will provide it for you.Did you find that just watching it helped you be a little more still inside? Being in nature can do that for us. This was a video - imagine being there!To read more about the benefits of being outdoors, read these blog posts:Getting Out into Green SpacesNature and MoodTime in Nature Boosts MoodCatherine Boyer, MA, LCSWNew York City Psychotherapy > read more

Therapy Dogs

Published on 2011-12-12 06:59:00

Although I don't work with therapy dogs, I love reading about them and thought you might also.In this Los Angeles Times health article, Karin Ravn writes about a therapy dog who works at the Mayo Clinic. Labradors and Golden Retrievers are generally thought of as the breeds that make the best service dogs, but the article talks about "Dr. Jack, a 10-year-old miniature pinscher who sees about eight to 10 patients a day." Doesn't it make you smile, just reading that?Miniature pinschers' average we [..] > read more

Omega-3 and Anxiety

Published on 2011-12-05 07:17:00

In a randomized trial, the results of which were published this year, Ohio State University researchers found that omega-3 fatty acids reduced anxiety in the healthy young people studied.The total number of participants in the study was 68. The control group received a placebo. The study was double-blind, which means that neither the student volunteers or the researchers knew which were getting omega-3 and which were getting the placebo.The group receiving omega-3 had a 20% decrease in the amoun [..] > read more

Mindsight and Google

Published on 2011-11-28 06:51:00

As part of its Personal Growth Series, in 2009 Google invited Dan Siegel to give a talk about his work called Mindsight. Dan looked with his audience at important questions:What is the mind?What is a healthy mind?What can you do to have a healthy mind?These are questions that are not addressed in our culture and are even not often addressed in the training programs of therapists and counselors.I'm currently about two-thirds of the way through a three-year course with Dan in IPNB. He's one of the [..] > read more

Mindfulness Meditation Changes Brain Structure

Published on 2011-07-02 07:03:00

A study recently completed at Massachusetts General Hospital has indicated that participants in an eight week long mindfulness program showed measurable positive changes in their brain structure. The changes were in brain areas associated w > read more

How Soon Should I See Change from Counseling?

Published on 2011-06-27 08:03:00

That's a question most people starting a course of psychotherapy have - how long will they be coming to their therapist's office?I think that you can often very quickly - even in the first session - have a sense that your therapist "gets you" and fee > read more

How to Cope with a Changing World

Published on 2011-06-10 09:42:00

We have a lot on our plates these days - national and international economic woes, wars, earthquakes, tsunamis, climate change. It can feel overwhelming. It's more important than ever to have simple ways of keeping our feet on the ground.Here are som > read more

What is Mindfulness?

Published on 2011-06-03 14:46:00

There are many definitions of mindfulness. A simple way of thinking about it is that mindfulness is staying present moment by moment to what is arising, staying present without judgement.Anyone who has every tried it knows this is something that take > read more

Daydreaming Doesn't Make You Happy

Published on 2011-05-27 09:44:00

This interesting New York Times article on daydreaming describes extensive research conducted at Harvard using an iPhone app called trackyourhappiness.More than 2,200 people around the world weighed in on what they were doing and thinking when p > read more

A Simple Question Can Stop a Fight

Published on 2011-05-20 08:34:00

If you're having a fight with someone you love, try to ask yourself this question:Which do I want more? To be connected to _____ or to be right about the fight?Fights with people we love usually start with some kind of break in connection. Some > read more

The Master and His Emissary

Published on 2011-05-13 11:43:00

My counseling clients often ask me questions about which hemisphere does what. The answers are much more complex than the idea that a particular function is located in a particular area of the brain.One of the ways this is relevant to psychotherapy i > read more

The Adult as a Two-Year Old

Published on 2011-05-06 06:46:00

Have you ever noticed how when an adult is really triggered - reacting intensely to something that doesn't seem to warrant it - that there is no point in trying to reason with that person?That's because what you are seeing in action is their limbic s > read more

Vulnerability, Connection and Shame

Published on 2011-04-29 13:43:00

Brené Brown, researcher and story teller, on vulnerabiltiy. 20 minutes long, but well worth it. She starts with connection, "which is what gives purpose and meaning to our lives." I think she's absolutely right. She talks about the > read more

"Self Sabotage" - What May Be Really Going On

Published on 2011-04-22 08:38:00

People frequently come into my psychotherapy office blaming themselves for sabotaging their own lives, their relationships, their progress at work... They ask themselves (and me) questions like:Am I afraid of success?Is this because I have poor self > read more

Driving While Distracted

Published on 2011-04-15 09:22:00

This is not directly related to psychotherapy or counseling - although the impulse to get things done now! or anxiety behind the behaviors may be - but I wanted to post the information here because I think it's important.A few days ago, Jane E. Brody > read more

Money Does Not Buy Happiness

Published on 2011-04-01 08:52:00

In research published late in 2010, the relationship between happiness and income was examined in 37 countries. This was a longterm large population study completed by economist Richard Easterlin in collaboration with a team of resear > read more

We're Ready for Spring

Published on 2011-03-25 13:08:00

We're all waiting not very patiently for spring here in New York. It's been a long, cold winter, so I thought I'd post a slide show from April of 2010, just for a tasste of what's to come. These photos were taken at the New York Botanical Gardens in > read more

Mental Health Websites

Published on 2011-03-18 09:13:00

Sometimes researching on the Internet can be overwhelming, and research has shown that we make better decisions when we put limits on how much input we sort through.Here are two websites that may help you do that.PsychCentral.com - In 2008 Time > read more

Meditation and the Brain

Published on 2011-03-11 12:53:00

Meditation can help us relax, improve sleep, and increase contentment. And, according to researchers at UCLA, MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scans of participants in a 2009 study showed that long term meditators have increased energy in certai > read more

Connection and Compassion

Published on 2011-03-04 10:01:00

This delightful short film called Second Line was directed and acted in by Danny Glover. It's not only inspiring; it also made me laugh out loud. Liberty Mutual (which I have no connection to) funded it as part The Responsibility Project.One th > read more

Trauma and Mindfulness

Published on 2011-02-25 16:23:00

John Briere, in this five minute video, is speaking at the 2009 Awakening to Mindfulness conference about trauma, suffering and mindfulness.Some of the points from his talk (in my words):Pain is the experience we have when we have been hurt. Th > read more

Van der Kolk Treatment Center for Trauma

Published on 2011-02-18 08:08:00

Dr. Bessel van der Kolk has been a well-respected leader in the treatment of severe trauma for decades. By severe trauma I mean, among other things, Dissociative Identity Disorder (which used to be called Multiiple Personality Disorder) as well as PT > read more

Music Therapy and Depression

Published on 2011-02-11 10:03:00

This Swedish study of music therapy is the largest to date looking into the effects of music as a treatment for depression.It's a quite well designed study. Two different types of music therapy were tested with two control groups rece > read more

But Only If It's Fun

Published on 2011-02-04 10:33:00

A study published in November 2010 in the British Journal of Psychiatry indicates that people who exercise regularly have less symptoms of depression.But there's a caveat:It needs to be exercise that is done in your spare time, not exercise that > read more

Neuroplasticity and Psychotherapy

Published on 2011-01-28 10:18:00

Neuroplasticity means our brains' ability to change and reorganize our networks of neurons. What does that mean for counseling and psychotherapy?It means that it is not true that past a certain age, the brain can't change; and psychotherapy is > read more

Mindsight: The New Science of Personal Transformation

Published on 2011-01-20 09:13:00

If you've been following this blog, you've already read here about Dr. Dan Siegel's work with mindfulness practice - a variety of ways of training your brain to stay in the present moment - and its importance to mental health. A way to think of mindf > read more

Aerobic Exercise Improves Sleep

Published on 2011-01-10 13:21:00

Anyone who suffers from insomnia knows how miserable it can be. This Northwestern University study showed that exercise can help. Participants in the study exercised in either two 20-minutes sessions four times a week or one 30-40 min > read more

Distress May Hurt Your Heart

Published on 2011-01-04 16:35:00

According to this US News article about Type D personality people, anxiety, stress, depression and negativity - hallmarks of this type - triple the risk for heart problems. The article says that about 20% of otherwise health > read more

Winter Doldrums?

Published on 2010-12-27 13:25:00

Many people with depression tendencies feel worse as the days get short and sometimes dark, as it was here yesterday during the storm. This post is a quick reminder that getting out into nature has been demonstrated to raise mood.This short sli > read more

Loneliness Prevention

Published on 2010-12-17 10:10:00

This is a time of year when many people are feeling especially lonely. If you identify with that, here in this post is something that you can do about it right now.Besides feeling bad, research has shown that loneliness can be a health factor, > read more

What to Do about Commuter Stress

Published on 2010-12-10 14:21:00

Living in New York City, I hear about the stress of commuting a lot from my clients and friends. I'm blessed with a 15 minute walk from home to office, but I've commuted in the past and appreciate the problem. There are steps you can take.Guest > read more

Getting Out into the Green Spaces

Published on 2010-11-30 08:24:00

I've been posting here for awhile on the benefits to mood from being in nature. It made my day to read this article about the physical as well as mental health benefits of getting more time with green. It's by Jane Brody, who writes a wond > read more

How to Get Closure

Published on 2010-11-22 15:42:00

There are many roads to Rome regarding getting closure. Certainly psychotherapy can help. But here's some interesting, easy to implement, research on the subject.A recently completed study at the NUS Business School in Singapore demonstra > read more

How to Survive the Holidays

Published on 2010-11-13 08:08:00

The question may be how to survive visiting family over the holidays, but it can also be a strain when you're the host or hostess. Are visits with family at best stressful and at worst they repeat the bad stuff that happened when you lived with them? > read more

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Blog Feed: Catherine Boyer Psychotherapy Blog

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