Therapist Blogs for December 2011
Welcome, 2012: Michael's Blog
A New Year of Transformation
I had lunch yesterday with my best friend of over thirty years. He is being treated with chemotherapy for leukemia and has other health challenges, too. At one point in the conversation John told me that despite the physical torture of his treatment, he has never been so happy. He said, “All the crap, the fears and anger just disappeared, and I feel freer than I ever have in my life.”
I looked at John and said, “It’s not just you. I’m also feeling the best and lightest I ever have. And, it’s not unique to only us. I’m seeing a remarkable shift in many clients and other friends.”
On my drive home later, I had a vision that what we are going through is a collective transformation threshold. We are letting go of previous perceptions of who we should be, and becoming more aligned with who we really are. It is all about collective energy.
Source Energy, which I also ...
Kuwait's Lack of Professional Regulation for Psychology: What Does it Mean for the Consumer?
The mental health scene in Kuwait can be very misleading to those of us accustomed to the 'Psychologist' title being reserved for the use of doctoral graduates from accredited universities who have completed three year supervised internships, have taken and passed one national and two state exams, and have become duly 'Licensed' as a 'Psychologist'. The reality is that there are only four 'Licensed Psychologists' in the whole of Kuwait, but scores of unlicensed non-psychologists are also using the title of 'Psychologist'. The mental health scene in Kuwait differs radically from that in the United States where all fifty states have Psychologist licensing laws and ethics codes in place designed to regulate the use of the 'Psychologist' title--hence only those doctoral graduates from accredited institutions of higher learning who have fulfilled the licensing requirements of their respective states are allowed to refer to themselv...
Thinking About Forgiveness
“The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.” (-Mahatma Ghandi)
The word “forgiveness” means different things to different people. Forgiving ourselves or others is often hard to do because emotions such as fear, anger, and resentment get in the way. Once we do forgive, these emotions often dissipate.
Research shows that forgiveness may be good for our health. Some of life’s events are harder to get past than others. Forgiving does not mean forgetting or condoning. It means dealing with hurt in a way that increases understanding, and acceptance.
Forgiveness means to grant pardon without resentment. It is experienced intellectually, emotionally and spiritually. Forgiveness is a key to happiness and well-being, because it releases the anger, hurt, bitterness, pain, fear and even sometimes the illnesses that we carry around.
I often work with many of my clients who are struggling with forgiveness. It’s important to remembe...
Overextending Ourselves
Overextending Ourselves
Can you think of a day that has passed where you haven’t thought to yourself, or uttered the words “I feel so tired!” at least once?
Many women can’t help but feel frustrated and report that they need more energy to get everything accomplished on any given day. Experts equate a large part of this problem to unrealistic expecations of how much can actually be fit into a twenty-four hour period. The pressure that many women place on themselves to squeeze in one more thing on their to-do list is overwhelming, and can actually drain a large amount of energy.
I advise my clients that when they find themselves in an “action mode” mindset, they need to be cautious about overextending themselves and/or getting out of balance. Many women spend a great deal of time trying to accomplish as much as possible to ensure that they can reach their goals and not miss out on any important opportunites or experiences along the way. For many of ...
Understanding Your Negative Cycle
In your relationship or marriage, maybe you’ve found yourself getting caught up in a rollercoaster-type experience where you and your wife, girlfriend or partner fight for some time, and then all goes back to serenity, and then it happens again and again, with constant repetition and no solution.
Fighting and conflict happen repeatedly, in a cycle format, and usually it’s tough to see what triggers your fall into fighting, conflict and attacks. When we’re in the fighting, we have no perspective. How can we help ourselves get out of it?
As a fundamental component of the model of couples therapy known as Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), developed by Canadian psychologist Susan Johnson, PhD., identifying your negative cycle consists of looking at certain layers that exist behind the conflict you get into and actually see.
Many couples who seek therapy find themselves often getting caught in “negative cycles” or patterns of interactions. A negative cycle ...
Holiday Blues Busters
SEVEN HOLIDAY BLUES BUSTERS
1. Let go of commercialized images of the holidays.
2. Sleep, eat and drink normally; exercise; get extra exposure to light.
3. Think about what is making you blue. If it is stress-related, lower your expectations and do less. If it is emotional, allow yourself a specific time to dwell on your feelings, then resolve to try to move forward and focus on other things.
4. Think of one gift to give to yourself this holiday season, and allow yourself permission to make it happen.
5. Reach out for support—e.g. call a friend; invite someone you don’t know very well to have a cup of coffee; make peace with an estranged friend or relative.
6. Do something nice for someone else.
7. Practice gratitude.
Source Energy Series: Part 1
First published GoodTherapy.org, December 5, 2011
Source Energy Optimizes Life
Part One: Finding Source Energy
Michael Picucci
In 1983, when diagnosed with a rare, deadly cancer, I sought the assistance of spiritual healer, Barbara Ann Brennan. She realigned my energy fields which seemingly helped put my cancer into remission, much to the surprise of my oncologist. It was the beginning of my understanding
of Source Energy.
Whether this energy is called spirit, God, Higher Power or the universe, it clearly is something that we just feel. In whatever way it can be sensed, be it as stillness, wave vibrations, presence, feeling awakened or connected, it’s a universal force found in all living things. Source Energy provides the innate intelligence for plants to know to grow towards the sun, and it’s there for us when we listen to our bodies.
When we begin listening, seeing and hearing with new eyes and ears, we learn that our bod...
Keeping New Year’s Resolutions; A Third Chakra Challenge
Believe it or not, it’s that time of the year for making New Year’s resolutions once again. Research shows that although making these resolutions are helpful, only a small percentage of people actually keep them. In fact, according to Dr. John Norcross, a professor at Scranton University, who has conducted several studies on this subject, only 46 % of those who make New Year’s resolutions actually keep them six months later. And only 40% even bother to try to come up with them. So what’s up with our inability to keep promises TO OURSELVES???
Let me first say, that people who make very explicit clearly written resolutions are 10 times more successful in achieving their goals than those who do not. So, in thinking about attempting this challenge, it would make sense to be very clear in writing your resolutions on paper. However, for many people with a poor history of keeping promises to oneself (which looks like most of us) it does not seem likely that many of us...
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