In May, 2018 I gave a free public lecture in Melbourne, Australia entitled, Keys to Unlocking Depression: Why Skills Work Better Than Pills. The talk was sponsored by the Australian Psychological Society (APS) and you can watch it on YouTube. It has been viewed by more than two million people! The emphasis of my talk… Read More


The following blog post was originally written for the January 2021 issue of the Science of Psychotherapy magazine. As 2020 comes to a close, the phrase that seems to best represent it is Whisky Tango Foxtrot (or, more commonly, WTF?). It seems to capture well the weird combination of incredulity, despair, frustration, fear, and resignation,… Read More


Most therapists, it seems, have taken their clinical practices online, conducting their sessions through their computers. I have been asked the question many times in recent weeks, “Are there any special considerations to take into account when doing hypnosis in virtual sessions?” The answer is yes and this blog briefly addresses those issues that I… Read More


We are pleased to announce   Mindset is a mobile phone app whose express purpose is to make effective hypnosis sessions instantly available at any time of day to people who want to enhance their quality of life. Sessions range in length from 10 to 40 minutes and address common themes such as feelings of… Read More


Last week (March 5, 2019) the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a new drug treatment for depression. It’s the first antidepressant drug in roughly 30 years to have an entirely new mechanism of action providing high hopes among chronic depression sufferers that this new drug will bring relief where the others have failed.… Read More


The mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, last week has given rise to a movement initiated by surviving high schoolers and advanced by other teens around the U.S. It is remarkable! Instead of retreating into grief and despair, or anxiety and depression, teens all across the country have gotten angry… Read More


It’s common to hear people make resolutions at the beginning of the year to exercise their bodies more, but what about exercising their brains? Developing critical thinking skills is a way of exercising your brain. It’s not as if this is a new concept, I routinely speak about the importance of critical thinking skills in… Read More


From December 12-17, 2017, the Anaheim (California) Convention Center and the connected Anaheim Hilton and Marriott hotels were overrun with about 7500 psychotherapists from more than 50 countries. They were attending the landmark Evolution of Psychotherapy Conference, a major event for therapists last held in 2013. Organized by The Milton H. Erickson Foundation with Foundation… Read More


In the hot-off-the-presses September, 2017, issue of The Atlantic Monthly, psychologist Jean Twenge has an article entitled, “Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation” describing the rapidly deteriorating mental health of today’s adolescents. She draws on extensive research data to make the connection between the use of technology and the rising rates of anxiety and depression. This… Read More


One of my most esteemed friends and colleagues is psychologist Jody Thomas, Ph.D. of Stanford University. Jody has been an integral part of the pediatric  pain treatment program there  for many years doing excellent clinical work as well as developing  programs to better serve the children she cares so  much  about. Jody is very skilled… Read More