Search Results for “cognitive distortions”

Dealing With Your Stuff

Published on March 31, 2016 by Scott Williams3 Comments

Let’s be honest, dealing with that stuff from your past isn’t easy. Truer words are rarely spoken. Like you, I have heard hundreds of experts groan on about how their system or mindset or new… More

Stupid Little Pill

Published on October 6, 2015March 1, 2016 by Scott Williams5 Comments

In a recent conversation with a friend I accidentally referred to anxiety medication as “aspirin for the brain”. I meant it in a good way. Why is taking something for anxiety any different than taking the… More

Freaks

Published on July 10, 2015July 10, 2015 by Scott Williams10 Comments

From my office window I can just read the bumper sticker on the back of one of my colleagues cars. It is a quote from Laurel Thatcher Ullrich, “well-behaved women seldom make history”. There may… More

How Do I Let Go?

Published on February 12, 2015February 12, 2015 by Scott Williams14 Comments

I am asked this question all the time. How do I leave? How do I stand up for myself? How do I lower my expectations of this person? How do learn to be happy in… More

Other People Have It Worse

Published on January 29, 2015 by Scott Williams6 Comments

“and to keep me humble there was given to me a thorn in the flesh” The Bible I’m no prophet, I think we can all agree on that. I’m not even convinced that I… More

Resilience

Published on January 13, 2015January 13, 2015 by Scott Williams11 Comments

Psychological resilience is defined as an individual’s ability to properly adapt to stress and adversity. Stress and adversity can come in the shape of family or relationship problems, health problems, or workplace and financial stressors, among others. Wikipedia “Little… More

The Price of Ignorance

Published on January 1, 2015January 1, 2015 by Scott Williams4 Comments

In the fifties and sixties Dr. Benjamin Spock changed the way parents thought about their kids. He believed that children had rights, were individuals, and as such deserved to be treated with respect. Growing up… More

This Is My Toolbox

Published on December 3, 2014March 24, 2016 by Scott Williams13 Comments

This is for you. You know who you are. I talk a great deal in counseling about “the toolbox”. It is a psychological construct that many of us are familiar with. Talking about a toolbox… More

Here’s To You

Published on November 26, 2014November 30, 2014 by Scott Williams8 Comments

It happened last night. It doesn’t happen very often but when it does, it takes my breath away. Those invasive thoughts. Lying in bed they rolled over me like a wave. One thought led to… More

500

Published on February 12, 2014February 18, 2014 by Scott Williams2 Comments

Five hundred. … 500 fights, that’s the number I figured when I was a kid. 500 street fights and you could consider yourself a legitimate tough guy. You need them for experience. To develop leather… More

The Truth About Suicide Part Two – The Myth Of The Unforgivable Sin

Published on July 26, 2013July 26, 2013 by Scott Williams10 Comments

I remember the first time I heard it. I was in, admittedly, a religious meeting, a youth meeting. The speaker asked various small groups around the room to talk about suicide. I was an observer. … More

An Open Letter To The Men Who Date My Clients

Published on May 30, 2013May 29, 2013 by Scott Williams20 Comments

My name is Scott and I’m a clinical therapist. I, or someone like me, has probably counseled a handful of women you may have thought about dating. For various reasons most of my clients are… More

Catastophizing

Published on May 6, 2013May 3, 2013 by Scott Williams15 Comments

from dictionary.reference.com: verb – to view or talk about (an event or situation) as worse than it actually is, or as if it were a catastrophe: Stop catastrophizing and get on with your life! She tends… More

You Have Herpes

Published on April 19, 2013January 12, 2015 by Scott Williams12 Comments

Reality can be cruel. Sometime ago I was handed the inglorious task of telling a beautiful young woman that she had herpes. She was sure it was a bladder infection, but ultimately the science didn’t… More

The Real World

Published on April 16, 2013April 15, 2013 by Scott Williams7 Comments

Home from the Pacific Ocean. The real world. Sitting on the beach at Puerto Vallarta with my dad, watching the waves come in and out, fighting off local vendors and splashing in the waves, it’s… More

Obsession

Published on February 26, 2013 by Scott Williams8 Comments

My wife is planning a trip to somewhere warm and she is doing it wrong. As a guy I would go online, find the very first place that was on the ocean and book it.… More

Use Your Compass

Published on January 2, 2013 by Scott Williams10 Comments

The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off. Gloria Steinem A long time ago and in a distant life I was a… More

Cheesy Counselling Stuff That Works

Published on November 12, 2012March 18, 2014 by Scott Williams13 Comments

Like most counsellors I have tried many ‘techniques’ in my years to order to help individuals deal with a panacea of mental health issues. I remember studying psychology in university and learning about the importance… More

Why Most Radical Change Is Bogus

Published on November 6, 2012November 15, 2012 by Scott Williams13 Comments

Have you ever promised yourself that you would get in shape? Ever made a new Year’s Resolution that you couldn’t keep? Have you ever tried to make a radical change in your life? Ever been… More

Living My Life To Impress A Five Year Old

Published on November 5, 2012February 12, 2015 by Scott Williams13 Comments

Many of us were damaged emotionally when we were children. We were criticized, we were belittled, we were told how to live, how to act, what to wear and how to think… by other children.… More