This is my latest post for Psychology Today which you can read here.

This is my latest post for Psychology Today. Click here to read it!

You can read my latest article for psychology today here.

This is my latest article for Psychology Today. It focuses on how the ancient Greek Philosopher Epicurus’ work on happiness can be applied today.

This is my most recent article for Psychology Today. Just Click to see it!

Most of you know I have really been about meditation of late. I’ve been much more consistent than I have ever been; for a few months now I’ve been meditating more days than not. If you’ve read my writing about it before, you might remember I had an amazing experience many years ago that resulted in me having too much expectation and then throwing in the towel on sitting meditation. The experience was beautiful, and from that point on I was frustrated and disappointed that it didn’t happen again. In fact my thoughts were obsessive about it, and I moved to a different type …

It seems to be my goal lately to challenge standard assumptions in psychology. Recently I challenged the idea that sarcasm is always anger. In this article I will challenge the notion that when an older person dates a significantly younger partner, it has to do with control and power issues.
To begin it is important to understand I am not stating that this is never true. In fact it is likely true in the majority of cases. Many men or women date younger people partly because it gives them control in the relationship. They are older, presumably wiser, and generally are more established in …

I often hear people (especially those in the psychology field) state that they perceive sarcasm as anger. There is truth in this, and I cannot deny that when some people use sarcasm it has an angry sentiment embedded in it. But is it true that sarcasm is always anger? I do not believe so, and hope to defend the argument in this paper.
As someone who has had an anger problem in the past, and who currently provides anger management counseling, I have wondered if the masses that report sarcasm is anger are correct. As someone who uses sarcasm frequently enough I am also concerned it is perceived that way when …

Many therapists advocate the practice of meditation for their clients. The benefits of meditation have been well documented in articles and books. Meditation can assist an individual in controlling their breath, which helps to reduce anxiety by lowering heart rate and blood pressure. There are also chemical reactions in the brain observed in fMRIs which activate parts of the brain associated with relaxation. There has even been some documentation on lasting changes in the brains of those who meditate regularly.

Another way meditation is helpful is through distancing the individual from their thinking. Most therapists, at the very least, will focus to some extent …

As I mentioned in the beginning of the year, I plan on posting excerpts from the draft of the book I am writing about addiction recovery. The book combines my training in the field along with professional and personal experience to provide examples. This excerpt is from an early chapter and discusses bottoms. As always I welcome any feedback.

Whether an addict has to hit bottom or not is a topic of much debate. It is often heard when someone who has tried recovery briefly and failed that “they did not hit bottom yet.” Using this reasoning and …