Welcome to the Blog

Don’t worry! Problem solve!

Does your mind often leave the present moment and travel into the future anticipating negative events? Do you often feel anxious and restless, but have difficulty pinpointing why? If you answered yes, you may be a worrier. From a CBT perspective, worry is a mental habit or bias in thinking. It’s the tendency of your […]

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What were your top 3 decisions of 2019?

With the end of the decade and the start of the new year, we tend to look back and assess the progress we’ve made towards our goals and set new ones. While this year-end review process has the potential to be positive and inspiring, it can also be negative and self-defeating.  As a result of […]

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No praise, no problem: develop your own performance standards

Everyone loves positive feedback. It feels good and often confirms your own assessment of your performance. You think you’ve done good job and now you know. When we were in school, we could use grades or the teachers’ comments as benchmarks for our performance. But there are times, in our work or personal life, where […]

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Stop Commoditizing Yourself

As a clinical psychologist, I work with many successful, divorced heterosexual men in their late 40s and early 50s who are dating and looking for love. For many, it’s the first time they’ve dated in 20 or more years. If you’re like many of my clients, you probably consider your wealth and professional success your […]

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Bringing the Ashram to You

Mindfulness is definitely a buzz word these days. It’s also a multi-billion dollar industry and everyone wants a piece of the action. As a result, there’s been a proliferation of mindfulness products and teachers which can be confusing for the consumer.  It’s conceptually very simple. Anyone who complicates or mystifies it either doesn’t know what […]

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Perfectionism

Are you a perfectionist? If so, you know first hand that it can be a double-edged sword. Having very high standards can optimize our performance at work and other areas of our lives. But, perfectionism can also lead to chronic dissatisfaction with achievements and fuel a sense we’re never good enough. It can also a […]

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What is Cognitive Therapy?

Maybe a friend’s recommended it or you’ve read about it in the New York Times. What is cognitive therapy any way and what’s all the hype about? Cognitive Therapy was created by University of Pennsylvania psychiatrist Aaron Beck in the 1960s. At the time it was created, cognitive therapy marked a radical departure from the […]

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What is Cognitive Therapy?

Maybe a friend’s recommended it or you’ve read about it in the New York Times. What is cognitive therapy any way and what’s all the hype about?

Cognitive Therapy was created by University of Pennsylvania psychiatrist Aaron Beck in the 1960s. At the time it was created, cognitive therapy marked a radical departure from the dominant therapy, namely psychoanalysis. Interestingly, Dr. Beck was in fact trained in psychoanalysis and developed cognitive therapy in the course of testing the psychoanalytic theory of depression—anger turned against the self. While interviewing depressed patients Dr. Beck observed distinctive thinking styles and thought patterns rather than self-directed anger…

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Community Nights Workshop (May 4, 2017): Helping a Student with Test Anxiety

Our upcoming workshop on Thursday, May 4, is Helping a Student with Test Anxiety. In my experience treating students of all ages in the New York City area, the ever-growing demands of middle and high school entrance exams, Regents exams, SATs, ACTs, and even typical classroom tests have presented an array of challenges, beyond the academic, for students and their families. The goal of this workshop is to provide parents with strategies they can use to help their children manage stress and build coping skills for school and test-related anxiety…

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Powerball as an Opportunity

In the wake of last week’s Powerball drawing, you’ve undoubtedly read or heard about the potential psychological hazards of Powerball. It preys on our delusional belief that the practically impossible from a statistical viewpoint could be possible for us. Then, we’re left reeling with the crushing disappointment of not winning or (more likely) the embarrassment at having played. I would like to suggest a different point of view: the Powerball is an opportunity. It’s a catalyst to begin acting more in keeping with your values and priorities NOW…

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