Counselor, Author, and Reflective Eclectic
Most methods of psychotherapy are designed for the therapist to help the client. Motivational Enhancement Therapy (MET) seems to be one of these; but it’s actually therapy for the therapist when standard Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) just isn’t working. Continue reading →
Life doesn’t come with an instruction manual. What are you supposed to do with these emotions, thoughts, and behaviors? How do you get rid of the ones you don’t want and cultivate the ones you do? Somewhere, close by, a cognitive behavioral therapist is ready to roll up his sleeves and tell you. Continue reading →
I get it if you don’t think it’s important to talk about your feelings. I really do.
You see, I haven’t always been a therapist, asking people about their feelings. I used to do hard work: building things, cooking things, and growing things. When I was younger, I played sports that had me hurl my body towards other bodies and make them hurt. Having done that, I know there are many settings where feelings are out of place. Continue reading →
Ordinarily, I avoid reading books and watching movies that portray head shrinking because I’m careful to maintain a work/life balance. But I couldn’t ignore Eleanor Oliphant. Continue reading →
I’ve been to some pretty rough places, but have seldom been afraid. This isn’t because I’m a tough guy. It’s because I’m a guy; a white guy, six-foot-tall, two hundred pounds, more muscular and athletic than most. Nothing bad has ever happened to me. That’s my privilege. Continue reading →
A therapist not trained in Person-Centered Therapy is like a musician who never learned his scales, basic skills for his profession. But, going to a therapist who only practices Person-Centered Therapy is like listening to a musician practicing scales. Continue reading →
The Diagnostic Statistical Manual (DSM) is a large book, in five editions, that you will likely find in every shrink’s office. It has every kind of mental illness recognized by the American Psychiatric Association defined, classified, and numbered; all 157 of them. Your therapist will refer to it daily, not because it unlocks the door to understanding your psyche, but because it’s needed for insurance re-imbursement. I’m no different. Every client who walks in my door, will leave with a DSM diagnosis if we’re going to bill insurance.
If it weren’t for insurance, I would rarely use the DSM. I think there are better ways to describe trouble. I prefer stories. I’ve written one such story diagnosing the problems with the DSM. It originally appeared in my novel, Fate’s Janitors: Moping Up Madness at a Mental Health Clinic. Here’s my fable about the DSM.Continue reading “The DSM: A Mad Attempt to Classify Madness”
There are two things I’d like to introduce. The first is my newsletter, Fresh Brewed, where I can keep you informed of everything coming out of my laptop.
The second is my new novel, Who Killed the Lisping Barista of the Epiphany Café?, a murder mystery investigating the mysteries of life.
I’ll be releasing this book drop by drop, one chapter at a time in my own online publication by the same name. Continue reading →
I have many role models, but two of them are of the negative type: people who have made mistakes I want to avoid. The first is James Nasmith, the inventor of the game of basketball; the second is Thomas Jefferson. Continue reading →
If you have ever been to a sawmill like the one I used to run, you have seen one of the most fearsome objects you are ever likely to meet: a saw blade at least three feet in diameter with teeth as big as a tiger’s whirring loudly just a couple feet from the operator. There were no safety guards on my sawmill. I’m not sure how there could be. I frequently had to reach close to the blade to remove boards and some debris.
One day while I was working, the thought entered my brain that I could just dive onto that saw blade and have it cut me in half. This thought frightened me so much I shut everything down, went home, put the covers over my head, and talked to no one. What was going on with me? I wasn’t suicidal. Until this happened, I was happy with my life. Was I going crazy? Continue reading →
Keith Wilson - Counseling