by Rebecca Stanwyck | Feb 8, 2017 | Uncategorized
In my 25 years as a psychotherapist in private practice, I have preferred to keep politics and religion out of the therapy session, in order to create a safe space for people to work on their issues, without feeling the need to defend their beliefs. And I have taken... read more
by Rebecca Stanwyck | Dec 21, 2016 | Addiction, Anxiety, Bipolar, Depression, Food and Mood, Mood Disorders
Today, the shortest day of the year (in the northern hemisphere) is a good day to talk about seasonal depression. At my latitude, there are fewer than ten hours between sunrise and sunset. That’s bad news for people like me, who have a hard time getting up before... read more
by Rebecca Stanwyck | Nov 21, 2016 | Addiction, Alcohol Problems, Behavioral Addiction, Mindfulness, Relapse Prevention
Looking for ideas to help you deal with a drinking problem, or other problematic substance use? Have you stopped and are finding it’s a struggle to stay stopped? Are you seeking an alternative to AA? Or just searching for some additional tools? Let me tell you how... read more
by Rebecca Stanwyck | Oct 12, 2016 | Addiction, Anxiety, Cognitive Therapy, Mindfulness, Neuroscience
We are living in turbulent times. If you are paying attention at all, it’s hard not to feel anxious about the state of the world we live in and the fate of humanity. While violence, war, and natural disasters have occurred throughout human history, we seem to be... read more
by Rebecca Stanwyck | Aug 13, 2016 | Addiction, Anxiety, Depression, Sleep Problems, Stress, Trauma
It is possible to live a full and satisfying life even when your life has been turned upside down by chronic pain and/or illness. Recently I’ve been learning more about how, from the experts: three people who are doing it themselves, and are pointing the way to... read more
by Rebecca Stanwyck | Jun 27, 2016 | Behavioral Consulting, Cognitive Therapy, Stress, Uncategorized
This post offers some solutions – short-term and long – to the problem identified in my last post: trying to find a therapist or doctor who will accept your health insurance for mental healthcare. Long term, the only reasonable fix to our broken... read more
by Rebecca Stanwyck | Jun 13, 2016 | Behavioral Consulting, Cognitive Therapy, Stress
Just listened to an illuminating KQED Forum report on how difficult it still is for people to obtain mental health services, despite the Affordable Care Act and the Mental Health Parity laws. If you’d like to listen, it’s here:... read more
by Rebecca Stanwyck | Apr 27, 2016 | Addiction, Depression, Narcissism, Relationships, Self-Compassion
Let’s talk about shame. Let’s not run from it, trying to avoid its pain, or hide from it, pretending we don’t have any, or allow ourselves to be bullied by others who believe they have the right to make us feel shame. Let’s drag it out into the open, take a deep... read more
by Rebecca Stanwyck | Mar 9, 2016 | Addiction, Co-Dependency, Depression, Mindfulness, Relationships
A koan is “a story, dialogue, question, or statement, which is used in Zen practice to provoke the ‘great doubt’ and test a student’s progress” (Wikipedia). While I’m not a Zen practitioner, I enjoy pondering koans that others pose as well as posing my own. Here... read more
