Contributed by Chris Lyford
The Future of Diagnosis
Traveling Beyond the Limits of the DSMTake a magical journey beyond the DSM’s pathologizing legacy to a place where therapists can name and categorize suffering, while still taking into account... Read more
Hypnosis Revisited
Harnessing Therapy’s Most Versatile ToolClinical hypnosis has a rich history, broad applications, and sound research behind it—so why aren’t more therapists using it? Read more
Boys' Friendships
The Clash of Intimacy and MasculinityAre we undermining boys' longing for soft, loving friendships? Read more
Getting Individualized Education Plans Right
How Are IEPs Missing the Mark?How can Individualized Education Plans, which often involve therapists, better ensure that students with disabilities get a fair and proper education? Read more
Medicare Reimbursement for Counselors and MFTs
The Legislation Finally PassesAfter more than three decades of advocacy, counselors and MFTs are finally celebrating a landmark piece of legislation permitting them to receive Medicare... Read more
The New Premarital Counseling
A Good Match for Therapists?Premarital counseling is growing in popularity, and research indicates it has numerous benefits. So why aren't more therapists offering it? Read more
A Reimbursement Dream Realized
With New Law, 33 Years of Advocacy Finally Pays OffThe passage of the Mental Health Access Improvement Act—the product of more than three decades of advocacy—is a historic moment that removes a significant... Read more
Are Licensing Exams Failing Clinicians?
Reevaluating Our GatekeepingDespite the need to assess competency, some say licensing exams risk leaving good clinicians behind. Read more
The Love Prescription
An Interview with John and Julie GottmanIn this Networker Live event, senior editor Chris Lyford speaks with authors and relationship experts John and Julie Gottman about their latest book, The Love... Read more
Changing How We Think about Youth Suicide
An Interview with David JobesIn this Networker Live event, senior editor Chris Lyford speaks with suicidologist Dr. David Jobes about the impact of ideation. Read more
From his Therapy beat column in the September/October issue, senior editor Chris Lyford discusses the challenges of treating youth suicide ideation with... Read more
Unhappy Campers
When a Guys’ Weekend Goes SouthA nightmare camping trip exposes the limits—and possibilities—of male bonding. Read more
The Ideation Factor
Changing How We Think about Youth SuicideSuicidal ideation among teens is overlooked, understudied, and sometimes even willfully ignored. Read more
Cultivating Positive Age Beliefs
The Impact of Ageism on Our Bodies and MindsYale researcher Becca Levy discusses how our beliefs about aging affect our wellbeing, regardless of age. Read more
Therapy Card Decks
A Session in the Palm of Your Hand?Are therapy card decks a clinical tool, a branding exercise, or something else entirely? Read more
The Avatar Will See You Now
An Interview on the Virtual Reality, the Metaverse, and TherapyNetworker talks with the co-founders and clinicians of Virgils, a virtual reality platform for therapists and clients. Read more
Therapy Meets the Metaverse
A New Approach to Treating Young ClientsA firsthand look at how a new virtual reality program is taking therapy to new places. Read more
Taking Play Therapy Seriously
The Surprising Journey to Widespread AcceptanceMany play therapists still find themselves having to explain what they do and why it works. But after more than a century, play therapy has finally come into... Read more
VIDEO: Rethinking the Policy of Seclusion and Restraint
A Discussion with Mona Delahooke and Guy StephensJoin Mona Delahooke, therapist and author of Beyond Behaviors, and Guy Stephens, founder and director of the Alliance Against Seclusion and Restraint, for a... Read more
Agitated Kids, Dangerous Punishment
Rethinking the Policy of Seclusion and RestraintSeclusion and restraint is a rare but extreme response to students deemed unruly. One parent, backed by some clinical allies, is drawing attention to its... Read more
Is Meditation as Safe as We Think?
The Risks We Don’t Talk AboutMeditation is generally considered one of the safest practices for our clients. But one organization says that’s not always the case. Read more
Rage Rooms
Stress Relief’s New Darlings?Are rage rooms a passing fad? Or a symptom of a larger issue? Read more
Surrogate Partner Therapy
Crossing Lines or Expanding Boundaries?The debate around surrogate partner therapy. Read more
"Networker Live" with J.C. Hall
Hip Hop TherapyThis week, the Networker's assistant editor, Chris Lyford, sat down for a live conversation and Q&A with hip hop artist and therapist, J.C. Hall. Read more
The TikTok Therapist
Goodbye, Blank SlateFor some therapists, using TikTok isn’t a marketing tactic, but a public service. Read more
Psychedelic Therapy and Racial Trauma
Offering Clients a Deeper Experience of HealingCan psychedelic therapy offer a faster, deeper way to heal the intergenerational effects of racial injustice? Read more
Hip Hop Therapy
The Healing Power of Giving Kids the MicThe process of creating beats and lyrics is rooted in therapeutic practices. At one South Bronx high school, a school social worker has traded the therapy room... Read more
“Therapy robots” have been touted as an answer to loneliness and a new way to build social skills. But will they change the way therapists work? Read more
The pandemic continues to strain small addiction clinics and their struggling clients. Read more
The movement to offer more free therapy and expand access to treatment gains momentum. Read more
Left Behind
Counselors Seek Medicare ReimbursementThe long, hard fight to fix a legislative gap. Read more
The Warm Handoff
Therapists’ Expanding Role in HealthcareIn a country where one in five primary care patients has a diagnosable behavioral health issue, setting up doctors and therapists to work hand in hand may be... Read more
VIDEO: Doing Mindfulness Work with Kids
Two Techniques You Can Try Out TodayMindfulness specialist Chris Willard explains the difference between mindfulness work with kids and adults, and shares two techniques you can use today with... Read more
VIDEO: Doing Your Best Work with LGBTQ Clients
The Myth of Sex Addiction, Common Mistakes, and MoreIs the sex addiction model doing more harm than good? What's the difference between sexual orientation and gender identity? And what are the most common... Read more
Couples Therapy Goes Public
A New TV Series Pulls Back the CurtainA bold new TV series captures the raw reality of couples therapy—for both clients and therapists. Read more
VIDEO: The Self-Compassion Approach to Trauma Treatment
Creative Strategies That Dig DeeperIt’s important to honor all of your client’s inner parts in therapy. But accessing them to fully engage in healing work isn’t always easy. Here, trauma... Read more
A new documentary on comedian Darrell Hammond’s life spotlights the legacy of childhood trauma. Read more
A Bridge to Recovery
A Grassroots Approach to the Opioid CrisisYears into the opioid epidemic, a journalist travels to the hardest-hit state to get an up-close look at addiction treatment and the “radically... Read more
Beating Back-to-School Anxiety
Three Therapists Share Stories and TipsIf you work with kids and adolescents, you’re probably no stranger to what these first weeks of school bode for your practice. Back-to-school season can be... Read more
VIDEO: Bringing Parents into Therapy with Kids
Why Anxiety is a Family ProblemWhen it comes to treating anxious kids, the same rules for treating anxious adults don’t apply. According to therapist Lynn Lyons, you might not only... Read more
VIDEO: What's New in Trauma Treatment?
Best Practices and MoreHas anything changed in the way we classify trauma? Does anything need to change in terms of how we treat it? According to therapist Mary Jo Barrett, yes... Read more
In response to the ever-growing incidences of gun violence targeting students, many schools have instituted active-shooter drills. How are therapists... Read more
VIDEO: Helping Clients Envision Personal Transformation
...While Still Validating Their PainHow do you help clients access resourceful states when they’re feeling hopeless and helpless? In this short video, trauma specialist Courtney Armstrong... Read more
VIDEO: What Therapists Need to Know About Working with LGBTQ+ Clients
How We Think About Gender and Sexuality is Changing at "Warp Speed"Today’s LGBTQ+ community has exploded in size, and therapists working in progressive, urban communities will likely see clients whose approach to sex... Read more
Getting "Ghosted" by Clients
Four Stories from Therapists, and What They Learned from Their ExperienceWe’ve all seen it happen. Maybe some of us are even guilty of it ourselves. When you get an email from that pesky neighbor, a text message from the boring... Read more
VIDEO: Using Play with Adults in Therapy
Dafna Lender Demonstrates Three Proven TechniquesAny therapist who works with kids will tell you that incorporating play in therapy is a great way to break the ice, reduce anxiety, and strengthen the... Read more
ASMR Videos
A New Tool for Therapists?Videos designed to elicit ASMR, a physiological state some people find soothing, get millions of views online. Now clinicians are debating whether they could... Read more
Creating a Web of Connection
Therapists in Search of CommunityTherapists are always on the lookout for new approaches and techniques. But in a profession with alarming rates of burnout and professional isolation, the best... Read more
VIDEO: Doing Self-Care Right
Sabrina N'Diaye on Tapping Into Your Innate WisdomIncreasingly, therapists are looking for alternatives to the office-bound rigidity of traditional private practice. In the following interview, The Center for... Read more
The Podcast Boom
Is It for You?Podcasts have exploded in numbers and popularity. What do mental health professionals need to know about this way of expanding their audience and their... Read more
Police and Therapists
A New AllianceInnovative co-responder programs around the country are bringing about a shift in how police and clinicians define the boundaries of their work. Read more
VIDEO: How to Talk to Your Kids About Love
...And The 60-Second "Truth Bomb" Exercise to Get You StartedWhen it comes to talking about love and relationships with young adult children, too many parents are silent. But research shows that the vast majority of... Read more
New policies are deepening the trauma of many immigrants, and heightening challenges for the therapists trying to help them. Read more
How to give boys more choices about the kind of men they want to be. Read more
A push to make mindfulness practices more racially sensitive. Read more
Nearly a decade ago, England embarked on one of the largest expansions of mental health care in modern history. What can be said of the outcome of this bold... Read more
In the 12 years since Hurricane Katrina, what have mental health professionals learned about being helpful in the wake of natural disasters? Read more
The rise of text therapy is raising ethical questions for its practitioners. Read more
Is teen suicide contagious? Clinicians weigh in on the controversy around 13 Reasons Why. Read more
How have the practitioners in rural communities been responding to America’s opioid epidemic? Read more
Therapists respond to the increasingly popular notion that we have a Millennial crisis on our hands. Read more
Healing after the Election
What Therapists and Their Minority Clients Are SayingWhat minority clients are saying to their therapists after the election, and how therapists are responding. Read more
The 6 Most-Read Networker Articles of 2016
A Look Back at This Year's Popular Reads, Chosen by YouBy Chris Lyford - As 2017 approaches, we're taking stock of the past year. Join us in looking back at the most-read online Networker articles of 2016, chosen... Read more
Six Things Therapists Are Saying After the Election
. . . And Why You Shouldn't Be Afraid to Call Out the Chicken LittlesBy Chris Lyford - Regardless of where you stand politically, it’s hard to deny that the 2016 presidential election was one of the most stress-inducing in... Read more
The Therapy Beat - November/December 2016
Compassion or Coddling?Therapists wade into the controversy about trigger warnings for potentially disturbing college course material. Read more
It used to be an axiom for clinicians that therapeutic conversation and politics don’t mix. But in this high-stakes presidential election, some therapists... Read more
Has pornography become a public health crisis? Read more
A grassroots effort to serve the mental health needs of veterans enables therapists to extend to their impact. Read more
Therapists reflect on the terror attack in Paris. Read more
Questions have been raised about whether the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy, the field’s most researched treatment model, has been overstated. Read more
Fifteen years ago, psychotherapist Jeffrey Kottler never imagined he’d be stuffing nine duffel bags full of antibiotics and suture kits for a return trip to... Read more
Since it was introduced as an anesthetic in the 1970s, ketamine has occupied an uncertain pharmacological status. It’s been used as both a Vietnam-era... Read more
Chris Lyford
Chris Lyford is the Senior Editor at Psychotherapy Networker. Previously, he was Assistant Director and Editor of the The Atlantic Post, where he wrote and edited news pieces on the Middle East and Africa. He also formerly worked at The Washington Post, where he wrote local feature pieces for the Metro, Sports, and Style sections. Contact: clyford@psychnetworker.org.