Author Archive: counselorbarb
Recession and Divorce
According to a 2010 survey conducted by the Institute for Divorce Financial Analysts, the recession appears to have affected the divorce rate in some interesting ways. Thirty-eight percent of analysts report a decrease in the number of divorce cases they handle, with 25% reporting an increase. Common reasons for the increase: desire to reduce the …
Female Sexual Pain and CBT
Female Sexual Pain is a prevalent, yet commonly misunderstood and misdiagnosed group of disorders. Let’s begin with some definitions. Sexual pain disorders are defined in the DSM-IV TR as either dyspareunia or vaginismus. Dyspareunia is pain associated with intercourse that is troublesome to the individual and not caused exclusively by medical conditions. Vaginismus is an …
Therapy more cost-effective than money for happiness
Think you can’t afford psychotherapy? A recent study done by the University of Warwick and the University of Manchester (http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/newsandevents/pressreleases/therapy_32_times) shows that 4 months of psychotherapy is as effective at increasing happiness as a pay raise of 25,000 pounds ($37,500 in U.S. dollars with today’s exchange rate). These researchers studied thousands of subjects, comparing their …
Sex Therapy
You may wonder what exactly sex therapy is and whether or not it’s for you. Issues or questions about sex or intimacy are very common and nothing to be ashamed or embarrassed about. According to the Mayo Clinic, about 1/3 of all adults have a question or concern about their sexuality. Sexual therapy (or sexual …
Mental Health Disorders More Widespread Than Estimated
According to the October 2009, issue of ScienceNews, almost 60% of our population experiences either anxiety, depression or substance abuse by the age of 32. This was a result of a study done by psychologists Terrie Moffit and Avshalom Caspi of Duke University. According to this study, anxiety is the most prevalent, at approx 33%, …
How to Fight Fair
How to Fight Fair Developed by CounselorBarb Tampa, FL 1. Pick your battles. Decide what is really important, and what isn’t. This will take a bit of work but it will be worth it. Examine your values — what can you “give” on and what is “completely unacceptable?” Give in to your partner when appropriate, …
How Daily Hassles Can Affect Your Health
Multiple stress researchers have discovered that it is the small problems in our daily life that have a large effect on our psychological and physical well-being. Although major life changes such as death, divorce or job loss can certainly have a large impact, researchers have discovered that it is the sum total of life’s “daily …
Nutrition and Depression
Today’s Parade magazine contained an article titled “Can Diet Affect Depression?”. It got me to thinking about other articles I had found linking depression to diet or other lifestyle factors. It’s fascinating to know that there are many ways to alleviate mild depression that do not involve either psychotherapy or drugs! Of course, sometimes psychotherapy …
Climbing the Mountain of Life
Recently I was fortunate enough to find myself at the base of a mountain in Southern Utah. You may have heard of it: Angel’s Landing in Zion National Park. Breathtakingly beautiful. The weather was clear and bright with temperatures at a very comfortable 70 degrees. The wonderful outside air was an ironic contrast to the …
CounselorBarb 