thoughts from a therapist

Freedom from and Freedom to

William Hambleton Bishop — Fri, 04 May 2012 21:13:43 +0000

Freedom is the very thing which inhibits freedom Continue reading →

Hope affects outcome… why?

William Hambleton Bishop — Tue, 01 May 2012 20:00:03 +0000

If I were to tell you that hope affected outcome most of you would have no difficulty accepting this statement as truth. What we might all have a bit of difficulty agreeing on is why… why does hope affect outcome? I [...]

The difference between good intentions and good actions = understanding, humility, and empathy

William Hambleton Bishop — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 17:19:00 +0000

There are many saying about how many “evil actions” have been the result of good intentions. So how are we to know if our actions are good? Are there actions which are indisputably wrong and indisputably right? Instead of going into a heady philosophical investigation as to why good and bad are infinitely one, inseparable, and transient constructs of the collective… let us move forward with some thoughts on how to ensure that your good intentions can do better at manifesting good actions. Continue reading →

Face your Suffering on your way towards Freedom and Balance | The Effects of Resistance

William Hambleton Bishop — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 16:13:23 +0000

There is a widely held belief (especially by males) that it is a person’s duty in life to “just get over it” … which in my experience entails using a great deal of energy to deny and repress what is. Continue reading →

Adlerian psychotherapy – an overview

William Hambleton Bishop — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 05:12:10 +0000

In this post I will be giving an overview of Adlerian psychotherapy, which was one of the first theories in the field. Continue reading →

What is a systemic approach in psychotherapy? Family systems theory intervention

William Hambleton Bishop — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 16:10:43 +0000

The major difference between Family therapy and individual therapy is something called systems theory… therapist using such an approach are said to look at problems and solution systemically. In viewing a problem systemically a therapist will look at all the factors which bear some relation to the reported symptoms… ‘Factors’ could be family members, friends, culture, communication dynamics, the education system, the natural environment etc. Continue reading →

What is the Difference between a Psychologist, a Psychotherapist, a Psychiatrist, a Social Worker, a LPC, a LMFT, a LSCW, a PsyD, a PHD………

William Hambleton Bishop — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 05:06:15 +0000

Quick summary: My intention is to give you a horribly over-simplified definition of all those terms that you may find when you are looking for a mental health worker. I will give you an easy to understand definition of what the difference is between a Psychologist, Psychotherapist, Psychiatrist, Social Worker etc… I must add this disclosure up front – there is no strict definition nor is there any way to accurately state the specific functions of any of these mental health care workers. The specific abilities or specialties of any mental health worker vary greatly depending on their: personality, school they went to, age, education outside of college etc… Continue reading →

Dialectics – open your mind and balance will occur naturally

William Hambleton Bishop — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 04:42:33 +0000

Quick summary: There are many different definitions of what “dialectic” means and most are relatively related while others are a bit different (the Hindu and the Buddhist dialectics are more similar than the Socratic dialectic). I intend to talk about Dialects as a subject which helps us to experience the idea that all things are both “good” and “bad” at the same time. The purpose of such a discussion is to propose that people whom you disagree with are not wrong per say… they simply hold a different opinion or perspective. I am not trying to create indifference regarding the actions that you or anybody else would take… by accepting dialectics we can free ourselves from the judgments of our minds; which I believe leads us naturally towards engaging in actions that promote systemic harmony Continue reading →

What are ‘triggers’ – automatic responces

William Hambleton Bishop — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 04:27:06 +0000

Quick answer – a trigger is anything in the environment (person, place, thing, thought etc) that causes a predictable reaction in a person. Very often people are unaware of their triggers… they might be fully aware of the reaction… but they are not always aware of why they seemingly reacted automatically and without intention. Triggers very often cause an emotional reaction that does not fit the current situation. Continue reading →

Overcoming feelings of Shame | Shame avoided will stay quite the same…

William Hambleton Bishop — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 13:39:13 +0000

Guilt is mixture of melancholic anxiety that steps from a remorse held for an action engaged in… shame is a deeper depression accompanied by a degree of restless self-hatred which arrives when we cannot accept and forgive our self - when we essentially feel uncomfortable with who we are as opposed to feeling unrest for an action we partook in. Continue reading →