The Role Of Mentalization In The Development Of Borderline Personality Disorder
posted by Simone Hoermann, Ph.D. on Jul 30th 2010
"People with Borderline Personality Disorder have weaknesses in their ability to mentalize, that is, to understand their own and others’ internal states and motivation. This main concept from a paper by Fonagy and Bateman published in the Journal of Personality Disorders in 2008 recently caught my eye. Continuing on the topic of attachment and Personality Disorders that I’ve previously written about, to date, we still don’t quite know what causes Personality Disorders. In an attempt to formulate a model of how Borderline Personality Disorder develops, Fonagy and Bateman use attachment theory and the concept of mentalization in order to bring together insights from biological as well as psychological research on the topic. " More...

5 Ways to Renew Your Life Today
posted by Elisha Goldstein, Ph.D. on Jul 29th 2010
"Once in a while we can bring a little idea into our daily lives and it can create small changes that add up. Today I want to introduce an approach to sprinkle throughout your day. This is something I have written about before, but never optioned it as something to actively informally do in this way. So, today try and bring a beginner's mind to various tasks or activities that lie before you. What does this mean?" More...

6 Common Mistakes that Contribute to Crisis
posted by Christy Matta, M.A. on Jul 29th 2010
"There are as many ways to relate to the world as there are people in the world. Each person has an individual set of characteristics, personality traits and learned responses that together make up the way that they interpret and respond to the world around them. Regardless of your natural style of approach to the world, when you're facing challenges, making important decisions or experiencing a big life event, avoiding these common mistakes can prevent problems." More...

Someone to Talk to: Psychotherapy as Secular Pastoral Care
posted by Robert "Bob" Fancher, Ph.D. on Jul 28th 2010
"When we're in emotional trouble, and our friends and family get to their wits' end with trying to help us, they're likely to say, "Do you think maybe you should, um, well, you know, talk to someone?" That's a curious phrase, don't you think? After all, we've been talking to the very folks who say it. And they obviously know that. So why the phrase, "Talk to someone"? The word "talk" must have some special meaning in this phrase." More...

Self-Efficacy
posted by William Dubin, Ph.D. on Jul 28th 2010
"In contrast to ordinary language in which a word may mean different things to different individuals, a technical term has a single definition. Self-Efficacy refers to the expectation that one can master the challenge. "I can fix any computer problem" is an example of the confident expectation of a person with high self-efficacy in that domain. That same person may have low self-efficacy in another domain: "I am a nerd and will probably be socially awkward at the party."" More...