Dr. Gabor Maté is a Vancouver physician who has written extensively on trauma and addiction. He has done a lot to raise awareness of the plight of those suffering from substance addiction here in B.C. and I admire his work tremendously. However, he is not beyond critique. In particular his account of ADHD as a…
Have you ever thought about trying therapy but been concerned about getting drawn into a long-drawn-out therapeutic process? Well it turns out that your instincts are probably correct. There is now a body of evidence to suggest that Long-Drawn-Out-Therapy (LDOT) is not especially effective. Most gains (including lasting gains) come in the first few sessions of therapy. This…
Ride the Sushi Train of the Mind My daughter used to love those restaurants where sushi dishes paraded past on a little train track. Long-time Edmontonions may remember that there used to be one in WEM. In this new video, Russ Harris uses the sushi train as a beautiful metaphor for the relationship that we all…
An Acceptance and Commitment metaphor Suppose you are taking a hike in the mountains. You know how mountain trials are constructed, especially if the slopes are steep. They wind back and forth; often have “switchbacks”, which make you literally walk back and forth, and sometimes a trail will even drop back to below a level…
Problem gaming? Consider a dopamine detox. Problems with excessive video game use are very common for ADHD folks. In theory, they are rooted in a dopamine-based cycle: But it may only take three days of abstinence to change the cycle!
The Difficult Art of Self-Compassion “To survive in this high-pressured, crazy world, most of us have to become highly adept at self-criticism. We learn how to tell ourselves off for our failures, and for not working hard or smart enough. But so good are we at this that we’re sometimes in danger of falling prey…
