Howard Brockman, LCSW is one of the top psychotherapists and counselors in Salem Oregon for over 32 years. Howard has authored two popular books: Dynamic Energetic Healing and Essential Self-Care for Caregivers and Helpers. To learn more about Howard Brockman, please visit the full bio.
Some people have strong personalities and are direct in their communication. They can often be interpreted as domineering, aggressive, confrontational, demanding, hostile, or even abusive. How DO YOU take care of yourself when dealing with this personality type? Don’t take… Read More »How To Deal With Difficult And Aggressive People
Are you considering making an appointment for counseling or psychotherapy? Are you ready or vacillating? Psychology Today has a 16-question self-test to help you determine your readiness for a first appointment. It will take you about 10-minutes but it could… Read More »Mental Health Self-Test
Is psychotherapy falling away to the evolving new “life-enhancing” drugs that science is now promoting for improving our well-being? Is it actually more effective to take your daily pills instead of confronting the challenges of daily life with curiosity and… Read More »Psychotherapy or Psychiatry?
The following article from the Daily Beast describes new research that indicates proper diet and exercise significantly eliminates the chances for developing the dreaded brain disease. Check out this link. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/08/22/why-we-can-and-must-focus-on-preventing-alzheimer-s.html. Posted by Howard Brockman, LCSW August 22, 2013
There is a great deal of current research about how various meditation practices actually change the brain in positive ways. This is incredibly exciting and with the help of functional brain scans, researchers can see in real time what parts of the brain are stimulated and calmed through these practices. Parts of the brain related to higher brain function have been measured and have actually increased in size from these meditation practices. This is called neuroplasticity.
Some meditation practices teach how to concentrate on one specific image or mantra to help focus the mind. An important and emerging meditation technique is associated with Buddhism and is called Mindfulness. It is actually being integrated into many Western psychology practices not just because of its effectiveness but because it does not require people to embrace a belief system different from what they already have. Read More »Depression, Mindfulness and the Inner Critic
“Transformation is my favorite game and in my experience, anger and frustration are the result of you not being authentic somewhere in your life or with someone in your life. Being fake about anything creates a block inside of you.… Read More »The Challenge to Being Authentic
When couples make an appointment there are usually several themes that keep recirculating in their relationship. Often the presenting issue is identified as communication problems. What does this mean? Generally, there are conflicts that keep persisting such that a pattern… Read More »Couple and Relationship Counseling
Counseling and psychotherapy is really all about becoming successful. Let me give you some examples.
If a person suffers from test anxiety and mentally freezes up during an exam, there is usually an underlying belief that is sabotaging good test results. Why was this belief generated, and how did it become persistent? The job of a good therapist is to find out and help the client to change this so the person becomes successful.
If a person cannot sustain a loving and mutually respectful adult relationship, there are usually underlying beliefs accompanied by some negative or traumatic experiences that are reinforcing the limiting beliefs sabotaging his or her relationships. Read More »Why Counseling?
I was in a session with a client last week and the topic of spiritual work came up. My client suggested he was not doing enough to further himself spiritually. He has a very big and responsible job and a family at home who he loves spending time with. Naturally, time is the biggest issue for him because there is so little discretionary time available with all of his responsibilities. I suggested that there is a way to shape one’s consciousness but that of course takes intent and the subsequent practice. As we got deeper into this I remembered studying the Laws of Manu, a supplement to the Indian Vedas, considered the most sacred of the Hindu scriptures. Though there is much about the social norms of religious life discussed in this volume (surmised to have been written about 500 BC), what I recall most prominently is a description of a way to structure one’s life in four 25-year increments
Core shamanic practices are thousands of years old and are enjoying a current renaissance along with renewed interest all over the world today. For Westerners, it is often a stretch to not just consider but embrace this ancient healing art as legitimate. Part of this reason is because since the early 1900s, there has been a migration from the rural farming orientation that was this country’s foundation to the growing cities for factory work. This social trend was a significant shift away from what had been a centuries old relationship to nature that suddenly was becoming fractured. Most of us became “citified” as urban centers of commerce proliferated and the small family farm began its long decline. The reason this matters is because shamanism is really a nature-based relationship to life and the world. Read More »Consider Shamanic Counseling