The Difference Between Letting Go and Giving Up
Letting go and giving up look almost identical from the outside and feel completely different inside. A Carlsbad psychologist on acceptance, resignation, and the line between them.
Category
Self-help
Practical self-help articles from the licensed psychologists at Coastal Therapy Group in Carlsbad, Encinitas & Vista, CA.
The archive
10 essays.
Splitting in psychology: why the mind sees all good or all bad
Splitting is the mind's habit of seeing people, including yourself, as all good or all bad, with no middle. Sean Noe, PhD explains where the defense comes from, what it protects, and how therapy helps it soften.
Cognitive Defusion: How to Stop Believing Everything Your Mind Says
Cognitive defusion is the ACT skill of seeing a thought as just a thought. A Carlsbad psychologist explains what fusion costs you, what defusion feels like, and a few ways to practice it.
What Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Actually Is, From Inside the Room
Acceptance and commitment therapy, explained from inside the room. A Carlsbad psychologist on what ACT actually is, how the six processes work in real sessions, and who it tends to help.
Defense mechanisms, explained in plain language
Defense mechanisms are the mind's automatic ways of protecting itself from feelings that seem too dangerous to feel. Sean Noe, PhD explains splitting, projection, repression, and more in plain language.
Can AI Replace Therapy? Why a Digital Face Will Never Be Human
Psychologist Reid Kessler, Psy.D. explains why AI chatbots can't replicate the therapeutic relationship, drawing on Bion, Winnicott, Benjamin, and Harlow's research. Coastal Therapy Group, North County San Diego.
What Words Cannot Hold: A Therapist's Reflections on Emotional Awareness
A psychotherapist reflects on how a Broadway show revealed the power of nonverbal emotional experience and what it teaches us about the connection between our bodies, feelings, and the moments when words fall short.
To Give Advice or Not To Give Advice: How To Be Present With Our Loved Ones In Their Suffering
Being present with our loved ones in their suffering can be difficult. This post explores how advice giving can impact our loved ones who are in pain.
Ways To Support Your Partner With Depression
How do you help a partner with depression without burning out or making it worse? A San Diego psychologist on presence over solutions, and four ways to support someone you love.
Why Is My Anxiety Getting Worse?
Anxiety that keeps getting worse is usually anxiety that has been managed but never understood. Dr. Reid Kessler on why hiding it compounds it, and the step that actually brings it down.