There are reasons for using labels. They can be very useful, in an elemental way. To label something is to identify it and categorize it, which makes it easier to talk about, and therefore easier to share. Labels can promote intimacy and community, and when more and more people agree on the usefulness of a
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Many people grow up following a cultural life script: you go to school, get a job, marry your one true love and start a family. Happily Ever After! At least, that’s a common scenario many cultures, based on heteronormativity, have historically supported. But as many of us grow up, we realize that that version of
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Navigating Valentine’s Day can be tricky, especially if you’re single, or if your relationship falls outside the margins of heteronormative monogamy. As the 14th approaches, you might feel like you can’t escape ads selling jewelry by reinforcing the gender binary or promotions trying to push pricey dinner dates for two. But, even as you feel
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Jacque Pfeifer, MAMFT is one of four therapists to join LifeWorks this year through the Green House, our postgraduate psychotherapy training and mentoring program. What first drew you to the Green House? Initially, I was drawn to the Green House program because I am passionate about working with marginalized communities, especially the non-monogamy and LGBTQ communities. As
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Meryl Morris, LCSW is one of four therapists to join LifeWorks this year through the Green House, our postgraduate psychotherapy training and mentoring program. What first drew you to the Greenhouse? I first became aware of LifeWorks after meeting Rami Henrich and Cindy Trawinski at the 2015 Alternative Sexualities Conference. They invited me to a KPACT
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Jo Flannery, AMFT, MA Sexology, is one of four therapists to join LifeWorks this year through the Greenhouse, our postgraduate psychotherapy training and mentoring program. The Greenhouse provides new clinicians with opportunities to develop their identities as therapists, deepen their skills and unique strengths, and expand their cultural competence through hands-on experience and educational modules.Click
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As therapists, we recognize our ethical obligations to know and acknowledge the limits of our training and skills. We know that our expertise grows over time with experience and supervision, training, reading, dialogue and further training. These activities contribute to our mastery of specialized areas, methods or skills. But what about cultural competence? How do
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The pain is our pain. It is the wound in the world and we are of the world. I know that all moments, across the whole of humanity, are occasions of suffering and joy, beyond my scope. I suppose that when a blow lands so close to heart and home, the perimeter I hold
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ORLANDO SHOOTING JUNE 11, 2016 When I think Orlando, I think of sun filled days, blue skies, parents and grandparents offering up days of fun and excitement, showering their children with the time of their lives at Disney World. But from yesterday on, I will think of Orlando in a different way. I will think
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Allison Burque, LCSW, is one of four therapists working with LifeWorks this year through the Greenhouse, our postgraduate psychotherapy training and mentoring program. The Greenhouse provides new clinicians with opportunities to develop their identities as therapists, deepen their skills and unique strengths, and expand their cultural knowledge through hands-on experience and educational modules. Learn more
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Brandon Haydon, LSW, is one of four Greenhouse therapists on staff at LifeWorks in 2016. Below he shares some of his hopes and goals for the year. LifeWorks: What first drew you to the Greenhouse and LifeWorks? Brandon: I have had the privilege of familiarizing myself with Lifeworks over the last 5 years through their
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LifeWorks is proud to announce that the first Greenhouse cohort is underway. Four new therapists have joined our team for 2016. Please welcome Brandon Haydon, LSW, Allison Burque, LCSW, Natalie A. Hock, MSW, and Jo Flannery, AMFT, MA! The Greenhouse is a postgraduate psychotherapy training and mentorship program developed and sponsored by LifeWorks. The program
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No one is immune from bias, not even us therapists! Everyone has bias. Therapist bias takes many forms, especially with regards to clients’ sexuality, gender, erotic orientation, etc… Bias ranges from misinformed opinions about BDSM to confusing polyamory with infidelity to other subtle perceptions, beliefs and attitudes. Bias is a part of us all and
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by Cindy Trawinski, Psy.D. & Rami Henrich, LCSW Bias influences all of us — even therapists. In fact, one 2011 study indicates that as many as 50% of clients identifying as polyamorous had seen therapists that they felt lacked cultural competency or were biased. Meanwhile, a 2006 study by Drs. Keely Kolmes, Wendy Stock, and
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