The Therapist Is In

Everything you need to know about psychotherapy.

Mark Sichel is a psychotherapist in New York City and the author of Healing from Family Rifts. See full bio

July 15, 2008

Music Soothes the Soul

Music is often overlooked as a therapeutic intervention: singing, listening, and creating music of any kind will provide an immediate biological and psychological benefit for everyone. In fact, music can be a salvation and antidote to most psychological challenges: that’s why people sing in the shower and while driving the car, or simply listen to music that’s inspiring and distracting from emotional upset. Read More

June 18, 2008

Family Estrangement in the News: "Life with My Sister, Madonna"

Last week the New York Post featured an announcement of the publication of “Life with My Sister, Madonna”
by the Material Girl’s brother, Christopher Ciccone. “Brutal, graphic, and devastating are among the descriptives of this tale of family estrangement. The buzz spread quickly in the media and given the public’s obsession with celebrity, the book is already on its way to being a best seller.
Read More

June 11, 2008

Spike and Clint on the Playground

We can always count on Hollywood to spark our attention and this week's attention grabber is the very public feud between Spike Lee and Clint Eastwood. The two stars engaged in a very public feud over Lee's criticism that Eastwood ignored black soldiers in his World War II film Flags of Our Fathers. Eastwood eloquently and maturely responded to Lee's criticism, stating that the director should "shut his face," to which Lee reminded Eastwood that "we are not on a plantation." What would have happened if a therapist had intervened? Read More

June 1, 2008

The New Math: SHE + HE = WE

As a society, we've grown to believe that a full delineation of complaints, judgments and indictments will stimulate changes that lead to a more satisfying relationship. If, however, we get off our individual platforms and stop self-righteous preaching toward our partner, we're freed up to focus on the WE, which is the overriding concern when people are looking to achieve satisfaction in their close relationships. The most direct route to behave and think in a way that benefits the two of you as a couple, a team, is to be guided by the concept of "When in doubt, take the high road." How do we get on the high road, especially when we're in the midst of a battle with our mate? The answer may seem elusive, but it's actually very simple. When you choose to make your relationship better, you'll think about what is best for the two of you. When the WE takes precedence over SHE, HE, OR ME everyone wins. Read More

May 29, 2008

Dr. Birdbrain's Therapies

Welcome to my blog and thank you for stopping by. To introduce myself, I’m going to tell you about the Dr. Birdbrain case. Dr. Birdbrain is anything but bird-brained. She’s an accomplished 45-year-old woman who was a reporter in Latin America, professor of journalism at a prestigious university, and long time political and environmental activist. Dr. B’s treatment has paralleled how therapy practice has changed in the twenty first century.