Off the Couch

Thoughts about the therapeutic process, and the dynamics of client-therapist interactions.

F. Diane Barth L.C.S.W.

After a Breakup: Putting Yourself Back Together

One of the least recognized but potentially most destructive aspects of a breakup is the damage to your sense of who you are. How do you find yourself?

Your Kid Isn't Perfect? Maybe That's Not So Bad

We’re reading all of these books about parenting, but what happens to our child if we can’t be the kinds of parents they say we should be?

Why It's Important Not to Know Everything

A colleague recently commented that a student psychotherapist he was supervising seemed to think he was supposed to know everything. "What does he think training is for, then?"

What Makes Someone Support a Bully?

Often bullies don't act alone. Who supports them, and why? Social psychology and Freud offer some interesting answers.

Helpless and Hopeless—Signs of More Than Depression

If you are feeling helpless and hopeless in response to world events, you are not alone. But there are some things you can do.

How Important Is a Psychiatric Diagnosis?

The question of psychiatric diagnosis has long been a confusing one. A new study suggests that they are actually not useful. Why?

Are You Self-Critical?

You might use self-criticism to motivate yourself to change. But research says it can backfire, making us feel less motivated instead. What to do?

Change Can Be Hard: This Simple Act Can Help

From a distance, change often looks easy. And it can be. It can also be exciting and challenging. But up close it can sometimes be distressing.

Self-Care Is Important: Why Is It So Hard to Practice?

Self-care sounds obvious. Self-compassion can make you healthier, stronger, and more successful. But it's neither simple nor easy. Why? And what can you do about it?

Whose Fault Is It?

How you manage the difference between something that happened to you and something you did can impact your self-confidence, well-being, and general satisfaction in life.

Everybody Needs Boundaries: 6 Ways to Make Them Work for You

Here are six simple steps to healthier boundaries.

Can Women and Men Be "Just Friends?"—3 Ways to Make It Work

As men and women spend more time together, it's important to find ways to cross the divide.

Mothers and Adult Daughters: Building a Healthy Relationship

Although mother-daughter relationships are often idealized in our minds, in reality they are frequently complex, varied, and surprisingly complicated.  

Do You Look for the Negative Even When Good Things Happen?

Do negative thoughts interfere with your ability to enjoy the good things in your life? You can make those thoughts work for you, not against you.

Forgiving and Not Forgiving Can Both Affect Your Health

Most of us have been hurt in big and small ways. How do you decide whether or not to forgive the other person? And how do you forgive yourself?

Is Loneliness Making You Sick?

Recent research confirms that loneliness increases the risk of poor health—and even premature death. But overcoming loneliness is not about changing who you are.

For Better Family Conversations, Lose These 3 Behaviors

The three techniques that often backfire when you’re trying to motivate a child or change a person’s behavior.

Selfish or Generous? Science Explains Which Is Better

Is it always good to be generous and giving? Is selfishness always bad?

Do You Ever Feel Like a Fraud?

Did you know that highly successful professionals in every field sometimes worry about being frauds? See what you can do if you suffer from this problem as well.

Can Empathy Be Taught?

Why do so many people do things we can’t understand and that we would never do? And what can we do about it?

4 Ways to Get Through Any Life Change

You should be happy and excited to make positive changes in your life, right? So why do you feel so stressed?

Why Is It So Hard to Change?

While it’s hard enough to figure out why we behave in certain ways, it’s even harder to change those old behavior patterns.

Why We Love to Hate Whistleblowers

Why are women and men who report wrongdoing attacked instead of praised? Psychology explains.

Problem to Solve? You Never Imagined It Could Be So Easy

Facing a problem that you just can’t solve? If so, you’re not alone.

Do Men and Women Do Friendship Differently?

Just how different are friendships between men and women?

Need New Friends? Don’t Know How to Make Them?

Some of us make friends easily, almost without effort, while others find it much harder. Here are 6 ideas to make it easier.

Congratulations, You’ve Graduated! Now What?

Graduation has traditionally been anxiety-provoking. But this year’s class faces particularly difficult times. Some suggestions for how to move forward.

Keeping a Journal Can Be Good for Your Emotional Health

Are you feeling sad? Angry? Happy? Excited? Bored? Writing down what’s going on in your life can change your mood and even improve your health.

Disappointment Hurts. What Can You Do About It?

Do you fear disappointment so much that you actually change your behavior just so that you won’t have to feel it? Research says you can change this instead.

7 Ways to Fight Debilitating Shame

Most of us try our best to hide our shame, and the behavior that led to it, from others, and even from ourselves. Here are some better ways to cope.