Michael Karson Ph.D., J.D.

About

Michael Karson, Ph.D., J.D., is a retired professor from the University of Denver's Graduate School of Professional Psychology, but he practiced clinical and forensic psychology for 25 years before entering academia. He is the sole or first author of six books, including What Every Therapist Needs to Know, Patterns of Child Abuse: How Dysfunctional Transactions are Replicated in Individuals, Families, and the Child Welfare System; Deadly Therapy: Lessons in Liveliness from Theater and Performance Theory; and Using Early Memories in Psychotherapy: Roadmaps to Presenting Problems and Treatment Impasses.

Books by Michael Karson Ph.D., J.D.

Recent Posts

Can You Rate Your Marriage if You’re Bad at Marriage?

The skills that improve your relationship are the same ones needed to evaluate it.

Does Your Therapist Wonder Why You Said What You Said?

Good therapists are acutely attuned to their patients' reactions to what happens in therapy, and they explore those reactions together to keep the relationship on track.

Inside a Case of Couple's Therapy

Distinguishing a relationship both want from the patterns they typically veer into.

Burnout Among Therapists in Trying Times

It’s depressing to believe that the world is a bad place. Here are some healthier ways that therapists can respond instead.

Should Your Therapist Look Like You?

Explore the patient’s expectations of therapy to avoid a misalliance around how alike the patient and therapist are.

Secondary Gains From Psychotherapy

Good therapy resolves psychological conflicts that interfere with productive living, and it does a lot of other good as well.

Is Your Therapist a Model of Certainty?

Self-righteous therapists may claim either that they are right or that you are right without exploring the context or complexity of the issue.

A Theory for Marital Conflict

Therapy can help couples examine their unconscious putdowns and coordinate their personal narratives in a way that elevates both partners.

The Destructive Fantasy of Finding a Soulmate

The practices suppressed by searching for a soulmate are the cornerstones of relational satisfaction.

The Problems With Helicopter Therapists

The cure for coddling is not more coddling.