Fear of Abandonment in Therapy: A Guide for Therapists
A therapist-focused guide to fear of abandonment: what may be driving it, what to assess, differential diagnosis, treatment approaches, and how it can show up in the therapy relationship.
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Treatment Planning That Actually Guides Treatment
Treatment plans are both a clinical requirement and an administrative one — but most of them are written to satisfy the second without serving the first. A guide to writing treatment plans that guide real clinical work.
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When to Break Confidentiality: The Three Exceptions Every Therapist Needs to Know
Confidentiality has three major exceptions: mandatory reporting, duty to protect, and imminent danger to self. A clinical guide to each one — what triggers it, what it requires, and how to tell the client.
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Is This Depression or Burnout? How Therapists Can Tell Them Apart
Depression and burnout share symptoms but respond to different interventions. Treating burnout as clinical depression pathologizes a contextual response. Missing depression as burnout means a client does not get the care they need. A clinical guide to the distinction.
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Termination Readiness: How to Know When a Client Is Ready to End Therapy
Termination is one of the least standardized parts of therapy — no clear criteria, no dashboard to check. A clinical guide to assessing readiness, handling the client who is leaving too soon, and making endings matter.
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Is This Trauma? How to Distinguish PTSD, Adjustment Disorder, and Complex Trauma
“Trauma” is used loosely in clinical settings and culture. A clinical guide to distinguishing PTSD from acute stress, adjustment disorder, complex trauma, and the presentations that do not meet full criteria but are just as real.
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Suicide Risk Assessment: What the Conversation Actually Sounds Like
Suicide risk assessment is not a checklist — it is a clinical conversation that generates a formulation. A guide to the seven domains, what each one tells you, and how to translate them into a risk level and response.
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When a Crisis Happens in Session: What to Do and in What Order
An in-session crisis requires a specific clinical response in a specific order. A guide to recognizing what kind of crisis you are in, what to do first, and how to close the session and follow up.
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Is This a Rupture? How to Tell What Went Wrong in a Therapy Session
Something felt off after a session — but you are not sure if it was a rupture, the client’s pattern, transference, or a slow drift in the alliance. A clinical guide to reading what happened and responding accurately.
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When to Refer Out: The Clinical Decision Most Therapists Make Too Late
Referral decisions are one of the hardest clinical calls in outpatient practice, and one of the least taught. A clinical guide to the five referral questions every therapist needs to be asking regularly.