Author
Steven J. Hendlin, Ph.D.
8 articles
My “Best Practices” in Psychotherapy: Part I
As I write this, I am 75 ½ years old, doing psychotherapy part-time, and coming off the highest practice income month ever in the history of my 50-year career. I continue to find the work captivating and meaningful. As one of my graduate school professors, the renowned psychiatrist Viktor Frankl, M.D., used to remind us, […]
Steven J. Hendlin, Ph.D.
October 14, 2024
My “Best Practices” in Psychotherapy: Part II
Techniques: Weaving and Blending Surface and Depth I have found it a powerful combination to utilize both pointing out and working with surface behaviors as they occur and alternatively, interpreting unconscious dynamics as appropriate. The surface—what is happening in the present as the patient presents themself—blended with making conscious what has been unconscious, may work […]
Steven J. Hendlin, Ph.D.
October 14, 2024
Comments on Doing Video Psychotherapy
It has been about two and a half years since the beginning of COVID, which mandated the suspension of in-person psychotherapy contact, forced the rapid closing of offices, and ushered in a mass migration to video psychotherapy. For some colleagues, the change has become permanent, as they have terminated their physical office leases and are […]
Steven J. Hendlin, Ph.D.
September 1, 2022
Remembering Ram Dass
What a wonderful parting gift Ram Dass (also known as Richard Alpert, PhD) has given us with his memoir, Being Ram Dass (Dass & Das, 2021). For those “of a certain age” who know of his life and work, this book takes you knee-deep into the juicy details of the stages of his personal and […]
Steven J. Hendlin, Ph.D.
March 1, 2021
3 Cognitive Distortions of Being Present-Centered
There are three basic cognitive distortions related to the notion of “living in the moment” or “being present-centered” that surface as a result of the popular culture embracing the value of mindfulness (Hendlin, 2017). I want to briefly describe them, indicating what makes them distortions, or misunderstandings, of the most dynamic and meaningful form of […]
Steven J. Hendlin, Ph.D.
June 3, 2018
A Flash of Academic Brilliance by a Late Bloomer
J. (1) grew up in an upper-middle class suburban setting. As a child, both parents repeatedly claimed to be college graduates. But J. discovered online as an adult that his father, despite being an accomplished multi-sport athlete on scholarship, had dropped out before completing his final year. Both parents encouraged J. and his siblings to […]
Steven J. Hendlin, Ph.D.
October 24, 2017
Meditation and the Mindfulness Trend in Psychotherapy
Adding to the neurological research findings on the benefits of meditation, a recent study found that long-term meditators who are age 50 and older have a younger brain age than non-meditators (Luders, Cherbuin, & Gaser, 2016). Using a validated approach based on high-dimensional pattern recognition, brains of meditators were found to be 7.5 years younger […]
Steven J. Hendlin, Ph.D.
January 27, 2017
7 Ways to Be More Mindful
The incorporation of a Westernized and decontextualized version of mindfulness into psychotherapy over the last two decades has been a significant trend, while for a hip segment of the popular culture, it has become nothing less than a rage. Although not yet as ubiquitous in the marketplace as yoga, it is certainly nipping at its […]
Steven J. Hendlin, Ph.D.
July 31, 2016