Therapy - for how long?

In a recent article in the Sunday Review entitled “In Therapy Forever?” Jonathan Alpert equated long therapy with bad therapy. While some people might agree with his point of view and find that short, focused therapy works well for them, Alpert's article fails to recognize mental diversity. In rebuttal, Deborah L. Cabaniss, a director of psychotherapy training at Columbia University, makes a good analogy: changing the way “we think about ourselves, relate to others, or deal with stress” is like trying to lose or keep off extra weight. As with physical habits, breaking mental ones can take a long time. After all, it probably took time to develop them in the first place!Read the entire article here: Is Quick Therapy the Best Therapy?

HIV-status and government regulation

A recent case in Sweden of a 31-year-old woman being sentenced to one-and-a-half years in prison for not disclosing her HIV-positive status to her partner prior to engaging in unprotected sex brought up some interesting issues about the criminalization of HIV transmission. It seems odd that consensual sex between adults should be brought under government control. Even worse, these regulations may discourage people from wanting find out about their HIV-status, since if the potential offender is unaware he or she is HIV-positive, that individual is not subject to criminal sanctions. This law has not reduced the spread of the disease and contributes significantly to further stigmatization of those living with HIV or AIDS.Read the entire article here: Is Criminalization of HIV Transmission Effective? Swedish Case Reveals Why the Answer Is No

Emotional Fitness

We all know how important physical fitness is to our body's health, but the term “emotional fitness” isn't quite as common. Emotional fitness keeps our relationships healthy by creating stronger, more nurturing bonds. What kinds of exercise keeps our emotions “in shape”? Barton Goldsmith, PhD says that sharing new experiences strengthens a relationship, as does striving for mutual goals, providing emotional support, and having constant, honest communication. Even if you and your loved one have been together a long time, don't forget the bedroom! Physical connectedness also helps maintain stronger emotional ties.Read the entire article here: 10 Ways to Nurture Your Relationship

Communication Success Tips

Communicating is an integral part of maintaining a healthy, working relationship. However, as we all probably know, this can be quite difficult. It is easy to fall into habits of ineffective communication, so it is helpful to recognize what kinds of statements could be causing problems. “You-directive” statements like “you need to ___” or “you have___” sound judgmental or commanding and have a tendency to generate negative responses. Don't make it personal. Instead of generalizing or ordering, discuss the person's specific actions, not his or her overall character. Focusing on what the listener is doing wrong makes it hard to move in a more positive direction.Read the entire article here: Are You a Poor Communicator? Stop the Damage and Improve Relationships

Women and Stress

Do you often find yourself preparing a meal, doing laundry, writing emails, and talking on the phone all at once? Women especially have many roles to fill, both at home and in the workplace. While this hones multitasking skills, overly-high expectations can be a major source of stress. When it is impossible to finish everything perfectly, women need to remember to stand back and praise the work they did instead of criticizing themselves for what they weren’t able to get to. Don’t wait to be an empty-nester or for retirement:  living a less stressful life can start right away. Live in the present and learn to think positively.Read the entire article here: Women and Stress: Be Kind to Yourself

Who’s talking? Women’s rights

I’d like to share this local article with you. Susan B. Levy, Executive Director of Boulder Valley Women’s Health Center writes about the current political debate on women’s healthcare.  Levy asks women to speak up about these issues. She cites some controversial claims, such as the Wisconsin legislator who believes women who suffer domestic abuse should just “deal with it.” She offers a rebuttal with useful facts about unwanted pregnancies to suggest that taxpayer spending would actually be increased if access to birth control and safe abortions were denied, because of poverty among single mothers and low educational attainment for both mother and child. Levy asks women to speak up about these issues.Read the entire article here: Reclaiming the Conversation

Thinking about open marriages

A recent 20/20 feature on open marriages sparked interest in this lifestyle. An open marriage can reduce pressure on spouses to continue to “spice things up” in the bedroom or to fulfill other expectations. But is having your cake and eating it too, right for you? If this is a last-ditch attempt to save your marriage, maybe not. Research on this kind of relationship shows that they have met with limited success, since the term “open marriage” means different things to different people. If this is a lifestyle that interests you and your spouse, having a mutual agreement that spells out exactly what this means to each of you would be key in making it work.

Read the entire article here: Open Marriage: It’s Intriguing But It's So Not For Me

Cognitive Therapy Course Creates Calm

In today’s fast-paced world and tough economy, the mind and body are put under a lot of stress. Too often we become so concerned about the future or regretful over the past that we are unable to think constructively and actually resolve the worrisome issues. To help individuals learn to cope better with difficult situations, the Priory Hospital Brighton and Hove offers a new Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy course. This eight-week meditation and therapy program promotes the ability to live in the present and think clearly through expert guidance and support in a structured group environment.Read the entire article here: Priory launches new Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy course

Making your marriage work

The high divorce rate in America suggests that couples don't know how to stay connected over significant periods of time. A new book, The Best Workout is “Sex”: A Gay Guide to Your Ideal Marriage, gives tips for same- and opposite- sex couples to build strong, lasting relationships. The authors are a married gay couple and they feel the gay community can offer good relationship advice to everyone, since there are many gay couples who have managed to stay together “for ages […] in the face of adversity.” Their number one tip? Work out with your partner through sex.Read the entire article here: The Best Workout Is “Sex”: 10 Tips for Creating Your Ideal Marriage

“Marriage capital of the world” sued for same-sex marriage ban

Lambda Legal was founded in 1973 and claims to be the oldest legal advocate for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and HIV-positive Americans. Today they are fighting to overturn Nevada's constitutional ban on gay marriage that has been in effect since 2002. 2009 saw a domestic partnership law, giving same-sex partners the same responsibilities as married couples, but without all of the same rights. Since domestic partnership “lacks the same reputation” as marriage, same-sex couples and their children are treated as second-class citizens. The specific couples involved in the suit claim to have been discriminated against by hospital staff and police because they are not legally considered spouses.Read the entire article here: Gay rights group sues Nevada for the same-sex marriage

Boulder County organic farm uses Rastafari principles

In addition to offering you valuable information from national publications, I also like to share interesting local stories. Here’s one about Boulder County’s Regional Agriculture Supply (RAS) Farms. Located in Lafayette, this one-acre farm grows organic fruits and vegetables based on Rastafari principles. Rastafarians are often associated with dreadlocks and Bob Marley, but there’s a lot more to this faith. Halie Selassie I, former emperor of Ethiopia and holy Rastafarian figure considered farming sacred. And one of the core Rasta principles is that food should be natural.  Farmers Adam and Alizah Loovis believe in an energy they feel from the land and have been selling their lovingly grown produce at the Boulder Farmers Market since 2004.Read the entire article here: Boulder County’s RAS Farms uses Rastafari principles

Native American women and healthcare

Did you know that Native American women are more likely to experience sexual violence than many other groups of women? Approximately one in three will experience rape. Yet these women are often denied legal justice -or even access to emergency contraceptives.  Native American women are the only group denied contraceptives based on race. Change.org has created a petition to demand that IHS (Indian Health Service) providers make emergency contraceptives available to women without a prescription or doctor visit. Putting these decisions in the hands of a government agency effectively takes away a woman’s right to make decisions about her own health.Read the entire article here: Sign on to Support Native American Women’s Access to Emergency Contraception

Different Shapes, Sizes, and Colors: The Wide Range of Normal Vulvas

A lot of self-confidence issues that put pressure on a relationship are related to physical appearance. This is a big intimacy issue for many women who are used to seeing unrealistic airbrushed  images of “perfect” bodies everywhere from advertisements to pornography. Pornography is the only visual source for many women of female genitalia. This often leads to confusion and doubt about their own bodies, if they don’t seem to quite match up to these models. Sex ed classes rarely bring up the issue, and plastic surgery websites offer erroneous information.. It is important for people to know what real genitals look like, so they’ll feel comfortable being intimate with their partner.Read the entire article here: Different Shapes, Sizes, and Colors: The Wide Range of Normal Vulvas

Improving the Odds for Successful Second Marriages

Many people who have experienced an unpleasant divorce experience qualms about entering into another marriage. Divorce counseling can help you understand what didn’t work and why, so that you won’t worry about having the same things go wrong again in the future. With the tools to help you navigate issues that impacted your previous marriage, you will have more self-confidence in future relationships. Although it may be tempting to rush into “rebound” relationships, really take the time to discover common interests and values between you and your new partner. Be in the habit of openly discussing what is important to you; relationships built on compromise could become rocky later on.Read the entire article here: Improving the Odds for Successful Second Marriages

Your Brain, Your Lover and Your Health

Is your relationship having an effect on your brain? You’ve probably heard it said that who we are is shaped by our life experiences. But did you know there’s a growing field of scientific research, called interpersonal neurobiology, dedicated to studying how our loved ones affect our brain tissue? New “functional” MRI scans show that bad break-ups trigger the same parts of the brain that are triggered by physical pain. Getting support from others –and giving it – lights up the brain’s reward and pleasure sensors. It can even diminish the sensation of pain: a woman looking at a picture of herself and her husband during labor experienced considerably less pain!Read the entire article here: Your Brain, Your Lover and Your Health

Unmarried Couples With Children Face Different Challenges

In America today, 22% of first-born children are born to unwed parents. While this is a great testament to rising acceptance of non-traditional lifestyles, it is important for unmarried couples to evaluate their legal status when they begin planning a family. The state doesn’t have legal mechanisms to recognize your relationship, no matter how committed you are to one another. It’s a good idea to pre-arrange things like estate planning, mutual home-ownership, and child custody that would otherwise fall under state court jurisdiction. Leaving the “yours, mine, and ours,” question unresolved can put unnecessary strain on your relationship.Read the entire article here: Unmarried Couples With Children Face Different Challenges