Patrick Duiven, Psy.D

01/28/2023

His third eye is open now, he’s woke

12/05/2019

Serious depression affects 15-20% of the population at some point in their lives.
Here's a reminder of the major signs indicating a need for help:

It’s natural to feel down or anxious from time to time. What’s not natural, however, is prolonged feelings of hopelessness and despair. When these emotions grab hold, and won’t let go, it is likely you may have depression. Depression makes every day a constant challenge. You no longer enjoy li...

11/28/2019

A Timely Post For A Common Problem This Time Of Year:

For many of us, spending time with family can be a grab bag of emotions. While you may feel love and familiarity, there’s also decades-long dynamics between you and your family members that may not be the most healthy. Your family might treat you like the teenager they remember, and you might reve...

11/18/2019

Here's a common sense overview of how therapy can help you work through anxiety:

Millions of people deal with stress and anxiety on a daily basis. Whether it’s a result of phobias, depressions, or post-traumatic stress, anxiety can take a toll on our mind and health. If you deal with anxiety you most likely have looked into ways you can help calm your emotional rollercoaster. ...

11/12/2019

Possibly my edgiest post yet:

There’s an important aspect of psychotherapy that can best be explained by referring to the physical phenomenon of quantum entanglement (I can imagine some readers here thinking, “Wait….what?”). Let me explain. Quantum entanglement refers to a well demonstrated process in which two particles...

11/05/2019

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is currently getting a lot of attention among mental health professionals, as well as in the main stream media. Here's an overview of what it is, exactly:

Post-Traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric disorder that typically occurs after individuals have experienced or witnessed a traumatic event such as a serious accident, natural disaster, a terrorist act, war/combat, r**e or other violent personal assault. In the past, PTSD went by differe...

10/22/2019

On the Importance of an Atmosphere of "Presence" in Psychotherapy:

In this post, I’d like to describe an important element of psychotherapy that is not often talked about explicitly. I’m referring to the therapist’s ability to maintain what Eckhart Tolle calls the state of presence. This is a state of alert stillness with no tension, which is healing in and o...

10/14/2019

Social anxiety can be especially uncomfortable and crippling on the job. Here's an exploration of how to reduce it and it's impact:

According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, 15 million U.S. Americans, or 6.8% of the population, suffers from Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD). SAD, also sometimes referred to as social phobia, is an intense fear of social situations. The sufferer believes they could become humilia...

08/29/2019

We are reading and hearing about the benefits of meditation everywhere these days. Here's a description of it in it's deepest form, what Jeff Foster calls "pure fascination with this moment, exactly as it is":

With patients who are interested in doing so, I often recommend meditation as an adjunct to the work we are doing in therapy.

08/16/2019

Here's a good article on the link between chronic illness and depression:

If you are suffering from a chronic illness, you are not alone. Almost half of the population in the United States is currently battling some form of chronic physical illness. In fact, chronic illness is the number one driver of healthcare costs in America. Some of the most prevalent examples of chr...

08/01/2019

Most of us are a combination of introvert and extrovert ("ambiverts", technically). Here's an interesting description of what might be a specific type of ambivert:

Are you one of those people who has never quite felt like an introvert but are definitely not an extrovert? Have you read descriptions of either personality and thought, “Mmmm, close, but not quite?” If so, you might be what is called an extroverted introvert (EI). Extroverted introverts, also c...