It's been no secret that I've been working on relaunching my primary website, The Toolbox at LisaKiftTherapy.com - the goal to create a more streamlined, easier to navigate, social networking accessible, comment enabled version of it's former self. Additionally, I'll be moving my various blogs to this new site - including this one.
Notes from a Therapist's Chair: The Therapy and Counseling Blog is my "O.B" (original blog) and started out as the home of my mental health and relationship articles, etc - but over time became more commentary on various topics related to therapy and counseling - and as of late, more discussion about therapist-related topics.
I haven't found any other blogs out there "for therapists" so when this moves to it's new home in The Toolbox, my plan is that it will be specifically for commentary and dialogue intended for those in the business of therapy and counseling. Being that the rest of site will contain a lot of the information that was originally intended for my readers, I figure everyone will be fine with the change.
Any thoughts on this plan? Good? Bad? Indifferent?
Thanks!
Lisa
The Therapy and Counseling Blog: A Blog for Therapists?
The Therapy and Counseling Blog: Therapists, the Internet and Social Networking
Isn't it amazing how much the internet has impacted therapists?
I'm talking about the way we operate in marketing (yes, therapists now "market) and often times, practice running (many offer phone and online therapy.) Personally, I've been very active online the last several years and have created somewhat of a presence in my niche through my articles, resources website (The Toolbox at LisaKiftTherapy.com), therapy eworkbooks and other venues. It's been an interesting shift from "the therapist behind the curtain" to someone is the general public has an opportunity to know more about, which I believe isn't such a bad thing (with certain limitations of course). I am always mindful of "the line" but also feel that being authentic resonates more with people.
Then there's social networking. I'm curious to know if any therapists out there with Facebook accounts have had clients attempt to befriend you there. I have - and I've had to carefully draw the line. I recently created a separate Facebook page for my website, in case people want to stay connected that way. But again, it's always a conundrum to figure out how to "walk the line."
And Twitter. That's a serious phenomenon, another that I'm active on. I "tweet" about various mental health and relationship topics as well as add in a few personal musings about this and that.
Perhaps if I didn't have side business related to my therapy practice (the workbooks and other paid writing gigs), it would be easier for me to know how to operate in this landscape. But I find myself alternating between my "therapist" hat - and my "business" hat...which by the way, all therapists might want to consider having as well if you want to survive in this economy (unless you thrive on referrals alone and if so, good for you!).
I would love to hear what other therapist/counselor types think about this topic.
Lisa Brookes Kift, MFT
The Toolbox at LisaKiftTherapy.com
Private Practice www.marintherapyandcounseling.com
Follow me on Twitter!
Connect with me on Facebook!
Network with me on LinkedIn!
Michael Jackson - the man, his childhood and a "tortured soul"
The recent passing of Michael Jackson inspired me to write several posts for my Examiner.com column about him in an attempt to shift away from the "drama" and media frenzy (and likely much more to come) - to who he was as a human being shaped by his experiences.
Being a therapist with a practice focus of family of origin work, I couldn't help but take a strongly empathic position - which is I know is different from many. I know it can sometimes be hard to separate a person's "behavior" from who they really are but I'd like to think that those who have been readers of this blog (therapists and non-therapists alike) would appreciate my "take" - so I hope you enjoy the following:
Michael Jackson - The Man
Michael Jackson - What's His Childhood Got to Do With It?
Michael Jackson - A "tortured, tortured soul..."
Feedback always welcome!
Lisa Brookes Kift, MFT
The Toolbox: Resources for Emotional and Relationship Health
Private Practice: www.marintherapyandcounseling.com
The Therapy and Counseling Blog: Update on Lisa Brookes Kift
I had a reader ask me about how things have been going since my move from San Diego so I thought this would be a good opportunity to give everyone an update - especially considering the fact that my posts have been so few and far between!
Things have been going really well. I still do some phone work with a few of my San Diego clients but for the most part I'm working face-to-face with couples and individuals here now. I think face-to-face work is ideal though phone sessions can be useful, particularly if you've already established a therapeutic relationship. I'm grateful to say that my private practice is almost at capacity! Hopefully things will stay fairly busy over the summer - which can often be really slow.
I have been working very hard on my other site, The Toolbox at LisaKiftTherapy.com - not to be confused with www.marintherapyandcounseling, which is my local Marin private practice site. The Toolbox is my mental health and relationship resources website and has been a labor of love over the last three-plus years. What started out as a place for all of my articles and writing has grown to include articles by other professionals, a place where people can ask me relationship advice questions directly (entertainment only - no therapy) and many other features including Therapy-At-Home Workbooks(TM) which I currently have two:
The Premarital Counseling Workbook for Couples and The Marriage Refresher Course for Couples.
I am in the process of a huge revamp of this site which is pulling together all of my online pieces (including this blog) into one place that I can more easily manage and has social networking features, etc. I'm really excited for it to be finished! But gosh, has it been a lot of work! I will let you know when it's done so you can have a look!
As this blog has grown, more therapists have written and commented, which I love. Being in private practice can be isolating and I hope this can become a place for therapist interraction and where I will post more and more from that perpective. At some point, this will have it's home in The Toolbox as well - still trying to figure out all the complications around how to do all of this moving.
Life is good - I'm very happy living here. I grew up in Marin and always wanted to move back to firmly plant roots with my family. I'm so grateful that we've been able to do that and be near my family and old, dear friends.
Be well - and I'll keep you posted!
Lisa
The Importance of Emotional Safety in Children
I had a "first" with my two year old. He woke up in the middle of the night and said he was "scared" and wanted to "sleep with mama." I let him into our bed and he proceeded to hold onto one of my fingers most of the night. I felt a surge of connectedness to him that left me breathless. It was beautiful to know my son felt safe lying next to me grasping my hand, to soothe whatever anxiety he felt from a bad dream or whatever it was.
This experience got me thinking about a favorite topic of mine, "emotional safety." My husband and I have created an environment for him where he clearly feels very safe. He knows his emotional needs will be met and he is securely attached. So many people I work with don't have a foundation of emotional safety created for them as children.
Children who don't have emotional safety often end up as adults who struggle in their relationships with others - and themselves. This doesn't mean that old wounds such as this can't be healed - this is a special area of my therapy practice and one particularly close to my heart, as I too was a child who did not feel emotionally safe or securely attached to my primary caregivers. And I've spent time in my own life sitting in front of a therapist to work through some of that.
Often times people aren't initially aware that they didn't have emotional safety as children - yet some aspect of this issue plays out in their lives as adults who have sought therapy to figure out, "What's going on here??"
A question I often pose to try to go a little deeper with my clients and is a good one to ask yourself if you're unsure if you had "emotional safety" is:
"What did you need but didn't get from your mother or father?"
I'm so happy to know that my son Cooper feels this type of safety. The first two years of life are critical for the emotional and psychological development of children. They begin to form belief systems around their relationship to self, others and the world around them.
Read more about "emotional safety" in my article in The Toolbox at LisaKiftTherapy.com called Healthy Relationships: Assessing the Emotional Safety .
Warm Regards,
Lisa
Lisa Brookes Kift, MFT
The Mental Health and Relationship Toolbox
Private practice in San Rafael, CA. at www.marintherapyandcounseling.com
The Therapy and Counseling Blog: Work, Family and Life
As I continue to struggle to stay active on this blog, I'm musing about the curious balance of work, family and life and general for me as a wife, mother, therapist, writer and businesswoman. I suppose I keep throwing up more balls than I can juggle. Such is my personality I suppose.
I wanted to share the current goings on in the various areas I'm speaking of:
Work: I'm grateful to say, my therapy practice has been very active over the last few months. I'm seeing a number of individuals and couples who never cease to stop to amaze, challenge and remind me why I do what I do. In the online piece of my business world, I'm about to begin a major transition of my current site, The Toolbox at LisaKiftTherapy.com to a more user friendly and manageable modality. I've been spending huge amounts of time researching a number of thing associated with that. Once it's complete, I will continue to create more "Therapy-At-Home Workbooks" for couples and possibly individuals as well. My Premarital Counseling Workbook for Couples has been doing quite well and I'm proud of it. I'm excited about the future in both aspects of my work.
Family: My husband and I are happy since moving from San Diego back up to Marin County (north of San Francisco) where I grew up. Our son, Cooper, just turned two this past weekend. It's been amazing to watch this little boy grow - and he is so much fun.
Life: Life is great - I'm near family, old friends and in a beautiful area. I play in a co-ed volleyball league every week which I love - as well as get runs and gym workouts in when I can. Fitness has always been important to me.
Thank you all for being a part of my experience with this blog. Like I've mentioned, this is the oldest of my blogs. When I transition my other site, I may also move this but it will still live on - either in the same home or a new one. Not sure yet - trying to streamline a lot of things in my life, that's for sure!
Regards,
Lisa
www.marintherapyandcounseling.com
www.lisakifttherapy.com
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