by Joel Blackstock LICSW-S MSW PIP no. 4135C-S | Mar 7, 2026 | Self Help and Personal Development, Understanding Neurodivergence and Neurodiversity in Therapy
Here is a pattern I see constantly in clinical practice: an autistic client accurately identifies an injustice at work, in their family, or in society. They name it clearly. They expect others to recognize the obvious problem and act accordingly. Instead,...
by Joel Blackstock LICSW-S MSW PIP no. 4135C-S | Mar 6, 2026 | Philosophy for Therapists
Something is wrong, and everyone can feel it. My patients describe it in different ways. A pervasive sense that nothing means anything. A feeling that the world has become incomprehensible. The structures they were told to trust have revealed themselves as hollow. The...
by Joel Blackstock LICSW-S MSW PIP no. 4135C-S | Mar 6, 2026 | History of Psychotherapy
The Crisis That Created the DSM Before 1980, American psychiatry was dominated by psychoanalysis. Diagnosis was secondary, almost administrative. The clinician’s task was understanding the patient’s underlying psychological mechanisms and unique narrative....
by Joel Blackstock LICSW-S MSW PIP no. 4135C-S | Mar 4, 2026 | Legal Updates for Therapists and Psychologists, Mental Health and Psychotherapy Resources in Alabama, Mental Health and Trauma Therapy in Alabama
Your Medical Records Disappeared. Now What? Imagine walking into your therapist’s office or your doctor’s clinic and hearing five words that stop you cold: “We can’t find your records.” Not misplaced in a filing cabinet somewhere. Not...
by Joel Blackstock LICSW-S MSW PIP no. 4135C-S | Mar 4, 2026 | Legal Updates for Therapists and Psychologists, Mental Health and Psychotherapy Resources in Alabama, Mental Health and Trauma Therapy in Alabama, Therapy Resources for Alabama
When Your Patient’s PTSD Treatment Becomes a Felony: What Alabama Therapists Need to Know About HB445 Disclaimer: I am a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker, not an attorney. Nothing in this article constitutes legal advice, and it should not be relied...
by Joel Blackstock LICSW-S MSW PIP no. 4135C-S | Mar 4, 2026 | Neuroscience and the Brain for Therapists, Psychology
You’re sitting across from a patient. They’re talking about something ordinary. Scheduling conflicts. Work stress. Nothing obviously emotional. And then you feel it. A heaviness in your chest. A tightness in your throat. Something is coming. Thirty seconds...
by Joel Blackstock LICSW-S MSW PIP no. 4135C-S | Mar 4, 2026 | Alternative Medicine and Holistic Health, Evidence Based Practice in Therapy, Legal Updates for Therapists and Psychologists, Psychology
In 2014, a researcher in India thought the word “Hola.” Five thousand miles away, in France, another person perceived a flash of light in their peripheral vision. Then another. Then nothing. Then another flash. The pattern meant something. The receiver...
by Joel Blackstock LICSW-S MSW PIP no. 4135C-S | Feb 25, 2026 | Psychology of History
I’ve been a trauma therapist for over a decade, and I’ve noticed something strange happening in the last few years. My patients aren’t just coming in with anxiety or depression or PTSD. They’re coming in with something harder to name—a...
by Joel Blackstock LICSW-S MSW PIP no. 4135C-S | Feb 25, 2026 | Mental Health and Psychotherapy Resources in Alabama, Mental Health and Trauma Therapy in Alabama
When the Screens Go Dark: What Hospital Cyberattacks Reveal About Our Collective Dependence on Systems We Cannot Control A recent episode of HBO’s The Pitt dramatized what thousands of real healthcare workers have already lived through—and what it teaches us about...
by Joel Blackstock LICSW-S MSW PIP no. 4135C-S | Feb 23, 2026 | Mythology and Therapy, Psychology Book Reviews and Non Fiction, Psychology of Media and Culture
Who was John Gardner? John Gardner’s “Grendel” is a postmodern retelling of the Old English epic poem “Beowulf,” which explores themes of existentialism, nihilism, and the nature of evil through the eyes of the titular monster. Published...
