by Joel Blackstock LICSW-S MSW PIP no. 4135C-S | Dec 28, 2025 | Psychotherapy Biographies: Historical Figures in the History of Psychology
Two weeks before her wedding in 1988, Diane Poole Heller suffered a terrible car accident that left her with a traumatic brain injury and overwhelming trauma symptoms. What could have been simply a devastating personal tragedy instead became the catalyst for a...
by Joel Blackstock LICSW-S MSW PIP no. 4135C-S | Dec 28, 2025 | Psychotherapy Biographies: Historical Figures in the History of Psychology
For over forty years in private practice, Laurence Heller, PhD, observed a pattern that traditional trauma therapy failed to address. Clients who had experienced early childhood trauma—neglect, abuse, emotional unavailability, or chaotic caregiving—didn’t just...
by Joel Blackstock LICSW-S MSW PIP no. 4135C-S | Dec 28, 2025 | Psychotherapy Biographies: Historical Figures in the History of Psychology, Therapeutic Approaches and Techniques for Therapists, Therapy and Crisis Intervention for College Students in Alabama
In 1981, Judith Lewis Herman published a book that would be called “a landmark study” and “one of the most important works of the decade”: Father-Daughter Incest. Based on extensive research including interviews with forty incest survivors and...
by Joel Blackstock LICSW-S MSW PIP no. 4135C-S | Dec 26, 2025 | Uncategorized
Most of us know the classic trauma responses: Fight (aggression) and Flight (avoidance). We even know Freeze (shutting down). But there is a fourth response that is often missed because it looks so polite: Fawn. This is the “people pleaser” response. It is...
by Joel Blackstock LICSW-S MSW PIP no. 4135C-S | Oct 23, 2025 | Brainspotting in Alabama: Revolutionary Trauma Therapy for Deep Healing, Mental Health and Trauma Therapy in Alabama, Therapy Resources for Alabama
When Trauma Is Not a Single Event For many, the word “trauma” conjures images of a single, devastating event: a car accident, a natural disaster, a combat experience. While these are undoubtedly traumatic, there is another form of suffering, one that is...
by Joel Blackstock LICSW-S MSW PIP no. 4135C-S | Jun 9, 2025 | Brainspotting in Alabama: Revolutionary Trauma Therapy for Deep Healing, Evidence Based Practice in Therapy, Executive and Physician Burnout, Psychology Topics and Articles
The Complex Reality of EMDR in Clinical Practice Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) occupies a unique and controversial position in the landscape of trauma therapy. While some practitioners report remarkable results, researchers often express...
by Joel Blackstock LICSW-S MSW PIP no. 4135C-S | Apr 30, 2025 | Psychology Topics and Articles, Recovering from Abuse
Understanding the Lasting Impacts of Toxic Relationships The double bind theory, first proposed by Gregory Bateson and his colleagues in the 1950s, describes a type of dysfunctional communication and relationship pattern that can have devastating psychological...
by Joel Blackstock LICSW-S MSW PIP no. 4135C-S | Feb 4, 2025 | Psychology Topics and Articles, Recovering from Abuse
“Faustus: Stay, Mephistophilis, and tell me, what good will my soul do thy lord? Mephistophilis: Enlarge his kingdom. Faustus: Is that the reason why he tempts us thus? Mephistophilis: Solamen miseris socios habuisse doloris. (It is a comfort to the wretched to...
by Joel Blackstock LICSW-S MSW PIP no. 4135C-S | Feb 3, 2025 | Psychology Topics and Articles, Recovering from Abuse
How Can you Heal Narcissistic Abuse in Therapy? “I care for myself. The more solitary, the more friendless, the more unsustained I am, the more I will respect myself.” -Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë Narcissistic abuse is a form of emotional and...
