by Joel Blackstock LICSW-S MSW PIP no. 4135C-S | Dec 7, 2025 | Alabama Local History, Psychology of History
The Hidden Psychology of Mountain Brook’s Missing Sidewalks: How Infrastructure Designs Isolation If you’ve ever tried to walk in Mountain Brook, you’ve noticed something odd: there are no sidewalks. Or very few. You might assume this is just wealthy...
by Joel Blackstock LICSW-S MSW PIP no. 4135C-S | Dec 7, 2025 | Alabama Local History, Psychology of History
Highway 280: The Psychological Bypass How Birmingham’s Suburbs Built Infrastructure to Avoid the City Every day, thousands of people commute along Highway 280, connecting Vestavia Hills to Mountain Brook to Homewood to Inverness to Greystone. It’s...
by Joel Blackstock LICSW-S MSW PIP no. 4135C-S | Nov 18, 2025 | Design Psychology, Psychology of Buildings and Architecture, Psychology of History
Architecture as Archaeological Layer of the Mind When we examine Birmingham, Alabama’s built environment, we witness something far more profound than a catalog of buildings and styles. We observe the materialization of a collective psyche, a city’s...
by Joel Blackstock LICSW-S MSW PIP no. 4135C-S | Aug 13, 2024 | Brainspotting in Alabama: Revolutionary Trauma Therapy for Deep Healing, Therapy Resources, Tips and Tools, Trauma Treatment in Alabama, Trauma, Depth Psychology, and Social Work
Taproot: Birmingham’s Brainspotting Pioneers Are you struggling with complex PTSD, dissociative disorders, or treatment-resistant trauma? Brainspotting therapy at Taproot in Vestavia Hills, Alabama offers a powerful, brain-based path to healing. Our therapists...
by Joel Blackstock LICSW-S MSW PIP no. 4135C-S | Aug 12, 2024 | Executive and Physician Burnout, Therapy Resources, Tips and Tools
Encouraging Physicians to Seek Mental Health Support The stigma surrounding mental health in the medical community is a significant barrier preventing physicians from seeking the support they need. Despite the high prevalence of mental health challenges among...
by Joel Blackstock LICSW-S MSW PIP no. 4135C-S | Aug 9, 2024 | Evidence Based Practice in Therapy, Guided Meditations for Therapy, Recovering from Abuse, Therapy Resources, Tips and Tools, Understanding Neurodivergence and Neurodiversity in Therapy
Executive Summary: The Neuroscience of Meditation The Clinical Definition: Meditation is not merely “relaxation”; it is a form of self-directed neuroplasticity. It is the rigorous mental training of attention regulation, body awareness, and emotion...
by Joel Blackstock LICSW-S MSW PIP no. 4135C-S | Aug 9, 2024 | Recovering from Abuse, Therapy Resources, Tips and Tools
Executive Summary: The Neurobiology of Nutrition The Core Question: Can diet cure depression? While “cure” is a strong word, clinical trials (like the SMILES trial) confirm that diet is a foundational treatment for major depressive disorder. Food is not...
by Joel Blackstock LICSW-S MSW PIP no. 4135C-S | Aug 9, 2024 | Therapy Resources, Tips and Tools
Executive Summary: The Neurobiology of Hope The Scientific Reality: The “Static Brain” dogma is dead. Research from 2024-2026 confirms that the adult brain is not fixed; it is a dynamic, electrical ecosystem capable of radical structural remodeling until...
by Joel Blackstock LICSW-S MSW PIP no. 4135C-S | Aug 9, 2024 | Evidence Based Practice in Therapy, Recovering from Abuse, Therapy Resources, Tips and Tools, Understanding Neurodivergence and Neurodiversity in Therapy
Executive Summary: The Science of Brain Repair The Core Discovery: Until the 1990s, scientists believed adults could not grow new brain cells. We now know that Adult Neurogenesis occurs daily in the Dentate Gyrus of the Hippocampus. You are constantly...
by Joel Blackstock LICSW-S MSW PIP no. 4135C-S | Aug 9, 2024 | Recovering from Abuse, Self Help and Personal Development, Therapy Resources, Tips and Tools, Trauma Treatment in Alabama, Trauma, Depth Psychology, and Social Work
Executive Summary: The Science of Thinking Traps The Clinical Definition: Cognitive Distortions are not “crazy” thoughts; they are evolutionary mental shortcuts (heuristics) that have become maladaptive. They are the brain’s attempt to predict the...
