Josh Dodes, Licensed Psychotherapist

On this World Mental Health Day, a reminder that mental health issues should never be taboo, and that psychotherapy is a brave, important, self-compassionate step that can create lasting change in your life and relationships. I am available to help if you need it.

Psychology Today invited me to guest-post on my psychoanalyst father's longtime PT blog, "The Heart of Addiction." If you know people who might fit the description in this piece, please feel free to share it with them.

I'm proud to announce the availability of my father Lance Dodes's new online course, "A New Clinical Perspective on Addiction." My father is an eminent psychiatrist and psychoanalyst whose psychodynamic approach to addiction has saved countless lives. Please check out the below site and share it with anyone who might be interested. The course is designed especially for therapists but is open to anyone who wants to better understand the topic.

We live in a society that seems stricken with mirror-image epidemics: narcissism and low self-esteem. In this age of selfie sticks and endless image-crafting, it can seem as if everyone is either hopelessly self-obsessed or desperate for affirmationor both. But true self-esteem issues tend to run far deeper than simply wearing masks on social media, and the effects of low self-esteem can be broadly destructive. [ 151 more words. ] http://philadelphiapsychotherapist.com/therapy-for-low-sel/

Photo by Marks Studios.

One of my jobs as a specialist in depression therapy is to help my patients make sense not only of the depression, but of the constellation of coping behaviors that have developed alongside it. It’s not unusual for people with depression to hide their despair from friends, loved ones and family, even if the act of hiding makes the depression even worse. [ 232 more words. ] http://philadelphiapsychotherapist.com/how-depression-ther/

I wrote recently about the strong link between parental pressure to achieve, and a sense of emptiness that can develop in pressured children as they grow. One consequence of a childhood spent living up to the lofty expectations of parents is that high-achieving children often internalize the idea that achievement is the lever they must press to receive a pellet of love. [ 181 more words. ] http://philadelphiapsychotherapist.com/when-parenting-pres/

A growing number of media outlets have begun highlighting a concerning rise in adolescents' and young adults' feelings of emptiness and despair. Some articles have bemoaned the rise of teacup kids. Many others have pointed toward a growing suicide rate as evidence of a troubling trajectory. This recent piece in the New York Times is a knockout, relaying the story of one young woman’s struggles with suicidal ideation, as a touchpoint to explore deeper issues of perfectionism, high expectations and the various pressures of social media. [ 312 more words. ] http://philadelphiapsychotherapist.com/perfectionism-and-t/

It is becoming more common for people who are well into their fifties, sixties and beyond to seek out psychotherapy, even if conventional wisdom holds that their busiest years may be behind them. The struggles of later ages can be somewhat quieter, of course, but they are no less powerful. One of the most common surrounds the notion of death, both as a real event and as a source of anxiety. [ 160 more words. ] http://philadelphiapsychotherapist.com/why-therapy-for-per/

One of the primary goals of my job as a Philadelphia psychotherapist is to help patients search for the causes of their distress. Psychodynamic therapy is especially well suited to this task, because it is principally concerned with rooting out the unique personal experiences that may have given rise to the patterns and behaviors which hold us back in the present day. [ 221 more words. ] http://philadelphiapsychotherapist.com/anxiety-therapy-in-/

Depression and anxiety hold us back, diminish our horizons, and in extreme cases, can end our lives. Since these are two of the most common issues in our culture, patients are constantly on the lookout for better ways to manage the overwhelming feelings they precipitate. Conventional therapy remains the best-known treatment for depression and anxiety, of course, but now technology has begun to make some inroads. [ 232 more words. ] http://philadelphiapsychotherapist.com/depression-therapy-/