MyShrink...the website for therapy.

Hello, my name is Dr. Suzanne LaCombe. I am inviting all mental health practitioners and professionals to help me promote the benefits of counseling and psychotherapy through my website, MyShrink.com.

In exchange, I would like to offer you the opportunity to create a free web page (or free link to your website) on MyShrink.

Why hasn't therapy caught on?

In my view, psychotherapists and the work they do are vastly undervalued in the eyes of the public--even by therapists themselves!

In fact, I believe that personal coaching practitioners have made inroads into areas of personal development where psychotherapists should be dominating. After all, therapists are regarded as experts on personal change, aren't they?

Most clients tend to think of using therapy to reduce specific, negative symptoms. Yet, I believe as a profession we have failed to educate them on the power of psychotherapy to enhance one's life in general.

Most of my friends are in therapy, as am I. We may have initially gravitated to therapy because of our symptoms but we remain because we want to make our lives better. Yet, the idea that therapy can be used to enhance and expand life is by and large unknown.

There are a few reasons for this, I believe.

First of all, life often "conspires in our favour" (in oddly challenging ways) and we do not know for instance, how our lives might have been if we hadn't gone to therapy in the first place. It is very likely that the challenges we encounter after therapy are more easily faced because of the emotional hurdles we have already overcome.

Many of us suspect this to be the case. However, we have no substantive research to illustrate this because we don't have a baseline control to measure against.

Secondly, and related to the first reason above, the way the brain changes as we change, makes it very difficult to track progress. The brain accommodates with each step forward we take. It adjusts the baseline against which future change is measured. This is one of the reasons that therapists should regularly track their clients' progress. (See Tracking Your Progress)

Thirdly, the health insurance industry, government bureaucracies (here and in the U.S.) and the media, all overvalue the role of pharmaceuticals and undervalue the impact of psychotherapy.

In fact, it is my hope that MyShrink may right this inbalance.

Let's step out together.

Counseling and psychotherapy is making a difference in people's lives. It's time we let the world know. I feel as a profession we have been too quiet, too polite about our successes.

One of the ways I am hoping to promote the benefits of psychotherapy is by educating the public about the work that goes on in therapy. Through articles about real issues people face in therapy and answering questions of my visitors, I hope to remove some of the misconceptions about it

How is MyShrink different from other mental health sites?

The intent has been to normalize counseling by directly addressing the stereotypes and prejudices people commonly hold about it. For instance, the name "shrink" is often used in a negative, pejorative way in our culture but I feel it can easily be used in our favour. By playing on the word "shrink" in a humourous way, we claim ownership and in doing so, remove some of the "sting".

Myshrink Features

• You may have noticed that content on MyShrink is heavily weighted towards the application of established neuroscience principles. This provides a way to describe symptoms and the process of change in a way that reduces the stigma of therapy and normalizes its processes.
• Rarely are the words, "mental illness" "disorders" or "pathology" used. DSM diagnostic labels have been kept to a minimum. Only terms familiar to mainstream society are used (eg. OCD, SAD, PTSD).
• There is a strong emphasis on the mind-body connection and an recognition of the close relationship between emotion and illness. We believe that with more consumer education, counseling will be seen as a credible alternative, non-drug option for health and well-being.
• There is a recognition that one's spiritual condition is an important aspect of overall health.
  

Special Note

You might notice I use the term "counseling" where "psychotherapy" would have been a better choice. The reason I do so is that "counseling" is more familiar to the general public, and therfore is less stigmatizing.

MyShrink...changing the way we see therapy!

Two well-known practitioners/researchers reflect MyShrink's view on how change occurs in psychotherapy:

Pat Ogden gave a talk at the Trauma, Attachment and the Body Conference, June 22, 2006, Vancouver, BC. Her comment expresses the approach that respects and honors our clients' journey:

...the therapist and client "...study what is going on [for the client] not as disease or something to be rid of, but in an effort to help the client become conscious of how experience is managed and how the capacity for experience can be expanded. The whole endeavor is more fun and play rather than work, and it is motivated by curiosity rather than fear." Kurtz, 1990, p. 111.

Roz Carroll gave a short talk at the 7th UKCP Professional Conference on 'Revolutionary Connections: Psychotherapy and Neuroscience, September 9th, 2001. Her concluding remarks eloquently express the philosophy behind much of the content on MyShrink:

• "In conclusion, I suggest that neuroscience can nourish psychotherapy...developmental neuroscience is accumulating further evidence that we cannot isolate human psychological function from its somatic foundation and from the network of relationships in which it has been formed and is embedded.
• "I believe that neuroscience can be on our side in the argument that people literally need people, that psychotherapy needs due time for its process, and that simple statistical facts cannot adequately represent complex effects of psychotherapy.

You can access her whole article here:

Thinking Through the Body

You can help promote psychotherapy and counseling

Let's take the mystery out of therapy and get people excited how it can improve people's lives! If you share these same sentiments, I invite you to play a role in getting the message out.

I am offering several ways to be involved. As an incentive I offer a free web page and/or link to your website in exchange for your helping MyShrink promote the benefits of therapy. (here's an example link for a reviewer)

You can contribute in many ways:

1. Answering questions posted by MyShrink visitors (i.e. in post-a-comments in Therapy Lingo articles). I receive many more posts than I could possibly respond to myself.
   
2. Submitting original content (eg. articles, book/research/website reviews, posting on the forums).
3. Participating in the Facial Expresssion Test (where therapists serve as experts for identifying facial expressions)
   
4. Being a guest writer in our newsletter, MyTherapyWorks. Not only is this newsletter sent out to all on our mailing list but it is also posted live on a blog. MyTherapyWorks focuses on the impact of events/holidays/anniversaries etc. on our lives.
   
5. And, other ways you can think of!
   

If you already have your own web site I'll include a backlink to your site (e.g. from the article you've edited) which will increase your site's traffic and search ranking.

What's involved in creating your free web page?

It all depends on you and how organized you are with your information. I'll host your web page for two years, but you'll have to create and edit your practice details.

So, if you like to be involved drop me a line at I'd love to hear from you.

P.S. If you would like to learn more about MyShrink please visit the About MyShrink section.

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