The short answer : I’m a shrink and I like to talk psychology.

For the first twenty years of my career, I was a researcher and university professor. I published more than 50 research papers and chapters in edited books on the topics of postpartum depression, depression, childhood sexual abuse, and marital distress, and I co-edited an academic book which brought together relationship researchers interested in treating distressed couples and families.  Then in 2007, I changed my life.  The first thing that happened is that I published a book about women’s depression, A Secret Sadness. Using research and clinical examples from my practice, I described how women’s depression is linked to their relationships with their parents, romantic partners and children, and I laid out the treatment plan that guides my clinical work. The second thing that happened is that I moved to Vancouver and set up a private practice with my colleague, Dr. Janny Thompson. In my therapy practice, I help women and men who struggle with depression and/or who want to recover from early childhood victimization. I also work with couples to help them create close, loving relationships.

As much as I love therapy, I continue to be fascinated by research, and that is the purpose of this blog.  Here I talk about what I’m reading about relationships, depression, interpersonal victimization or psychotherapy, and, using clinical examples from my practice, I make these ideas accessible to a wide range of readers.  Sometimes I’m inspired by something I read in the newspaper.  Sometimes I’m intrigued about what I see in my clients, and I want to find out what other therapists and researchers think.  Whatever the initial motivation, my goal is to talk about relationships in ways that make sense to the people who have them.