http://www.counselinginchicago.com Exploring counseling & psychotherapy, what works, and the research that supports it. Bill Martin, LCSW 312-409-0632 Bmartin222@aol.com Tue, 09 Mar 2010 22:40:45 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Understanding the function of mirror neurons helps us understand why  others' intense emotional catharsis during large group awareness programs is such a powerful experience for those witnessing. In many ways, it is like the witness is also experiencing the same powerful emotional "remembering." This also leads us to explore the potential for ... http://www.counselinginchicago.com/2009/12/30/what-are-mirror-neurons/ Read an absolutely fascinating (if you're interested in mirror neurons! :) article about the importance of mirror neurons.Read the article here. http://www.counselinginchicago.com/2009/11/24/the-role-of-mirror-neurons-in-empathy-mind-reading-and-language-learning/ A Columbia University research project using functional MRI scanning has mapped the two brain systems responsible for empathic accuracy, the parietal and premotor cortex.These two brain systems help humans understand the intentions of simple gestures, interpret the meaning of those gestures and place them into context.The researchers used a group ... http://www.counselinginchicago.com/2009/11/23/the-neural-bases-of-empathic-accuracy-an-article-by-psychology-professors-kevin-oschner-and-niall-bolger-graduate-student-jamil-zaki-and-research-assistant-jochen-weber-at-columbia-university-publishe/ Monkeys like to eat and drink like the rest of us, but the research results about the power of empathy are fascinating.The monkeys starve themselves rather than subject other monkeys to experience the pain of electric shock.Pretty remarkable and says a lot about why children go to great lengths to ... http://www.counselinginchicago.com/2009/11/17/empathy-will-a-monkey-in-a-research-project-pull-a-chain-to-get-food-or-starve-himself-because-pulling-the-chain-also-causes-another-monkey-to-experience-electric-shocks/ Just for a moment, remember the last time you gazed into your lovers eyes and felt the hot passion of love. Maybe your heart seemed to tingle, your face was flush, and you could tell that they really loved you and you loved them back.This is called the physiology of ... http://www.counselinginchicago.com/2009/11/09/limbic-resonance-why-our-eyes-really-are-the-windows-to-our-souls/ I am writing to suggest a caution about "searching for abuse memories" generally and any "trance" based method, such as guided imagery, hypnosis, past-life regression, or age-regression therapy specifically.It is widely held science now that any therapist led search for abuse memories is not recommended. Hypnosis, imagery, past-life or age ... http://www.counselinginchicago.com/2009/11/05/no-you-should-not-use-hypnosis-guided-imagery-or-other-trance-type-therapy-to-recover-abuse-memories/ Read about it here. http://www.counselinginchicago.com/2009/11/05/colleen-conaway-committed-suicide-while-attending-a-james-ray-seminar-in-san-diego-2/ A video of Reynolds talking about his gullibility and feelings of betrayal by James Arthur Ray. Watch it here. http://www.counselinginchicago.com/2009/11/05/mickey-reynolds-caught-up-in-the-james-ray-%e2%80%9cmovement%e2%80%9d-as-a-%e2%80%9ccoach-and-team-leader%e2%80%9d-and-how-ray-betrayed-his-trust/ Read his article here.If you carefully evaluate the structure of his words and sentences, you will see that he is appealing to the ultra conservative, wealthy Americans who probably hate people on welfare.Ray takes some very, very cheap shots at people on welfare, as well as people who are sick, ... http://www.counselinginchicago.com/2009/11/05/james-arthur-ray-read-his-hostile-and-ignorant-views-toward-welfare-and-health-care-reform-and-his-message-of-extreme-personal-accountability-for-everyone-else/ A well known self help guru is being investigated in the sweat lodge deaths of two participants of his four day large group training in Arizona. Click here for details. http://www.counselinginchicago.com/2009/11/05/james-arthur-ray-sweat-lodge-deaths-and-large-group-awareness-trainings/