We all do it. Whether it’s the MTA, our significant other, or the weather, we love to complain about it. Some of us complain more than others; it almost seems as if complaining is at the center of our identity. You know who I’m talking about. That coworker, who, no mat...

With the holidays and end of year upon us, everyone wants a break. We’re tired. 2017 was a difficult, intense year for many of us personally and as Americans, collectively as well.

When I think of taking a break, I imagine taking time off, lying on a beach, recuperating...

Recently, I was listening to a Sounds True podcast in which Linda Graham, author of Bouncing Back: Rewiring the Brain for Maximum Resilience, was describing some findings from neuroscience about how babies see and experience the world. It turns out the preverbal infant...

“All things appear and disappear because of the concurrence of causes and conditions. Nothing ever exists entirely alone; everything is in relation to everything else.”
- Buddha
 

As a therapist, I’m clearly interested in what gives rise to mental health issues and emot...

In my last post, I wrote about how the ACT model of therapy creates the conditions for growth and healing. I thought it would be useful to spend my next few blogs writing specifically about each component of the ACT approach in more detail. The 3 main components of ACT...

I’m in love with my smart phone.

There; I said it.

“Love?” You might ask. “Really?”

Really.

The other night, I couldn’t find my phone. It was time for bed, and my phone was nowhere to be found. I tried calling it from my ostensibly obsolete landline, but since I always hav...

I have a contentious complainer that lives inside my head, who is really good at pointing out everything that is “bad” about everything. When my inner critic is the only inner voice I listen to, I feel grumpy, reactive, stuck and judgmental.

Sound familiar?

It turns out...

by Jody Ripplinger MA LMHC

Anyone living in New York would agree this is one of the most fast-paced, aggressive, competitive and impersonal cities in the world. Yes, we New Yorkers are notoriously driven. If we weren’t born in New York, we gravitated here because we fel...

The other day, I was passing through one of those quaint East Village gardens on a sunny afternoon and paused at a small patch of wildflowers that seemed especially happy about the warm weather. These flowers were about 10 inches tall, bright yellow, and literally quiv...

New York City is one of the most bustling and challenging cities in the world, so it makes sense that many people struggle with navigating life here. But with a small shift in perspective, what you might think makes living here difficult may also be the key to your own...