How to Read Your Emotions Part I: Don’t Judge a Book by Its Cover

Sometimes when you first start having a feeling, your brain will very quickly make up its mind that the emotion is somehow dangerous or bad. Then it tries to escape from the emotion or control the emotion by turning your attention elsewhere and getting you to do something that makes the emotion go away. Because … Read more

What Exactly is Insomnia? (and what you can do about it)

People can experience many difficulties with sleep throughout their lives.  Some people are often told by their parents that even as small children they were never “good sleepers.” Some people experience issues with sleep following a stressful or traumatic event in their life.  Sometimes issues with sleep just seem to come out of nowhere.  However people … Read more

CNN Article on Religious-Themed OCD (aka Scrupulosity)

CNN featured a nice article on a lesser known subtype of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)–Scrupulosity. This involves religious-themed obsessions, such as fear of blaspheming, fear of going to hell, or a sense that you are inherently bad. Rates of OCD are no higher in more orthodox religious communities, but rates of scrupulosity are, which provides an … Read more

A Yale Graduate Student’s Account of Her Struggle to Find Effective Treatment for OCD

At Portland Psychotherapy, we are passionate about offering evidence-based treatment and promoting training in effective treatments to other professionals. I recently came across this opinion piece by a Yale graduate student recounting her struggles to find effective treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). I think this article offers both a good description of some of the … Read more

What Makes Us Unique

Portland Psychotherapy is a clinic, research & training center with a unique business model that funds scientific research. This results in a team of therapists who are exceptionally well-trained and knowledgeable about their areas of specialty.