This time of year often brings a mix of emotions. Excitement for festive gatherings, nostalgia for past celebrations, and perhaps a touch of anxiety about navigating family dynamics. It also offers a unique opportunity to reflect on the importance of communication, positivity, and the enduring power of family bonds.

How a mother and daughter unravel the long-term effects of bullying in school, the “mean girl” syndrome in particular.  These painful memories are often difficult to shake, in part because they happen at such a vulnerable time developmentally.

As we strive for a more equitable society, it's crucial to examine how traditional therapeutic approaches, such as psychodynamic psychotherapy, can be adapted to better serve diverse populations and address systemic inequalities.

Now more than ever, understanding the healing power of human connection and the transformative potential of therapeutic relationships is crucial.

The Social Work Podcast provides information on all things social work, including direct practice (both clinical and community organizing), research, policy, and education. Today's episode is an interview with Dr. Patricia Gianotti, Academic Director of The Institute for Advanced Psychotherapy at Loyola University Chicago by Jonathan Singer, Ph.D., LCSW.

Discover this skill-building communication exercise where individuals can approach many conflictual situations with conviction and confidence. Drawing from the Restorative Justice Movement, this technique illustrates how to set limits with injustice while simultaneously offering an invitation of compassion in the service of reconciliation and connection.

Most of us are drawn to or fascinated by successful people. It creates a sense of hopefulness and possibility, a belief that success is attainable, even for those who struggle with confidence or the lack of opportunity.  So, how do we tell the difference between healthy pride/ambition and grandiose narcissism?

Announcing a recent podcast featuring Dr. Patricia Gianotti on the Earth and Spirit Podcast: NPR. Patricia Gianotti works with clients around issues related to trauma, shame, and narcissism and is the founder of the Center for Spiritual Integration.

The gathering of the family during the holidays has long been a celebrated tradition rooted in both social and emotional factors. Nevertheless, the expectation for family members to reconnect, strengthen, and/or renew bonds is a strong force that often creates internal pressure – feelings of hope and anticipation coupled with anxiety, ambivalence, guilt, and fear of disappointment.

Shyness, introversion, and social anxiety are terms that have long been confused.  While social anxiety is a clinical diagnosis, introversion is actually a personality trait, an aspect of one’s temperament.

It’s little things that come up in casual conversation that often surprise you and catch you off guard. Changing your opinion about someone can make you realize that the assumptions you made may have been too dismissive.

During those times in life when disappointment makes us feel helpless and vulnerable, drawing upon early memories of having a safe, secure connection to family helps us weather the storms of life.

How does someone break free of an internalized system of beliefs, feelings, reactions, and expectations that were created and deeply rooted in early parent-child interactions?

The PBS program entitled “Sages of Aging,” features 12 experts in the field of aging coming together to discuss the state of aging in America and discuss the state of aging in America and how we perceive aging.

Examining the idea of loyalty and framing that understanding through the lens of, “Loyalty Contracts.”

In Patricia Gianotti’s third book, Embracing Therapeutic Complexity, she talks about the powerful grip that unfair loyalty contracts have on people throughout their life span.

A working definition of narcissism begins by inviting people to pause, and think about narcissism as a condition of vulnerability or injury, rather than thinking about narcissism as a “diagnosis.”

Have you noticed that the word narcissist has morphed into a term of derision and contempt that is easily thrown around at will? But how many people really understand where the term comes from or what it means?

Disappointments happen in life. If we’re smart, we can learn from them. With enough distance, disappointments that initially feel crushing often turn out to be life lessons.