Moving away from Psychology Today, to Psychology Tomorrow…

Having subscribed to Psychology Today magazine, and advertised in its therapist directory for several years, I have recently ended my subscription. Despite it being one of the largest search engines for therapists, helping many people find a therapist, I find the ethos of the Psychology Today magazine antithetical to my own understandings about therapy and health. Psychology Today’s magazine tends toward over-simplifying the complexity of human experience, and, shamefully, over-pathologizing “symptoms”. (I should add that there are some very good blog postings from individual practitioners who are listed on the site, including my colleague and friend, Dean Olsher, who is writing about music therapy so beautifully).

Instead, I have come across a marvelous resource for therapists and clients alike – the Psychology Tomorrow Magazine, which has a directory of therapists of its own, the Alternative Therapists Directory.

As it states in it’s vision statement, the :

…Alternative Therapists Directory challenges the overzealous trend in psychology toward legitimizing itself through quasi-scientific labels that categorize and codify all human behavior, often with research funded by pharmaceutical companies. Instead, we understand that “symptoms” are inherently creative, subjective solutions to life’s innumerable dilemmas that sometimes bring unwanted consequences, and that there are many creative ways to intervene to improve people’s life choices.

In the current edition, you will find a thoughtful and inspiring column entitled Psychology’s taboo against the imagination written by Stanley Siegel, who is Editor-In-Chief of the magazine. I urge you to read it, and look through the other columns and creative endeavors, including explorations in poetry and art.