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Howard Brockman

Howard Brockman, LCSW is one of the top psychotherapists and counselors in Salem Oregon for over 32 years. Howard has authored two popular books: Dynamic Energetic Healing and Essential Self-Care for Caregivers and Helpers. To learn more about Howard Brockman, please visit the full bio.

Afterthoughts on my Trip to London

London

In early June of this year, I had the good fortune to be in London teaching 22 therapists the fundamentals of Dynamic Energetic Healing®. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and found the psychologists who participated to be gracious, interested and engaging. My task was to somehow teach them the essence of DEH in a single weekend. This of course is about how to integrate shamanic healing and processwork principles into the energy psychology framework that comprises DEH, a rather unique psychotherapeutic approach to say the least. Read More »Afterthoughts on my Trip to London

How Are You Connected?

bubbles

People respond to this question in many ways. When I was growing up, there was no Internet and so there were no smart phones, email or Facebook. Since the proliferation of many information-based technologies, being connected to others is generally through electronic means. Being connected to others through these various information-based technologies means instant communication through Wi-Fi and other Internet-based communication systems. We’re even connected to satellites orbiting the Earth through our cell phones and our multi-media systems. Today in 2013, when somebody asks you how you are connected, it’s generally understood to be through some social media connection. Being able to participate in webinars and teleseminars with people from all over the country, or throughout the world is now done every day through our computers and smartphones. To me this is totally amazing and it’s through these electromagnetic fields of information and various frequencies that we are able to share all this information instantly. In the highly industrialized first world countries as well as emerging third world countries, this is becoming the social norm as accessibility to all of these various information-based technologies is spreading like wildfire. It is redefining the human experience and culture at large.

When I was in my 20s and 30s, “being connected” was a reference to one’s spiritual relationship to others and the universe. In the 60s, many spiritual teachers from India and Japan and even Tibet started coming to the United States to teach. Gurus, yogis and spiritual masters began to emerge onto the American cultural scene.Read More »How Are You Connected?

More on Exercise, Mental Health and the Brain

brain

Nearly everyone knows that exercise reduces your stress. By working out the physical tensions at the gym, the mental tensions seem to dissipate more easily because you simply feel better. It’s also been shown that exercise increases the concentrations of norepinephrine, a chemical that tends to moderate the nervous system’s response to stress.

Did you know that regular vigorous exercise in many cases is just as effective (or even more effective) than antidepressant medications for depression? It’s true. It’s your endorphins that have been identified for creating those wonderful feelings of well-being and even euphoria. These drugs are just waiting to be accessed in your own brain pharmacy, and for a little bit of physical effort, they are yours for the taking. Though I am not a long distance runner, the 40-minutes of cardio effort on the stationery bike and the elliptical cross trainer that I submit myself to 3-4 times a week definitely provide me with a happy buzz that endures. I love the feeling I leave with when I’m done exercising.

Read More »More on Exercise, Mental Health and the Brain

Successfully Addressing Emotional Trauma

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People come to psychotherapy and counseling because they need help. Primarily, help is requested for an array of disruptive symptoms in their life that continue to persist in spite of their best efforts. Common symptoms that draw people into therapy include insomnia, the inability to stop worrying which leads to ongoing anxiety, the feeling of pervasive unhappiness or depression, as well as other physical and psychological symptoms that are very hard to pin down as directly related to earlier traumatic events. Let me provide you with some background and then some examples.

When people suffer a traumatic event, there are all kinds of possible consequences that may ensue. Frequently it is the case that these various traumatic consequences take care of themselves and fade away over time. But there are situations that because of the depth or duration of the particular trauma that these symptoms tend to actually get worse over time. A significant problem is that most practitioners are not sufficiently trained to recognize that these various symptoms are a direct consequence of early traumatic experiences. Let me give you some examples.Read More »Successfully Addressing Emotional Trauma

Muscle Testing and Psychotherapy

 

MMTMuscle testing in the psychotherapy context is sometimes referred to as behavioral kinesiology, having emerged from the more comprehensive discipline known as applied kinesiology. Sometimes it is referred to as energy checking. Whatever its proper name, in working with clients, it is an indispensible aid to steer the ship safely and efficiently through stormy seas.

Did you know that most varieties of therapy orientations are variations of talk therapy? Ask any twenty counselors or therapists randomly chosen from the phone book how they conduct their interactions with clients and most if not all will tell you talk therapy. They may call it psychodynamic, cognitive behavioral or narrative therapy but essentially it falls under the rubric of talk therapy. There is always value in talking things out to vent, process your thoughts and feelings or generate some insight but it is often very difficult getting to the heart of the matter using these talk therapy approaches in any expeditious manner.Read More »Muscle Testing and Psychotherapy

DEH is Going to London in June of 2013

London Energy psychology is proliferating internationally as a treatment model for successfully addressing psychological distress. One of the most widely recognized energy psychology interventions, EFT, is becoming well known all over the world. In London, there are regular international conferences featuring the many therapeutic applications of EFT—just EFT! Recently, the American Psychological Association accepted energy psychology as a legitimate therapeutic modality worthy of receiving continuing education credits for related workshops. This reflects a growing trend of increasing acceptance for what is commonly regarded as complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) approaches that continue to gain popular acceptance.  Energy psychology addresses the human vibrational matrix. This includes the biofield, the chakras and the acupuncture meridians. This is a far cry from talk therapy in the evolution of psychotherapy and will eventually be the standard taught in graduate schools of psychology throughout the world. Why? Because energy psychology works so rapidly and effectively.

Read More »DEH is Going to London in June of 2013

The Six Attributes of Courage

  The following article provides some wonderfully inspiring quotes about different qualities of courage. Spend some time reflecting on this and choose to challenge yourself and some of your old beliefs. Click the link below to access the article. http://www.psychologytoday.com/collections/201301/ditching-your-comfort-zone/the-six-attributes-courage… Read More »The Six Attributes of Courage

Multiple Meanings of the Word “Intrusions”

There are many meanings for the word intrusions. In shamanic practices, intrusions are often thought of as negative thought forms that are powerful enough to penetrate into a person’s energy field like a parasite. Once an intrusion has penetrated a person’s energy body, it is generally recognized that a localized physical problem or symptom is generated and felt by that individual. In my shamanic practice, I often perceive intrusions as dark slimy serpentine or slug-like creatures, frequently becoming agitated once they have been identified in an attempt to remove them. For the longest time, I have wondered just how people acquire these subtle negative energy intrusions. Read More »Multiple Meanings of the Word “Intrusions”