Art and Soul Art Therapy and Innovative Counseling

02/24/2026

Notes from a recent session with an elementary school-aged child...

The client explored complex ethical and philosophical themes, beginning with animal conservation and the ecological disruption caused by humans, such as shark finning. This led to a discussion on human population control. The conversation shifted to the nature of suffering and happiness, with the client agreeing that pain and fear are very good teachers and that a perfect world without struggle is impossible without removing free will. We then discussed the concept of hedonic adaptation, how people return to a baseline happiness level after major events, and how "wanting" is often more exciting than "having." The session emphasized the power of choice, gratitude for small things, and the importance of having something to do, someone to love, and something to hope for.

I then got the comic below in my FB feed... Both experiences this afternoon fill me with hope and wonder.... File it all under "Kids say the darndest things", I guess!

02/21/2026

02/21/2026

If you are a therapist, do you agree or disagree? Share your thoughts in the comments!

02/20/2026

The key to real happiness is in savoring each moment and never forgetting to indulge in the good things we have. Slow down. Be present. Suck every molecule of dopamine out of what would otherwise be rushed experiences.

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1EDzXCoEyt/?mibextid=wwXIfr

02/18/2026

A really great explanation about the different uses of psilocybin versus ketamine in mental health treatment.

02/08/2026

I can relate to this so very much! People with ADHD often have to seek out “dopamine nodes” in their lives. I describe this to my clients in terms of Minecraft mining nodes.

You know those nodes in Minecraft are going run out. Often times they respawn and you can go back to mining for the same resource (ie dopamine in the real world). So it’s very good to identify MANY nodes in your world. When one runs out, you can mine another node.

People who have only one or two nodes are likely to need higher amounts of dopamine from those limited nodes, become less likely to accept any substitutes for their node of choice, and really struggle if they can’t access their node of choice. And THAT IS WHERE THE DANGER IS. That is the path to addiction, and a great deal of pain.

What dopamine nodes do you utilize in your own life?

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

02/08/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1EXS5DAX59/?mibextid=wwXIfr

02/04/2026

Author extraordinaire Brandon Sanderson recently gave a great argument against AI art. If we rely on AI rather than pursue the struggle of creation as humans, we miss out on the real masterpiece being crafted: ourselves.

02/04/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1DahUpegKT/?mibextid=wwXIfr

01/28/2026

I have been sharing this with all my clients and colleagues. It is SO TRUE!

Therapists have therapists for a reason. TO HULU’S YOUTUBE CHANNELClick the link to subscribe to our channel for the latest...

01/22/2026

Just a heads up if you have ConnectiCare. ConnectiCare was bought by Molina Healthcare, and Molina has not done a good job about updating clients that they have entirely new member IDs. They have not sent cards to their members, and they have not informed them that they have to create new logins on the website to pay their bills. (We only found all of this out when we went to log in to pay our own bill!) If you have ConnectiCare, make sure to CALL them so they can get you this vital information!