Mental Health Archives - Kerry McAvoy, PhD

When Your Therapist is the Narcissist! + Answering Your Fan Mail

What happens when a narcissistic therapist uses their professional training against you? This week’s Fan Mail question comes from a listener in Seattle who writes: “I dated a narcissist who was also a licensed clinical social worker. Can you talk about the weaponization of therapeutic training by narcissists?” In this episode, Dr. Kerry unpacks how narcissistic mental health professionals can use psychology to pathologize your emotions and silence your voice, how the imbalance of power could …

Four Truths I Wished I’d Known Earlier About Going Bald

4 Truths I Wished I’d Known Earlier About Going Bald Growing up, I always admired my younger sisters’ long, thick manes of hair. My middle sister’s glossy, long black tresses had just enough reddish highlights that they shone with coppery streaks in the sunlight. My youngest sister’s head of hair was so thick that if … Read more

Why I Didn’t Know I’d Married a Narcissist

Why I Didn’t Know I’d Married a Narcissist Would you think as a psychologist I’d know my new husband was a narcissist? It should have been obvious, right? After all the years of education, training, and counseling experience, you think I would have recognized the signs of narcissism. But, I didn’t. That’s because narcissists are … Read more

Have You Noticed It’s Hard to Listen to a Painful Story?

A closer look at why we might silence victims Have you noticed it’s hard to listen sometimes? That gets tough to stay tuned in and invested when the story takes a dark turn? Recently, I told a friend that I’ve decided to put my last writing project on hold. It’s the second draft of a manuscript … Read more

How to Habit Loop Your Anxiety and Set Yourself Free

Set yourself free through the use of these habit loop steps By Kaye Smith, Ph.D. So, what was the first thing you did this morning? Did you look at your phone, grab your glasses, go to the bathroom? Whatever you did, odds on, you do the same thing in the same way, and in the … Read more

Why I Hid My Neurodivergence From Myself: Could You be Too?

I’d been blending in so well that I didn’t realize I was unique More than three months ago, I learned of my neurodivergence. Autism, to be exact. Me, a 58-year-old woman who earned a Ph.D. and ran a successful counseling practice. At first, I could barely get my head around this revelation. To say I was … Read more

Healthy Ways to Handle Life’s Changes in the Time of COVID

Helping You Thrive! by Lisa Walker When you think about what life is like these days, do you get the feeling that things have changed in ways you never imagined? Living through a pandemic is far from normal, so it’s only natural that our lives would be different than they were pre-COVID. Maybe you’ve made … Read more

On Being an Echoist–the Opposite of a Narcissist

We avoid all forms of attention, even at the expense of our health Do you know what the opposite of a narcissist is? It’s not the empaths as some think. It’s the echoist. I know because I am one. I walked into my surgeon’s office today. Four days ago, I underwent a lower facelift to deal … Read more

Why Cell Phone Snooping Sometimes Is Necessary

It might be the only way to know you’re not crazy s it ever okay to snoop on someone else’s phone? This question tends to stir up strong emotions on both sides of the issue. There are those who think trust and respect are paramount in a relationship. Breaking into our partner’s phone or computer … Read more

My Private Admission: I am a Bald Woman

And up to now it’s been source of tremendous shame I have a secret. Something that has been a source of shame that I’ve mostly kept to myself. Only a handful of people know. I’m a bald woman. In my mid-thirties, I suddenly lost nearly all of my hair. Devastated and ashamed, I thought my … Read more