Emma’s hair Embracing symbols of change There’s a saying among therapists. We ask the question: What is the opposite of love? Everyone responds “hate” immediately, thinking, that’s a stupid question; everyone knows the answer to that question. It’s a trick...

Stage Four: Loss of Identity This client was kind enough to write what stage four of the EMDR process was like for him. It was hard and painful work to dismantle the self-defeating beliefs and actions that were no longer working for me. I had come to Dr. Dobo in sheer...

The following is an excerpt from Dr. Dobo’s work in progress, Transformational EMDR: A Death Rebirth Sequence in Six Stages. Dream work is much like other lifelong artistic endeavors: One lifetime is not enough. Fortunately, in this six-stage transformational...

Leslie McGuirk, internationally renowned astrologer, author, and artist discusses why EMDR is such a powerful tool for many of her clients. She agreed to be a guest blogger on my site. Her thoughts are below: As a professional Astrologer, the...

As a psychologist, a scientific-practitioner, imagine my surprise when a parade of new clients arrived at my door and stated that they were referred to me by their Astrologer. Who? Huh? What? Most of them are very knowledgeable about Astrology and speak that language...

I am proposing the possibility that perhaps psychology has lost its way. But so has just about everything else. We are all somewhat a slave to someone’s bottom-line. As one trained as a composer in the 70s, I tend to get much of my inspiration from artists. Let me...

My goal here is to help you, the reader, to view psychology as the rich and powerful process that it is.  Perhaps you will see it for the sacred work that I am privileged to do rather than a sitcom version of a therapist as a buffoon.  When a client says,...

My book is not about Thomas Merton. I discuss him here because the book is about combining and looking at the work of psychology through a spiritual and even mystical lens. I am moving into territory that I should not enter much like Merton. I can’t help myself, I...

I’m not sure when the view of my work began to change; it was a slow process.  I stopped seeing my patients as clinical entities. St. Gregory stated, “A soul in trouble is near unto God.” I started to see my patients as souls in trouble and to sense that they...

He was always one with a story.  He had spent most of his career treating Vietnam Veterans with PTSD and doing research with this group.  He said, with his soft voice and subtle southern accent, “Did I ever tell you ‘bout the time I was pick’in up leaves out...

I helped Sam heal and become whole. He began to trust enough to date women again. He had lived alone for years. Now his life was no longer riddled with fear and doubt, but instead he was feeling more confident and relaxed. I’m not sure who benefited more from our...

Sam was the first patient I treated who expressed extremely violent emotional discharges during EMDR sessions.  In the initial sessions, I acted as if I was accustomed to this process.  In reality, I was terrified, saying to myself, “Holy shit!...

The previous posting briefly laid out the six stages that many of my clients progress through during EMDR therapy. The EMDR process has a rapid and multi-level effect on the client, both during the treatment and out in the world. The person changes in many ways. It is...

She was ready, so I began. Immediately, in less than fifteen seconds, she began to shiver, to shiver as if she had just been dragged out of an icy river in the middle of winter. The temperature in my office was a comfortable seventy-four degrees. Her teeth began to...

Ok here are the six stages of transformation. This is a bare bones look. These will be compared to six moments that Christ lived that parallel this six stage psychological process. Christ seemed to be concerned with our souls and our psyche’s. Later, we will see what...

This book is not about Thomas Merton. I discuss him here because the book is about combining and looking at the work of psychology through a spiritual and even mystical lens. I am moving into territory that I should not enter much like Merton. I can’t help myself; I...