Mel Schwartz, LCSW

What Is a Mistake?

My previous post, “The Problem with Perfection,” unraveled some of the mythology and beliefs about notions of perfection that limit and impede many people’s lives.… Continue reading What Is a Mistake?

Don’t Call Me A Shrink

The Myth of Objectivity When people ask me what I do for a living, I typically respond that I practice psychotherapy. I often hear the… Continue reading Don’t Call Me A Shrink

What is Emergent Thinking?

What I have come to call Emergent Thinking® is a process that began for me nearly eighteen years ago. I had been experiencing very significant… Continue reading What is Emergent Thinking?

What Informs Your Belief?

While I was in the midst of delivering a somewhat provocative talk on the subject of change, a gentleman in the audience indicated that he… Continue reading What Informs Your Belief?

Getting Past the Right or Wrong Impasse

In the previous post we looked at how dominant the motif of seeking to be right is in our culture. It is one of the… Continue reading Getting Past the Right or Wrong Impasse

Why Is it so Important to Be Right?

One of the most prevalent – and damaging – themes in our culture is the need to be right. It’s one of those essential memes… Continue reading Why Is it so Important to Be Right?

The Paradox of Confidence

As with many goals that we struggle to attain, we tend to go after them in a way that blocks our success. Quite often I… Continue reading The Paradox of Confidence

The 5% Rule

Learning to remain present and not get drawn into the right or wrong argument requires a willful intention to come out of the groove of… Continue reading The 5% Rule

Shared Meaning

We take for granted that our words convey exactly what we intend them to. This is a particularly misinformed assumption. I have observed that upon… Continue reading Shared Meaning

Coming into Balance

A few summers ago I broke my foot, the fracture occurring as I missed a step on my front porch. The break occurred on the… Continue reading Coming into Balance