Mel Schwartz, LCSW

What is Emergent Thinking?

Emergent Thinking (R) is a transformative process that I have developed to assist people in their personal evolution and self-actualization. The foundation of this approach… Continue reading What is Emergent Thinking?

What is a mistake?

Most people try to avoid making mistakes. In fact, many people experience considerable stress and anxiety around avoiding mistakes. We may labor and fret over… Continue reading What is a mistake?

Doing the best you can

Is it always a good idea to do the best you can do? Moreover, can we ever be sure that it’s really our best? These… Continue reading Doing the best you can

Self-Esteem or Other Esteem?

After some consideration and many years of practice as a therapist, I have come to believe that the term self-esteem appears to be a misnomer.… Continue reading Self-Esteem or Other Esteem?

Does Familiarity Breed Contempt?

The expression “familiarity breeds contempt” is all too familiar. Yet, as the case with many common sayings, we might benefit from taking a look at… Continue reading Does Familiarity Breed Contempt?

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

Can Your Feelings Be Wrong?

This question comes up so often in my therapy sessions. The greatest source of invalidation comes from denying our feelings — whether we do it… Continue reading Can Your Feelings Be Wrong?

Who Am I?

This question — asked so often — suggests that there is actually a plausible answer. Almost as if our identity were a fixed thing. People… Continue reading Who Am I?

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

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?