Just What Are You Afraid Of?
In this post George discusses ways of thinking about anxiety as a helpful experience rather than as a problem.
Welcome to my website. My therapy practice is completely virtual, using high-quality interactive video services with established and new clients. Please contact me for details by leaving a voice message or using the Contact link above.
You can leave me a confidential message regarding information or appointment requests. In an emergency, current clients can reach me by phone or text at 512-791-7075.
If you or someone you know is in a life-threatening situation, call 911, contact your physician’s office or go to the nearest emergency room.
- George Glaser
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I opened my Austin, TX based private Psychotherapy practice in 1997, specializing in the treatment of marital disorders, mood disorders, trauma, chronic pain and psychosomatic conditions. It was my intention to offer a relaxed, personalized practice–one that would contrast with many of the managed-care dominated service providers in the Austin area, and I believe that goal has been successful. Before opening my practice, I was a clinical and management staff member with Austin Regional Clinic-Mental Health Associates between 1984-1997.
Families are very important to me. I have been married for 41 years, with two sons who are currently 33 and 28. My wife is a professor at Texas State University–San Marcos.
Spiritual practices are essential in life, and I feel very comfortable in exploring spiritual issues with clients in our therapeutic work. After all, we are made up of many parts—physical, mental, emotional, interpersonal and spiritual, not necessarily in order of importance. My personal faith background is in the Christian tradition. I consider myself interested in all faiths, however, and you will find at my office a spirit of curiosity and respect for all spiritual traditions.
After receiving my Master of Social Work degree from The Ohio State University in 1975, I worked in Columbus, Ohio at Southwest Community Mental Health Center. My wife and I moved to Austin in 1977, and from 1978-1984 I served as a clinical staff member at the Austin/Travis County MH-MR Center.
I co-founded The Milton H. Erickson Institute of Central Texas in 1987 with friends and colleagues: Seyma Calihman, MSSW, Carol Kershaw, Ph.D. and Bill Wade, LPC. We later separated the Institute of Central Texas into two organizations: the Institutes of Austin and Houston. Both of these institutes continue to provide training for professionals in the use of Ericksonian hypnosis in psychotherapy.
I am an Advisory Board Member for The American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, served as a reviewer for the Ericksonian Monographs, and contributed to Tales of Enchantment by Stephen and Carol Lankton. I have been on the faculty of regional and national conferences for the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis, The Milton H. Erickson Foundation, The Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, the National Association of Social Workers, the Texas Association of Marriage and Family Therapists, and The Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback.
I obtained entrance into the Academy of Certified Social Workers (ACSW) in 1978. I am Board Certified through the American Board of Examiners in Clinical Social Work (ABECSW) and the National Association of Social Workers (NASW). I hold a Diplomate through the American Hypnosis Board for Clinical Social Work (AHBCSW). I am an Approved Consultant of The American Society of Clinical Hypnosis (ASCH), and was approved as a Fellow of that organization in 2004. I served as President of ASCH from 2009-2010.
I have lectured on Family Therapy at the University of Texas School of Social Work at Austin, and served as a volunteer for Capital Area Mental Health Center, the Central Texas Chapter of the Red Cross. I have been an active member of the state and local units of the National Association of Social Workers/Texas, and served as Chair of that organization's Chapter Ethics Committee.
In this post George discusses ways of thinking about anxiety as a helpful experience rather than as a problem.
Unpleasant feelings like fear and anger can show up and threaten to take over the party.
Learning mind and body teamwork to help improve performance skills
Emotional problems frequently develop and persist because of a person's inflexibility in relating to one or more aspects of themselves that they find unacceptable. These "parts" are felt to be the problem, but in fact it is the hiding of them that causes the internal and interpersonal problems that leave people feeling frustrated, hopeless and alone. All of my approaches are aimed at helping the client develop new perspectives and abilities, and new ways of relating to aspects of themselves that are felt to be so unacceptable.
I use a variety of approaches developed over 40 years of clinical practice. From the start, family systems theory and approaches has been one of the main foundations of my work. I have extensively studied different hypnotic approaches to psychotherapy for over 35 years, and find it to be an invaluable aid for both understanding my clients and helping them master new cognitive, emotional and behavioral skills. Especially important is the work of Milton Erickson, M.D., who was a leader in conceptualizing and expanding the uses of hypnosis. More recently, I have been using Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) as a very useful adjunctive procedure in dealing with trauma. Hypnosis and EMDR are very complimentary tools.
Two important teachers of mine are Stephen Lankton, MSW and Stephen Gilligan, Ph.D., both of whom are well-known students of Milton Erickson. I began studying with Steve Lankton in the mid 1980s with a focus on the indirect suggestion, metaphoric and storytelling aspects of Erickson's work. I have studied with Stephen Gilligan since 1989 as he developed and modified his Self-Relations Psychotherapy within the context of intensive multi-day supervision groups.
My practice approaches fall under the broad category of cognitive-behavioral therapies, with a focus on mind-body approaches to therapy.
Are you a golfer, tennis player, student, or test-taker? Have you ever wished that your mental focus was sharper in order to increase your performance? Consider using my three-session program that offers the following benefits:
Call me for information about this program, and how you can get started.
I participate in the following managed care plans. Feel free to inquire about any that are not shown. Additionally, plans such as PPOs provide for coverage of out-of-network practitioners. Check with the customer service number listed on your insurance card for information about out-of-network coverage, deductible/copayment amounts, and yearly session limits.
Feel free to email us regarding any scheduling or general questions!
