Sean Davis, Ph.D.

For my fellow academic friends whose soul is on break right now, but your brain is trying to meet a deadline

Exciting things coming! Stay tuned for a big announcement from The Davis Group

About 15 years ago three of my colleagues and I started jotting down our thoughts about the impact a therapist's "way of being" - the way they regard others - had on their therapy. We believed that, of the things a therapist can control, it was the most important aspect of treatment despite being something the field rarely discussed. It took us a decade of brainstorming (and procrastinating) to write that first paper, but when we published it in JMFT, our field's top journal,... it won the article of the year award and for each of us quickly became one of our most cited articles. Sitting in a coffee shop in rural Mexico last fall, I started the follow-up article which expanded the application of our ideas to families, couples, training, and ethical decision making. We passed it between each other for a year, put the finishing touches on it at our writing retreat in Yellowstone last month, and just received word that it was published! Here's the link, for anyone who may be interested: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com//aut/ASMZYB9DIGSETZJFD7EH

Here are the notes from my first slide for this morning’s presentation on burnout in the helping professions. It’s free, and offers 1.5 CEUs for doctors, nurses, social workers and therapists. You can register at the link below. I’d love to see you there! This isn’t about bubble baths and vacations. I’m all for a good bubble bath, but if the only way you can enjoy your life is to escape from it, you have a problem. And the solution to that problem isn’t coming up with more c...reative ways of escape, but rather fundamentally altering the way you live. Nobody likes hearing that because it’s more work, which feels like the last thing you need. But it’s paradoxical work in that the more you do it, the easier and more satisfying your life becomes. There are several of these shifts. Having your allocation of time reflect your core values and doing work that allows freedom and creativity are a few. Today I want to talk about one of those fundamental shifts, which is how you view the people you work and interact with on a daily basis.

Once a year my national professional association, the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, gives a Training Award for significant contributions to the advancement of the field of marriage and family therapy related to teaching and training. I’m honored to receive this year’s award! I count the nomination letters former students and colleagues submitted on my behalf as one of the brightest spots of my career.

I’ve shared this video before, but it’s worth sharing again. Ive shown it in both classes I teach this semester, and each time I get a bit emotional. His message is needed now more than ever; if our country heals itself, it’ll be through living the lessons in here. https://youtu.be/eC7xzavzEKY

We’re bursting at the seams at my agency, The Davis Group - July and August were 3x as busy as usual. Most of my colleagues say the same thing. Over half of our new clients are young kiddos and teens. I’ve had more emergency mental health sessions in the past month than I usually do in two years, mostly from long-dormant addictions coming back to ravage people who are stretched past their breaking point. If we don’t figure this out soon I fear we’re facing a mental health cri...sis that will ripple through generations - if we haven’t crossed that line already. It’s long past time to take the politics out of Coronavirus policy and give decision making to whatever cool-headed, apolitical scientists remain. In the meantime, do whatever you can to preserve as much control in your life as possible. And be good to each other, no matter who each other happens to be.

I recorded this podcast from my hotel room in Mexico City four days before the US got serious about the quarantine and travel became a distant memory. It’ll come back eventually, though, and now is a perfect time to figure out how to get paid to travel when it does! I had a lot of fun on this podcast that was released today with my friends, Kate and Katie.

Wise words from my good friend Dr. Mondo

I’m honored to be featured in a recent piece in the Huffington Post about how therapists cope with anxiety. https://www.huffpost.com//things-therapists-do-worried-abo

As a White guy raised in a White community, it wasn’t until college that I started to consider how differently a Black person and I experienced the world, and how wide-ranging an effect that had on the opportunities we had, the security we felt and experienced, our internal dialogues about ourselves, our health - everything, really. I have a lot more to learn about the Black experience in America, and I’ll never understand it completely, but I know that if the atrocities we’v...Continue reading

An event is traumatic if it disrupts your normal, predictable routine and challenges your ability to control your life. You develop PTSD to the extent you’re robbed of your ability to restore order to your life. Kirk Voss and I discussed how to navigate the pandemic without developing PTSD.

I enjoyed being interviewed by NBC about managing family life during shelter in place restrictions, specifically the importance of rituals and how to manage conflict.

True. The healing starts after the trauma ends, and can go on for a long time. People who have endured a trauma know this, but often bear that burden in silence as they navigate a society in which seeking mental health care can still be stigmatized. The stigma has been fading for a while now, and I hope that is accelerated - at both the individual and policy level - as so many will be struggling to cope with the aftermath of this pandemic. Seeking professional help to get back on track emotionally is a strength, not a weakness.

My colleagues and I are starting to see more and more symptoms of PTSD in our office. Which is no surprise - there's a perfect storm of conditions for developing PTSD right now. I talk about what PTSD is, and some simple steps you can take to inoculate yourself against it.

Do you only feel things your partner will approve of? Have trouble asserting yourself for fear of offending your partner? Find yourself being overly accommodating just so others are happy? Being in the house 24/7 with your partner these days highlights a lot of unhealthy relationship dynamics, codependency being one of them. Dr. Middleton shares three tips for managing codependency during the #coronavirus.... Contact Dr. Middleton or any of our clinicians at https://thedavisgroup.org. We're grateful we've been encouraged to remain open so we can help people throughout California.

The coronavirus triggered another global pandemic that has spread far more rapidly, infected far more people, and whose effects are likely to be felt much longer than COVID-19. Read my thoughts on navigating pandemic anxiety.

My office was a little different at The Davis Group this morning as I prepared for a day of videoconference therapy! Doing my back a favor by alternating between two different chairs for seven hours. Both my clients and I are surprised at how much we enjoy online therapy - it’s more convenient for them, they’re able to have their pet with them or be on their favorite couch, and people are more willing to really slow down and get into things. Plus it’s all HIPAA-compliant. Who knows how long this will last, but I’m grateful to be able to still help people.

It's an anxious time! With Placer and Santa Clara counties now issuing "shelter in place" orders, many of you have asked if we'll still be open. We're considered an essential business and have been explicitly asked to stay open, so we'll still be having in-person sessions in our Roseville and Palo Alto offices. We're also holding secure, HIPAA-compliant videoconference sessions for those would would prefer to remain at home. Either way, we're here to help!