Psychologists (and other therapists) provide psychotherapy, which helps to free people from negative emotions that are not caused by their current situation, and also counseling, which helps people solve problems that they are currently experiencing. When doing therapy and counseling, the job of a psychologist is to help people think rationally in the one area where they are, almost by definition, irrational: their emotions.

In my practice, over the years I have found that many problems are quite common, and I often say the same things to many clients.  To save time, I have tried to create a website where people can find advice, information, and ideas to help them think and act more rationally about many common life problems.  Sometimes I will suggest seeking additional help from a professional, and at other times I will have strategies and solutions for solving problems by yourself.  I hope you find it helpful.


Thomas B. Hollenbach, Ph.D.

Human beings have emotions because they promote our survival and reproduction, and they do this by creating impulses to perform behaviors that are useful most of the time. Or rather, they create impulses to perform behaviors that were useful for our ancestors tens of thousands of years ago. Since human society has changed much more rapidly than the human gene pool, our emotions often tell us to do things that no longer work very well. This is what keeps psychologists in business.