William Darren McCall, Licensed Professional Counselor, Supervisor

Recently, I wrote these lovingkindness (compassion) mantras on the board in my office that I use to focus on intentions. They come from a book, "Buddha's Bedroom," by Cheryl Fraser, PhD. She has a website (https://drcherylfraser.com) with audio recordings of this and other meditation practices to improve intimacy in your relationship.

To be nobody-but-yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody but yourself—means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight—and never stop fighting.
e.e. cummings

The Secret Reasons Nobody Tells You About Why Therapists Don’t Accept Insurance

I have thought for quite a while now that I should stop taking insurance. Honestly, I have hesitated out of fear and self-doubt. This article makes the argument I needed. I know I am a talented and skilled therapist, and it is time I treat myself as such. I like, also, that the article explains how private pay helps each client commit to therapy in ways that increase the benefits to the client.

The Secret Reasons Nobody Tells You About Why Therapists Don’t Accept Insurance One consideration you might take into account when looking for a therapist is whether they accept your insurance. For many people, this is a deciding factor. But there are the hidden costs to using insurance you might not be aware of. Plus, I'll explain the REAL reason why many therapists refuse thi...

I've hung a whiteboard in the room at home that I'm using as my office these days. On the board, I've posted lists from various books to help me focus my process of acting according to my values. The resources include Brene Brown's "Dare to Lead" and "The Gifts of Imperfection," Cheri Huber's "I Don't Want To, I Don't Feel Like It: How Resistance Controls Your Life and What to Do About It," and Alan Downs' "The Velvet Rage." The things I've written on the board are my current aspirational attitudes and values. I invite you to share your aspirations for your ongoing process of engaging in your life meaningfully.

LGBTQ issues across the life span - Counseling Today

LGBTQ issues across the life span - Counseling Today One of the first steps in providing effective support to LGBTQ clients is understanding and validating the many unique challenges they encounter across each stage of life.

Being Gay, Shame, HIV, and Mindfulness: My Story | Darren McCall, LPC

During Gay PRIDE Month, the tumult of this year is my motivation to share my story of living with the effects of shame and trauma, living through another pandemic, and, ultimately, learning how to thrive.

Being Gay, Shame, HIV, and Mindfulness: My Story | Darren McCall, LPC Gay men struggle with depression, anxiety, and addiction because of shame. HIV infection is a result of and cause of shame. This is my story of healing.

Love Your Depression and Anxiety | Darren McCall, LPC

For Mental Health Awareness Month, I offer a blog post about loving your depression and anxiety.

Love Your Depression and Anxiety | Darren McCall, LPC Acceptance and Commitment Therapy offers a radically different way to relate to depression and anxiety.

Can you spare a minute to help William McCall?

change.org Mental Health Access Improvement Act 2019

Online Scheduling and Updated Resources for Clients

Online Scheduling and Updated Resources for Clients

us9.campaign-archive2.com Online scheduling is available for all of my clients. With an account to my scheduling portal, you can easily confirm the date and time of your next appointment, cancel an appointment, and request appointments. I encourage you to take advantage of this convenient option. It is usually much quicker t...

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Eightfold Counseling Events

To explain further the process of the upcoming group, Mindfulness for Addictive Alcohol Use, I am providing an overview of the first four sessions.

OVERVIEW OF SESSIONS

SESSION 1: AUTOMATIC PILOT AND RELAPSE
In this first session, we discuss “automatic pilot,” or the tendency to behave mechanically or unconsciously without full awareness of what we’re doing. We discuss this specifically in relation to alcohol or drug use (acting upon cravings and urges “automatically” without awareness). We begin this exploration with an exercise called the body scan to practice purposely bringing attention to the body.

SESSION 2: AWARNESS OF TRIGGERS AND CRAVING
This session focuses on learning to experience triggers, cravings, and thoughts of using without automatically reacting. We focus on recognizing triggers and what the reaction feels like in the body, specifically the sensations, thoughts, and emotions that often accompany craving. We begin to use mindfulness to bring greater awareness to this typically automatic process, learning to experience craving and urges in a way that increases our choices in how we respond.

SESSION 3: MINDFULNESS IN DAILY LIFE
We learn the “SOBER space” as a way to expand the quality of mindfulness from formal sitting or lying down practice to the daily situations we encounter. This may help us learn to “be with” various physical sensations and emotioons that arise, including those associated with cravings and urges without reacting in harmful ways. In this session, we also begin the practice of formal sitting meditation.

SESSION 4: MIINDFULNESS IN HIGH-RISH SITUATIONS
We focus on being present in situations or with people that have previously been associated with substance use, using mindfulness to learn to experience pressures or urges to use without automatically reaching for a substance. We identify individual relapse risks and explore ways to cope with the intensity of feelings that come up in high-risk situations.

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Waterloo Counseling Center

NEW! Starting July 28, Waterloo will be offering a psychotherapy group for gay/bi men Thursdays 6:30-8pm. All ages welcome, fees on a sliding scale according to income. Give us a call at 444-9922 and reserve your seat today!

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