Dr. Robert Saltzman, Ph.D.
This site is the home of ask dr. robert, an email question and answer forum open to everyone worldwide, gratis.
To request a personal consultation with Dr. Saltzman, send an e-mail, stating your reason for wanting a meeting along with your times of availability.
Robert Saltzman's Profile
To the many people who have sent questions and still are waiting to hear from me, my apologies. When I began this website in 2004, my intention was to offer advice to those who otherwise might not have access to the ideas of an experienced psychotherapist. Happily, the site has been successful. In these past years I have received many thousands of questions from all over the planet, and have replied to hundreds of them--some here on the site, and many others privately.
Unfortunately, the very success of this website means that more and more questions must go unaddressed. My inbox is simply jammed with letters to "Dr. Robert"--so jammed in fact that I cannot even read all of them fully, much less reply. Even if I did not have my therapy practice here in Todos Santos, as well as other other responsibilities, there still would not be time to deal fully with this volume of mail. Evidently a significant number of people from all over the world want and need psychological advice and are finding it here. But I can do only what time allows, and so I will never be able to address the needs of everyone who visits this site. For that I am sorry.
If you are preparing to send me a question, it will stand a better chance of being read and answered if you keep your letter short and to the point, leaving out unnecessary background, and simply asking what it is you most want to ask. Honestly, when I open an email and find many hundreds of rambling words about minor details staring me in the face, I often just move on to the next letter. Not that I don't care--for I do feel and understand the pain and worry which underlies most of the letters I receive--but my time is limited, and I am forced to choose. I am doing the best I can to keep up, so please help by paring down your words to the minimum, and leaving out unnecessary detail. If English is not your native language, don't worry. I will understand.
If you send a question which remains unanswered after a week or two, please consider posting it on the dr. robert forum where it may receive helpful replies from the many visitors who monitor the forum daily.
To comment about anything relevent to this website, or to read the remarks of others:
visit the dr. robert forum
where your reflections and opinions may be posted for all to see.Recently the forum has also become a place for discussion of personal issues among regular visitors to dr-robert.com--a place to ask for advice, and to offer it.
Listen to a recording of one of Dr. Saltzman's therapy hours.
- My Mom Is Depressed, and Focused Only On Negative Things, and I Have Begun To Resent Her.
- I Have Met My Soulmate, But He Is Married. What Shall I Do?
- When I See a Young Girl In Makeup, I Feel Fear and Disgust. Do I Have a Problem?
- I Was Sexually Abused By My Gynecologist.
- Help! Trouble With Born-Again Grandpa.
- They Say That When You Are Ready a Teacher Will Come. Is This True?
- You Seem To Be An Enlightened Person. Please Tell Me How To Attain Enlightenment.
- I Am a Young Muslim. I Found Out That My Girlfriend Is Not Pure. Now I Want To Kill Myself.
- Confessions About Love, Relationships, Guilt, and the World From a Young Sociopath.
- How Do I Deal With Erotic Feelings Towards My Therapist?
- Is There An End To Suffering? (audio presentation).
- What is the Difference Between Love and Infatuation? (part two)
- Moral Camouflage or Moral Monkeys?
- Another sibling exploitation story. How to cope with the guilt?
- Is it possible to be a heartless Buddha?
- Belief: What Is It, and From Where Does It Come?
- Confessions about love, relationships guilt and the world from a young sociopath.
One common reason for consulting a psychotherapist seems worthy of urgent special mention here. Both through extensive clinical experience with depression, as well as his reading of the most recent research into depression, Dr. Saltzman is convinced that depression, a disease which, if left untreated, can damage the brain, and other nerve cells, as well as the heart, endocrine glands, and even, according to depression expert Peter Kramer, M.D., the bones of the body, too often is left untreated or is approached without regard to the lastest scientific findings.
If you suspect that you or someone you care for may be suffering from depression, please read am I depressed?, which deals with brain chemistry and depression, and discusses the proper treatment of depression with medication and/or psychotherapy.
Those of you who have visited dr-robert.com before will know that Dr. Saltzman suggests careful attention to diet, as well as daily physical exercise, not just for bodily health, but for improved emotional health too. In other words, he believes that mood disorders such as anxiety and depression should be not treated with medication and talk therapy alone, but rather with a combination of psychotherapy, medication (if necessary), properly chosen food and drink, daily aerobic exercise, and other healthy choices. Often, this kind of combination treatment can improve mood and mental outlook without resorting to pharmaceutical treatment at all, or, even if treatment with antidepressant or anxiolytic medications should be necessary, may reduce the dosages necessary as well as the length of time such medicines are needed.
In addition, a growing body of scientific evidence suggests that finding happiness in life can improve physical health in profound ways. In other words, mental health (insight and philosophical well-being), emotional health (happiness, contentment, and gratitude), and physical health (a sound body) are simply various aspects of a total state of being--the human being--and all three must be considered together in the course of any effective therapy
Increasing the proportion of certain micronutrients in the diet can sometimes make dramatic changes in how one feels both physically and emotionally, and can often reduce the incidence of serious disease. A recent study, published in The Journal of the American Medical Association, suggests that one specific approach to diet, the so-called Mediterranean diet, probably is optimal for most people. If you have not been feeling well, please begin self-treatment by adopting some of Dr. Saltzman's dietary recommendations.
If you you have questions or concerns that you have wanted to ask a psychologist--whether about lifestyle changes, about counseling and psychotherapy, about spirituality and spiritual unfoldment, or just about human life in general-- send an e-mail for publication on the "ask the psychologist" page. Your question may be signed or unsigned as you prefer, but please state your age, and say where you live. If your question is urgent, and if you do not receive a reply within a week or two, please consider finding a local therapist to help. If you live near Todos Santos, Cabo San Lucas, or La Paz, you may send an email requesting a personal consultation.
Due to the large volume of questions he has been receiving daily, Dr. Saltzman regrets that he cannot reply to every letter he receives.
Please be aware that the information on this website is not intended to replace the personal relationship between patient and physician or therapist, and that Dr. Saltzman's replies to "ask the psychologist" questions are not a substitute for psychotherapy or consultation with a physician. Indeed, there is absolutely no substitute for such a relationship, so if you are troubled, please get the personal counseling you need.
To comment about anything relevent to this website, or to read the comments of others, visit the dr. robert forum, where your comments may be posted for all to see.
Sponsorship and Privacy:
www.dr-robert.com contains no advertising of any kind, and is edited and supported solely by Dr. Robert Saltzman, Ph.D., Box 75, Todos Santos, Baja California Sur, Mexico, 23305, as a source of information about his counseling practice, and about mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being in general.
www.dr-robert.com does not collect information about visitors to this web site for any reason whatsoever. If you elect to share your email address by sending a comment or a question for "ask dr-robert," your email address is never given to any other organization or individual.
If you submit a question to "ask dr-robert," you agree that your question, along with Dr. Saltzman's reply, may be published on the website or elsewhere.
All writing and some images on this website are the intellectual property of Dr. Robert Saltzman, subject to copyright protection. Any use of these materials without prior written permission is expressly forbidden.
The information on this website is not intended to replace the personal relationship between patient and physician or therapist. Indeed, there is absolutely no substitute for such a relationship, so if you are troubled, please get the personal counseling you need.