Dr. Gregory Bottaro
Dr. Greg Bottaro is a Catholic psychologist, founder of the CatholicPsych Institute and creator of the CatholicPsych Model of Applied Personalism (CPMAP). Before he was married, he was a Franciscan Friar for 4 years under the mentorship of Fr. Benedict Groeschel. He's now married with 8 kids under 12.
Feb 4, 2024 | Body-Spirit Integration, Catholic Psychology, Healing
What is Catholic Psychology? People often ask me, “What do you mean by Catholic Psychology?” There are lots of questions people have regarding my work because it is a field that is relatively new. The Catholic part has been around for millennia and the...
Feb 4, 2024 | Depression/Bi-Polar, Mental Health Awareness Month
Confusion around mental health Robin Williams has become more than a suicide victim, he has become a spokesman for depression and suicide. Opinions have been thrown across the interwebs and lots of conflict has emerged. This is what happens when evil happens. Suicide...
Feb 4, 2024 | Body-Spirit Integration, Catholic Mindfulness, Healing
Is healing a spiritual or physical experience? Let’s talk about the unity of our being and how mindfulness can play a part in our healing. Unity of body and spirit There is a false dichotomy, an error in thinking, that runs deep in the veins of our sense of...
Feb 4, 2024 | Communication, Dating, Relationships
Living out the sacrament of marriage in a peaceful, prosperous time can be challenging enough. So what can we do when life feels turbulent to strengthen our marriage? Note: For those of you who aren’t married, hang in there with me – some of this info can...
Feb 4, 2024 | Catholic Mindfulness, Healthy Living, Stress
Even if you feel like you can’t fit one more thing into your busy life, there simple ways to feel less stressed throughout your day. You don’t even need to find more time to do them. Incorporate Mindfulness to feel less stressed So many people tell...
Feb 3, 2024 | Body-Spirit Integration, Catholic Psychology, Femininity
We’ve talked about intuition, now let’s talk about empathy in women. Females Exhibit Stronger Empathic Abilities In the first article in this series on differences in the female brain that give it an edge over the male brain in certain functions, I talked...
Feb 3, 2024 | Body-Spirit Integration, Catholic Psychology, Healthy Living, Mental Health Awareness Month
Mental health and mental illness – The following is an excerpt edited from a live presentation and Q&A with Dr. Greg Bottaro. Q. We hear about mental illness all the time. But how do we arrive at mental health? Can you give a working concept of what...
Feb 3, 2024 | Catholic Mindfulness, Healthy Living
Catholic Mindfulness can bring peace to your mind as you learn to pay attention to the present moment. The Restless Mind I think it’s safe to assume we all want to experience peace in our lives (and could probably use a little more of it these days). Beyond...
Feb 3, 2024 | Body-Spirit Integration, Catholic Mindfulness, Catholic Psychology
I want to offer my perspective on Catholic mindfulness, given there is a lot of misinformation surrounding this topic. Misconception of Coffee and Mindfulness Coffee aficionados often claim that the spread of its popularity among Catholics is due to Pope Clement...
Feb 3, 2024 | Catholic Psychology, Healing, Mental Health Awareness Month
In this interview with a therapist, get to know Dr. Bryan Violette! This month has been designated as Mental Health Awareness month. During May, I’ve decided to shine a light on various common mental health issues in the upcoming Being Human...
Feb 3, 2024 | Anxiety, Catholic Mindfulness, Depression/Bi-Polar, Trust
Anxiety is widespread today, let’s talk about mental distractions and how mindfulness is a powerful tool for anxiety. Anxiety and Mental Distractions How many times have you set out to get somewhere and you surprise yourself when you get there? “Oh wow, I’m here...
Feb 3, 2024 | Gender and Sexuality, Identity
The Church’s Stance on Homosexuality Instead of talking about what went wrong with the Synod in Rome, (*This article was written in response to the 2015 Synod on the Family.) I’d like to propose some of the things that our world actually needs from the...
Feb 3, 2024 | Body-Spirit Integration, Catholic Mindfulness, Prayer
Outside the present moment – the power of imagination As humans, we possess the capability to encounter in the present moment something that is outside of the present moment in a way that physically changes our brains. It’s a little like having a...
Feb 3, 2024 | Abuse, Human Dignity, Relationships
If I just love him enough, he’ll change…If I just treat her well enough, things will get better…If I just let it go this time, they’ll figure it out and won’t do it again… If you’ve ever known someone in an abusive relationship, these phrases will...
Feb 1, 2024 | Body-Spirit Integration, Catholic Psychology, Femininity
Female Brain vs Male Brain With this post, I’m opening up a short series focusing on the female brain and a few of the ways that it differs from the male brain. Fortunately there is a ton of research out there to rely on instead of just offering musings from my...
Feb 1, 2024 | Catholic Mindfulness, Suffering, Trust
If God is good, then why does He let bad things happen? Catholic mindfulness presupposes faith that God the Father is a good Father. But if God is good and all-powerful and loves us, why does he let awful things happen to good people? Simply put, why does God allow...
Jan 31, 2024 | Identity, Mental Health Awareness Month
Selfishness or Narcissism? What exactly is narcissism, especially as it presents in narcissistic personality disorder? We throw around the term “narcissist” and “narcissism” a lot these days, usually when we refer to someone who we believe has...
Jan 30, 2024 | Catholic Mindfulness, Healthy Living
Life is hard. Doing this human thing can be pretty challenging at times. It can feel overwhelming. Let’s talk about what you can do when you feel overwhelmed. We all have a list of things to point to that justify why we feel overwhelmed: the kids, the deadline,...
