The Blog
Being Patient and Persistent Through Difficult Times
One of the more difficult aspects of my job as a Mental Health Clinician is watching individuals suffer and struggle through intense and somewhat chronic-feeling life situations, while desperately “treading water”, doing everything they can just to survive.
As I’ve worked with these individuals, I often find myself thinking and asking questions…
Emotion Coaching: How to raise a resilient child (and ultimately a happy child)
When parents are surveyed about what they want most for their child, the answer is usually happiness. It’s perfectly reasonable and something we can all admit we want for ourselves. But there’s one inherent problem in making this the goal for your child…...
What You Don’t Know About Narcissism Can Hurt You
By controlling another person a narcissist feels powerful and avoids facing their own deep fears of rejection, shame, or powerlessness. A hallmark feature of narcissism is their lack of empathy–not being able to see your perspective or take your needs into account. They have no problem making demands or using people because they feel entitled.
Raising Emotionally Intelligent Kids, And Why It’s Better Than Hoping They’ll Be Happy
What do you want most for your kids? The answer I frequently hear is happiness. Parents want their kids to be happy. I mean what could be better than happy kids, right? It’s a great idea, with one inherent problem… happiness is a temporary state that can be elusive to maintain.
Setting New Boundaries
To live a more authentic life it is imperative that you know what you value, what you need, and what you want. Living in this way allows you to speak your truth by setting boundaries to protect these values. If you were raised not believing that your needs mattered, it may be difficult to discern what it is that you want or need.
Emotional Healing through Validation and Parts Work
Emotional healing through the art of validation and parts work, is one of the most effective approaches to therapy. One of the biggest obstacles in emotional healing often involves conflicts between different parts of ourselves.
How’s Your Pain?
It is estimated that over 50 million adults in the U.S. suffer from chronic pain. That’s over 20% of the adult population and a lot of pain (1). According to the CDC, “Chronic pain, one of the most common reasons adults seek medical care, has been linked to restrictions in mobility and daily activities, dependence on opioids, anxiety, and depression, and poor perceived health or reduced quality of life”
EMDR: A Talk Less, Process More, Approach to Healing Trauma
Imagine visiting a mental health professional for trauma symptoms after a car accident, sexual assault, robbery, job loss, return from military combat, or even an animal attack. Your counselor suggests that you may benefit from Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing therapy (EMDR). You are desperate for relief and agree to the treatment without hesitation.
Believe and Overcoming the Impossible
Imagine all the positive and incredible things we can achieve in this life if we allow ourselves to work through and modify the negative limits and boundaries that we set on ourselves. Now, I’m not saying that having some of those limits and restrictions in life is always a bad thing, because I do know that they can help keep and maintain our lives in peace and order.
Owning your Emotions & Triggers
How many times have you heard someone say to you, ‘You made me feel ___ ?’ Or have you ever recognized yourself saying it to someone else? What’s wrong with this statement? Let’s identify the blame that inherently...
What Every Couple Needs to Know
“We’re not who we used to be… we’re just two ghosts standing in place of you and me,” sings Harry Styles, describing in aching tones what it’s like to be with your lover and feel as though you don’t even know them anymore.
Change Your Thoughts and Your Thoughts Will Change You
Have you ever sent a friend a text and didn’t hear back so you wondered if you were being snubbed or ignored? That’s your brain telling you a story, trying to make sense of your situation. Your brain could have said, They care about me, so they must be busy. But brains generally assume the worst. Why? Because over time our brains evolved to keep us safe by looking for danger. The second we catch a whiff of uncertainty or something triggers a….
Growth Edges—Difficult and Packed with Potential
That place right before growth happens is the hardest. It’s often gripped with fear, self-loathing, desperation, and/or hopelessness. It can feel like all is lost and you’ll be stuck forever, but this is when you are approaching your growth edge. It‘s the place where you get to wake up to the parts of yourself that are not so conscious so that you can be more fully present in the moment. It’s where are you get to heal wounded parts of yourself.
Stop Playing the Game of Relational Jumanji
Stop playing the game of relational Jumanji. Find more peace in your relationships with this solution! Recently I came across a book that changed the way I view relationships. It spoke of something called, The Drama Triangle. This concept was first described by...
It’s Not Just In Your Head. It’s In Your Body Too.
Anxiety and worry often get a bad rap for being “just in your head,” but research affirms that symptoms of anxiety reside in our body as well. To address worry or fear in our head without taking into consideration how it affects the body, would be missing half the...
