Happy Mother’s Day–To All the Ladies
Like most holidays, there is a shadow moment that Mother’s day can bring. There can never be enough recognition for the love, sacrifice and nurture of a committed mother. And motherhood is a role much bigger than the limits of genetics, pregnancy or even life. As much as a mother loves, she also grieves. One […]
Common Myths About Mental Health Counseling
One of the biggest barriers to embracing needed change in our lives is knowing our expectations. Expectations for therapy are no different. There is a lot of information floating around, personal testimony, and even previous personal experiences that create our ideas of mental wellness and what mental health counseling actually is. Let’s talk about some […]
Counseling Life Goal: Mastering Relationship Boundaries
In the intricate dance of human relationships, boundaries often emerge as an area of challenge. We may know they are important and still have difficulty understanding what they really look like. Learning to define these invisible lines is important to our emotional, physical, and mental space. They help us create intention for our interactions and […]
Empowering Everyone: Learning Mental Health First Aid
Mental health is an integral part of overall well-being, yet it’s often overlooked or misunderstood. Just as physical first aid is essential in emergencies, mental health first aid is crucial in supporting individuals experiencing mental health challenges. Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need to be a mental health professional to provide effective assistance. With […]
Play “Therapy” for Adults: How what you do this weekend helps your mental health
Maybe you think of playgrounds, dolls or even video games. Maybe you think of playing tag or having a water fight. Whatever your idea of play, it was probably fun. What you didn’t know is how good it was for you. Play builds creativity, courage, openness and connection with others. Even for adults, the true […]
How Perfectionism Can Block Counseling Progress
Mental health counseling is rarely an easy thing. It can sound to an outsider like a fluffy luxury, but often our pain and “stuckness” is locked around things that are difficult to talk about, let alone challenge. Not only can difficult feelings emerge when we start counseling, we may retreat deeper into our most comfortable […]
The Power of Honesty: Why being honest with yourself and others matters
In a world full of self-promotion, it can be surprisingly difficult to actually ask people for what we need and want. That’s because honesty isn’t just about words; it’s a way of living. We may “know” that honest communication leads to more genuine connections, but it can also lead to total dismissal and invalidation. While […]
The 5 Cs of ADHD Parenting
The 5 C’s of ADHD parenting was created by Dr Sharon Saline to support families of neurodivergent kiddos. The philosophy of these tools are to reduce the stress and improve communication with your ADHD child or even partner. As a therapist who works with kiddos, many in therapy due to the challenges of ADHD, I use these concepts […]
Play Therapy and Kids with Anger
If you are a big kid or a little kid, anger shows up in a variety of situations. It can be an indication that we are frustrated and unable to reach our goals and desires, or that we feel a need for self-protection. Anger can also be a key reason that parents and teachers search […]
Counseling for Motivation: Did the Pandemic Make us “Lazy”?
Trying to figure out motivation is a big task, partly because it is so specific to the individual. And there are times when context plays a big role. The pandemic may impact us in slightly different ways, and it was also a major event that stopped normal life and created an unchosen pause. Most of […]