marriage and family therapist
By: Bridgette W. Gottwald, LPC, NCC “The pursuit of achievement distracts from the deeply ordinary activities and relationships that make life meaningful.” The Relentless Pursuit of Booze The relentless pursuit of booze – this title likely makes you think about a depressing story of an alcoholic amidst a downward spiral. With alcoholism, physical dependency keeps a person “committed to their vice” even though it takes away their happiness. However, drinking is a “relationship, not an activity.” Caroline…
Read MoreBy: Danielle Bertini, LPC You can probably think of a situation where a person just bugs you. Maybe you just don’t see eye to eye on things, and every time you have a conversation, your blood boils. The sad thing is that when you first met this person, you really thought there was a connection there. Before you make the decision to cut off all communication, maybe you end up in a situation where you are…
Read MoreBy Eve Brownstone, LCPC This a friendly reminder and encouragement to take care of ourselves and each other. I know we are tired of this lockdown. Enough already. It’s keeping us safe. I am looking forward to the vaccine, picnics with friends, swimming in a pool, hugs, and going for coffee at the local coffee shop. Coffee! What are you looking forward to? Wanted to offer a few creative ideas to help sustain our mental health. Lately,…
Read MoreAmanda Ann Gregory, LCPC “Self-care” has become a buzzword, and for good reason. Many people have discovered that practicing self-care benefits their physical and mental health. As a therapist, I often encounter people who fear that their self-care practices might be “selfish.” Many clinicians will say that self-care is never selfish, but I don’t think it’s that easy. There can be overlap between these two concepts, and it’s important to explore whether your own practices of self-care…
Read MoreBy Shannon M. Duffy, MFT, LCPC To say this past year has been challenging is an understatement. We have all been pushed and pulled past our limits, experienced emotions, thoughts, and feelings that created more distress than we are accustomed to. Not to mention the tragedies that have occurred from lives lost from Covid-19, violence, and natural disasters. What has been progressing many of us through these challenging times is having HOPE. Hope can be discovered, rediscovered,…
Read MoreMatthew Cuddeback LCSW Goodbye you terrible, rotten, no good, very bad year! 2020, you won’t be missed. As we come to the end of the year it can be fun and useful to look back and think about your experiences and what you have learned. There are, however, a lot of traps that lie in taking a look back like this. The dangers that are present for reflecting like this are that we can often be very…
Read MoreMany of us have become increasingly tired and sluggish lately but can’t seem to figure out why. Our routines haven’t changed. We still have to work and take care of daily responsibilities. So, we may find ourselves stumped as to why we’ve started to feel more down. Well, in case you need a reminder, the weather has been in the single digits, the days are cloudy and short, we’re still stuck in quarantine, we’re consuming an unrelenting…
Read MoreMary-Lauren O’Crowley, LPC As Ralph Waldo puts it “The first wealth is health”, health is something that must be first priority. When talking about heath, it doesn’t always mean physical health. In fact, it includes mental health as well which is often overlooked by many. It’s 2021 and definitely high time we start building some healthy habits that fuel both our mind and body. Many people find it hard to opt a new habit or change an…
Read MoreMary-Lauren O’Crowley, LPC As human beings, we tend to make many relationships in life. Some are given to us by nature i.e., our family while others we make over the course of our lifetime. Relationships are the basic human need and they play a huge role in our happiness and mental health. From friends to life partners to acquaintances, every relationship nurtures us in a unique way. But relationships aren’t that easy and simple as depicted in…
Read MoreSteven Topper LCPC “Where will you visit first once the pandemic is over?” Many of us have asked this question and been asked this question over the past few months. So many of us are yearning to get back into the universal hobby of traveling. One of the major benefits of travelling, and what compels so many of us to venture out into the world, is that it allows us to see how other people live. On…
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