marriage and family therapist

There is extensive research out there stating the benefits and importance of reading to and with your young children. Now, research is even indicating the impact of reading to your infants, way before they can see, hear, or comprehend images and words. We know how beneficial it is to read with our kids, but now we need to understand the benefits our reading to infants and the profound positive impact it has on their development. Reading to…

We all have been in the position as a child and your parents just do not understand you. No matter how open and honest you are trying to be, they just have a hard time understanding who you are and what you want. How do you manage being able to get heard and being able to manage conflict that might arise. Continue reading to gain some tips to better manage conflict with your parents or even as…

I remember being a child and constantly hearing my parents talk about saving money. When I reached first grade and we learned how to count a dollar with quarters, I remember thinking that I wanted to save my quarters rather than buying gumballs like my friends. I say this to highlight the point that young children are learning/hearing messages about money every day whether that is intentional parenting or not. So think, what money messages do you…

As a parent, are you ever amazed at your child’s art of playing? Are you intrigued at watching their creative play? As a parent of a one-year-old child, I am often curious and fascinated about how she knows how to play. Children do not need to be taught how to play but rather seem to possess a natural-born intuition about how to play. They seem to know how to even lead their own play and possess awareness…

Hannah Hopper Many of my clients come into counseling frustrated with family relationships and feeling that they were pushed into agreeing to too much, feeling like they could not ask for what they needed, being unable to say “no” to certain requests from family members, or having trouble staying calm and in control of their emotions when family starts to get under their skin. Whether it is the family you grew up with or your extended family…

Throughout our upbringing and early adulthood two of our main goals are for happiness and success. These words can mean different things to various individuals and one person’s version of success may not be another’s but overall, these are the two things most individuals work towards throughout their lives. Despite this being a priority for many years, there comes a time in individual’s life where their goals shift. This is typically when a man or woman decide…

Childhood is a critical time for becoming who we are, and our lives are undefined potential. Our dependence on others and need for nurturing are pivotal; the way in which we experience this support in childhood determines our ability to ask for help later. Sometimes our caregivers and communities are very good to us when we’re young, and other times we are not so lucky. When someone is abused it can cast a shadow through the rest…