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Do I Have An Eating Disorder?

January 30, 2022

By Meg Mulroy, LPC  We are constantly receiving messages from family, friends, and the media about diet, exercise, and our bodies.  We live in a health-obsessed and fat-phobic society which can reinforce our negative feelings and attitudes towards our own bodies. According to the National Eating Disorder Association, it is estimated that 20 million women and 10 million men in America will have an eating disorder at least once in their life. However, eating disorders can be…

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Giving Therapy a Shot: What If It’s Not a Good Fit?

January 29, 2022

Written by Kara Thompson, Licensed Social Worker You’ve finally decided to give therapy a shot. You got connected with a therapist with availability that worked with your schedule, but decided to skip that “free 15-min consult call” they offered before setting up the first session. You’ve had a few sessions with Therapist A, but are finding yourself feeling disconnected and struggling to feel like they really “get you.” Therapist A takes a more formal and stoic approach,…

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Giving Therapy a Shot: Where Do I Start?

January 28, 2022

Written by Kara Thompson, Licensed Social Worker So, you’ve decided to give therapy a shot. It’s been years of contemplating and debating, maybe sprinkled with a little avoidance as well if we’re being honest. Over the last few years, you’ve heard your friends casually mentioning their therapist in conversation. You’ve even noticed a lot of therapy-related content on Instagram and TikTok… scrolling late at night and secretly questioning if it’s all just a “sign.” You woke up…

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How Can I Cope with a Breakup?

January 27, 2022

By: Danielle Bertini, LPC Breakups can be incredibly painful. Although it can seem impossible in the moment, there are some strategies that can help make the process a little easier, and potentially help you to be better prepared to make good, healthy choices when you’re ready to date again. Carmichael (2020) offers some tips to help cope. Don’t grieve alone. Losing a relationship can almost feel like a death of the relationship. If you view it through…

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How Can I Ease My Parental Anxiety?

January 26, 2022

By: Danielle Bertini, LPC Let’s be honest, being a parent is scary. From abduction and abuse, their child’s friendships, school performance, online threats like bullying, instilling healthy habits, the list goes on and on. It’s natural for parents to worry! However, how much worry is too much worry? In many cases, anxiety paralyzes not just the parent, but also the child, making children fearful and repressing their development.  Parental worry can limit children’s opportunities to engage in…

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How Do I Prioritize Myself?

January 25, 2022

Zoe Mittman, LSW The question, how do I prioritize myself, may have popped into your mind before. If so, you have to come to the right place. Putting yourself first is difficult. You might be struggling to take the first step, or the fear of being perceived as selfish may be consuming you. However, you are not alone and you are in control of prioritizing yourself. You have the potential to take the first step towards improving…

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How to Beat the Holiday Blues

January 24, 2022

Jessica Pontis, LCSW While the holidays are typically portrayed as something uplifting and joyous for many people this may not be the case.  For some the holidays may be a time of stress and heightened perfectionist tendencies, for others a time of grief over a family member who passed away, a few may feel the financial weight that comes with the pressure to give gifts and buy food.  Many may feel saddened by the lack of connection…

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How to Handle the Stress of the Holidays

January 23, 2022

Danielle Farmer, LPC When the weather shifts, the holiday season looms, and the end of the year approaches it can be easy to look at all the things you weren’t able to accomplish or focus on the relationships that do not exist in your life. There are several tips and tricks on how you can take back control of how you are feeling, and it all starts with your perspective.  Tip one: Focus on the Positives It’s…

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How to Prepare for the Holidays With An Eating Disorder, Pt. II

January 22, 2022

By: Zana Van Der Smissen, LPC (TW: Eating Disorders. This article does contain content that might be triggering for some. If you find yourself feeling uncomfortable, please step away from the article and take time for yourself or reach out for help at Symmetry Counseling) Hello again and welcome back to the second part of this blog, how to prepare for the holidays with an eating disorder. In the first part, I talked all about tips on…

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What is EMDR Therapy?

December 7, 2021

Mary-Lauren O’Crowley, NCC, LPC Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR) is an interactive therapy founded by Francine Shapiro back in 1987. Unlike traditional psychotherapy models, EMDR is nontraditional psychotherapy rooted in mindfulness and non-judgmental awareness, resulting in transformative healing. EMDR is one of the treatment modalities that follows the adaptive information processing (AIP) model. According to AIP, people with PTSD have disturbing thoughts that remain unprocessed over time. As per the World Health Organization (WHO), trauma, negative thoughts, and maladaptive behaviors result from unprocessed memories. In most cases, people fear processing such thoughts because of the high…

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