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By: Bridgette W. Gottwald, LPC, NCC If you read my previous blog posts, this is the final part to the three-part blog series about human growth and development. It discusses the progression from what you need to know about growth and development, the evolution of children’s growth, and the final years of childhood as one slowly approaches adolescence where much of their personality and traits have already developed and are set in stone. Amidst middle childhood, which…
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By: Bridgette W. Gottwald, LPC, NCC You might find yourself asking why is all of this information important? Well, in learning more about the developmental phase from infancy to toddlerhood, you will start to see and understand how things that took place within your earliest developmental phase and how they have affected your personality and ways of looking at life. The evolution of growth is fascinating and it happens quickly with children. Amidst the developmental stage of…
Read MoreBy: Bridgette W. Gottwald, LPC, NCC The developmental phase from infancy to toddlerhood is described as a pivotal growth period of drastic change in the beginning of a human’s life. This phase, like all other developmental stages, has many milestones involving developmental, physical, emotional, spiritual and cognitive components. Infancy to toddlerhood is one of the most remarkable and fast paced times of development where extreme changes in the body and brain occur that support motor skills and…
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Written by Kara Thompson, Licensed Social Worker In Part I of this series, we talked about the reality of childhood friendships being founded on similarities, companionship, and chance. These relationships are often heavily impacted by the adults in our lives, with more minimal emphasis on choice. In Part II of this series, we are going to dive into the ways in which friendships transition throughout the lifespan. But first, let’s go back to the basics. As defined…
Read MoreWritten by Kara Thompson, Licensed Social Worker “Friendship, a state of enduring affection, esteem, intimacy, and trust between two people. “ – Britannica When thinking about growing up as a child, some of us may be able to recall both sweet and bitter memories around our journey of making friends. Maybe you’re able to remember that time in 2nd grade that you invited a classmate to a playdate but were fiercely rejected. Or maybe you have stored…
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By: Bridgette W. Gottwald, LPC, NCC We can all agree – arguing stinks. Although marriage can be one of the most wonderful and rewarding parts of life, it can also be challenging and it’s something that has to be constantly worked on. All close and intimate relationships experience conflict sometimes. It can be healthy and productive as long as we go about it in the right ways. General, agreed-upon rules can help! I always tell my clients…
Read MoreJessica Pontis, LCSW Let’s face it, the better part of the last 18 months has been incredibly overwhelming for most of us. As we face increasing numbers in Covid-19 cases we may be asked to pull from what limited emotional reserves we have left to see this pandemic out. In order to do this, we may have to learn the important skill of emotional budgeting. When we think of financial budgeting we think of planning out how…
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By Andrew McNaughton, LCSW, CADC Symmetry Counseling Chicago Harm reduction is a behavior change approach through which an individual reduces their exposure to risk without a complete elimination of the problematic behavior, all while giving oneself the opportunity to learn important new life coping skills. This is for people who are contemplating significant behavior change, but are not ready to completely stop the behavior since they lack skills to cope with emotional discomfort they soothe with their…
Read MoreBy Andrew McNaughton, LCSW, CADC Symmetry Counseling Chicago In working with clients in individual psychotherapy, there are times when progress has slowed or become increasingly difficult to sustain. A mentor of mine once told me, “Therapy treats the mind while psychiatry treats the brain.” Psychiatry is the practice of utilizing medical interventions by a MD to treat mood disorders. It is not the same as therapy, as psychiatrists primarily focus on the treatment of symptoms through medication…
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Matthew Cuddeback LCSW First and foremost, we all have our own substance we use and sometimes misuse. For many it’s caffeine, alcohol, or food. For many others its prescription meds, marijuana, or opiates. For others still it might not be a substance, it might be a behavior such as going to the gym, or risky sexual behaviors. It is good, when discussing this issue, to recognize that we all have our own base level struggles here. So,…
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