Guided Body Scan Meditation: How Is It Done?

Guided Body Scan Meditation

By: Bridgette W. Gottwald, LPC, NCC Often many people are intimated by meditation and think that they “can’t do it.” My hope with this blog is to provide you with an approachable and easy way to do a body scan meditation, with the main goal of relieving stress and tension. It can be difficult to…

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Feeling Overwhelmed? These DBT Skills Can Help

Hannah Hopper Dialectical Behavior Therapy is an approach that helps to cope with overwhelming and intense emotions. DBT helps people build four major skills including mindfulness, distress tolerance, interpersonal effectiveness and emotional regulation. Mindfulness and distress tolerance will help with skills that work towards acceptance of thoughts and behaviors.  Sometimes the most difficult part of…

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Having a Panic Attack?

Having a Panic Attack

Amanda Ann Gregory, LCPC, EMDR Certified  Panic attacks can be terrifying, as you may feel as though you are losing control of your mind or body. Here are the common symptoms of a panic attack: Racing heart beat Shortness of breath Nausea Chest tightness Dry mouth Sweating Chills/hot flashes  Numbness/tingling Headache Intense fear/anxiety  Tightness in…

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How Can My Vagus Nerve Treat PTSD?

Amanda Ann Gregory, LCPC, EMDR Certified  The vagus nerve has received a lot of attention from the psychology and medical research communities. This is because this nerve may play an integral part in treating physical and psychological illnesses in the future. In fact, there is preliminary evidence that stimulation of the vagus nerve may help…

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Is This Normal? When to Leave Your Therapist

When to Leave Your Therapist

Hannah Hopper, LPC Some signs of a bad therapist are easier to spot than others. If your therapist is shaming you or insulting you, that’s a good indication to find someone else. And when looking out for the warning signs, it’s important to remember that therapists aren’t perfect; they’re people too and will make mistakes…

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How To Know When It’s Time To Break Up With Your Therapist

Mary-Lauren O’Crowley, NCC, LPC  Sometimes therapy or counseling is all you need to get through a difficult period. However, you may find yourself sitting in your counselor’s office wondering, “Is this therapy really working?” The reason could be as simple as the two of you not clicking or as complex as an awful therapist at…

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The Inner Child: What is it and Why is it Important?

The Inner Child

Mary-Lauren O’Crowley, NCC, LPC  No matter who we are or where we are from, we will experience pain- whether through neglect, abuse, death, or disease. We are all human and thus, we will all sustain emotional injury throughout our lifetime. Many of these wounds, however, will be experienced in childhood, as we are at a…

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Codependency: What Is It and How Can We Heal From it?

Mary-Lauren O’Crowley  Sometimes referred to as relationship addiction, codependency is a learned behavior through which an individual comes to rely heavily on their partner, often forgoing their own needs and desires in the process. This gravely impacts the individual’s ability to have a mutually healthy and satisfying relationship. A codependent individual may take on the…

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What Is Attachment and Why Is It Important?

What Is Attachment

Mary-Lauren O’Crowley, NCC, LPC  Have you ever wondered how certain people are drawn to others? What makes an anxious, insecure and often clingy young lady drawn to a self-absorbed and avoidant young man? Why does an unemotional female seem to always be drawn to a man who feels a need to get desperately validated? What…

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Is Resentment Present In Your Relationship?

To answer this question, one must first ask, how does resentment find its way into your relationship? Resentment is defined as “a feeling of bitterness, animosity, or hostility elicited by something or someone perceived as insulting or injurious (APA, 2020).” An article from BetterHelp (2020) has broken down resentment into three components: persistent anger, unfair…

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