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Mary-Lauren O’Crowley, MA, NCC, LPC When you are the first to arrive at work and the last to leave, have never missed a deadline or a meeting, and are always prepared, most people will find it difficult to believe you could actually have an anxiety disorder. Some types of anxiety may not present themselves in the most obvious ways. While anxiety disorders can cause feelings of overwhelm, fear, and panic, they can also lead to overthinking, people-pleasing,…

Steven Losardo, LMFT Music Therapy and Its Intersections With Wellness When you hear the words ‘music therapy’ what comes to mind? You may have tons of questions, such as, “does music therapy actually work?” or “what exactly IS music therapy?” One thing is for certain: music touches the soul in ways words simply can’t.   This soul connection is what makes music therapy so incredibly powerful for all people (Tams, 2021). As a result, music therapy can help…

Amanda Ann Gregory, LCPC, EMDR Certified EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a type of therapy that uses bilateral stimulation (such as eye movements, pulsars, and sounds) to process distressing memories and reprocess negative core beliefs. EMDR has been shown to treat many different psychological and physical conditions, such as trauma, complicated grief, substance abuse, anxiety, phobias, chronic pain, dissociation, and stress.   As a seasoned certified EMDR therapist, one of the most common questions that I…

Amanda Ann Gregory, LCPC, EMDR Certified Therapist  Everyone breaks up with their therapist at some point. It’s rare to participate in therapy with the same therapist for your entire life. The decision to end the therapeutic relationship can be made by the client, the therapist, or both, and it is made for many different reasons.  Are you feeling that it may be time to break up with your therapist? Consider these reasons:  You Don’t Have a Good…

Steven Losardo, LMFT We devote our resources such as time, money, and talents to cultivate our careers. We learn, prepare, practice, learn in real-time, and repeat. Meanwhile, as personal lives overlap, and with no shortage of self-growth options, we similarly devote our resources to self-improvement. In the process, we overlook the importance of our most intimate relationship- marriage.  We will spend resources on things like losing weight or joining a gym to look damn good for our…

Steven Losardo, LMFT Having an innate desire to care for those closest to us is part of what makes us human. However, when those needs become excessive and unhealthy, this can be a sign of codependency.  The term ‘codependency’ refers to emotional, mental, or physical reliance on another person.  Codependency often stems from unstable attachments formed during childhood that then arise later on in future adult relationships (Fellizar, 2022; Gould, 2020). Codependent relationships are an unbalanced dynamic…

Jessica Pontis, LCSW We all know that Chicago weather in the spring can be a roller coaster, some days it’s beautiful and sunny and the next day it’s snowing. While it may be inconsistent now, we can all recognize that warmer weather is just around the corner. While some look forward to the summer months, it can be anxiety-provoking for those who may be uncomfortable or self-conscious about their bodies. For those who struggle with body-image issues,…

Amanda Ann Gregory, LCPC, EMDR Certified Therapy  Parentification is a term used to describe a role reversal that occurs between a parent and a child in which the child acts as the caretaker for their parent. Parentification typically occurs when parents struggle with attachment, trauma, mental illness, substance abuse, emotional immaturity, or a lack of emotional, financial, or community support.  Parentification looks like many things, and the child may be a voluntary or involuntary participant. Here are…

Amanda Ann Gregory, LCPC, EMDR Certified  The time has come in when you need to return to the office. You might be returning due to expectations from your employer, a job change, or perhaps an awareness that it’s in your best interest. Regardless of your reasons, you might experience a potentially stressful transition. Therefore, it’s best to support yourself in order to ease the discomfort of such a transition.  If you are returning to the office, here…