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I work with many clients who struggle with making tough decisions in their daily routines, whether it is something as simple as choosing between bananas or apples at the grocery store, or something as big as a significant career change. When working with these clients, I use a bit of psychodynamic theory, asking them about their childhood and how they made decisions when they were younger. Many times, they report that their parents tried to make decisions…
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Madissyn Fredericks, Licensed Professional Counselor, Symmetry Counseling We tend to grow up believing our fairy tale, other half, or soulmate is going to come into our lives exactly when we want them to. The truth is, we don’t know when someone special is going to enter our lives. For many of us, there will be a lot of swiping, bad dates, heartbreak, and rejection before we find a strong connection with someone. This means that you could…
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Madissyn Fredericks, Licensed Professional Counselor, Symmetry Counseling Those three little words, “I love you”, carry so much weight. While it may seem obvious to let someone know you love them, speaking those words doesn’t come easy to everyone. People experience love in many different forms and there are so many ways to express your love other than saying it. The most important thing is to express your love to your partner in some way, shape, or form.…
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The recent mural to honor the Late Robin Williams in Chicago has made news, and of course, many emotions. This has been bringing back memories of his cause of death, along with other celebrities who passed in 2018 due to suicide. Often, we have friends or family members who are going through a difficult time (or even ourselves), and this can lead to thoughts of suicide. It’s important to recognize the signs of someone who is struggling,…
Read MoreWhen we start dating someone, we tend to feel what people call the “honeymoon” stage in which everything is perfect. Neither individual in the relationship can do anything wrong and everything is all rosy and perfect. Both partners are putting their first foot forward and are showing off their true colors. After a few months, partners start to argue or have differences. That is when the honeymoon stage is officially over. Being able to identify what your…
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I work with many clients who struggle with their anxiety. To assess where the client’s anxiety is stemming from, I help them track their thinking patterns, which can allow the client to start changing those patterns. Doing these types of thought exercises can change their emotions, feelings, and actions; this type of intervention is called Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). It takes a lot of practice to change thinking patterns, and you need to start tapping into your…
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We may have all heard of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, death, famine, war, and conquest; however, have you heard of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse for communication? According to Dr. John Gottman, the Four Horsemen are Criticism, Contempt, Defensiveness, and Stonewalling. He labeled these communication styles as the Four Horsemen, because research was able to predict the end of a relationship when these styles were being used in communication. As a therapist, I see…
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Amanda Gregory, LCPC, EMDR Practitioner Blood is thicker than water. This familiar proverb might not mean what you think. It may not refer to the strength of genetic family ties but to the power of the bonds we forge with those outside our biological family. Some believe that the phrase “Blood is thicker than water” originated from the saying “The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb,” which conveys that those who…
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Amanda Gregory, LCPC, EMDR Practitioner Do you sometimes feel that you need an active parent in your life even though you’re already an adult? The ability to take care of oneself as an adult, commonly called adulting, can be difficult to learn and even harder to achieve consistently. But it is required in order to live independently. You can succeed at adulting by learning to act as your own parent. First, think of yourself as a child.…
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Unfortunately, summer in Chicago has come and gone (so quickly!)! Now we are feeling the cooler weather and leaves fall, that just means winter is coming, and it will be here longer than we want. Usually people try to escape Chicago winters and go somewhere warm since as we all know, our winters last an eternity. Sometimes with our schedules, we cannot escape Chicago, so in this post I am going to help you identify ways that…
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