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By: Danielle Bertini, LCPC Let’s face it, sometimes apologies can be tough. They require us to put our egos aside and acknowledge that we may have hurt someone we really care about. And what people don’t realize is that understanding how to apologize is something that can be a learned skill. Phillips (2021) offers five tips on how to have more successful apologies. The Apology Must Restore Self-Respect and Dignity Words or behaviors that make a person…
Read MoreNatalia DeSouza, LPC Many couples struggle to find ways to improve their communication skills and deepen intimacy. Conflict in relationships is completely normal, however, it is important for couples to learn how to navigate difficult moments without adding more strain on the relationship. Dr. John Gottman describes three skills and one rule for positively communicating with a partner, especially during times of high stress and conflict. This conversational road map can help by strengthening the couple’s emotional…
Read MoreAmanda Ann Gregory, LCPC, EMDR Certified The end of a romantic relationship can be devastating due to all the losses that you are forced to experience all at once. You have lost the relationship, future plans/aspirations, financial/physical/emotional support, and perhaps, even aspects of your own identity. These losses need to be grieved so that you are able to move forward. After a breakup, you might immediately begin grieving, or it might take some time for you to…
Read MoreAmanda Ann Gregory, LCPC, EMDR Certified When you experience intense anxiety, anger, sadness, or excitement, you might need to calm yourself. But do you know how? Are you aware of the self-calming methods that might work best for you? Self-calming methods are often considered coping skills and are ways of exercising self-care, yet different methods work for different people. The trick is to discover which methods best meet your needs and are the most effective in…
Read MoreAmanda Ann Gregory, LCPC, EMDR Certified When you experience intense anxiety, anger, or sadness, you might need to calm yourself. Do you know how? It’s important that you find self-calming methods that work best for you. There are physical and cognitive methods for self-calming, and they often overlap (for an account of common methods of physical self-calming, see my blog piece titled How Can I Calm Myself Down? Physical Self-Calming Methods). Try these cognitive self-calming methods in…
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Hannah Hopper, LCPC Emotional neglect is typically something we think about in association with childhood, but it can also take place in a committed relationship. It’s the absence of enough emotional awareness and response and can be a painful experience at any point in life. Because emotional neglect is invisible, a couple may be experiencing pain in their relationship for many years without fully understanding what’s causing it. In a relationship with emotional neglect, both partners are…
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By: Bridgette W. Gottwald, LPC, NCC Anxious? Depressed? Worried? Stressed? It happens to the best of us, at least every now and then with all of the many curve balls and unexpected things that life throws at us. Mindfulness exercises allow us to stop what we are doing, take a breath, observe thoughts, feelings, and emotions, and proceed with something that will help us in the present moment. It will result in us tapping into the present…
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Mary-Lauren O’Crowley, NCC, LPC I recently found myself instructing a patient who had expressed feelings of anger to utilize relaxation techniques in an effort to mitigate the emotion. The patient responded by telling me that relaxation, including meditation and deep breathing, had proved useless; they still felt angry, overwhelmed, and worked up. This got me thinking — why are we so quick to fix or get rid of anger? And why must the “fix” involve doing the…
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Mary-Lauren O’Crowley, NCC, LPC What is Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria and How Does it Relate to ADHD? Rejection and RSD Rejection can make us feel unappreciated or unwelcome. These are natural responses to someone pushing us away or feeling as though we are not valued. While rejection is typically not pleasant for anyone, it can trigger a strong emotional response in people with rejection sensitive dysphoria. With rejection sensitive dysphoria, these feelings can result in severe physical and…
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Steven Losardo, LMFT When we find ourselves in the hard places where burnout and stress threaten our whole lives, we need to invest what little we have left into our emotional intelligence (Nasser & Sawicki, 2009; Harvard Health Publishing, 2022). This is one of the only ways to assure our well-being in the future. Being emotionally intelligent ensures that we can grow, heal, and manage what life throws our way without losing ourselves in the process. Put…
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