How Can I Improve Communication With My Partner?
Natalia 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…
Read MoreHow Can I Grieve After a Breakup?
Amanda 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…
Read MoreHow Can I Calm Myself Down? Physical Self-Calming Methods
Amanda 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…
Read MoreHow Can I Calm Myself Down? Cognitive Self-Calming Methods
Amanda 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…
Read MoreSigns of Emotional Neglect in Your Relationship
Hannah Hopper, LCPC Emotional neglect is typically something we think about in association with childhood. it can also take place in a committed relationship. It’s the absence of enough emotional awareness and response, and it can be a painful experience at any point in life. Because emotional neglect is invisible, a couple may be experiencing…
Read MoreRAIN: How Can I Utilize Mindfulness During Difficult Times?
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…
Read MoreThe Benefits of Making Space for Anger
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…
Read MoreWhat is Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria
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…
Read MoreCan You Develop Emotional Intelligence?
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…
Read MoreWhat Will Your Resentment Cost You?
Steven Losardo, LMFT How Do We Define Resentment? One way to think of resentment is when we “feel again (or re-send) the pain or hurt caused by others” (Tylim, 2005). When we are still suffering, resentment refers us to the past, and we project thoughts of an undefined fantasy of revenge into the future (Tylim,…
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