How Your Vagus Nerve Can Support PTSD Healing
People search for new ways to understand trauma symptoms, and interest in the vagus nerve and PTSD continues to rise. This nerve influences emotional and physical responses. Its role gives people new options to calm intense reactions linked to past trauma. At Symmetry Counseling, we look at how this nerve functions and how you can…
Read MoreIs This Normal? 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…
Read MoreHow 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…
Read MoreThe Inner Child: What is it and Why is it Important?
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…
Read MoreCodependency: 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…
Read MoreWhat Is Attachment and Why Is It Important?
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…
Read MoreIs 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…
Read MoreSimple Ways to Develop Assertive Communication
Jessica Pontis, LCSW Everyone wants to have a voice, but sometimes we struggle to connect with our strength and speak our truth. We all wish to be assertive when it comes to standing up for ourselves and what we believe in, though struggle to find the words or are concerned about the perception of others. …
Read MoreThe Importance of a Best Friend
Megan Mulroy, LPC, NCC When I was 20 years old, I was lucky enough to be given a random roommate named Alli who became my best friend. Alli and I have been through thick and thin, and I don’t know what I would do without her. Friendships are so important to our mental health and…
Read MoreThe Case For Mindfulness In All Our Busy Lives
Steven Topper LCPC Over the past few years, we’ve seen a boom in the proliferation of mindfulness. Commodified to apps, businesses have attempted to harness the power of mindfulness to increase productivity. Within that proliferation has been a watering down of the tenets of mindfulness- which is frequently the case when ideas move into the…
Read More