The Anatomy of Gratitude
By: Bridgette W. Gottwald, LPC, NCC “Today is a wonderful day…I haven’t seen this one before” – Maya Angelou Recently, I listened to an insightful podcast titled “The Anatomy of Gratitude” with David Steindl-Rast, a ninety-three-year-old Benedictine monk and teacher on the subject of gratitude. He makes useful distinctions about experiences that are “life-giving” and…
Read MoreRecognizing Your Triggers Part III
By Eric Dean JD, MBA, MA, MA, LPC, CADC This is the third and final installment of this blog series on recognizing your triggers for substance use and/or emotions such as anger. In this post, I will present some more common internal triggers and ways to cope with them. This post’s acronym is FINE. FINE…
Read MoreThe SWOT Analysis
By Eric Dean JD MBA MA MA LPC CADC To create plans for how we are going to achieve our goals, we need to know our starting point. SWOT Analysis, which stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats, is a tool used by organizations and people to evaluate their current positions. SWOT analysis can help…
Read MoreMental and Physical Health Benefits of Dogs (And Other Pets)
As of about three weeks ago I officially joined the group of individuals who adopted a puppy during quarantine. For some time, I’ve been playing with the idea of whether getting a puppy was a good or bad idea based on my lifestyle. Switching to working from home gave me the final push to take…
Read MoreSimple Stress Guide, Part 2
If you read my last blog post titled, Simple Stress Guide Part 1, referencing The New York Times article, “How to Be Better at Stress” by author Tara Parker-Pope, you may be wondering about the additional tips about how to better manage stress. Below are the remaining key points from Tara’s article touching about tips…
Read MoreSimple Stress Guide, Part 1
I work with many clients who are under a great deal amount of stress which leads them to either feel anxious and/or depressed. My job as their clinical therapist is to better understand why the client is stressed and then to provide coping strategies to better manage their stress. I recently read an article from…
Read MoreHow to Find Joy When Life Gets Tough
It is no secret that life is a little strange right now. The world as we know it has been turned upside down and people are running into hardships they may not have encountered otherwise. In an uncertain environment, how do we find joy in our daily lives? It’s helpful to understand what the definition…
Read MoreIdentifying Your Communication Style
Hannah Hopper, LPC One topic that continues to come up in many of my sessions is communication styles. We are constantly communicating with those around us, and our communication style can either serve as a bridge or be a barrier to creating connections. Going to therapy is an incredibly effective tool for working on…
Read MoreGetting Over a Breakup
Kaitlin Broderick LCPC Relationship breakups are something that almost everyone experiences at one point or other during their life. They can leave us feeling devastated and confused. More often than not, our romantic relationships are the area in our lives where we have devoted the most time and energy into, and when this is suddenly…
Read MoreFamily Enmeshment: Part 1
By: Danielle Bertini Being close with your family is not an inherently negative thing. For me, coming from a large Italian family meant that I was constantly around family, sharing stories, food, and details about my life. So, what does it mean to be too close? Enmeshment within family systems describes a lack of boundaries…
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