Divided Americans and Couples Therapy: Reducing Conflict within Relationships, Pt. 1
Bridgette W. Gottwald, LPC, NCC When it comes to politics, friends, relatives and strangers are consistently shouting at each other as opposed to engaging in discussions. Emotionally charged exchanges seem to be more of the norm these days “in venues ranging from local governments to national ruling bodies across the world.” Sometimes you may be…
Read MoreYour Stress Response
Eric Dean JD, MBA, MA, MA, LPC, CADC Stress is universal: everyone at some point in their lives will experience it. Stress can stem from work, relationships, anxiety or pretty much anything. In fact, stress can happen without a direct cause, or stimulus. Stress, understandably, has a negative connotation. However, it is not always a…
Read MoreAsserting Needs
Danielle Bertini, LPC It can be hard expressing needs directly to someone, especially when our wishes aren’t aligned with the other person’s. Asking for what we need is the principle behind assertiveness (Gillihan, 2018). Being assertive often gets confused with being aggressive, as if being assertive means demanding that others give you what you want.…
Read MoreSingles are Doing Better Than Ever
Megan Mulroy, LPC Single people are often stereotyped and stigmatized as miserable and lonely, when that could not be farther from the truth. Recent studies have found that married people become no happier after their nuptials than they were when they were single (DePaulo, 2019). Furthermore, research shows that if a couple divorces, they become…
Read MoreSo, Can Nature Actually Help Reduce My Anxiety?
I work with many clients who are stressed and overwhelmed related to their jobs. My job as their clinical therapist is to better understand why the client is anxious at their job and then possible coping strategies to better manage their anxiety at work. One thing I often recommend to clients is utilizing a holistic…
Read MoreThe Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse: A Lesson in Unhealthy Communication Styles
Kyle Lawell, Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) It’s safe to say that nearly all couples have arguments at some point in their relationship. We may argue about whose in-laws we’re going to see for the holidays, who took out the garbage last week, or what color we should paint the kitchen. In the best-case scenario, these…
Read MoreIt’s Us and We, Not You and Me
Kyle Lawell, Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) Relationships, even the best ones, can be difficult. We often make sacrifices in our lives to make our partners happy. We might change our work schedule so we can pick up the kids after school or agree to take on more responsibility with the newborn so that our spouse…
Read MoreShould We Always Look on the Bright Side? Probably Not!
Kyle Lawell, Licensed Professional Counselor It’s common for us to grow up being told to “look on the bright side” or “focus on the positives,” but this mentality may not be as useful as we always want it to. Susan David, instructor in psychology at Harvard University, suggests in her TED Talk on saying yes…
Read MoreThe Four Agreements: Simple Steps to a Better Life
Bridgette W. Gottwald, LPC, NCC Interested in improving upon your life? According to NewsWire, 82% of adults within America plan to make changes to their personal well-being, so hopefully your answer to this question is yes. If your answer to your question is no, take five minutes to hear me out in regards to how…
Read MorePost COVID-19 Pandemic Preparation
Steven Losardo, Marriage and Family Therapist In a variety of ways, the impact of COVID-19 has been devastating to many people. Most of us are in a season of transition while waiting to get back to some kind of “normal.” The postponement of life as we know it has been a difficult adjustment. While we…
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