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Take your vitamins. Brush and floss your teeth. Exercise regularly. Eat less red meat and processed foods. Decrease your intake of sodium and sugar. Drink more water. Get enough sleep. Sit less. Have regular check-ups with your doctor and dentist. Most of us do some of these habits regularly in the hope of preventing something negative from happening to our physical health and over all well-being. We put time and effort into healthy behaviors, habits, and decisions…

When couples transition to parenthood, there is an understandable expectation that life will be different. We will be more tired. We will have less time for each other. Our priorities need to change. All of these are natural thoughts partners might experience, but no expectation can perfectly match the reality of this significant transition. Being flexible and open to each other is paramount to managing the relationship safely into parenthood.

Gratitude, per the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is defined as “a feeling of appreciation or thanks; the state of being grateful.” Reading that definition, gratitude would appear as if it were something very simple to do or easy to feel, like it should just happen naturally with no effort involved whatsoever. But as many of us probably know firsthand, feeling or showing gratitude towards ourselves or others can often times not happen and is not the way most people…

Do you avoid looking at your bills or bank statements? Do you know how much you currently have in your accounts or how much you owe? Does thinking about your financial situation cause you anxiety, distress, or guilt? Do you avoid discussing or thinking about your financial situation at any cost to avoid feeling negatively about it? Individuals with financial avoidance or financial denial will often avoid thinking about or discussing their financial situation or issues in…

We often receive the message that fighting is bad. It feels unpleasant, it can hurt others’n feelings, and it often turns us into angry, hurtful people we do not even recognize. It is true that conflict can be harmful, but it also serves a pivotal role in healthy relationship functioning. Without conflict, partners would either have no major differences, which would feel boring and unfulfilling, or they would have no way to directly resolve their differences. Conflict…

Think about money. What is the first word or words that come to mind? Does your word or words include power, success, protection, security, independence, love, or freedom? Or maybe oppression, control, manipulation, anxiety, stress, or avoidance? Many of us have a pretty strong reaction to money and the meaning it holds for us. It can be either positive or negative, or even possibly both depending on the situation, personal experiences, family history and what was taught…

There are certain habits, situations, characteristics, thoughts, beliefs, opinions, etc. within ourselves and our lives that we have control over and are able to improve, change, or stop. But there is also a significant amount, especially when other people are involved, that we do not have control over or are unable to change or stop. We can do whatever it takes to try to change ourselves, the situations, or other people, maybe with some success, but most…

We all have certain views, opinions, and beliefs about money that influence our thoughts, behaviors, and emotions around spending, saving, debt, worth, and our relationship with money. During our lives we have come to form these beliefs based on what we were taught within our families growing up, often passed down from generation to generation, our own personal experiences, societal views and opinions, and social influences. In Financial Therapy, these assumptions or views about money are referred…

Black or white. All or nothing. Right or wrong. Left or right. Yes or no. Republican or Democrat. Rich or poor. City or country. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. The world is full of dichotomies, situations, and labels in which there appear to be only two options available, where we feel we have to pick one or the other and stick to it. But in reality there is a whole spectrum or range of…