Chicago Counselors
Steven Topper LCPC “Where will you visit first once the pandemic is over?” Many of us have asked this question and been asked this question over the past few months. So many of us are yearning to get back into the universal hobby of traveling. One of the major benefits of travelling, and what compels so many of us to venture out into the world, is that it allows us to see how other people live. On…
Read MoreBy: Danielle Bertini, LPC I think we can all say a collective experience the world has shared this year (among other things) is that we are BORED. With the pandemic still around and most activities continuing to be shut down, there truly is not much to do to occupy our time. And here’s the thing—boredom is generally viewed as an unpleasant emotional state. When you feel bored and fatigued, 10 minutes can feel like an eternity. Because…
Read MoreHello again! As previously discussed in part 1 of this blog post, each of our definitions of happiness are different, valid, and important to pursue. We frequently hear people say, “I’ll be happy when…”. But what if we could be happy now? How do we find happiness in our daily lives in order to create a more positive environment for ourselves and those around us? Well, we began discussing ways to cultivate happiness in the previous post…
Read MoreIt’s important to begin by asking yourself what happiness means to you. Each of our definitions of happiness will likely be different, however, it’s important to have an image in mind of how you view happiness. Many individuals believe that money is essential to happiness, and maybe it is! However, investing most or all of our time, energy, and resources into making money, with the belief that it will lead to happiness, actually leads to the exact…
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Emotional intelligence has become a term loosely thrown around in various situations. Whether it’s utilized to praise someone or put someone down it seems evaluating someone’s emotional intelligence has become as commonplace as recognizing an individual’s intellect. Although the terminology has become more commonplace, do we know what we’re actually saying when we refer to emotional intelligence? “Emotional intelligence, also known as EQ, deals with people’s ability to recognize the presence of a negative or ‘hot’ emotional…
Read MoreBy: Bridgette Williams Gottwald, LPC, NCC Are you ready to leave behind a life marked by comparison, competition and exhaustion and recraft a life marked by meaning, connection and unconditional love? What if we all traded out the unrealistic idea of perfection for presence? What if instead of hustling so much, we focused more on aligning? We must destroy the idea that we have to be constantly working, or hustling, in order to be successful. We have…
Read MoreBy Eric Dean JD MBA MA MA LPC CADC In the 1960’s, researchers conducted multiple studies with rats on the effects of drugs. The experimenters placed rats in a cage with two levers, one with drug-laced water and the other with plain water. Rats would obsessively press the lever for the drug-laced water until they overdosed and died. The conclusion then was that the chemical hooks in the drug were the most important factor in addiction; that…
Read MoreBy: Bridgette W. Gottwald, LPC, NCC “In an age of research when it is tempting to reduce emotions to biochemical reactions and to rely heavily on the technology of medicine, it is refreshing to find that a person’s health and well-being may be improved by prescribing contact with other living things.” — Michael J. McCulloch, MD, co-founder of Pet Partners When it comes to mental health, research proves that there are many benefits behind pet ownership and interaction.…
Read MoreBy 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 stands for: Fearful: Fear is a powerful and universal human emotion, which is often driven by uncertainty, lack of control, and lack…
Read MoreI 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 The New York Times, that touched on this very topic, “How to Be Better at Stress” by author Tara Parker-Pope. Below are…
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