Therapy Chicago
By: Olimpia Wesley While most relationships begin with the parties demonstrating their best behavior and viewing each other with rose-colored glasses, some relationships may progress into abusive patterns with time. Abuse is a dynamic concept that could be physical, emotional, sexual, and/or financial, and are forms all harmful to the victim. According to the National Domestic Violence Hotline (2021), relationship abuse is a pattern of behavioral conduct by a partner to maintain unfair control and dominance over…
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Mary-Lauren O’Crowley, LPC, NCC “We all are in this together”. A very popular and true sentiment which can adequately express the fact that not one person in the world wasn’t affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Many individuals lost wages and loved ones, battled extreme anxiety and depression, and even cared for the sick. Thankfully, we can safely say that things look like they are returning to a more normal state. Vaccines have been rolled out, mask mandates…
Read MoreMary-Lauren O’Crowley, NCC, LPC Growing up, many little girls and little boys fantasize and dream of “the one. They may envision exciting and adventurous dates, romantic moments, an extravagant wedding and the “house full of 3 children along with a picket fence.” Up until teenage years, the hope of this dreams seems so real and imminent. Until that painful event happens: your first break-up. Suddenly, all those dreams no longer seem realistic, but rather a million miles…
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By Devyn C. Longstreet, LPC It’s not unlikely that an ADHD diagnosis can be generational and shared between adult and child. According to the Neuropsychiatric Disease Treatment Center, Attention- Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder symptoms are multifactorial and influenced by environment and genetics. (Tartakovsky, 2016). As one would imagine, parenting can become pretty tricky in these types of situations. So what can be done to make things less challenging? Here are 7 tips on ways that can help maintain…
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If the title of this blog post immediately makes you uncomfortable, you’re not alone. While mental health struggles are just as real and valid as physical health struggles, the remaining stigma prevents people from being honest in asking for and following through on their mental health needs. However, while Covid-19 has been an incredibly difficult and heartbreaking time period, it has brought more awareness to mental health, mental health needs and mental health acceptance. So, while we…
Read MoreAs mental health becomes a more widely discussed topic, so does the terminology that surrounds mental health struggles. Certain words or phrases such as “self-care” or “resilience” have become click-bait without the actual understanding of what they mean. In this blog post, I’ll discuss resiliency, what it is, why it’s important and how we can build more of it within ourselves. “Resilience is the capacity of a person, community, family or economy to adapt successfully to challenge.”…
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By: Bridgette W. Gottwald, LPC, NCC This week I had an interesting and super inspiring session with a client of mine that I’ve been working with for the last year and a half. In response to a negatively charged comment about herself, I said “You’re stronger than you think and give yourself credit for.” She said excitedly “RE-TWEET!” in response. From there, that response of hers became the precedent for the rest of the session. What did…
Read MoreAmanda Ann Gregory, LCPC, EMDR Certified Here’s a hard truth: we tend to be more compassionate and empathic toward the people we love and less empathetic and compassion toward ourselves. Imagine that your loved one has lost their beloved dog. They say to you, “I’m devastated. I shouldn’t be feeling this way, she was just a dog. I’m ridiculous and I just need to get over it.” What would you say to them? You might say something…
Read MoreBy Eric Dean JD, MBA, MA, MA, LPC, CADC Anger is an emotion that is both universal and misunderstood. Like any emotion, anger is not good or bad in and of itself. The amount, timing, and purpose of anger factor into whether it will be constructive. This post will review some of the pros and cons of anger: Pros Anger Can Be A Strong Indication of the Perception of Unfairness Our emotions are signals that provide valuable…
Read MoreAt this point in the pandemic, I think we’ve all heard the term “Covid puppy” or even got a Covid puppy ourselves! If you didn’t take the plunge to get a dog during the pandemic, maybe you have a dog or puppy at home with you that you got prior. I, myself, fully gave into the craze and got myself a Covid puppy. She’s a 20 lb., black, mini goldendoodle named Willow and I could not be…
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