Therapy Chicago
While it may seem silly to talk about a skill, we practice each and every day, many of us don’t realize how difficult it is to truly master the art of listening. There’s a large difference between listening to respond and listening to understand. Rehearsing and thinking about what you’re going to say when the individual stops talking prevents you from truly hearing what they have to say. When difficult situations arise in the home, workplace or…
Read MoreBy: Danielle Bertini, LPC Trust is one of the most important and fundamental building blocks of any sort of relationship, whether it be with a family member, friend, or a romantic partner. In order to foster emotional intimacy, there needs to be a level of trust within the relationship. Yet it is far easier to break and lose trust than it is to build and rebuild it. This process takes time, patience, and work. But it can…
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By Hannah Hopper, LPC Shame is a dirty word. We run from things that cause us shame, and now as I type shame again and again on this page, I question if I should even be writing about this topic. In her book Daring Greatly, Brene Brown (the shame expert of our time) writes, “Shame derives its power from being unspeakable. That’s why it loves perfectionists-it’s so easy to keep us quiet. […] Shame hates having words…
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By: Danielle Bertini, LPC Rejection—it’s painful. Whether it’s not being offered a position at a company, not being invited to a friend’s party, or even just having one of your ideas shot down, every “no” feels like a door closed to us. Most people struggle with finding the best way to regroup and recover after any kind of rejection. A 2003 study done by researchers from Purdue University and the University of California, Los Angeles, found that…
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Matthew Cuddeback LCSW There are certain aspects of ourselves that are at the center of many of our beliefs about who we are, in the mental health field we call these Core Beliefs. These beliefs can be healthy or unhealthy, and we can have quite a few. They are also sometimes rather obvious, and others are harder to recognize. There are certain avenues that we use in order to understand them, deconstruct them, and then build them…
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By Eric Dean JD, MBA, MA, MA, LPC, CADC We all have problems — that is life. Problem-solving is not always easy, especially when we are faced with something new. Many of us are quick to identify our problems and then immediately start thinking about solutions. Before we start generating solutions, let us think about how we state or define the problem. How we define the problem will have an impact on how we go about solving…
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By Hannah Hopper, LPC When you’re cooped up indoors, isolated, and unable to keep up with your typical routine, it’s a prime environment for negative thoughts to start spiraling. There are lots of different approaches to curbing negative thoughts, and there isn’t a one-size-fits-all quick fix. It takes effort and lots of time to retrain your brain, because chances are good that it took your brain a while to learn these negative thought patterns too. But below…
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Kaitlin Broderick, LCPC We grow as people by getting outside of ourselves and being able to think of and help others. Some people even say this is a necessary component of finding happiness. However, how do you know when you are giving too much of yourself and neglecting the one person you need to take care of the most (yourself?) The following guidelines can help you in becoming a “successful giver”, someone who thinks of others while…
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Megan Mulroy, LPC We make a lot of decisions every day. We make simple decisions like what shirt to wear, and we also make more complex decisions like to stay or leave a relationship. You may have a job where you make a lot of decisions, and people may even depend on you to make important decisions. Sometimes there are so many options that make deciding something so hard! Think about the number of times you may…
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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 bad thing to be stressed in certain situations. A moderate amount of stress is beneficial to athletic and academic performance, for example.…
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