Therapy Chicago Archives
I work with many clients who struggle with anxiety and depression whether it is related to their personal or professional life, or for some, perhaps both. My job as their clinical therapist is to help the client identify reasons/triggers/stressors that are contributing to their anxiety, and then helping them to find possible coping strategies to help reduce the symptoms. One strategy I often suggest is aromatherapy in conjunction with deep breathing/meditation exercises. I also typically have lavender…
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Madissyn Fredericks, Licensed Professional Counselor Life can throw us some curve balls and complaining can feel like an effective way to get through them. While it can feel good to complain about the situation, it is also not the best thing to do for our mental health. Complaining includes judging yourself or others, looking at the negative side of things, being hard on yourself, and sitting in the hard stuff rather than pushing through it. Over time,…
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Breakups are difficult for many reasons, and often times during the breakup, we do not know how to handle it in a healthy and beneficial way. We tend to focus on the negatives of the relationship and also for the day and a few days after feeling anger and wondering why the relationship not work out. If you are the one who is doing the break-up or have been broken-up with, follow these tips to help you…
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There are often times when our friends are hanging out and we have to say no, but we are watching where they are checking in on Facebook, what stories they are putting on Instagram, or what snaps they are taking on SnapChat. We tend to feel sad and mad that we have to work or do something else and cannot be with them. In modern terms, it is called “fear of missing out” also known as FOMO.…
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There’s no doubt that social media has been one of the most life-changing technological innovations that we’ve ever had access to — it enables us to feel connected to people all over the world. However, social media is not just a magical online space in which people enjoy greater access to their loved ones far away. Social media has also brought with it upticks in anxiety, depression, and self-esteem issues; young people, who are developmentally primed to…
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A Part of the Past Shows up in the Present We pick up where we left the family in part I of the blog. DL is frozen at the moment afterhearing a voice from the woods saying, “If you build it he will come.” DL discovers the voice from the woods is Unc, who is playing a practical joke. Unc is whispering what he calls “learning the Gottman (2016).” What Unc actually says, “if you use a…
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Steven Losardo The Setting For one family in New England, this Easter means Reactivity Weekend take LXXXV. But really, who’s counting? The weekend is usually made possible through a Good Friday argument exasperating stressors that seemingly began in 1920. Some family members know better and avoid the unfinished business. Others have good intentions and come with a plan to prevent the specific intricacies from imposing a burden. However, they find themselves caught in the drama knowing there…
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Amanda Gregory, LCPC, EMDR Worrying is anything but fun. Persistent, constant, and uncontrollable worries can cause severe anxiety. Moreover, intense worries such as those that we experience when we’re exposed to something we fear can be debilitating. If your worrying is causing you anxiety, you can implement simple cognitive methods, such as brain games, to manage it. Brain games do more than simply distract you from worrying; they also help you to refocus your thinking. It takes…
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The New York Times recently spoke to a number of psychologists about procrastination. Summarized below are their findings. Procrastination: we’re all familiar with it, but we do we understand it? Most people think of procrastination as a failure in time management skills; some even equate it with laziness. The reality is that procrastination is misunderstood, as it is neither of those things, and can ultimately be conquered after getting in touch with your emotions. What does procrastination…
Read MoreShannon M. Duffy, MFT, LCPC Reaching out for therapeutic services can feel overwhelming and at times individuals will feel as though their presenting concerns are not severe enough for long term therapy. However, that is not necessarily the case and even the more situational concerns are appropriate for therapeutic services. Specifically, those concerns would be utilizing the therapeutic technique of Solution Focused Therapy. This method can be of benefit by utilizing 3-6 therapy sessions to address finding…
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