Therapy Chicago
By: Danielle Bertini, LPC Rejection hurts. And we’ve all experienced it at one point or another. Perhaps you didn’t get the job offer you wanted, were ghosted by a friend or a romantic partner, or weren’t invited to a social event—only to see them posting about it all over social media. It hurts! We feel rejected when we’re not included, accepted, or approved of, and it involves the loss of something we had or wanted. This can…
Read MoreHannah Hopper, LPC You’ve already had several talks with your ex about the end of your relationship, you’ve cancelled future plans, and given back the things they had at your place. But all the feelings are still there on your end and you had no idea the relationship would end like this. So now what? You might be wanting closure with the relationship but are having trouble figuring out how to do that. Here are some things…
Read More
By: Danielle Bertini, LPC Sometimes it truly feels like there aren’t enough hours in the day. Between work, spending time with friends, caring for children and loved ones, staying healthy, pursuing personal interests, it can feel like it’s impossible to balance everything. And in fact, research suggests that this struggle has grown increasingly difficult in recent years, with full time employees in the U.S. putting in nearly one full extra day of work each week and forfeiting…
Read More
By: Bridgette W. Gottwald, LPC, NCC Often many people are intimated by meditation and think that they “can’t do it.” My hope with this blog is to provide you with an approachable and easy way to do a body scan meditation, with the main goal of relieving stress and tension. It can be difficult to self-facilitate this exercise, so there is an audio version of this blog that you can listen to carry out the meditation at…
Read MoreHannah Hopper Dialectical Behavior Therapy is an approach that helps to cope with overwhelming and intense emotions. DBT helps people build four major skills including mindfulness, distress tolerance, interpersonal effectiveness and emotional regulation. Mindfulness and distress tolerance will help with skills that work towards acceptance of thoughts and behaviors. Sometimes the most difficult part of overwhelming emotions is that we try to fight them and push them away, instead of allowing them to just be. Emotion regulation…
Read More
Amanda Ann Gregory, LCPC, EMDR Certified Panic attacks can be terrifying, as you may feel as though you are losing control of your mind or body. Here are the common symptoms of a panic attack: Racing heart beat Shortness of breath Nausea Chest tightness Dry mouth Sweating Chills/hot flashes Numbness/tingling Headache Intense fear/anxiety Tightness in throat Feeling faint/dizzy Feeling detached from the world or yourself A feeling of impending doom If you experience a panic attack, what…
Read MoreAmanda Ann Gregory, LCPC, EMDR Certified The vagus nerve has received a lot of attention from the psychology and medical research communities. This is because this nerve may play an integral part in treating physical and psychological illnesses in the future. In fact, there is preliminary evidence that stimulation of the vagus nerve may help treat depression, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and inflammatory bowel disease (Breit, 2018). Trauma researchers have focused on the vagus nerve as a…
Read More
Hannah Hopper, LPC Some signs of a bad therapist are easier to spot than others. If your therapist is shaming you or insulting you, that’s a good indication to find someone else. And when looking out for the warning signs, it’s important to remember that therapists aren’t perfect; they’re people too and will make mistakes like everyone else. If there’s something your therapist is doing that’s bothering you, consider talking to them about it to see if…
Read MoreMary-Lauren O’Crowley, NCC, LPC Sometimes therapy or counseling is all you need to get through a difficult period. However, you may find yourself sitting in your counselor’s office wondering, “Is this therapy really working?” The reason could be as simple as the two of you not clicking or as complex as an awful therapist at what they do. It’s better to say when something isn’t working for you than to suffer silently in despair. Here’s how you…
Read More
Mary-Lauren O’Crowley, NCC, LPC No matter who we are or where we are from, we will experience pain- whether through neglect, abuse, death, or disease. We are all human and thus, we will all sustain emotional injury throughout our lifetime. Many of these wounds, however, will be experienced in childhood, as we are at a pivotal stage in development and tend to be more vulnerable. Any wrongdoing done to us at such a tender age in life…
Read MoreDo You Need Help?
Not what you were looking for?