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Going through a breakup with your significant other is not the easiest life transition. It can be very challenging, sad, stressful, confusing, complicated, and anxiety provoking. Whether you are the one who initiated the breakup or the one who was doing the breaking up, it can be a hard mixture of emotions to navigate. While a feeling of heartbreak is a normal response while going through a breakup, it is also an opportunity for some self-reflection. The…
Madissyn Fredericks, Licensed Professional Counselor, Symmetry Counseling Trust, the feeling of safety within your relationship, is one of the most crucial components to a healthy relationship. Unfortunately, trust can easily be broken. Whether you were unfaithful, lied, or crossed a boundary in your romantic relationship, the trust your partner once had for you has been altered. Breaking the trust in your relationship leaves your partner feeling betrayed, insecure, hurt, and angry. While you may want everything to…
Madissyn Fredericks, Licensed Professional Counselor, Symmetry Counseling Many of us have experienced breakups and know they can be messy and ugly. Often we are left with unanswered questions, resentment, anger, and fears that seem to stick with us for longer than we would like them to. So what do you do when you need closure and are not able to receive it from your ex? There are several ways to obtain the closure you deserve on your…
Andrew McNaughton, LCSW, CADC Are you worried that a certain behavior is causing issues in your life? Are you wondering how to address problematic behaviors in your life? If you aren’t sure whether or not you need a professional therapist to help you modify a behavior, there are certain signs that indicate it is time to get help. These four red flags can can serve as warning signs that a behavior is becoming problematic. Red Flag #1:…
Amanda Gregory, LCPC, EMDR Practitioner When you anticipate a worst-case scenario, you create unnecessary anxiety. Dr. Boyes of Psychology Today has written that catastrophizing is a common cognitive distortion in which you predict a negative outcome followed by a catastrophic result if that negative outcome were to occur. For example, I tend to feel anxious when driving in the snow because I have certain catastrophizing thought patterns. I assume that if it’s snowy, I will encounter unsafe road conditions and…
Amanda Gregory, LCPC, EMDR Practitioner Talking to yourself is often viewed as a sign of severe mental illness. Yet there are many people who to talk to themselves — both silently and aloud — and it’s not a predominant symptom of any mental illness. Talking to yourself can be a good method to refocus your attention, organize your thoughts, and facilitate action. You might ask, “What was I doing?” in order to bring your attention back to…
In the previous blog post (DBT Basics), I was able to explain the very basics of DBT. In this post, you will get a better understanding of 2 of the 4 modules (the other two were explained in “DBT Modules Explained (Modules 1 and 2) that are used when working with individuals or groups in a DBT scope. Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, also known as DBT, was founded by Marsha Linehan, who is currently still teaching at the…
Dialectical Behavior Therapy, or DBT, is built around a set of skills organized into four DBT modules. If you’ve come across the term and want to actually understand what it covers, rather than just recognizing the acronym, this is what those four modules are and what each one is for. DBT was developed by Marsha Linehan in the 1980s. Dr. Linehan is Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the University of Washington, where she taught for decades before…
In this blog post, you will learn the basics of DBT. Following this post, there are two more posts that explain in a very brief way the 4 modules of DBT. Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, also known as DBT, was created by Marsha Linehan, who is currently still teaching at the University of Washington-Seattle. When DBT was first identified in the 1990s, it was originally known to help individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), but now DBT is…
You and your significant other have had the conversation about moving in with each other and have finally set a move-in date. There can be a mixture of emotions: excited, nervous, anxious, stressed, anticipation, joy, happy, and perhaps even a little scared. All of these emotions are very normal to experience while making the next step in your romantic relationship. Moving in with someone requires a lot of reflection and neither partner should attempt this next step…