counselor
Amanda Gregory, LCPC, EMDR Practitioner Get yourself grounded and you can navigate even the stormiest roads in peace. — Steve Goodier Anxiety is a stormy road that can leave you disoriented, distracted, and even physically or emotionally detached. Grounding is an approach to manage anxiety by helping you to focus on the present moment. When you are focused, it is more difficult to continue to feel anxious, as your mind must choose between experiencing anxiety and being…
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Andrew McNaughton, LCSW, CADC, Symmetry Counseling Chicago Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy (REBT) is a therapeutic discipline developed by Dr. Albert Ellis in 1956 that focuses on identifying and disputing irrational beliefs. Its basis can be summed up by the Greek stoic philosopher Epictetus, who said, “Men are disturbed, not by things, but by the principles and notions which they form concerning things.” The main tools of REBT are the ABC’s: A is the Activating Event, or more…
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Madissyn Fredericks, Licensed Professional Counselor, Symmetry Counseling With all the negativity in the world today, it can be difficult to maintain a positive attitude on a daily basis. Constantly being faced with life’s challenges, negative attitudes, and bad circumstances can often leave you feeling in a bad mood overall. Over time, these bad days can turn into you feeling disappointed, depressed, stressed, and anxious for months or even years. While it is cliche, a positive mindset can…
Read MoreMadissyn Fredericks, Licensed Professional Counselor, Symmetry Counseling Think about what you say to yourself when you are feeling down: “You aren’t pretty enough”, “You aren’t important”, “You are a screw-up”. These are just a few of many thoughts that you may say to yourself when you are in this mindset. Now take a second and ask yourself if you would say these things to a friend or family member. The answer is most likely an “of course…
Read MoreWe live in a culture where pornography is easily accessible, but not easily discussed. Anyone, including teens, who has access to the internet can easily access pornographic content. What sex therapists and educators are learning is that most people report that their sex education came from porn. Many schools in our country legally do not need to provide comprehensive sex education in classes, which leaves kids and teens feeling confused and ashamed when they want to start…
Read MoreMadissyn Fredericks, Licensed Professional Counselor, Symmetry Counseling As you move through the stages of life, there may be friends you just seem to have outgrown. These are the friends who hurt you, make you feel bad about yourself, constantly complain, only talk about themselves, bring you down, or consume too much of your time and energy. While you may be aware this friend is not healthy for you the most difficult part of wanting to break up…
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Have you ever felt so out of control with your own emotions, actions, or thoughts and never had anyone to turn to express your actions, thoughts, or emotions? Have you ever felt alone? Scared? Lonely? Sad? Overly excited? Lack of interest in almost anything? You are not alone in feeling any of these emotions, and many more emotions. Seeking help is completely okay and can help you in many ways (definitely more than you can think about).…
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Amanda Gregory, LCPC, EMDR Practitioner Have you considered participating in family therapy? There are several reasons you might want to give it a try. Family therapy addresses individual issues within the context of a group—a family. A family is defined not necessarily as a set of biological relatives but rather as a group of people who serve as a long-term support system. Many people have found family therapy to be helpful in addressing a variety of issues,…
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You’ve decided that your child would benefit from participating in therapy. Now you need to choose a therapist. How do you decide? First, identify 3-5 therapists in your area who work with children and are accepting new clients. You can ask your child’s school counselor, teachers, other parents, and people in your community for recommendations. Once you’ve identified your candidates, request a free consultation with each of them. A consultation is an opportunity to ask questions of…
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Amanda Gregory, LCPC, EMDR Practitioner You look down at your plate and your food is gone, but you can’t remember eating. Sound familiar? This experience is called mindless eating, and it’s become a common practice in our fast-paced culture. Mindless eating can lead to significant physical and psychological issues. The antidote to mindless eating is mindful eating. The Center for Mindful Eating, a U.S-based nonprofit, defines mindful eating as having four parts: 1) Using your senses in…
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