marriage counseling
Amanda Ann Gregory, LCPC, EMDR Certified Couples and family therapists have told me that the couples and families that they worry about the most are the ones that engage in little to no conflict. This may sound surprising, but it’s not if you consider the fact that conflict is a necessary and healthy part of all relationships. All relationships need conflict in order to healthily grow and remain strong. Here are a few of the benefits of…
Part I: Control, Caretaking & Self Abandonment Meg Mulroy, LPC Codependency has become somewhat of a buzz amongst my peers. Used casually, I’ve heard people say, “She can’t do anything without him — they are so codependent,” or, “Those roommates are completely codependent — they are attached at the hip!” One of my professional and personal pet peeves is the misuse of this word. Codependency has been defined in many different ways, but according to Melody Beattle,…
Zoe Mittman, LSW Covid-19 has impacted mental health on a global level. Studies have found a significant increase in the prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms amongst children and youth. Furthermore, a meta-analysis of studies found that anxiety and depression have doubled among this age group, and has increased later into the pandemic. About one in four children/adolescents are experiencing depressive symptoms, and one in five are experiencing anxiety symptoms (Racine et al., 2021). These statistics are…
Andromeda Peters, LICSW Nightmares can be disturbing and frightening. Our minds and bodies respond to the dream, as if it is a real-life event. Waking up from a nightmare cannot only make it challenging to fall back asleep, but it can also make it challenging for us to feel safe in the moment. We may wake up from nightmares with perspiration, a racing heart rate, racing thoughts, panic attacks, nausea, dissociation, disorientation to our surroundings and time…
Megan Mulroy, LPC We’ve all been in overwhelming situations that feel unbearable and intolerable. There are a variety of things that cause us pain and distress. Maybe you are in a fight with your partner, or maybe you were disciplined at work or school. Maybe something completely out of your control happened like a car accident that made you late. If you ever feel unable to tolerate painful events, urges, and emotions, Marsha Linehan, the creator of…
By: Danielle Bertini, LCPC Let’s face it, sometimes apologies can be tough. They require us to put our egos aside and acknowledge that we may have hurt someone we really care about. And what people don’t realize is that understanding how to apologize is something that can be a learned skill. Phillips (2021) offers five tips on how to have more successful apologies. The Apology Must Restore Self-Respect and Dignity Words or behaviors that make a person…
Amanda Ann Gregory, LCPC, EMDR Certified The end of a romantic relationship can be devastating due to all the losses that you are forced to experience all at once. You have lost the relationship, future plans/aspirations, financial/physical/emotional support, and perhaps, even aspects of your own identity. These losses need to be grieved so that you are able to move forward. After a breakup, you might immediately begin grieving, or it might take some time for you to…
Amanda Ann Gregory, LCPC, EMDR Certified When you experience intense anxiety, anger, sadness, or excitement, you might need to calm yourself. But do you know how? Are you aware of the self-calming methods that might work best for you? Self-calming methods are often considered coping skills and are ways of exercising self-care, yet different methods work for different people. The trick is to discover which methods best meet your needs and are the most effective in…
Amanda Ann Gregory, LCPC, EMDR Certified When you experience intense anxiety, anger, or sadness, you might need to calm yourself. Do you know how? It’s important that you find self-calming methods that work best for you. There are physical and cognitive methods for self-calming, and they often overlap (for an account of common methods of physical self-calming, see my blog piece titled How Can I Calm Myself Down? Physical Self-Calming Methods). Try these cognitive self-calming methods in…
Meg Mulroy, LPC When someone you know and love is struggling with a mental health issue, it can often feel helpless and scary. There is a lot of pain in our own lives that comes from watching others that we love struggle and hurt. If you’ve been in therapy or work in the mental health field, you are probably drawn to suggest therapy to this person in your life. It makes sense that you would want to…