psychologist
I work with many clients who struggle with approaching their partners with difficult, yet very important requests. As their clinical therapist, I help the client better understand why they are struggling to ask their partner for their needs and possible coping skills to express their feelings, emotions, thoughts, and needs. I recently read an article from the Mindfulness Muse that touched on this very topic utilizing a Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) technique known as the ‘DEAR MAN’…
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Hannah Hopper It’s that time of year again in Chicago when the days are shorter, the sky is grayer, and it feels a lot harder to get out of bed and face the piercing wind. Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD is a mood disorder that typically begins and ends around the same time each year, and often takes place in the winter months. For most people the symptoms begin in the Fall as the colder weather sets…
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We get to a certain age (it is different for everyone) where we finally realize our bodies have changed- the realization that we are not as young as we think they are. My boyfriend recently pulled his hamstring playing flag football and this realization has hit him hard. When talking with him, he mentioned that he pushed himself as hard as he used to and he said that his body could not carry him as quickly as…
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Hannah Hopper It may just seem like you have really good chemistry with someone from work. Or maybe it is a friendship where you can always be met with a listening ear and someone who gives you a lot of special attention. Going from casual friend to someone you’re having an emotional affair with is a blurry line, and sometimes this can happen so gradually that it’s difficult to even notice when it first began. Verywell Mind…
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I work with many clients who are struggling with a stressful life transition in their personal and/or professional life, and for some clients possibly both at the same time. My job as their clinical therapist is to help the client better understand why this life transition is causing stress, what impact it has on the client, and how to better manage this life transition. Some clients, due to their life circumstances, cannot fully change the life transition,…
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Bridgette W. Gottwald, LPC, NCC Screw the golden rule! That’s right, you read it correctly. The golden rule states that we should always treat others how we want to be treated. According to Dr. Gary Chapman, this isn’t how it works with love. In his book, The Five Love Languages, Dr. Gary Chapman “dissects the principles behind communicating love, which remains relevant and useful in many different types of relationships, from family and friends to romantic partners.”…
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Bridgette W. Gottwald, LPC, NCC Socrates was certainly onto something when he stated that “the unexamined life is not worth living.” However, the overly examined life isn’t so spectacular either. Countless people, mostly women, have a bad habit called rumination that contributes negatively to their “physical and emotional well-being.” Rumination: What’s Happening in My Brain? People who ruminate dwell repetitively over negative thoughts in their head that are typically related to “failure, rejection, humiliation, loss or retaliation.”…
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Bridgette W. Gottwald, LPC, NCC No matter how long you have been in the game – twenty years or just getting ready to tie the knot, there is always something that can be done to improve upon relationships within your life, especially the marital one. These strategies are backed by science and will likely re-kindle romance, generate happiness and satisfaction, while also making partners feel more connected. Life throws us curve balls, and we all know that…
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Danielle Bertini, LPC Between family, friends, self-help books, and the media, there is no shortage of dating advice. Although some of the advice given from these different sources can be helpful, much of it is either mistaken or based solely on personal experiences and opinions rather than actual research. Siedman (2018) discusses five common dating advice fallacies. When you meet the right person, you’ll know right away. Many people offer this piece of dating advice as an…
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Today, “self-care” has become somewhat of a trigger word when discussing mental health. If you’re stressed, feeling down, or are having a crappy week people’s go to response tends to revolve around what you should be doing for self-care. While it’s great that more and more people are becoming aware of the necessity of self-care, I wonder if we really understand what self-care means. Is self-care using a facemask? Is self-care going for a run? Is self-care…
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