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I’m Stressed Out: How Do I Cope?

October 7, 2018
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Madissyn Fredericks, Licensed Professional Counselor, Symmetry Counseling While stress is a normal aspect of life, the symptoms of stress can feel unbearable or intolerable. The numerous sleepless nights, racing thoughts, irritability, excessive worry, rapid heart rate, muscle tension, and the inability to concentrate are just a few of the many symptoms of stress that can interfere with your life. While some people can cope well with stress, others need a little more guidance. If you are living…

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Challenging Criticism In Your Relationship

October 6, 2018
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Madissyn Fredericks, Licensed Professional Counselor, Symmetry Counseling Criticism, the first of Dr. John Gottman’s Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, has been shown to be one of the four highest predictors for divorce along with stonewalling, defensiveness, and contempt. Criticism plays its role in every relationship to some degree; however, there is a point where a significant amount of criticism takes a severe toll on a romantic relationship. In most cases, it starts out pretty minor and escalates…

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Do You Have Compassion for Yourself?

October 5, 2018
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Madissyn Fredericks, Licensed Professional Counselor, Symmetry Counseling We often believe that being hard on ourselves will push us to be better people. However, that exact self-criticism we are using to “grow” could be the number one thing that is bringing us down. Some common examples of negative thoughts people have about themselves include “I am stupid”, “You can do better than this”, “You aren’t good enough”, “You are a failure”.These cruel words and statements we make to…

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5 Stages Of The Grieving Process

October 4, 2018

Madissyn Fredericks, Licensed Professional Counselor, Symmetry Counseling We have all experienced grief and loss at some point in our lives. Whether it was the loss of a loved one, the termination of a relationship, the loss of a job, or the death of a pet, you have probably experienced that emotional rollercoaster. While you may feel like you should be putting yourself back out there or getting over it faster, just know that your desire to be…

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Attachment Style: Why Does it Matter?

October 2, 2018
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What is the concept of attachment? Attachment refers to the emotional bond that connects an individual to something or someone—a friend, family member, or partner. The psychological theory of attachment (John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth) identifies four styles of attachment, and most people fall into one of these four categories. How do attachment styles impact me? Understanding your attachment style, and your partner’s will help you better communicate your needs and recognize the needs of your partner.…

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What is Compassion Fatigue and 5 Ways to Reduce It

October 1, 2018
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Many of my clients experience a lot of stress at work which leads to feeling burned out and less satisfied with their job. Many of these clients are in the “helping field” whether they are nurses, doctors, child life specialists, social workers, police officers, nannies, firefighters, military, veterinarians, human resources, ministers, teachers, physical and occupational therapists, or maybe even a counselor like myself, just to name a few. Those who choose a path in the helping field…

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4 Signs that It’s Time to Break Up with Your Therapist

September 30, 2018
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Amanda Gregory, LCPC, EMDR Practitioner You’ve been in therapy for months, but something doesn’t feel right. After much deliberation, you realize that the problem might be your therapist. Many people have chosen to end their relationship with their therapist and begin working with a different therapist for the sake of their treatment. But how do you know when it’s time to call it quits? Consider these four signs that it might be time to break up with…

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Make New Friends By Trying New Things!

September 29, 2018
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Andrew McNaughton, LCSW, CADC As we age, it can become increasingly difficult to meet new people and make new friends. If we are lucky, we hold onto some older friendships, but as real-life circumstances change (work, marriage, parenthood, etc.), we can find ourselves less engaged with our social circle. The solution to this problem would seem obvious: meet new people! But this is not as easy as it might seem. In my work as a therapist, one…

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Building Trust in Your Relationship

September 27, 2018
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As a couple and family therapist, a common issue I experience is trust. I have heard about trust issues in couples that have only been together for a couple of months, and couples who have been together for several years. The issue of trust can range from not trusting your partner’s response to your hard day of work, to breaches of trust with infidelity. Although building trust may seem like a daunting task, it is definitely possible…

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Understanding Perfectionism and How Therapy Can Be of Help

September 26, 2018
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Shannon M. Duffy, MFT, LCPC Audio Version Perfectionism is a disposition to regard anything short of perfection as unacceptable. However, perfectionism can be viewed as a motivator for wanting to achieve one’s best and in turn can cause despair if you are unable to be the best. When perfectionism goes beyond the need to achieve high-standards to become distressing is where therapy can be helpful to understand those thought patterns and behaviors, in addition to identifying positive…

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