Cut Down on Stress by Cutting out These Two Words Stop Stressing Yourself Out! The Holidays are an easy opportunity to let stress bubble over and become full blown anxiety.  Stressors are a fact of life, but a majority of the stress we experience is actually a result of the things we tell ourselves. Often, our anxiety is rooted in the unfortunate human tendency to take our hopes, goals and...

At this point, we are all aware that mask wearing, hand washing and social distancing help to protect us against contracting and spreading the Covid 19 virus.1 Taking this a step further, let’s ask ourselves: “What else can I do to prevent a viral infection? Does my diet and lifestyle really matter? The answer is YES!!! The foundations of a healthy immune system start with a healthy diet and...

How to Praise Your Child Kids are constantly begging for attention from parents.  How you respond to their accomplishments and their success has a big impact on their emotional development and self esteem.  Praising children through verbal encouragement and recognition can be one of the most effective approaches to teaching your child to develop good habits.  It is one of the best tools you...

  How to Detox Co-Parenting Conversations Co-parenting is hard, there is no doubt about that, but it doesn’t have to be toxic!  It is impossible to completely eliminate disagreements between two people trying to work together in any situation, but disagreement should not always lead to disaster. The key to co-parenting is learning to have healthy, respectful and productive conflict...

People with Personality Disorders Do This In Relationships Differentiation of Self: Learning to balance Self Needs with the Needs of Others   We can all agree that balance is a key component to healthy living. Sometimes it comes naturally, but more often than not, balance is really hard to maintain. One of the most difficult places to find balance is in our relationships. If we want to...

Will I Ever Measure Up? Do you need to be approved of by others? Do you want to be successful in life? If you have a heartbeat, the answer is probably yes. But there is a distinct difference between simply valuing the approval of other people and basing your value on the approval of others. Like most things in life, the devil is in the details. When we get those details confused, we find...

Triangulation You may have heard the latest celebrity gossip regarding Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith’s relationship drama. If not, let me catch you up to speed – Jada openly admitted to having an ‘entanglement’ with a much younger man without Will’s consent or knowledge. This abruptly caused a firestorm across the internet with questions and jokes about ‘entanglements’ and what...

When looking for the definition of hope, it’s difficult to find merely one answer. Throughout the history of psychology, there have been numerous attempts to define hope. Hope is a human universal, and being universal, it falls into an interesting paradox; while all people experience hope, each individual’s experience is personal, intimate, and unique. Because there are so many ways to...

Sleep hygiene is a science formulated to help people overcome disrupted rest by removing any barriers that a person might be unknowingly creating that prevent against deep and complete rest. According to the American Sleep foundation, 47% of Americans report poor quality sleep has affected their daily performance in the last month. As mental health counselors know, there is a significant...

Recent events have some people scared. This makes sense. People are clamoring for change, and tensions are high. Not to mention, the nation is still in the middle of a worldwide pandemic that has left millions unemployed and our economy teetering on the edge of a cliff. All of these disasters and injustices have disproportionately affected minorities. Some people will be traumatized by the...

Dealing with Microaggressions as a Black Man   George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Botham Jean, Sandra Bland…these are just a few of the names that come to mind as I write this. These are the names of victims of police brutality and racial injustice. These were unwilling martyrs who fell prey to overt, unabashed, and unadulterated racism. This is a problem, but there is another issue that...

Managing Displaced Anger During Difficult Times   It has been said that anger is a secondary emotion, triggered by preceding fear, rejection, hurt feelings, humiliation, and sadness. With the current pandemic, restrictions on our daily activities, the uncertainties of our futures and our medical and financial wellbeing, it is no wonder people have been on edge. This disruption has been...

May is Self Care Month! In honor of that, let’s explore a form of self care that might not be the first thing you think of when you think about wellness. When the oxygen masks drop on the plane you always put on your own before helping someone else. This is self-care. The actions you take to keep all dimensions of your own health (physical, emotional, social, spiritual, mental) as strong...

  Health Care workers are among the most vulnerable populations right now with the Coronavirus impact. It is not what we initially think, but those who are battling the epidemic and caring for our sick are also some of the most vulnerable. Particularly those who are front line workers who are exposed to those who have or could have Covid-19 infections. With concerns about the well-being...

Tips for Co-Parenting during Quarantine Coronavirus   It is always important for parents to be on the same page when it comes to their children, perhaps it is even more important that parents take the time create an atmosphere of predictability and consistency in shared custody and co-parenting family dynamics. The family counseling community has seen many examples of damaging dynamics...

How to reduce conflict and enhance your relationship during Quarantine COVID-19. While many sources state that there are potential dangers to sharing home, life, and work space with your partner, and children, and dog, and anyone else that finds their way into your domestic life, we want to discuss that there are many ways to turn those potential pitfalls into opportunities for relationship...

Anxiety is a problem that the majority of people deal with in one form or another. Yet anxiety is a broad category of disorders which range from generalized anxiety disorder, to social anxiety, to various forms of panic disorders, to mild stress. Keeping in mind, some forms of anxiety are normal, for instance, regular stress can sometimes be beneficial, as it keeps us aware of important...