Counseling and Wellness Center of Pittsburgh Mental Health Blog - Part 2

Why Problem-Solving Can Cause Relationship Problems

by Counseling and Wellness Center of PittsburghAugust 29, 2025 communication, communication skills, compassionate listening, conflict resolution, emotional invalidation, feeling misunderstood, feeling unheard, good listening skills, how to listen, inside out, listening, listening skills, problem solving, relationship advice, relationship conflict, relationship problems, relationship tips0 comments

Why Problem-Solving Can Cause Relationship Problems You’ve had one of those days. Work was a disaster, your family is driving you crazy, or maybe everything just feels overwhelming. You walk through the door and all you want is to tell your partner about it. You need someone to understand what you’re going through. This is a moment where relationship...

Do I Need Therapy or Do I Need Marriage Counseling?

by Counseling and Wellness Center of PittsburghAugust 14, 2025 couples counseling, couples therapy, individual therapy, marriage counseling0 comments

Do I Need Therapy or Marriage Counseling? You’re lying awake at 2 AM again, replaying the same argument you and your partner had last week. Or maybe this week. Honestly, they’re all starting to blur together. You know something needs to change, but you’re stuck on a crucial question: “Do I need therapy and to work on myself first or do I need...

Intellectualization: Thinking About Your Feelings Instead of Feeling Them

by Counseling and Wellness Center of PittsburghJuly 29, 2025 adult children of emotionally immature parents, avoiding emotions, childhood trauma, complex post traumatic stress disorder, complex trauma, Intellectualization, intellectualization defense mechanism, intellectualize, intellectualizing emotions0 comments

Intellectualization: Thinking About Your Feelings Instead of Feeling Them I used to think I was really emotionally aware. When something upset me, I could explain exactly why it upset me, how it fit into a pattern, why my nervous system was responding the way it was. It all made perfect sense. And I thought this made me in touch with my emotions. Turns out I was...

The Slow Work of Feeling Suppressed Emotions

The Slow Work of Feeling Suppressed Emotions Working with emotions—especially when they’ve been buried, shut down, or hard to name—reminds me a lot of orthodontics. It’s not fast. It’s not flashy. But it’s real. You can’t force a tooth into place without risking damage. And you can’t force suppressed emotions into awareness without overwhelming the system....

Celebrating Black Owned Businesses in Pittsburgh: Juneteenth

by Counseling and Wellness Center of PittsburghJune 18, 2025 anti racism, black ally, black history month, black owned businesses, black owned businesses pittsburgh, black therapist pittsburgh, juneteenth0 comments

Photo credit: “20220814_103323” by 7beachbum, CC BY 2.0 Changes made: Photo cropped and sky made blue. Celebrating Black Owned Businesses in Pittsburgh This Juneteenth & Beyond For Black History Month, we shared an Instagram Reel highlighting 11 Black owned businesses in Pittsburgh to celebrate some of the amazing Black entrepreneurs in our...

An Unlikely Source of Military PTSD

by Counseling and Wellness Center of PittsburghJune 16, 2025 combat veterans, military PTSD, ptsd, PTSD Awareness Month, PTSD in veterans, PTSD Treatment, veterans and PTSD0 comments

An Unlikely Source of Military PTSD As a Marine combat veteran who has personally navigated the challenges of PTSD, I want to share an important perspective during PTSD Awareness Month that often goes unrecognized, one that could change how we understand and address military PTSD and trauma. What is PTSD? Post Traumatic Stress...

Playing the Victim? A Deeper Look at Victim Mentality

by Counseling and Wellness Center of PittsburghMay 16, 2025 choice theory, emotional invalidation, external locus of control, helpless, helplessness, invalidation, learned helplessness, maladaptive assumptions, maladaptive coping mechanisms, personal power, playing the victim, powerlessness, self protection, victim blaming, victim complex, victim mentality, victimhood0 comments

Playing the Victim? A Deeper Look at Victim Mentality If you’ve been accused of playing the victim, or if you’re trying to understand why someone you know seems stuck in a cycle of helplessness, you’re not alone. The term “victim mentality” often stirs up strong emotions and assumptions. It’s frequently associated with manipulation or avoidance of responsibility,...

Functional Freeze vs. Anhedonia vs. Burnout

by Counseling and Wellness Center of PittsburghMay 8, 2025 anhedonia, burn out, burnout, depression, freeze, freeze response, functional freeze0 comments

Functional Freeze vs. Anhedonia vs. Burnout Life’s challenges often take a toll on our mental health, leading to emotional and physical exhaustion. However, not all forms of mental and emotional struggle are the same. Functional freeze, anhedonia, and burnout are three distinct states of distress, each with unique characteristics, causes, and effects....

Autism Facts vs Autism Myths

by Counseling and Wellness Center of PittsburghApril 29, 2025 ASD, aspergers, autism, autism facts, autism myths, autism spectrum disorder, autism spectrum disorders0 comments

Autism Facts vs Autism Myths Despite increasing awareness, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) remains clouded by misconceptions, fueled by ongoing discussions and news reports. With ongoing debates about autism diagnoses and societal perceptions, autism myths persist and contribute to stigma and misinformation. These misunderstandings can obstruct progress toward...

Is Therapy Covered by Insurance?

by Counseling and Wellness Center of PittsburghApril 23, 2025 Are Therapists Covered by Insurance, art therapy insurance coverage, autism therapy insurance coverage, Couples Therapy Insurance Coverage, dbt therapy covered by insurance, emdr therapy insurance coverage, insurance and therapy coverage, Is Therapy Covered by Insurance, mental health coverage by insurance, Mental Health Insurance, therapy coverage by insurance0 comments

Is Therapy Covered by Insurance? Mental health has steadily climbed the ladder of public health priorities, mirroring a growing acknowledgment of its critical role in our overall well-being. Amidst this positive shift, a practical question emerges for many seeking support, “Is Therapy Covered by Insurance?” The answer, while hopeful, is nuanced, navigating...

Limiting External Locus of Control for Personal Power

by Counseling and Wellness Center of PittsburghApril 17, 2025 choice theory, external locus of control, faulty beliefs, helpless, helplessness, internal locus of control, learned helplessness, locus of control, luck, personal power, personal responsibility, powerless, powerlessness, self efficacy0 comments

Limiting External Locus of Control for Personal Power Do you ever feel like life is just happening to you, with external forces like luck, fate, or other people dictating the outcomes no matter how hard you try? When everything seems beyond your control, it’s easy to feel stuck and powerless. Psychologists explore these experiences through concepts like locus of...

Why Am I So Defensive? Defensiveness as Self Advocacy?

by Counseling and Wellness Center of PittsburghMarch 17, 2025 defend, defensive, defensiveness, gottman method, invalidating, invalidation, self advocacy, self efficacy, self empowerment, self protection, why am i so defensive0 comments

Why Am I So Defensive? Exploring Defensiveness as Self Advocacy You sit down to dinner with your partner and they make a comment about having pasta again this week. You feel a rush of heat, and before you know it, you’re becoming defensive, overexplaining yourself about how busy your week has been, how you didn’t have time, and so what if it’s pasta again....

Therapy Speak: When Language Gets Misused and Weaponized

by Counseling and Wellness Center of PittsburghMarch 5, 2025 boundaries, gas lighting, gaslighting, manipulation, narcissist, narcissistic personality disorder, psychological jargon, therapy speak, trauma dumping, ultimatums, weaponizing therapy speak2 comments

Therapy Speak: When Language Gets Misused and Weaponized In recent years, therapy speak—the casual and often incorrect use of psychological jargon—has made its way into everyday conversations. Social media, podcasts, and influencers have played a significant role in popularizing terms like “narcissist,” “gaslighting,” “boundaries,” and “trauma dumping.” While...

Debunking RFK Jr. Myths About Antidepressants

by Counseling and Wellness Center of PittsburghFebruary 27, 2025 addiction, antidepressant myths, Antidepressants, antidepressants list, medication management, psychiatrist, RFK, RFK Jr, Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors, Serotonin Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors, SNRIs, ssri drugs, SSRIs, wellness farms0 comments

Debunking RFK Jr. Myths About Antidepressants Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the newly confirmed Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), has recently made headlines by raising concerns about the safety and efficacy of antidepressants like selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). During public appearances and interviews, he has suggested that these...

Conversion Therapy Harm & Finding LGBTQIA Affirming Therapy

by Counseling and Wellness Center of PittsburghFebruary 13, 2025 conversion therapy, gender identity, LBGTQ, LGBTQIA, reparative therapy0 comments

Conversion Therapy Harm & Finding LGBTQIA+ Affirming Therapy Just like everyone else, LGBTQIA+ folks grow up in an environment full of subtle messages about “how we’re supposed to act.” As people born with marginalized identities, we often don’t see ourselves represented in the same spaces where others are socialized, and when we do, it’s rarely in...

Why Is It Female Rage, Not Simply Anger in Women?

by Counseling and Wellness Center of PittsburghJanuary 28, 2025 anger, anger in women, anger issues, anger management, angry woman, angry women, female rage, feminine rage, gender roles, gender stereotypes, rage, women's mental health0 comments

Why Is It Female Rage, Not Simply Anger in Women? Anger is a universal emotion, yet for women, it’s often misinterpreted, stigmatized, and renamed. It’s rarely seen as just “anger.” Instead, society frames it as “female rage” or the dramatized “angry woman.” Even in our online search behaviors, this pattern emerges: while “anger in women” averages only 20 monthly...

Psychiatrist vs Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner

by Counseling and Wellness Center of PittsburghJanuary 22, 2025 PMHNP, psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner, psychiatric nurse practitioner, psychiatric services, psychiatrist, psychiatrist near me, psychiatrist vs psychologist, psychiatry, psychologist vs psychiatrist0 comments

Psychiatrist vs Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner Navigating the world of mental health care can feel overwhelming—especially when you’re seeking medication to help with something like ADHD or depression. You know something needs to change, but when you start researching, you’re faced with a variety of options. Psychologist vs psychiatrist? Then, there’s a...

Anti Inflammatory Diet: Key Foods for Fighting Inflammation

by Counseling and Wellness Center of PittsburghJanuary 20, 2025 anti inflammation diet, anti inflammatory diet, anti inflammatory diet food list, anti-inflammatory diet, dietician, dietitian, dietitian nutritionist, dietitian nutritionist near me, healthy eating, healthy food, inflammation, nutrition, Nutrition Counseling, Nutritionist, registered dietician, registered dietitian, registered licensed dietitian0 comments

Anti Inflammatory Diet: Key Foods for Fighting Inflammation Have you ever scrolled through your newsfeed and felt overwhelmed by all the talk about inflammation and the anti inflammatory diet? With endless posts, videos, and articles, it’s easy to get lost in the sea of conflicting information. Many of the tips shared today are rooted in diet culture, promoting...

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