Trauma

Pain is an inevitable and natural part of life.  No human being goes through life without experiencing loss, disappointment or other difficult emotions.  When we encounter painful circumstances and feelings, we think of them as something negative and want to get rid…

Maybe it feels like disbelief, tightness in your chest, or isolation. Perhaps you’ve noticed increased agitation, irritability, and lashing out when you never meant to. Or maybe, you don’t feel anything at all.  In a culture that handles grief poorly, most of…

A couple of weeks ago,  I had a client come in stating they were uncertain if they needed to participate in therapy because they were not in crisis. She explained that when she went to therapy in previous years,  she was working…

Many of my clients have long histories of unhealthy and complicated relationships with their bodies. Many of them have memories of negative thoughts and beliefs forming in childhood and early adolescence. Their body image distress was, and is, not created in a…

Most of us have heard of the term “mindfulness” as a good strategy to deal with depression, anxiety, and other emotional difficulties. In this article I will teach you about a very specific form of mindfulness called “Detached Mindfulness.” By using it…

What’s so bad about crutches? This is what I wonder when I hear people refer to therapy or medication as “just a crutch.” Have you ever heard that reference?  What I think about crutches, I think about support. Broke an ankle? Crutches….

After an abusive relationship ends, whether long term or short term, it can be difficult for people to rediscover who they are and what they like. Generally speaking most relationships where abuse is present can leave the survivor of abuse unsure of…

Take a moment to think about a recent failure, mistake, or decision that did not turn out like you had expected.  Next, see if you can replay the internal dialogue that took place as a result in your mind’s eye and write…

Inhale while silently counting to 4.Hold your breath while silently counting to 7Exhale while silently counting to 8.Repeat. What if the simple act of breathing is the proverbial “chill pill” we’re all searching for? Well, there is actually some pretty good research…

We therapists have the tendency to use a bunch of psychobabble and it may not always be clear what we’re talking about when we use certain terms. Describing emotional and psychological experiences is often abstract and can be difficult to put into…