individual therapy, family therapy, relationship therapy
Whitney Christmas MS, LMFT
Beyond Sadness: Understanding Grief

Just because grief is part of the human experience, doesn’t mean we have to cope with it alone, or reign in how we express it. In this post, we’ll explore different kinds of loss and grief, and how to know when it’s time to seek therapy for grief.

Beyond Sadness: Understanding Grief
individual therapy, therapy methods
Leticia Perez, LPC
5 Tips for Healing Your Self Image

In this post, we’ll talk you through healing your self image, the therapy interventions that can help, and five tips for getting started.

5 Tips for Healing Your Self Image
individual therapy, relationship therapy
Gia Scalise
Coming Out to as Queer to Your Straight Partner

Many LGBTQIA+ Americans living today realized their orientation and came out of the closet when they were teenagers, there are many adults who experience this at an older age and have the challenge of coming out to a romantic partner. In this post, we offer some guidance in this post to help you prepare for the conversation.

Coming Out to as Queer to Your Straight Partner
family therapy, individual therapy, relationship therapy
Danielle Zawadzki
Collaboration, Connection, and Community: ...

Not all therapists start out knowing they want to be therapists. Some, like ECC Affiliate Therapist Peter Beer, start out in an entirely different field and realize that human relationships are what they want to dedicate their careers to. In his Q&A for our blog today, Peter shares about what led him to therapy and the approaches he finds beneficial in working with clients. And with June being Men’s Mental Health Month, he shares about the most common issue he sees among young men seeking therapy for the first time—loneliness—and how he coaches them through it.

Collaboration, Connection, and Community: Q&A with ECC Therapist Peter Beer
individual therapy, therapy methods
Gia Scalise
Applying Harm Reduction in Mental Health Therapy

In a therapy setting, harm reduction is a useful–and proven–approach to treating people who engage in higher risk behaviors. In this post, we explore how and why harm reduction is improving mental health outcomes. 

Applying Harm Reduction in Mental Health Therapy

individual therapy

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Practicing Self-Love Around Valentine's Day

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Practicing Self-Love Around Valentine's Day

Valentine’s Day as it is celebrated in modern culture is a chance to celebrate romantic love, yet it can also be a painful reminder if you’re currently single, have recently lost or ended a relationship with a romantic partner, or are processing relationship trauma. Even in a relatively healthy partnership, Valentine’s Day can be fraught with social pressures to demonstrate romantic commitment in certain ways like expensive gifts and romantic dates. It’s all too easy to feel disappointment, grief, or stress around Valentine’s Day, which is why practicing self-love and compassion are important. Here are a few therapy tips for honoring your authentic needs and values around Valentine’s Day.

What Matters More: The Therapy Method, or the Therapist?

What Matters More: The Therapy Method, or the Therapist?

If you’re new to therapy, you may find yourself wondering which type of therapy is right for you, and beyond that, what is more important: the therapist, or therapy method? Perhaps you’ve met with a therapist before and it didn’t go well, but you’re not ready to give up on therapy yet. The good news is that research has given us some good indicators on how to set ourselves up for success in a therapy relationship—for both therapist and client. 

Am I Doing Boundaries Right in My Relationships?

Am I Doing Boundaries Right in My Relationships?

Boundaries have become a frequent topic of conversation both within therapy and outside of it: on social media, in the workplace, between family members, between friends. It’s important to create clarity in a relationship about how you want to be treated, and how you want to treat others. But it’s hard work to set healthy, effective boundaries in your relationships, especially if you grew up in a family or a culture where your needs weren’t considered, or you watched a parent or caregiver navigate life without setting healthy boundaries for themselves—with you, with another adult or family member, or maybe even their job. 

It’s especially hard to set boundaries when you’re holding misconceptions about what boundaries are in a relationship and how they work. 

Today’s Problem - Yesterday’s Survival

Today’s Problem - Yesterday’s Survival

Imagine the first time a client enters a therapist's office, revealing years of self-medicating trauma and anxiety by way of alcohol and drugs. Shame hangs heavy in these moments, with the focus fixed solely on breaking free from dependence and addiction. Yet, as therapists, we are attuned to a deeper truth - that these problematic behaviors were once functional survival mechanisms, borne out of pain. The troublesome coping skills you are faced with today at one time served a crucial purpose. 

Mapping out Therapy - An Interview with founder Danielle Zawadzki

Mapping out Therapy - An Interview with founder Danielle Zawadzki

Have questions about what to expect when coming to therapy? What types of therapy are there? How to know if a therapist is a good fit? Empowered Connections Counseling Founder, Danielle Zawadzki, LMFT sat down with Palos Heights’ (PHTV4) Living Well program to discuss the ins and outs of therapy. Below is a brief summary of her interview, and be sure to check out the full length interview with more in depth insights at the link below.

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