individual therapy
Tim Ciochon MS, LMFT
Always Available, Never Enough: How AI Can Fuel ...

AI has been hailed as a revolutionary tool for mental health available anytime, anywhere, and always ready to listen. But for people struggling with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) or OCD-like tendencies, that very availability can become part of the problem. In this post, we’ll explore the effects AI use can have on people living with OCD or OCD-like symptoms, and what to do if you suspect you may be struggling with compulsive use of AI.

Always Available, Never Enough: How AI Can Fuel OCD Reassurance-Seeking
individual therapy
Anne Chen
​​Belonging, Healing, and the Words That Carry ...

“Should I stay in the U.S.? And if I do, what will that mean for me?” On the surface, it’s a practical question about visas, jobs, or futures. But beneath it is something deeper: a longing for belonging and authenticity…

​​Belonging, Healing, and the Words That Carry Us Home
individual therapy, family therapy
Anne Chen
“Who Am I? Where Do I Fit In?” How Cultural ...

Immigrant families often carry histories shaped by poverty, war, displacement, political persecution, or natural disasters. These experiences leave a deep imprint—not just on those who directly endured them, but on future generations. Trauma shows up in parenting, family roles, and communication patterns. This can create emotional distance between generations.

“Who Am I? Where Do I Fit In?” How Cultural Expectations and Trauma Shape Immigrant Identity
family therapy, individual therapy
Gia Scalise
Loving From a Distance: Boundaries & ...

Setting boundaries with a parent can feel confusing, painful, and even taboo, especially if you were raised to "honor thy father and mother." Maybe your parent dismisses your feelings, crosses emotional or physical boundaries, or makes you feel responsible for their moods. If any of this sounds familiar, you're not alone.

Loving From a Distance: Boundaries & Estrangement with Difficult Parents
individual therapy
Danielle Zawadzki
Building Community in a Divided Society

American society is divided and polarized in our beliefs and perspectives, now more than ever. This can present unique challenges around connecting with others who we may not view as “like us” in our thought processes or belief systems, and this isolation can negatively impact our mental health. In this blog post, we’ll explore how to find community in a divided world, and why community is so important to our mental well-being.

Building Community in a Divided Society

individual therapy

GIVE to Yourself

GIVE to Yourself

Dialectical Behavior Therapy’s (DBT) GIVE is a powerful therapeutic tool I find myself returning to over and over again in my work with clients, particularly in strengthening interpersonal communication skills. Recently, when preparing for a session, I was thinking of new ways to treat negative self-talk; realizing there is great potential in applying GIVE not only to communication with others, but also toward one’s self! Today I would like to introduce you to Marsha Linehan’s GIVE and how it can be used for positive self-talk.

The 3-minute exercise to manage anxiety while under quarantine

The 3-minute exercise to manage anxiety while under quarantine

Anxiety has the capacity to be both incredibly helpful and harmful. In the event of finding yourself face to face with a cougar, down to the wire on a final project, or gearing up for a big race, anxiety gives us the "juice" to dig deep, focus, and function at a high level. There are consequences of course to these bouts with anxiety, including adrenaline and its counterpart cortisol - which, studies have shown, can be very harmful in high doses. Similarly prolonged states of anxiety can lead to fatigue, GI issues, heart problems, and memory problems. For brief periods of time, this anxiety can be functional and help us overcome challenges.

, ,

Types of Grief

, ,
Types of Grief

As if grief weren’t complicated enough to deal with, there are a few different types of grief to be aware of. The importance of knowing these different types of grief is that you or a loved one can understand what you or they are going through to better process the grief and manage the emotions that go along with it. If you would like to get a recap on symptoms of grief, head over to the previous blog here!

, ,

Understanding Grief: Symptoms and Ways to Cope

, ,

Everyone experiences grief at some point in their lives. This can be through the death of a close loved one, or through other losses such as the loss of a job, the loss of a pet, or even the loss of a lifelong dream or goal. When a loss occurs, there are many different emotions someone can experience. Reactions can range from crying and sadness, to anger and disbelief. The difficult part about experiencing a loss is that there is not a one-stop-shop solution. Grief is not linear. There is not a specific set of things you can do to make it better, and what works for one person may not work for another.

©2025 Empowered Connections Counseling | All Rights Reserved

Staff Access | Administrative Access | Client Portal