We all have our own stories for how our identity formed. Some of these stories are full of beauty and can serve us really well. Other stories can get in the way. Narrative Therapy encourages us to consider how we might “re-author” these stories to have more ownership over our lives.
It's a difficult, scary time in American politics. This blog outlines some healthy coping strategies for staying engaged and creating sustainability even when political news and events are causing you stress and anxiety.
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.
In this post, we’ll talk you through healing your self image, the therapy interventions that can help, and five tips for getting started.
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.
The holidays are commonly a peak time for relationship endings. There are many reasons why that might be. Maybe you are examining the relationship from the past year. Maybe you see the commitment in spending the holiday together. Whatever the reason is, if you are hurting from a break up right now (no matter the season), we know how difficult it is.
Relationships are connective and complex. They can sometimes hold dialectical meaning. When something like this is filled with so much nuance, we then try to find answers to make sense of it. We might turn to relationship experts, self help books, or intensive workshops. I am here to break the news that not even the experts have it all figured out. Why? Because we’ve all got a story and so do our partners. One that is unique to you and only you. The relationship is just a new chapter in our own story. Now, imagine starting a book halfway through and not having the details of the previous chapters. That’s a big part of relationships. Getting to know your partner’s previous chapters. That requires work, time, and effort.
Seeking out individual therapy is not only healing, but also informative. As a client, I was describing what was going on in my personal relationship with my partner as we were cohabitating. I continuously felt like I was walking on eggshells and communication with friends and family became limited. As I was describing my day to day living, my therapist stopped me and said, “Do you understand you are in a domestic violence situation?” I was confused, I made sure she understood I wasn’t being hit. The statistics are astonishing, 1 in 4 women and 1 in 9 men face severe domestic violence from an intimate partner.
Summer is here! A time to slow down, take in the warm air, and spend time with our children while summer vacation is still in gear. In the constant state of trying to create a balance in our new and ever changing environments, I think to myself, “how are our children handling this as well?” I am reminded of this within my own family, and the big changes we are facing with an out of state move. We have had our ups and our downs of the common stressors of a move and selling our home, and the transition of getting to our new home.
The five love languages originated from Dr. Gary Chapman in 1992. These languages are modalities of how we show or receive love and appreciation whether it’s towards our romantic partners, family, or friends. We as humans communicate differently and by understanding how others express love in a meaningful way, it helps us communicate and strengthen relationships by focusing on other’s needs rather than our own. Dr. Chapman developed 5 categories of love languages; Acts of Service, Gifts, Physical Touch, Quality Time, and Words of Affirmation.
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