Spring has arrived! The weather is getting warmer, it stays lighter outside later into the evening, and the trees and flowers are starting to bloom. I love this time of the year because I feel an increase in motivation and energy as the anticipation of summer is upon us. On my drive to work in the morning, I have been intentionally looking at the blooming trees and thinking about the beauty they add to this world.
Read MoreI was sharing with my husband the other night about an incident where a friend replied to an email and I felt stunned. After not talking to this friend in a year I invited her to attend a work event. She declined saying that since we hadn’t connected in so long that it was time to end our personal relationship but we could continue to be professional colleagues.
Read More“E-motions are energy in motion. If they are not expressed, the energy is repressed. As energy it has to go somewhere. Emotional energy moves us as does all energy...To deny emotion is to deny the ground and vital energy of our life” --John Bradshaw
Read MoreIn my work as a psychotherapist, I often ask people what they need in order to feel emotionally safe. Most people haven’t ever been asked this question or ever thought much about it. Sometimes people will say that in order to feel safe they need there to be “no judgment”, which I believe is an impossibility.
Read MoreIn a previous blog post, I wrote about some of my first experiences with disordered eating and the vicious cycle of shame, guilt, and negative self talk and beliefs that ensued. At the time, I never would have thought that my relationship with food was anything other than “normal”. I acknowledged that I had a sweet tooth, and I thought everyone who enjoyed eating sugar struggled with the same internal battles that I did.
Read MoreI am the peeled orange who discovers that the skin no longer fits. I’ve expanded and grown and I need a new and different coat. This is how I felt this morning when I woke from a dream.
Read MoreCodependency is when ones insides and outsides do not match up. Another definition is needlessness, or “I’ll do it my damn self” because no one can do it as well as I can. Another definition is micromanaging and over functioning with another person or other people in general. This is an external focus, or locus of control. The root of codependency is dishonesty.
Read MoreCouples are often so hurt or so entrenched with being right that they have lost the essence of who they are and who their partner is. I believe that we’re designed to see the flaws and shortcomings in our partner more easily than focusing on our own flaws and shortcomings.
Read MoreThe New Year inevitably brings with it resolutions. Maybe you pledged to lose weight, stop smoking, stop using your phone so much, and be a “new you.” Or, you’ve tried resolutions in the past, and they haven’t worked, or maybe you’re sick of hearing about everyone else’s!
Read MoreWhat are cognitive distortions? They are irrational thoughts or beliefs we have about ourselves and the world around us that are reinforced over time.
As a Psychotherapist and Yoga Instructor one of the things I work on with my clients is learning how to re-regulate their nervous systems. Simply put teaching people how to soften in their shoulders and let go of muscular engagement, this helps clients tune in more intimately with body sensation, emotional awareness and personal needs.
Read MoreOften my clients come to me saying they are desperate to make some changes in their life, but they have struggled to remain consistent or motivated. How does consistency and motivation happen? What determines how likely someone is to reach their goals?
Read MoreAt the start of the new year, there is inevitably a lot of conversation about New Year’s resolutions--the goals that individuals set for themselves at the beginning of the year to have a fresh start at achieving something they want for themselves.
Read More12 step recovery is filled with wonderful slogans intended to help one think before their compulsion takes over and they use, medicate and/or act out.
Read MoreTaking care of myself with what I eat and how I exercise seems especially difficult during the holidays. The excuses, rationalizations and justifications are everywhere.
Read MoreI will never forget feeling so sick to my stomach for eating as much as I did and trying to run as many miles as I physically could to burn off the calories I had just consumed.
Read MoreI hate to admit this, but I had a difficult time accepting my pregnancy and being happy about the wonderful gift we were given from God because it didn’t seem like we were ready to have another baby.
Read MoreIt’s been my experience personally and professionally, that when families and couples lean into just 3 new tools for their relationships, they often spend less time feeling isolated and polarized. Helping people find ways to reconnect and share the truth about what they need and want is what allows people to be seen and heard. Please reach out if I, or any of my team can be of assistance.
Read MoreAs a Professional Counselor for 20 plus years and as a married woman for almost 20 years, I truly believe it takes more than love to make a marriage work. In fact, by the time couples show up in my office it sometimes seems to be an after thought or something long forgotten. Couples are often so hurt or so entrenched with being right that they have lost the essence of who they are and who their partner is. I believe that we’re designed to see the flaws and shortcomings in our partner more easily than focusing on our own flaws and shortcomings.
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