These days we throw the words “narcissist” and “codependent” around like confetti. It is easy to label someone who appears self-centered as the former and one who gives a little bit too much as the latter. Despite the fact that we can easily recognise these traits in people, it is always dangerous to label people…
Can you imagine being locked away with another person for a number of years, isolated from the outside world and seemingly helpless to escape? In the above example, a narcissist would be telling the codependent they are safe with them while trying to find an escape route for themselves! A codependent would be enabling the…
I recently had a deep and rather philosophical conversation with a client concerning how much we can truly exercise free will in our lives. Him, going through a difficult period in his life, preferred to believe that we have limited free will and most things that happen to us were predetermined in some shape or…
Over the years as a therapist, I have seen the rise in alcohol abuse among patients and in the environment around them. Many of them can only feel good when they can escape their problems through a drunken haze. Many of them deny they have a problem with drinking and some of them deny that…
As we all know, puberty is a very stressful time. It’s a time of change in multiple facets of adolescent lives: physiological, physical, psychological and social as well. It takes some time to get used to all the turmoil. Some of the most shocking physical changes are the growth spurts, new growth of hair and…
As a therapist, I feel it is my duty to know who you lean on outside of your sessions. Social support, also known as your audience, is a key piece of mental health. I actually spend a reasonable amount of time during the assessment phase finding out who in your life influences you, whether positively…
The point of trying something new is to try something new. I frantically repeat this Radically Open DBT principle in my mind while standing with wobbly legs and then falling from my paddle board into the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. This wasn’t even my idea! Embarrassment knocked at the door of my…
October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month. In honor of this, I thought it appropriate to talk about another one of my specialties, pregnancy loss, and specifically miscarriage. Miscarriage is defined as loss of a pregnancy before 20 weeks (March of Dimes, n.d.). It’s estimated that 10-15% of pregnancies end in miscarriage, however, this percentage…
Recently I made the trek to our pediatrician’s office to participate in the time-honored tradition of getting flu shots for my kiddos. Fun, right? There’s nothing I like more than holding my babies down, one after the other, while they scream and kick. Ugh…miserable! The entire drive to the office, my oldest child was making…
As New Year’s approaches, it’s common to think about new possibilities. Many of us know that it would be helpful to have a guide, coach, & mentor through this process, but we don’t quite know what to look for. Here’s a framework to help you find the right match! An integrated therapist has the yin & yang of therapeutic presence & therapeutic…