My blog this month is about one of my favorite topics, and it is one of those topics where my clients tend to slump in their seats when I mention it, roll their eyes, stop making eye contact and even sigh in resignation. What is it you ask…drum roll please, Emotional regulation! I love talking […]

“What do I have?” I have heard that quite a few times in counseling sessions from clients who are interested and/or worried about their mental health diagnosis. While in a medical doctor’s office this question is often asked with little preconceived knowledge of what condition may be suspected, in a counseling office most people have […]

About 15 years ago I read a fascinating article outlining how clinicians were doing research showing that people who experienced trauma were more likely to have physical problems/illness. Since reading that article so many years ago, the field of counseling has exploded with research illustrating how trauma impacts not only our emotional health, but our […]

In last month’s blog, I talked about PTSD or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder as well as C-PTSD or Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. While PTSD may occur after a single traumatic event, C-PTSD usually happens after an individual has experienced multiple traumas. To better understand the difference between PTSD and C-PTSD you may want to go back […]

We are in the 16th month of this pandemic. The pandemic has been a difficult time for many people. We have experienced unprecedented challenges as a society and personally. Living through this much isolation, financial stress, anxiety, as well as fear and loss has all the potential to increase poor mental health outcomes. As adults […]

One of the things I never thought about until I started my own mental health journey several years ago was healthy boundaries. Growing up in a chaotic household as I did, it is not going to be the place where we learn about healthy boundaries. If our parents were never taught about them, how on […]

Bibliotherapy, the use of books in the treatment and management of psychological disorders, is one of the oldest and most well-known tools in a therapist’s toolbox. Most people who have not ever been to therapy or even known someone who has are familiar with this concept. Most clients are open to this as a method […]

If you have experienced PTSD, you know it is real. People with PTSD often have nightmares and flashbacks. They worry something bad will happen to them. They may see the world as a scary place and avoid reminders of their trauma–reminders we call “triggers.”

Depending on your age, different images may come to mind when you hear “PTSD” or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. When I hear “PTSD” I immediately think of Vietnam Veterans. There are two main reasons for this. The most recent reason is that for a few years at the beginning of my career I had the privilege […]

Pride is way more than the rainbow section at Target or just the 30 days pride month encompasses. Pride is for everyone and all the time. Pride elevates marginalized voices within the LGBTQ+ community. It’s important to remember that the LGBTQ+ plus community has not been acknowledged or affirmed by the general population until very […]