“Improvements are only temporary until they become part of who you are. This year, focus on the identity you want to build.” – James Clear “New Year's resolutions often fail because toxic emotions and experiences from our past can sabotage us or keep us stuck with the...
Blog
Choose Guilt Over Resentment: Why “No” is a Healthier Choice This December
This article emphasizes the importance of saying “no” during the holiday season to avoid burnout, resentment, and emotional exhaustion. Setting boundaries, despite initial guilt, promotes self-care, mental health, and more meaningful connections.
The Misuse of Therapeutic Terms: Why We Need to Be Careful with Labels
Misusing clinical terms doesn’t just dilute their meaning; it can also endanger others. For example, accusing someone of being manipulative or gaslighting without fully understanding the context can escalate conflicts and create unnecessary hostility. This can result in serious social consequences, from strained relationships to workplace discrimination.
What Does Child Abuse Have To Do With Me?
It’s Child Abuse Awareness Month. No one likes to think about child abuse. So we’re largely silent about it. Which creates a perfect condition for child abuse to thrive and proliferate. Because abuse of all kinds thrives in silence and darkness. And the cost...
Understanding Sensorimotor Psychotherapy: Healing Trauma through the Mind-Body Connection
We store our experiences not only in our minds, but also within our bodies. Traumatic events can imprint themselves on our physical sensations, leading to lingering effects that impact our physical and mental well-being. Addressing these deep-seated traumas requires a...
Should I see a Pre-Licensed Therapist? Or a Licensed Therapist?
In Florida, mental health counselors can be Graduate Interns, Registered Interns (RMHCI or RCSWI), or fully Licensed (LMHC, LMFT or LCSW). Are you confused by all these letters and titles? How do you know what to look for in a...
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Utilizing Exposure and Response Prevention
What is OCD? Obsessive-compulsive Disorder (OCD) is characterized by experiencing cycles of unwanted intrusive thoughts (obsessions) and repetitive behaviors (compulsions) that can cause a significant amount of distress for an individual (International OCD Foundation,...
What We’re Really Talking About (Coercive Control)
October is "Domestic Violence" Awareness Month. I put "domestic violence" in quotation marks because that's an outdated term that emphasizes the physical violence, and misleads us to think it's only happening in domesticity -- such as in a marriage. There's a better...
How to Spot — and Handle — a Sociopath
This post was originally published on March 2, 2014. Thousands of comments later, I'm still getting emails and calls about it weekly. Given the interest in sociopathy in the news today, I decided to re-publish it here.Ted Bundy. Jeffrey Dahlmer. Danny Rolling. Jim...