Relationships are complicated enough in today’s world but throw in the wrench of emotional abandonment wounds from a parent and we’ve hit the ultimate learning curve. Identifying unhealthy dynamics such as negative communication and emotional regulation skills can be frustrating but such a rewarding endeavor....
Taming the Thought Spiral: A Pathway for Quieting Your Mind As a counselor, one of the most common complaints I hear is the challenge of thought spiraling. We experience something hard, we feel big feelings, and our mind tries to fix them or escape from...
Unlike a lot of people my age, I didn’t grow up watching Mr. Rogers Neighborhood. I discovered Fred Rogers later on in life through documentaries, and the more I learned about him the more I became a fan. He was a man who exemplified qualities...
We have all been there – in our youth, as students, oversleeping and missing the bus for school. As adults, getting a flat tire that causes us to be late for work. These everyday moments are stressful, but when do daily stressors become cause for...
You are sitting on a bench at your local playground. It’s sunny (despite Michigan’s temperamental weather). Your gaze begins to wander and settles on children climbing. They are climbing everywhere. It’s amazing, actually, how many things children can climb on. You further notice how they...
Recent decades have seen an increasing interest in the healing and therapeutic potential of nature and the perspective of various nature-based interventions for the benefit of mental health. The field of nature-based therapies is expanding in line with this interest. During the formative years of...
Having a child is a huge transition and brings changes for the entire family. This time of transition is often difficult for all members of the family, but is further complicated when PMADs enter the picture. PMADs stands for Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders and...
There are very few roles in the world with the expectation to be and do it all, quite like the role of a mother. There are also many contradicting messages about what exactly all of the IT we are meant to be doing is. So...
A healthy, regulated nervous system is vital for good mental health. The nervous system is responsible for discerning our general wellbeing and it warns us when we’re no longer safe. For example, we may be experiencing fear or heightened anxiety in the face of a...
“It’s fine.” “Everything is fine.” “I’m fine.” Have you ever strung together these three sentences and thought to yourself, “shoot, I think I might not be fine”. About a year ago I was in a car accident that resulted in emergency surgery, a stay in...