As a therapist, grief is something I encounter often. Earlier this year, one of my clients, Diane, experienced a series of events that felt like something out of a soap opera. When the dust settled, she found herself widowed at the age of 51. I support my clients through email between sessions. Earlier this week, Diane posed the following questions:...[ read more ]

As a child, I imagined what life would be like once I became old enough to drive and become an adult. As I progressed into my twenties, my perspective on adulthood continued to evolve. I eventually reasoned that the adults who I thought "had it all together" in my childhood were actually just big kids who acquired bills. Like many,...[ read more ]

Boundaries are definitely the most common challenge that I see in my therapy sessions with clients, doesn't matter if they're facing anxiety, life transitions, addiction, etc. But what are boundaries? Boundaries are expectations that we set in interpersonal relationships to optimize our quality of life. What are the types of boundaries? Harper (2020) describes boundaries in seven categories: Physical boundaries- These...[ read more ]

Today, I’m excited to share the key insights from one of the best books I’ve read this year, Why Won’t You Apologize? By Harriet Lerner. “We are imperfect human beings and prone to error and defensiveness. So the challenge of offering a heartfelt apology permeates almost every relationship. We take turns at being the offender and the offended until our...[ read more ]

My wife was able to hear Michele Borba, the author of Unselfie, at a school counselor conference. Since I also work with children and adolescents, I thought I'd check out the book as well. Today I'll be sharing some of what I learned with you about kids and emotional intelligence. Unselfie was written as a guide for adults to empower...[ read more ]

Today, I’m excited to share an interview with my wife, Rachel, who is a school counselor. As I think back to my elementary and middle school years, I don’t recall my peers going through too many mental health issues. I was likely unaware. What are the type of issues you encounter in your daily work as a school counselor? This...[ read more ]

I've worked with people of all ages in my time as a therapist but I especially enjoy working with adolescents and young adults. I am passionate about working with these age groups because 1) I was an adolescent not too long ago 2) those were some of the most difficult years of my life and 3) being a young adult...[ read more ]

What is trauma bonding? This phenomenon is more commonly known as Stockholm Syndrome. Trauma bonding occurs when a victim caught in the abuse cycle becomes dependent on their abuser physically, psychologically, and socially, making it more difficult to escape the abuse as time goes on. As a therapist, I have done research on the abuse cycle because to me, it’s...[ read more ]

I wrote this post a year ago on Father’s Day on my personal blog. Given that it’s still relevant, I am sharing it here, as I know for many, Father’s Day carries with it a lot of pain and brokenness. I kept the post in present tense. *** Prior to getting married last year, I didn’t give much thought to...[ read more ]

For today's Counseling Awareness Month post, I'm excited to share an interview that I did with Shalanda Jackson, LCSW. Shalanda is the owner of J Group Counseling Services, a private practice for psychotherapy where she offers individual counseling and group counseling. I understand that you do group therapy for anger management. Tell the readers about what that group is like...[ read more ]