Things in your life are not going well. You made a decision to go to therapy. You checked out several therapists and picked one. You made it to the office and started telling your story, hoping life would get better. And now things are not going well for you in […]
Michelle
22 posts
As a therapist, I am often asked to suggest a therapist for friends, family and co-workers. Therapy is a very individualized experience-there is no “one size fits all”. For therapy to be an effective change agent, it is important that you feel comfortable within the process. Here are some good […]
The path of life is rarely a straight or direct one. As our path branches off, we are offered opportunities to make choices, not all of which turn out as we planned or hoped. It is these opportunities and our responses to them that make each of us who we […]
Sometimes in our complex world, I think we underestimate the simple, uncomplicated things that can contribute positively to mental health. Let’s talk about how nature can provide a calming respite from the stress of a busy life. There are many academic studies reflecting how natural environments can be restorative to […]
I love hugs. One of the most difficult things for me during the COVID pandemic was not being able to hug…or fist bump…or get closer than six feet. As we move through this public health crisis, hopefully we will be able to get back to hugging! Whether you hug someone […]
Most people think of therapy as being an option only for adults, teens and perhaps pre-teen youth. The idea of traditional therapy i.e. sitting in a chair and talking about your problems for an hour is pretty funny if you think about putting a 3 or 4 year old in […]
It is easy to focus on the negative when it seems like nothing is going well. Let’s face it, life is a challenge, even in the best of times. We experience sad, scary and hurtful things regularly in life. This can happen within ourselves such as when facing a physical […]
Lately, I have been thinking about the concept of personal responsibility. Personal responsibility is the acceptance of standards that society sets for individual behavior and our efforts to live by those standards. Conversely, it also means when someone fails to meet the expected standards, they do not look for external […]
I often find that the person we find most difficult to forgive is ourselves. One of the reasons this is so hard seems to be the idea that we have to be perfect. We live in a society where perfection is the expected destination instead of appreciating the joys and […]
Do you ever wonder “why is this happening to me?” Understanding an experience can lessen the anxiety we feel about it and lead to acceptance regardless of the outcome. This can be difficult when we get stuck in the objective facts of the situation, wrangling with thoughts like “what have […]