Blog
Practical Dating Advice
As I have been in private practice, I have realized how few people get good ground rules for dating. I have decided to pass along some of the dating advice I have received over the years that has greatly eased much of my own anxiety around dating. Most of this advice...
The Problem with Pathologizing
I hear more and more people describing experiences and narratives of sadness or heightened stress as depression and anxiety. While anxiety can get away with being a term used to describe a feeling of nervousness, depression, in my opinion, is a much more...
Closure of Colorado Public Schools: Columbine Shooting Anniversary Threat
I woke up this morning to learn that public schools were closed all across Colorado today. This is because of a young woman who is described as being obsessed with the Columbine High School shooting of 1999. My heart breaks for all the families that have lost loved...
Self-Care: a Personal Experience
Counselors need self-care too. Let’s not kid ourselves. Every healthcare professional is still human even if we try not to act like we still have those limitations. If you are an avid reader of mine, you have noticed that I have not posted in a while. That is because...
I Hate Dating
With all the pink and red hearts floating around, I find myself sighing a little, rolling my eyes, and uttering 3 very potent words; I hate dating. Let’s face it, this is one modern day ritual a lot of us probably wish we could forego. Today, I am writing to...
There is No Shortcut to Mental Health
Discussions About Our Struggles I get a lot of people in my personal life asking me about coping skills or tips for what they’re going through. I’ll provide people with some coping skills that have been known to work, maybe even do a little training on breathing to...
Fighting The Post-Holiday Blues
My mother, intrigued, informed me the other day that Martin Luther King weekend marks what many psychologists call the beginning of the holiday blues. Essentially, this is because all of the joyful winter holidays and festivities have come to a close until around...
Dreading the Holidays: Differing Expectations
While the winter holidays are over for now, it is still pertinent to still discuss the idea of differing expectations for special events (especially considering Valentine's Day is still on our horizons)! I would define this as one person expecting a certain outcome...
Dreading the Holidays: Differing Values
As we continue our Dreading the Holidays series, today we will be looking at how having differing values from our family members can cause extra holiday stress. This one is difficult because as young children, we tend to adopt our parents values with black and white...
Dreading the Holidays: Unhealthy Communication
Our next topic in our dreading the holidays series is unhealthy family communication. Holidays with the family can be difficult because there may be poor communication patterns between any variety of family members. I see this a lot with family members that want...