May25

The Boy Who Cried Wolf (1 Minute Reworked Fairytales)

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The Boy Who Cried Wolf (1 Minute Reworked Fairytales)

Once upon a time there was a young boy from a small village who was very lonely and bored.  It was his job to guard all the villagers’ sheep on the hilltop overlooking the village.  The boy was very sad, lonely, and often scared.

One day, he could not take it anymore- He screamed the warning call, “ Wolf Wolf!” as loud as he could, down to the village below.  The villagers ran to his aid- but were relieved when they found no wolf among there sheep.  The boy did not know what made him do it, but the attention made him smile on the inside.

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Apr22

“I don’t know what I am doing in therapy…” (a phrase that makes me cringe!)

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“I don’t know what I am doing in therapy…” (a phrase that makes me cringe!)

“I don’t know what I am doing in therapy…”  I have heard this time and time again, and truthfully- it drives me crazy!

Would you go to a mechanic and pay without know what was being done to your car?

Would you go to your primary care doctor with concerns and leave without knowing a treatment plan?

Then why, oh why, would you go to therapy and not know what you are doing there?  I hear people all the time, “Oh, I have been in therapy for years, but I don’t know what the plan is.” Or, the ever popular, “I just go and we talk, I don’t know what we are doing or if it is helping.”  I can completely understand why a person might think therapy is pointless if they are not getting the help they need, if there is no forward progress, and no means to measure success.

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Mar24

Shaking off Therapy’s Stereotype: How therapy can be used by anyone, anywhere

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Shaking off Therapy’s Stereotype: How therapy can be used by anyone, anywhere

Therapy does not always have to be about long term, mental health issues.  It can also be used to combat common occurrences in everyday life that may lead to larger issues later on.

I saw a great example of how therapeutic intervention could be used while at the gym.  While swimming in the pool, I noticed a small swimming class of preschool age children.  One little boy was sobbing the entire time.  This stuck out to me because I noticed the same little boy, crying throughout his lesson, the week before.  The instructor was patient, telling him he was four, he was a BIG boy, and to stop crying.  The other kids in the class were laughing at him.  That little boy was learning a lot of lessons, but unfortunately swimming was not one of them.

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Dec17

How to talk to your kids about tragedy

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How to talk to your kids about tragedy

There are some things that cannot be explained.  There are some things that are beyond what kids should ever have to understand, but never the less, they exist.  Here are some ways to help discuss and manage the subject of random acts of violence and tragedy with your family and loved ones.

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Aug26

“Keep Calm & Carry On”: Techniques/Reminders For Difficult Conversations

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“Keep Calm & Carry On”: Techniques/Reminders For Difficult Conversations

 Difficult conversations are difficult for everyone involved!  Your message can get lost in a mist of hurt feelings, jumping to conclusions, accusing tones, and defensiveness.  I created a “cheat sheet of reminders” for my clients and thought I would share this tool with others.

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Jul29

“I think we need a break…” What to do when your enthusiasm for therapy starts to fade.

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“I think we need a break…” What to do when your enthusiasm for therapy starts to fade.

It happens to everyone.  You are working in therapy and for whatever reason: the beginning of summer, a week of vacation, or a hectic month, you skip a session or two.  It is a slippery slope, and then a missed session turns into a month and you are wondering if you even need to go back at all.  Here are a few things to think about before you “lose” your therapist’s number!

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Jul22

Teens looking for help for their parents… What Should They Do?

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Teens looking for help for their parents… What Should They Do?

While I was developing my new website, I was asked what services could be offered to teens who wanted helped for their parents.  My first thought was about how that is a complicated question, but as I thought about it, I realized it is also an important one to answer.

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Jul14

DBT, An awesome tool but not the whole package!

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DBT, An awesome tool but not the whole package!

DBT (Dialectical Behavioral Therapy) is a wonderful tool.  I describe it to my clients as “therapy broken down into nice, neat packages for easy use.”  It teaches very useful tools to help with extremely difficult symptoms such as self-injury but can also be applied to anxiety, depression, and many other issues.    For as wonderful as DBT is, however, I do not believe that can be your only focus.

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