Articles
Thoughts on Counseling and Therapy
There’s no Place like “Alone” for the Holidays
Watching the heavy, gentle snow drift down between the trees outside my windows today, I began to consider the value of solitude. When I’m by myself, it can be a wonderful opportunity of uninterrupted contemplation. But here’s the thing: sometimes solitude can seem...
Grief and Gratitude in the Midst of COVID-19
It’s hard to believe it’s been seven months since I moved my entire clinical practice to telehealth and my kids have been home from school for most of that time. Seven. Months. Has it felt like seventeen years to anyone else? COVID-19 has impacted so many aspects of...
Weight Stigma Awareness Week
Last year kicked off the very first Weight Stigma Awareness Week (WSAW) courtesy of the National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA). This September 28 through October 2, 2020 is the second annual awareness week to increase awareness of weight stigma. Weight Stigma...
Understanding and Overcoming Control Issues
The issue of control is a topic that comes up frequently in therapy sessions. It can be a complicated and confusing topic for people while they are struggling. When a person senses they are losing control they often begin to feel anxious. The other side of the coin is...
Black Lives Matter? Matter is a Minimum.
Black Lives Matter? Matter is a minimum. Black lives are NEEDED! Black lives are LOVED! Black lives are WORTHY! Educate yourself by asking and listening to a person of color about their experiences, so you can develop empathy for this long and ongoing movement. Please...
Why Suicide is at its Peak in May (and what you can do about it)
Ask anyone (particularly in Michigan) when they believe the highest suicide rates are during the year, and we’d probably all say January or February. Those dark, dreary days where the sun blends in with the darkness, leaving a pale gray weariness dipped in sludgy ice...
To All the Moms
Sometimes we think that a big part of what happens in therapy involves criticizing the mother of the patient. Actually as a profession, therapists probably have a greater sense of the importance of mothers than almost any other group. D.W. Winnicott helped us...
When Work is Home and Home is Work
We all miss a number of things at the moment, but I’ve been missing my car. That rusted out, dented in, squeaky wipers, 2001 hatchback Ford Focus (aka silver fox named Hank the Tank) has long been a safe space for this counselor to drive home after a long day of work....
Growing Resilience in a World Gone Wrong
What a strange, exhausting, frightening month it has been. Our rhythms of life have been fully interrupted; a day in the life of quarantine can move from panic to boredom, contentment to grief, anxiety to depression, and yes, joy to gratitude… only to rinse and repeat...
Thank You, a COVID-19 Article
It has been just over two weeks since moving all of my clients to telehealth. I received news that we may have been exposed and felt the only thing to do in order to protect clients and colleagues was to move the practice home. My new work-mates have become teens who...