In part 1 of this series, we took a look at disenfranchised grief. Disenfranchised grief is the category that covers grief that doesn’t have a socially accepted place to be recognized or expressed. Basically, it is the “ugly duckling” grief that people feel they have to hide because others won’t … Read More
Recognizing Safe People
One of our greatest needs is to be fully seen, fully known and fully loved. It’s really tough to do that if you’re not certain that you have anyone safe to share vulnerable moments and your ugliest struggles with. This is all so much more important and difficult if you … Read More
Disabilities Types – How Can Counseling Help?
Intellectual and developmental disabilities include a wide range of disorders. Some, like Down syndrome, begin before the individual is born. Others, like the Autism spectrum, can have their onset later in life. Disabilities can affect the individual intellectually, physically, or both. Some examples of other disabilities are Cerebral palsy, ADHD, Fragile … Read More
Stress & Heart Disease
Stress can be poisonous. We’ve known that for a long time, but a recent study linked emotional stress to heart disease in a new and interesting way – via the amygdala. A team of researchers from Harvard Medical School scanned the brain, bone marrow, spleen and arteries of 300 people … Read More
Mourning the Loss of a Pet
Pet loss is often one of the most difficult experiences people deal with. It often takes people by surprise just how difficult it can be to “bounce back” after a pet’s death, or how hard the loss hits them in their day to day life. Whether it is a childhood … Read More
Good Pictures Bad Pictures
Some researchers are citing the age of 8 – eight years old!! – as the average age of exposure to pornography. And – that’s an average. Meaning that kids also encounter pornography at ages even younger than 8. Prior to the Internet era children typically didn’t discover porn until age … Read More
Mental Health In Our Schools and How We Can Help Students
About one in five children in the United States show signs of a mental health disorder – anything from ADHD to eating disorders and suicide. And yet, as NPR has been reporting in their series on the mental health crisis in U.S. schools, many schools aren’t prepared to work with … Read More
Defense Mechanisms & Coping Skills – Denial – Part 2
One of our most primitive defense mechanisms is denial. Mark Twain perfectly captured the essence of denial when he quipped, Denial ain’t just a river in Egypt. In effect, denial is an effort to avoid the pain or discomfort of reality by pretending it doesn’t exist. It is the emotional … Read More
Codependency and How to Care for Yourself
Codependency can simply be described as helping others while harming yourself. Have you ever found yourself in a relationship where you felt as if you were going “crazy?” Have you ever found yourself excessively worried, preoccupied or even obsessed with your partner’s problems? Codependency involves reactions which are unhealthy forms of … Read More
The Post Holiday Blues
For many parents, the Christmas holiday is a time that they can see their family again. They can have all their children under one roof and operate happily amidst all the noise that was so familiar when the kids were growing up. But then the holiday hustle and bustle stop, … Read More
