Marriage Relationships and Their Healthy Characteristics: Part 3

marriage

In Parts 1 and 2 of this series, we reviewed the characteristics of healthy and unhealthy marriage relationships. For some of you, understanding the dysfunctional characteristic of an unhealthy marriage relationship may have become a call to action to do something different in your relationship. You have many different options … Read More

Awareness in Business With a Diary

awareness

Is keeping a diary really good for business? According to the Harvard Business Review, the answer appears to be yes. Awareness can equal productivity in business. According to a recent study, workers felt increased levels of focus, patience, planning, and personal growth as a result of being asked to keep a … Read More

Leaking is a Toxic Behavior Parents should Avoid: Part 2

divorce

As I stated in part 1 of this blog, leaking can have a negative impact on your children’s mental and emotional health. As parents experience the pain, anger, confusion and grief that typically accompany a divorce, children are also experiencing many of those same emotions. Divorce can increase a child’s … Read More

Marriage Relationships and Their Healthy Characteristics: Part 1

pre-marriage

If you’ve been married for any length of time, you’ve probably experienced a few ups and downs in your relationship.  But do you ever wonder about the health of your marriage?  In his book, “The Science of Trust,” Dr. John Gottman discusses that, even though healthy marriages can vary greatly … Read More

Grief That Doesn’t Fit In: Part 2

grief

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

Grief That Doesn’t Fit In: Part 1

grief

There are tons of books, podcasts, shows, and blogs that address the topic of grief. Everyone experiences grief at some point in their life. It is the emotion that results when something or someone important to you is no longer in your life. Mourning is what happens when grief goes … Read More

Stress & Heart Disease

stress

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

Divorce: Dad or Mom left…now what?

divorce

Navigating divorce is difficult. There are many causes for divorce. A few of these are: Affairs Grown apart/fallen out of love Addiction Incompatible Divorce becomes even more complex when there are children involved. Many times, parents become bitter and angry towards each other and it is hard to treat each … Read More

Experiencing Positive Change in Your Relationships

marriage

As a marriage and family therapist, the biggest hurdle that I see individuals and couples face in realizing the goals for their relationships is that they keep doing what they have been doing, in spite of having learned a better way. So, as the Nike ad says, “Just do it.” … Read More

Mourning the Loss of a Pet

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