Caring for Your Mental Health During an Election

Back to school, cooler weather, and changing leaves mean that fall is just around the corner—and so is election season. For many individuals, election season can cause significant stress and anxiety. According to the American Psychiatric Association’s annual mental health poll, 43% of U.S. adults report feeling more anxious than they did last year, with…

What to expect at your first appointment?

So you have decided to schedule your first therapy session? It’s normal to have a variety of feelings about this and the circumstances that brought you to that decision. If you haven’t been to therapy before you may feel nervous or unsure of what to expect! This post will provide some general information and outline…

Four Ways to Improve Your Love Life

It’s February and love is in the air! But let’s face it: sometimes, cupid’s arrow stings. As passions cool, love may feel distant or prickly even when it’s laying next to us in bed every night. Ah, animosity, resentment, and regret don’t make warm bedfellows. It may feel impossible right now, but what if I…

Bridging the Generational Gap at the Holidays

Over the next few months, millions of families across America will gather for the holidays.  Everyone is wondering who will host and what will be on our menu.  Respectfully, I’d like to suggest another important question: how can I bridge the gap that exists between the generations that will gather around my table this year?…

Five Signs You May Need a Mental Health Check-Up

Let’s face it. Life comes in hard and fast at times. It leaves you scurrying from task to task and just hoping when you lay down to sleep that you’ve done enough and been enough to keep your head above water and your relationships intact. Time escapes from grasp and the feeling of being caught…

Navigating the Holidays as Newlyweds

Talk About the Holidays Early It is probably not the best time to sort out details for a holiday the week or night before. Beginning to have early conversations about where and how holidays will be spent can take some of the pressure of these decisions later on. The earlier that you can begin to…

Self-Care in Many Forms

If you have found yourself in a therapist’s office in the past year, chances are that you have heard the phrase “self care.”  It is a topic that we hold near and dear to our hearts.  So much so that it has probably shown up more than any other topic in the blog you are…

Hold your Horses! Thoughtfully Re-engaging Post-Covid

Back in 2014, actress, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Coldplay frontman, Chris Martin made headlines and received a good bit of scorn and ridicule when they announced that they were embarking on a “conscious uncoupling” from their 13 year marriage. I am not going to lie, I joined the scoffers and Saturday Night Live skits in mocking…

The Value of Being Present

When I was around 9 or 10 old, my Dad took me and my older brother, Danny, to the Cabarrus Creamery.  Although connected to a large ice cream factory, it was a simple store front that served excellent frozen treats directly to the public. I vividly remember the details of my banana milkshake that day. …

Mental Minimalism

The past few months, I have been on a big “minimalism” kick. If you haven’t heard this term before, it refers to the concept of only owning what you need, use, and love – and letting go of the rest. The more stuff we hold on to, the more stuff we are responsible to clean,…