What Do People Work On in Therapy?
The answer to that question is both, “It varies greatly,” and “It’s usually very similar.” I experience clients coming to me with a wide range of challenges, and as we start to unpack the issues and uncover the underlying feelings and beliefs, the same themes start to emerge.…
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Restorative Rainbow II: Adult Conflicts
The Restorative Rainbow is colorful representation of Non-violent Communication, a fantastic conflict resolution and communication tool. Here is an expansion of my earlier article how to use the Restorative Rainbow for kids. Now we get into adult conflicts! We can consider more of the nuances involved. Non-violent communication,…
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Restorative Rainbow: Easy Conflict Resolution for Kids
I saw this poster up at my nephew’s elementary school, and I love it. It’s a simple pathway to resolving conflict within families, relationships, and friendships. Use it between siblings, between parent and child, between partners, between friends, and even between frenemies. It’s essentially Non-Violent Communication made easy!…
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Anxious About Anxiety? Start Here
Raise your hand if you’ve felt this: your heart is beating fast, your breathing is shallow and tight, your throat feels closed up, and those nagging, worrisome thoughts just get worse and worse. Welcome to anxiety. If you’re reading this you probably know exactly what I’m talking about.…
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Working With Anger: Bring It!
I think Anger gets a bad rap. I think most of us grow up without a full understanding of anger – its meaning, its value, and how to work with it in a healthy way. Yet it’s everywhere, and it can feel scary (to witness, to receive, to…
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Inner Peace Shortcut: Allowing Multiple Truths
Here’s something I’ve noticed about “the truth”: there can be more than one truth at the same time, both within ourselves and within a relationship. When we let go of trying to determine “which truth is THE truth” (i.e. right vs wrong) and instead allow for “multiple truths,”…
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Battle Royale II: Brain v Brain!
Maybe you’ve thought, “I know I shouldn’t feel this way…” or “I feel guilty for even thinking this…” There’s the thought or feeling, and then on top of that there’s an inner critic berating you for that very thought or feeling. Sometimes our own brains beat us up!…
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The Value of Venting
Recently I saw a video of an impala shaking off stress after a near-death experience (YouTube link below). It’s a great visual of how the animal releases the intense energy of the Fight or Flight response, and I think it illustrates an important lesson for us humans, too.…
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More About Couples Therapy – An Example
So what does the actual process of unpacking and transforming conflict as a couple look like? Let’s take a look. To start, most often the couple brings in a focal point for the discussion – a recent or ongoing conflict, or something they know they want to work…
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What to Expect From Couples Therapy
Okay, can I just say: relationships are complicated! You’ve got two different people’s motivations, needs, and feelings flying around. You’ve got misunderstandings and miscommunications. You’ve got unspoken expectations and niggling resentments. Yikes! Couples therapy can help with all of that. My aim with couples is to help you…
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