Rebellion One of the most valuable phrases I’ve learned when working with families is: Rules – Relationship = Rebellion This concept was originally created to help step-parents and blended families understand the oh-so common rebellion that can happen when a step-parent steps into a child’s life and tries to enforce rules, while failing to foster […]
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I’m Not Trying To Fix You: A Letter to Those in Therapy
As a therapist and counselor, I am here to embrace you. The good, bad, messy, silly — all the parts. So many clients come to therapy saying “Fix me!” or “Just help me erase or get rid of these painful memories!”or “Make me better!”, especially when they’ve been struggling with pain from trauma, grief, a […]
Be Yourself. Science Says You’ll be Happier.
“Positive emotion alienated from the exercise of character leads to emptiness, inauthenticity, depression, and as we age the growing realization that we are fidgeting until we die.” What makes a person truly happy? Not the, “I just ate a really awesome slice of cheesecake happy” but true, lasting emotional satisfaction? Scientists like Martin Seligman have […]
6 Ways to Uncover Your Big WHY
When tackling a big change… it is CRUCIAL that you find your BIG WHY and help it align with who you are. For most of us, even positive change can be very uncomfortable and many people stay stuck in painful patterns because they haven’t found a way to tie the changes they WANT to make […]
Eating Disorder Prevention: How to Save a Life
What’s the Problem? With rising rates of eating disorders, it is impossible to have enough treatment providers for all of those who suffer. And unfortunately, many suffer with little to no resources. Eating Disorder Prevention has either never been prevalent, or seems to have taken a seat on the back burner. I became intimately aware […]
You Deserve Healthy Love
We all deserve love. Yes, you too. Although many of us learn something different from early life experiences where we may not have received the love or safety we needed, romances gone wrong, or bc we don’t have that secure love foundation, and other various traumas — it’s still true. When we believe we don’t […]
The Many Faces of Anger
Anger comes in many faces. It can look like kindness, it can look like silence, it can look like withdrawal. Most people only know the more violent, the more loud, the more outward presentation… But my oh my, how insidious the damage of inner anger can be. How deceiving it can look in the “nice […]
Spanish-speaking Mental Health Resources in Wichita, KS
Spanish-speaking therapists: Wrap-around Services 1. Comcare of Sedgwick County 2. Wichita Family Crisis Center (has spanish-speaking advocates) 3. Kansas Legal Services
How to Survive Thanksgiving with Your Mental Health Intact (Part 2 – 2019)
Tip #2: Set boundaries. (Tip #1 is in the previous blog post) Set self boundaries on what you’ll talk about, think about, and how you’ll react around difficult family members. As much as we’d like to, we CANNOT change how other people treat us, what they comment on, and the questions they ask/don’t ask. We CAN […]
How To Have A (Mentally) Healthy Thanksgiving, Part 1
Eyes on your own plate. Our relationship with food is personal and people do various things for various reasons. Especially if you’ve made dietary changes for gut health or are trying to not feel shame from “dieting” relatives because you love Grandma’s pumpkin pie (who doesn’t?), this key phrase will be helpful. Don’t judge others, […]