Eating disorders and body dysmorphia vary in factors, type, and severity, yet all include a lack of control over eating habits. Dangerous behaviors can arise out of a preoccupation with your weight, shape, appearance, or flaws, whether real or imagined. If the flaws are actual, the importance of the[...]
Grief is one of those universal life experiences from which a person never really recovers but learns to cope with and grow through. When we lose people we love, the world is permanently changed. This is the price we pay as humans for the richness that our loved ones bring to our lives. Although[...]
Gender identity is a spectrum that describes to which degree a person perceives and recognizes their inner knowledge and outer expression of gender. Generally, this is the consistency between anatomical sex and the person’s internal maleness or femaleness or combination or neutrality. There are [...]
“Don’t go where you are tolerated, go where you are celebrated!” There is a rich history and culture in the LGBTQIA+ community. It is unique, quirky, and fantastically diverse, and I am proud to work within it. As a clinician, I moved into private practice in [...]
Life is a process of constant change. Sometimes, major life transitions can throw us out of balance to the point where we lose access to some important aspects of our experience, we lose our sense of grounding and routines, or we disrupt our connections to others. Very brief, highly targeted [...]
Humans experience stress as a natural reaction to meet a demand or challenge. This “fight or flight” survival mechanism slows normal bodily functions like immunity and digestion to focus on breath, alertness, blood circulation, and muscle movement. The degree to which we react can be [...]
Trauma can stem from various causes and sources. It can be a personal tragedy, a natural disaster, a violent event, or any other type of unusual event. Trauma can take an emotional toll on the individual regardless of age. While it should be emphasized that there is no right or wrong way to feel [...]
People would cease to exist without relationships. The sense of self dissolves without relationships with others, and by contrast, people are created and sustained within their social situations. Sometimes relationships are the primary reason a person enters psychotherapy, yet they are always an[...]
Our family structure helps us develop relationship expectations, communication skills, life outlook, the way we show our love, coping skills, and many traits through conditioning. Chronic family conflict can negatively impact your physical, emotional, and mental health. Tension and ongoing conflict [...]
Domestic violence can affect all across race, gender, age, or sexual orientation. The severity and frequency of violent behaviors can vary dramatically. It may appear as behaviors that physically harm, or scare to maintain power and control over another. This unequal power struggle can involve pets [...]