New Group Beginning in March for Young Men

The Young Men’s Group will be a focused process group for adolescent males who are recovering from traumatic events and are in need of healthy peer support. It will aim to assist young men in overcoming  challenges with the support of other peers while concurrently challenging patterns of unhealthy behaviors. 

Stay tuned for more information!

Finding the Right Fit

Your relationship with your therapist is one of the most significant and fundamental aspects of the therapeutic process. Your therapist fills a unique role in your life: she is the individual who provides an objective view of your relationship with your significant other. He assists you in making your own decisions about your career path. She hears things that you may not have ever told anyone else in your life.

As with any other individual, each therapist or counselor is different. He or she brings different qualities, perspectives and experiences to your sessions. You will not mesh with every therapist and not every therapist will mesh with you. In their book Conquer Your Critical Inner Voice, authors Robert W. Firestone, Ph.D, Lisa Firestone, Ph.D, and Joyce Catlett, MA state that "a therapist who is effective and compatible with one person may not be with another person." That is normal and that is perfectly okay. What is important is that your therapist is compatible with you. Finding the right person to fit your needs is key. 

What is most important to me as a professional, is that my clients and perspective clients can get their therapeutic needs met appropriately. In order to help establish this at the beginning, I offer a free, initial 20-30 minute, face-to-face consultation where we have the opportunity to decide if a therapeutic relationship can and will be pursued. If we decide that we can work together, then an appointment will be scheduled. If not, no hard feelings. I will provide you a list of referrals to other professionals who may be able to assist you. 

A good therapist should be supportive and understanding, even if he or she is not your therapist. Shop around and find someone who fits your needs. You wouldn't go to see a dentist if what you really needed was an orthopedist, even though they are both doctors, would you? 

The Healing Power of the Therapeutic Relationship

Key Questions to Ask When Choosing a Therapist

See what some of the experts recommend for stress relief. You may be surprised to know that some of what you are already doing helps!

17 Psychology Experts Share Their Best Stress Relief Tips

Taking Care of Our Own at Home

One of my passions is working with law enforcement officers, firefighters and other emergency professionals. In the recent years, an increasing amount of attention has been placed on our first responders and the care for their mental health. In a world surrounded by wars, school and community shootings and political strife, it may be easy to forget about those who protect and serve our communities at home. Who helps those who help us?

This article, written by Tom Hallman Jr. of The Oregonian was published on January 11 and does a great job at illustrating the the impact of line-of-duty experiences our first responders cary with them.
Portland police officer leaves on a routine call, finds something he'll never forget

We all cary our own backpacks. Some of our backpacks fill up faster than others, with items of different size and weight. At some point our backpacks will become full and eventually overflow if we do not exercise self care. The real kicker of this is that our "stuff", these items which we cram into our packs, will most likely spill onto ourselves, our friends and family at the most unwanted time, making it all the more difficult to clean up. While many individuals - emergency professionals, themselves - oftentimes have the expectation that first responders can handle the stress, we need to remember that they are people too, just like everyone else. Even their backpacks become full.

A great article about the resiliency of children and adolescents.
Children Can Usually Recover From Emotional Trauma

Transitions

The New Year is a time for transitions. Many people make a commitment, or a resolution, to change something about themselves in the coming year. Interestingly enough, a majority of individuals fail to follow their resolution to fruition. Why is this? Is it because the work of change becomes to difficult to bear? Is it because the novelty of the change has worn off, and returning to old habits and behaviors is less burdensome? Or is it because we just plain forget what we promised ourselves on Jan 31?

Transitions are hard; and, saying that they are sometimes difficult may be a bit of an understatement. Learning to take the good with the bad may oftentimes feel like a moot game. But what if the ultimate goal is not simply from the change from A to B itself, but from the lessons learned and the insights gained as a result of, or lack of, that change?

So often do we fail to reflect on these lessons, and only observe the gain or loss of a goal. In this time of a the new year, I challenge us all to reflect upon the latent meaning to our resolutions for change. Why is this important for me? What is truly significant about this goal which have I set for myself? What will it mean when I achieve it? What will it mean if I don't.

Don't forget: the Stress Reduction Group begins Monday January 14 at 5:30 pm. If you are interested, check out the link posted below to my Psychology Today page. Pre-registration is required.

Stress Reduction Group - Information