Have you ever heard someone say “My child is giving me such a hard time” or even better, has one of your own parents ever told you that you used to “give them a hard time”? In the parent/child relationship, it is important to remember and respect that both the parent and child have needs. As parents, we are called to discipline our children and teach them the way they should go. However, through the younger years, they are very much also growing in such a way that at times they are still not even capable of reaching some of our unrealistic expectations.

I can remember when I first read the book “Boundaries” by Henry Cloud and John Townsend. Using verses from Galatians, Cloud and Townsend discuss the difference between burdens and loads. It defines a burden as something that is excessive boulders or problems in our life that we need to allow people to help with. They define the load as our daily toils and strains – something that we are personally responsible for managing and if we ask others to help with our loads we are being irresponsible.

If you are one of the people who grew up with social media in your younger years, you are likely being reminded of some of the past events and posts that occurred on your social media sites. Things like TimeHop had their debut before fizzling out, only to be replaced by Facebook “On This Day”. Being only a click away from some of your old pictures and past experiences can bring up lots of emotions, one of them being a complex feeling of nostalgia. 

At some point in your therapy journey, your therapist is likely to assess for protective factors that help individuals with resiliency and coping bandwidth when going through difficult times or managing mood disorders or traumas. One protective factor we look for is FRIENDSHIP! Having healthy friendship is a protective factor for both emotional health and physical health. 

Individuals have many needs- both physical, emotional, and spiritual. The focus of this series will take a quick dive into the nine different emotional needs. When someone is suffering, we can often take a glance at their emotional needs, and work toward fulfilling those that might not be satisfied. Thankfully there is a way to examine the needs and see which ones may need nourishing, so that you can begin taking the steps toward more emotional contentment. 

Elisabeth Elliot defines suffering as “having something you don’t want or wanting something you don’t have” in her book Suffering is Never for Nothing. One of the reasons I enjoy this definition of suffering so much is because it helps us to acknowledge our pain, even in the midst of witnessing global pain and trauma.

Step-family counseling and pre-step family counseling looks very different than counseling your average couple and family. The dynamics are different and there are specific considerations to make when coming together. One of the leading books to help both counselors and the general public learn more about becoming a stepfamily is Ron Deal’s The Smart Stepfamily. […]

Step-family counseling and pre-step family counseling looks very different than counseling your average couple and family. The dynamics are different and there are specific considerations to make when coming together. One of the leading books to help both counselors and the general public learn more about becoming a stepfamily is Ron Deal’s The Smart Stepfamily. […]

Confession: Going to church has been hard lately. I can’t remember exactly when it started. As a believer, attending church regularly is something that is important to me. I felt a number of different emotions when we would start driving to church, serving at church, or getting ready for church. I had reached a point […]