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.

Have you ever heard of inherited family trauma? In his book “ It Didn’t Start with You: How Inherited Family Trauma Shapes Who We Are and How to End The Cycle”, Mark Wolynn summarizes and uses years of research that reveals this truth – the roots of issues such as depression, anxiety, chronic pain, phobias, and obsessive thoughts often starts from traumas of parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents.

Have you ever found yourself wondering why you responded to a situation the way you did? Yes? Me too. I would even argue that I do it weekly but to various extents. Some incidents require more cognitive processing to understand why I might have said something I didn’t mean to say, or why I felt like I was being misunderstood.

By now, many of us have seen Disney’s animated movie, Encanto. For many of us, we may or may not have realized how many different mirrors were being held up to us as we watched each family member struggle to maintain the matriarch’s projected rules and expectations. We realized that there were messages we carried well into our adulthood, feelings and emotions that we kept lock-and-key or even moments of wondering, “Am I invisible?” 

Raising a child with an ongoing illness can pose many challenges for couples, and the family as a whole. Learning to navigate these challenges in a productive manner is essential for maintaining stability within the family unit, not just with the affected child. Parenting under these circumstances can negatively impact couple relations, the relationships they […]

The holidays are a time for gathering with friends and family to celebrate a special time of year. It’s a time to escape our hectic lives and reconnect with those we may not see often throughout the year. For many of us that may include caring for aging parents, either on a regular basis, or […]

Without a doubt, COVID-19 has impacted every person in big ways and small ways, across a variety of situations. For almost 8 months, each individual across the globe has had to adjust aspects of life as we collectively protect ourselves and fight against this virus. Halloween is behind us, which means we are rapidly approaching […]

For many, the holiday season was the metaphorical “light at the end of the tunnel” for 2020. Happily, holiday season is officially in full swing; however, it is unfortunately not what was hoped for. The desire to resume some sense of normalcy is strong and the holidays typically signal the start of family traditions and […]

What we think affects how we feel.   The information we input has impacts on what we output. In this day and age of a pandemic, racial tension, an upcoming election, and even hurricane news, we are overwhelmed with information from the media.  In counseling, I am hearing clients say more and more that they are […]