What is hyper-independence? It can be a coping mechanism that you develop as a result of not having your needs met early in life or when you experience interpersonal trauma. You may feel the need to do things yourself and won’t ask for help because you have learned that it’s not safe to depend...
Sometimes it takes more work to NOT have the conversation
Hard conversations make everyone sweat a little. Especially if there weren’t great examples for how to handle hard conversations growing up. So, because they’re unpleasant, it’s tempting to try and avoid them. But ultimately, sometimes not having the conversation requires more work than actually having it. Let’s talk about why this is true and...
One of the Most Underrated Relationship Skills
Throughout your life you will connect with people you encounter at school, work, and in your personal life. As you develop relationships with different people you will need to utilize a variety of skills to maintain positive, healthy relationships that make life more enjoyable. In the age of blocking + ghosting, there is one...
What to Expect When You’re Starting Therapy
It’s a big decision and investment to start therapy. So we want to give you a little information on what to expect so that you can go in with awareness and clarity. The first 6 sessions The first part of therapy is getting the lay of the land. You are getting to know...
What Are Defenses? Do I use them?
If you’re human, you use defense mechanisms even though you might not consciously know it; and so does everyone you know. And when you can actually see them, your communication, problem solving skills, emotional health and relationships improve. Let’s break this down – what they are and how they work – so you can...
When You are Taking in Too Much Feedback + How to Fix That
People who tend to blame themselves when something goes wrong or when something is challenging, oftentimes take in too much feedback. As we discussed in our last blog, it’s important to be open to feedback (especially during therapy) and really try to see yourself in ways you haven’t before. However, it’s possible to be...
Receiving Feedback: How to Be Good at it + What Gets in the Way
One of the characteristics of clients who are most successful in therapy is their ability to be open to feedback. So we want to share what this looks like and what naturally gets in the way, so you can also be successful in therapy, whether that is with one of our therapists or...
3 Ways to Create Trust and Connection Without Being Perfect
We have entered the holiday season and perfectionism is something that can come up now more than other times of the year, especially for perfectionists. However, you can create trust and connection without being perfect. In our last blog post we talked about the cost of perfectionism and about the fear and anxiety that...
Getting Your Teen to Master the Basics
As a parent, if you can teach your teen to master the basics then you will be setting them up to cope with the stressors of life in a healthy way. All parents want to prepare their children to be able to face challenging situations and have the skills needed to take care of...
Which 5 Basics are Essential to Your Mental Health
When clients are going through a difficult time, they often want to work through the stressors. Of course. However, I often redirect them to really focusing on the basics to create a stable platform from which to address what is happening. Creating that stability makes approaching any stressor much more effective. You might feel...