Trauma Treatment EMDR

Trauma Treatment: EMDR Eye movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR) Once considered unorthodox, eye movement desensitization reprocessing (EMDR) has earned accolades as an effective trauma treatment for adults, youth and children, supported by more than twenty randomized controlled studies, and is now considered one of the two preferred trauma therapies recommended by the World Health Organization (Farkas, […]

IMPOSTER SYNDROME

IMPOSTER SYNDROME Imposter syndrome may not be a familiar term for you, but I can guarantee it is something you and most everyone you know has experienced, especially the outwardly appearing “successful” people. Imposter syndrome (a term coined in 1978 by psychologists Pauline Clance and Suzanne Imes) describes a concept where individuals are not able […]

The Dis-ease of Busyness

The Dis-ease of Busyness While the above novelty mug is meant to be funny, chronic “busy-ness” is seriously harming us.  Scientific studies at Harvard revealed that bragging about being busy affects the same pleasure sensations of the brain we derive from food and money (however, bragging about being busy is considered way more socially acceptable […]

The Only Constant is Change

The Only Constant is Change I hold a privileged position of playing witness to many peoples change process.  I believe that “personality” is a system of forces in conflict with one another, but our core Self is unconsciously driven towards optimism, growth, and self-actualization.  Despite this, I still find myself constantly in awe of the […]

The Importance of Knowing Your Family History

The Importance of Knowing Your Family History For many people, an exploration into family-of-origin history can seem unnecessarily painful.  Parents are not often keen on sharing family histories that hold ancestors in a negative light (slave owners, Nazis, colonizers, et cetera), or share stories about ancestors who endured unimaginable traumas (such as genocide, incarceration, and […]

Our Many Selves

Our Many Selves Have you ever considered that you have many parts to your personality?     (*and no, I am not referring to dissociative identity disorder (once called “multiple personality disorder”).   Think about times when you may have felt challenged or conflicted.  A relatable example of this might be: a part of you wants to […]

Psycho-hygiene

Psycho-Hygiene Hygiene is defined as the many practices that foster and maintain optimal health.  People commonly use the term hygiene in relation to personal grooming, dental, or food practices.  Psycho-hygiene is a term not commonly used in our vernacular, but it should be.  Just as good grooming habits reduce the threat of harmful bacteria on […]

The Spirituality of Acceptance

The Spirituality of Acceptance   The truth is:  Belonging starts with self-acceptance.  Your level of belonging, in fact, can never be greater than your level of self-acceptance, because believing that you’re good enough is what gives you the courage to be authentic, vulnerable, and imperfect. ~Brene Brown I recognize that the word “spirituality” can cause […]

Motivation!

Motivation! Are you zapped of motivation? Here are some tips that can help: A biggie in upping your motivation game is to focus on your emotions. If you are feeling depressed or anxious notice that…but resist judging yourself or deem your emotions are “bad” (there are no good or bad, there are just different emotions […]