Five Ways to Pay for Therapy and Counseling

Are you looking to start working with a therapist but concerned about how you are going to afford it?  Then this blogpost is for you.  Outlined below are five of the most common ways that you can find a therapist that fits your budget.  Seeing a therapist doesn’t have to be expensive or outside of your reach.  By doing research, you should be able to find a skilled therapist who specializes in what you need and meets your budget. 1.  Use your insurance If you want to use your insurance for mental health coverage, call your insurance company and get… Continue Reading This Article

Five Ways to Manage Anxiety During the Holidays

It’s December and you want to manage anxiety during the holidays.  The season now in full swing and many people are starting to schedule more and more appointments to come in and learn strategies to manage their emotions.  This time of the year can bring up a lot of anxiety for people.  Some of the common stressors include how to come up with money to pay for Christmas gifts, seeing family members you don’t get along with, getting into arguments with friends or significant others, how to say no to every holiday opportunity and in general, how best to manage… Continue Reading This Article

Five Ways to Manage Family Conversations about Politics this Thanksgiving

This political season was even more debated and heated than in past years and you will need ways to manage family conversations about it.  This blogpost will not examine the reasoning why the election was so contentious.  This is a special request blogpost because many of us are going to be around family members this upcoming week.  We will sit down with our significant others, children, grandparents, aunts, uncles and extended family and Hillary and Donald will inevitably come up.  It might lead into a debate about abortion, testing welfare recipients, common core, illegal immigration or any of the topics… Continue Reading This Article

How to Grieve Pet Loss: A Memoir

A little more than three weeks ago, I put down my dog, Lumiere.  I had Lumiere, also known as Lumi, for 15 and a half years.  When I look back at where my life was all that time ago, it feels like ages.  Lumi was my constant for many years.  He got me through undergrad, graduate school, apartments, relationships, jobs and everything else in the middle.  Lumiere had the best life a dog could ask for.  He went to dog parties, visited every dog park in the tri-county area, he sat on Santa’s lap around the holidays and attended every… Continue Reading This Article

Top Five Ways to Reduce Depression

There are ways you can reduce depression.  The conundrum with depression is the very thing you don’t feel like doing is the very thing you need to be doing and that is getting mobilized.  In most self-help books, the first recommendation is to get out of bed and start living your life again.  If you are feeling depressed, this is probably the last thing you feel like doing.  It is however; the first thing you need to be doing. Getting mobilized and back into your life is going to help lift your depression, especially if the depression is situational. If… Continue Reading This Article

Top Five Ways to Manage Borderline Personality Disorder

Borderline Personality Disorder is characterized by instability of mood, with underlying fears of abandonment and poor self-image.  If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder, there is hope.  It can be a difficult diagnosis to hear; however with appropriate treatment and support, there can be healing and stability. Managing Borderline Personality Disorder takes some very specific tools and skills to be employed on a regular basis in order to bring calm and stability into your life.   By following the list outlined here, you can begin to manage your symptoms. 1. Seek out a therapist trained… Continue Reading This Article

Five Reasons Doing Yoga is Good For Your Mental Health

Yoga is a powerful tool you can use in order to best manage your depression and anxiety.  It is an effective coping skill that works well in conjunction with therapy and the implementation of a variety of healthy activities.  Yoga can be practiced at a local yoga studio, your gym or in the privacy of your home.  There are some amazing yoga videos and teachers out there ready to teach you how to utilize yoga in your life to bring calmness and focus.   1. It teaches you to be in the moment Many clients seek therapy because they are… Continue Reading This Article

Be Bold. Be Brave. Be Revolutionary

It’s a little over a month since I attended a convention in Philly.  A huge convention completed there about a month before ; however the convention I attended was a little different.  The convention I attended was the International Leadership Forum at the Delta Phi Epsilon Convention.  It was my 5th convention and I learned a lot about myself and being a leader during my time in Philadelphia. The theme of the convention was “Be Bold, Be Brave, Be Revolutionary”.  All of the main speakers were women.  Every woman that spoke was revolutionary in the work they do.  It got me… Continue Reading This Article

Healing From an Emotionally Unavailable Father

A little girl’s dream is to be loved fully and completely by her hero, her father.  Little girls don’t always understand that their father may not be able or willing to love them unconditionally.  A lot of times this is due to their own issues, such as addiction, unresolved issues with the mother, workaholism, trauma, etc.  When little girls grow up to become adults, a wound is left when they didn’t get the love they wanted or deserved as a child.  This wound becomes the title “having daddy issues”.  Having daddy issues comes in many shapes and sizes but often… Continue Reading This Article

Five Strategies to Manage Depression and Anxiety When You Have an Older Dog

A couple of weeks ago my dog got sick and I had an idea to write this blogpost on how I managed my feelings of depression and anxiety during this time.   To give you some background, I’ve had my dog since his birth.  He turned 15 years old this past February.  He’s mostly deaf and blind, with a diagnosed case of arthritis and an undiagnosed case of dementia.  He still wants to walk three miles a day but can only tolerate about 30 minutes on a good day.  I consider myself lucky that he is still able to walk.  He’s on… Continue Reading This Article