Blog

Prioritizing Your Mental Health Before the Election As election season approaches, it’s hard to ignore the flood of news, opinions, debates, and discussions that surround us. The intensity of a national election can bring out strong emotions, from hope and excitement to anxiety and frustration. At Amy Robbins Counseling, we [...]

Jon Kabat-Zinn described healing as “coming to terms with things as they are”. Acceptance could be defined as the ability to open up to our experiences - our thoughts, feelings, emotions, urges, sensations, memories. Whether they are pleasurable or painful - we acknowledge them, make space for them, sit with [...]

WHERE DOES THE GRIEF GO? BY WENDY THOMAS MA You may be familiar with the old adage of, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.”  The same could be said to those that question why someone hasn’t moved on from a loss in their [...]

How Trauma Can Affect Our Relationships As Adults Trauma suffered in childhood can have a tremendous impact on a client’s ability to engage in healthy adult relationships. Terry Real, MSW, LICSW describes three parts of the psyche to help client’s understand the aftereffects of trauma and to help them relate [...]

5 Winning Strategies for Your Relationship from Relational Life Therapy with Terry Real   Shift from Complaint to Request  a) Learn how to speak and ask for what you want  b) Make your requests specific, behavioral & reasonable.   C) “what I need is…..”; “what i would like is….”   Speak [...]

As the world cautiously emerges from the grips of the pandemic, many individuals find themselves grappling with a new set of emotions and challenges. While some eagerly embrace the return to pre-pandemic activities, others face a resurgence of social anxiety, agoraphobia, and claustrophobia, triggered by the abrupt shift in lifestyle [...]

In recent years, the concept of body positivity has gained significant traction in promoting self-love and acceptance. Encouraging individuals to embrace their bodies in all shapes and sizes, it sparked crucial conversations about beauty standards and self-esteem. However, amidst the fervor for body positivity, another approach quietly emerged, informed by [...]

As we navigate the complexities of the modern world, one issue looms large on the horizon: climate change. The effects of environmental degradation are becoming increasingly evident, impacting not only the planet but also our mental health. In response to this pressing concern, the field of counseling is evolving to [...]

Mastering the Art of Gray Rocking In the unpredictable dance of human interaction, encountering individuals who are manipulative, aggressive, or emotionally volatile is not uncommon. This is where the gray rock technique comes in – a subtle yet powerful strategy for maintaining your emotional equilibrium amidst turbulent waters. Understanding Gray [...]

Our lives unfold in the present moment, however, our minds naturally tend to ruminate about the past, anticipate the future, or daydream about the other lives we could be leading. These are completely normal patterns of thinking and useful in certain contexts - learning from mistakes, troubleshooting solutions, setting goals, [...]

How can I calm my teen’s anxiety if I can’t even calm my own?   Let’s face it, kids are tough. Being a parent is hard. Rewarding, but hard. So, what happens when your child experiences a bit of anxiety that you are all too familiar with? You try your [...]

How to find a therapist that’s right for you.   Whether you’re new to therapy or ready for a change in therapists, your relationship with your provider is one of the most important factors for successful therapy outcomes. You should feel safe, secure, and connected with your therapist. Just like [...]

What is IFS? Internal Family Systems, or IFS, is a form of therapy that has been around since the 80s that is flexible, client-centered, and evidence based. IFS says that every one of us is made up of parts – multiple parts is normal – and those parts are interacting [...]

Natural Mentoring Relationships: The Mediating Impact on Negative Behaviors During Adolescence As of 2017, researchers in the United States have found that about half of all children in the country will be exposed to some form of childhood adversity (McLaughlin, 2017). This has increased since 1995 from a quarter of [...]