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Resensitization: Coming Back to Life after Trauma
Trauma dysregulates the body. It moves energy levels away from baseline to extremes of hyperarousal (“too much,” panic, overwhelm) and sometimes hypoarousal (“low,” lethargy, ... Read More
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How to Handle Aggression in Your Child
In a culture saturated with violent images, parents naturally worry about their children and the influence of these images on their behavior. The question of whether being exposed to violent ... Read More
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Perfectly Fine: 5 Tips to Overcome Unhealthy Perfectionism
Everyone has an image of a “perfectionist” in their mind—the person with the meticulously organized house, the work desk without a pencil out of place, who works fervently day and ... Read More
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‘Hoover Maneuver’: The Dirty Secret of Emotional Abuse
People encounter those with narcissism in love, work, and family relationships. When I provide psychotherapy for survivors of narcissistic abuse, one of the first steps in the healing process ... Read More
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5 Reasons Discipline Isn’t Working with Your Child
“Discipline just doesn’t work for my child! We have tried everything and nothing works!” Does this sound familiar? Are you frustrated that timeouts, positive reinforcement, or even ... Read More
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Life after Rape: 5 Keys to Growth and Healing for Women
Author’s note: This article is written explicitly for women who have been sexually assaulted as teens or adults. Although many of the emotional and psychological issues resulting from ... Read More
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Supporting LGBTQ Teens Coming Out: It’s a Family Process
As a therapist who specializes in working with LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer) teens and their families during the coming-out process, I am often witness to the reactions ... Read More
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When Helping Hurts: Trauma’s Effects on First Responders
Fred is a 40-year-old firefighter who has been working as a first responder for more than 15 years. In his first year as a firefighter, he arrived at a car accident in which three children ... Read More
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I Caught My Mom Cheating and She Begged Me to Keep It Secret
I’m so sorry you find yourself in this position. I imagine you feel like you either have to be disloyal to your mom and tell your dad, or be disloyal to your dad and keep this secret ... Read More
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Not Just for Trauma: EMDR and Performance Enhancement
When people think of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy, they generally think about a treatment for trauma, which is partially accurate. Treating trauma is what ... Read More
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The Best Advice a Therapist Could Get? Stop Giving Advice
I remember when I first started out as a therapist. I loved offering advice. I had such important, good advice to share. Actually, I was full of advice long before I became a therapist. ... Read More
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The Dynamics of Abuse Within Families and Relationships
It is the nature of abuse within families to be as behaviorally nuanced and emotionally complex as the individuals involved. Relationship abuses nearly inevitably reveal a life-draining ... Read More