Areas of Specialty
POWERING THROUGH PARENTING
Do you feel overwhelmed by the challenges of parenting? Raising children and balancing their needs and your own needs can feel impossible at times. Some days you may feel lost in the daily windfall of responsibilities. Navigating life as a parent can become overwhelming even for the experts. Being the perfect parent may be your goal but is good enough, really enough? You probably know already that there is no one path to parenting that works for everyone and no one set of skills that will magically fit every situation…yet we struggle to make mistakes and allow our children to see our struggles.
Common issues that might be stopping you
from seeking parenting counseling.
My plate is so full, and I don’t have time for parent counseling. If you are feeling lost and overwhelmed, it is important that you take time to care for yourself and your emotional needs so that you are in a better position to take care of your family. When you allow yourself the opportunity to problem solve and grant yourself time to share your worries you can feel free to be more playful and active with your children.
Therapy for parents is too expensive.
Ask yourself if your child was suffering through a situation would you not invest in resources that would help them overcome the obstacle? How you feel about yourself and your relationship with your children is the most important factor in their current and future happiness. It is worth the investment for the well-being of your children and yourself.
No other parents I know have to go to therapy.
Why am I the only one who can’t handle it?
Although it may seem as though other parents have it all together, every family has their own private struggles. Parenting is challenging and there is no manual or book of instructions. Besides therapy is completely confidential so it is possible that many parents you know are attending therapy. Seeking skilled empathetic support for yourself is the best thing you can do for your children and yourself, there is nothing wrong for seeking help.
Powering through Parenting will
- Help you become attuned to your children’s emotional needs
- Educate you on information with developmental changes
- Help you develop self-control an regulate your own emotions
- Effectively learn how to discipline
- Learn to communicate more effectively with your children
- Feel closer and more connected
RETAINING FAMILY CONNECTIONS
We live in a fast-paced world with a ton of expectations. Meaningful family connections are often lost and easy forgotten until it is too late. Face to face connections are becoming a thing of the past. Families are often gathered around the dinner table staring at their phones connecting to the outside world while missing out on the most important connections right in front of them. Cell phones are not the only thing to blame; after school activities, work, hobbies and everyday obligations are just a few distractions. It is safe to admit that most of us crave connections from our community which is short changing our families.
What might be blocking your family connections?
- Marriages and partnerships tested and neglected
- Empty nesters and college kids
- Lack of support
- Communication issues
- Extended family conflicts
- Unhealthy sibling rivalry
Retaining family connection counseling will
- Evaluate and resolve relationship problems
- Help navigate transitional crisis
- Highlight problematic relational or behavioral patterns
- Learn healthy alternatives to family struggles
- Reconnect emotionally
COPING WITH DIFFICULT TRANSITIONS
Adjusting to change, even positive life transitions can be difficult and have been known to cause stress, anxiety and sadness. Every person will experience a significant amount of transition in their lifetime. No matter if the life transition is good or expected it is difficult to adjust to changes especially if it is out of our control. These transitions can be considered emotional, professional, relational or developmental and all involve some process of letting
go in order to evolve. Learning to cope with periods of transition can help to minimize
difficult feelings and even develop self-efficacy and trust which gives us our wings to thrive.
Those who find themselves experiencing difficulty coping with life transitions can
benefit from counseling.
Counseling for difficult transitions will
- Allow space for reflection on past
- Help navigate the meaning in the change
- Learn to accept the change
- Highlight the change as an aspect of life
- Educate on the developmental stages of the lifespan
- Practice the power of Now
RAISING SELF ESTEEM
Everyone experiences bouts of self-doubt from time to time but if you are struggling with
low self-esteem it will negatively impact your life. Your school work, job, relationships, even your physical and mental health are a reflection of your self-esteem. But why do some people become stuck in this negative rut? Our self-esteem may grow or shrink based on how much we allow other people’s opinions to matter. The good news is that we have a fair amount of control over increasing our own level of self-worth by challenging our thinking patterns and
encouraging healthy connections.
What are some conditions or situations that may deflate your self-esteem?
- School or work challenge
- Crisis at home or work
- Challenging spouse, family, co-worker or friend relationship
- Change in roles or life circumstances
Raising self-esteem through counseling will
- Help become aware of thoughts and beliefs
- Challenge negative thinking patterns
- Replace thoughts and beliefs with constructive ones
- Identify troubling conditions and situations
- Build coping skills
BURNOUT RECOVERY
Do you feel exhausted, ineffective, unaccomplished and cynical? Do you dread Mondays and can’t wait for Fridays? These are the classic signs of burnout. Burnout is a state of physical and emotional exhaustion and can occur when you experience long term stress in a job or caring for an elderly or special needs person.
You might be experiencing burnout if you
- Feel that every day at work is a bad day
- Feel exhausted much of the time
- Feel no joy or interest in your work
- Feel overwhelmed by your responsibilities
- Engage in unhealthy or excessive behaviors to avoid or escape
- Feel hopeless about life or work
- Have less patience with others or yourself
- Experience physical symptoms like sleeplessness
Burnout recovery through counseling will
- Help discover self-awareness
- Examine and define healthy life and work balance
- Practice healthy coping skills
- Assist with rediscovering your passion
- Identify self-care as vital for survival
CONNECTING WITH COMMUNICATION
Have you ever said something that another person takes the wrong way and results in a conflict? Effective communication is more than words. It’s about understanding intentions and emotions behind the information. You would think that communication is something
that is instinctive or a basic human skill but that is not the case. Most people no matter their age can struggle with communicating clearly and effectively. Effective communication
skills are fundamentally vital for success in many aspects of life and is an ongoing
skill that requires practice.
Common communication blocks that negatively impact you
- Being judged or judging others
- Not paying attention or being ignored
- Using or not understanding technical language
- Giving or receiving unwanted advice
- Avoiding confrontations and concerns
Communication counseling will
- Improve connections with family, friends, spouses, children, and co-workers
- Improves problem solving skills
- Increases overall social and emotional health
- Practice and learn communication techniques
- Learn how to be an engaged listener
- Learn to pay attention to nonverbal cues