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building self-esteem Children Individual Counseling Teenagers

Self-Confidence from Competence

I counsel a lot of teenagers and young adults who suffer from low self-confidence. One thing that sometimes happens is they find themselves staying in relationships that aren’t working because they allow their self-worth to be dictated by being in a relationship, or by being valued by their friends, rather than valuing themselves independently for […]

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anxiety building self-esteem communication counseling for employee

How to Say “No” When You Need To.

I’ve counseled a number of newer clients lately who are getting overwhelmed at home and work because they don’t know how to say “no” very easily.  It’s usually people who are high on the Agreeableness personality trait that have the hardest time saying no.  In other words they say “Yes” when they need to say […]

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communication Marriage Counseling Relationships

I have to Work With This Person

When I work with couples, I often ask them how they would deal with the same situation they are having with their spouse if it was a coworker instead.  We have a tendency to be more kind, patient and diplomatic when addressing problems with our coworkers.  We tend to think, “I have to work with […]

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Uncategorized

Pre-Irritation Syndrome

Okay, this is just a word I came up with, but it still fits.  It’s when you spend time a lot of time being irritated at your partner based on past encounters so that whenever they try to talk to you, you automatically assume they’re going to annoy you.  When this happens, it makes getting […]

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Good habits

You Can’t Exercise Your Way Out of a Bad Diet

I’m not sure whose quote this is, but obviously someone in good shape.  But it makes perfect sense.  If you do some checking about how many calories you can burn doing any particular exercise, it doesn’t really amount to many calories if you’re trying to lose weight. For example, if you walk for an hour, […]

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Good habits

People Change Best By Feeling Good, Not Bad

I counsel  lots of people who are trying to get other people to behave differently. This may be a parent who is trying to get their kids to behave better or do their chores.  It may be someone who is trying to get their spouse to treat them more with more respect.  It may also […]

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Uncategorized

How to Stop Bullying

https://9gag.com/gag/a1PvmyY?utm_source=copy_link&utm_medium=post_share

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building self-esteem Good habits

Trick Your Brain Into Doing the Hard Stuff

Many of my clients, especially the younger ones get frustrated because they have things they want to accomplish, but they have trouble getting themselves to start.  They want to exercise more, but can’t get themselves to the gym.  They want to study more but can’t get themselves to open their books.  They want to socialize […]

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anxiety

Therapy Techniques For Anxiety

Many people experience anxiety, it can range from mild worrying about something like an upcoming  meeting to full blown panic attacks.  Many people not only experience anxiety but also inwardly criticize themselves for having anxiety in the first place, which makes it worse.  They try to tell themselves to relax, and when they can’t relax, […]

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counseling for men Good habits

One Reason Therapy Fails

More often than I like to think about, counseling fails to help people. I have a few clients who come to counseling week after week, we talk about how to improve their lives, they agree heartily with the suggestions I make, then come back and nothing has changed. Did you try the suggestions when you […]

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Good habits

Build Good Habits with Decisive Moments

This time of year, many of us are trying to establish new healthy habits through New Year’s resolutions. One great way to do this is through “Decisive Moments”. We tend to focus on the activity that gets us the results we want, such as going to the gym three days a week. What is more […]