This was my family’s first Thanksgiving without my dad. He passed away earlier this year and I miss him. The holidays hold especially happy memories for me as my dad really loved the specialness of “the season” and indulged my enthusiasm for decorating, merrymaking, gift giving, and all things festive and bright. This year, I made a homemade…
Here’s a treat: Trickers have feelings too.
I have the privilege of working with amazing people every day – people whom, in this space, I refer to as clients. More often than not, when I first meet them, they are anxious, uncertain of the process, quick to cry despite their deepest wish not to, and/or wanting change and afraid of it all at…
As we round the corner into fall, all of us – collectively and individually – continue to wade through this seemingly never-ending season of uncertainty, fear, heartache, and loss. I hope this poem fills your spirit and ignites or amplifies your faith in greener pastures to come: Beannacht(‘Beannacht’ is the Irish word for blessing) by…
What do a scoop of vanilla ice-cream on a hot summer day, chicken noodle soup when you have a cold, and being wrapped up in a hug after a heartbreak all have in common? Comfort. Even the word ‘comfort’ sounds comforting, doesn’t it? It makes me think of things like a grilled cheese sandwich,…
Have you ever received a gift, put it aside, and then sometime later (maybe months or even years) rediscovered it? This just happened to me. Admittedly, when I first received this gift I poo pooed it as so terribly cliché for what you’d think a therapist would have on her shelf, if not in her handbag: a…
A few weeks ago, I received a phone call that rocked my world. One minute I was going about a typical Tuesday evening and the next I was being told that a dear friend had suddenly passed away. In the moment, the reality of what was happening didn’t quite register; I had just spoken with her at…
Have you ever had the experience of being so focused on what you’re doing and then hit a wall with making progress? Maybe you tell yourself something like “I’m not getting out of this chair until I finish __________ (task)” or “I can’t go to sleep until the _________ (activity) is done”. And then, someone gently suggests that…
Here in Ohio, the birds are chirping, flowers are blooming, the grass is green and I’m still wearing extra layers and a puffer coat more days than not. March 20 may have marked the first official day of Spring, but Mother Nature operates on Her own timeline. Thankfully, She never fails to deliver on promises of restoration and renewal. …
Typically, and not surprisingly, people come to therapy not because they’re feeling lit up with joy, but because they’ve lost it in one or more areas of their lives or hope to discover it for the first time. In either case, what strikes me most is how much fear clients express about feeling joy (because it might…