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How to Fight with Your Partner  - Part II

How to Fight with Your Partner  – Part II

Guest blogger Kate Nesterwitz, LMFT. Read more about her at katenesterwitzlmft.com

According to John Gottman’s research (which spans over 40 years) crucial patterns exist that make or break relationships. Gottman identified the most common negative patterns as the “Four Horseman of the Apocalypse.” Sound ominous? Well it is. Gottman’s research shows that couples who use these four tactics as a…

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How to Fight with Your Partner – Part I

How to Fight with Your Partner – Part I

Guest blogger Kate Nesterwitz, LMFT. Read more about her at http://www.katenesterwitzlmft.com

Conflict within a committed relationship is normal. Tensions arise over big issues and tiny ones, and often have more to do with how we feel about ourselves than with what the other person is doing or saying. When we react out of fear, anger, exhaustion, frustration, defensiveness, or any other negative…

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Meet Kate Nesterwitz, MS, LMFT

Meet Kate Nesterwitz, MS, LMFT

Kate Nesterwitz has been studying relationships since she was 18 when she began her college career studying Family Science, Couple and Family Therapy and Psychology.

“Relationships are the foundation of society. People affect us all the time,” Kate explains. “Our moods, our frustrations are often connected to the people around us. From the time we are infants, we need relationships to survive.”…

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Are you dreading the holidays? Learn to set boundaries now!

Are you dreading the holidays? Learn to set boundaries now!

Another Thanksgiving has come and gone and all that remains are the leftovers… and possibly some hard feelings. If looking ahead to the next round of holiday dinners and gatherings has you particularly distressed, you are not alone. On the heels of the particularly contentious 2016 presidential election, many holiday guests may be arriving with some extra baggage and a little less holiday cheer…

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Helping Special Kids through a Special Kind of Play: AutPlay® Therapy

Helping Special Kids through a Special Kind of Play: AutPlay® Therapy

AutPlay® is a unique therapy specifically for children with a neurodevelopmental disorder such as autism, Down syndrome or ADHD. AutPlay® combines the benefits of play therapy with behavioral therapy. Traditional play therapy is typically directed by the child.  Games and creative play create a safe environment in which the child will naturally open up and talk about an issue. AutPlay® is…

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Meet Amanda Knoll, MA, LPC, Level II Autplay® provider

Meet Amanda Knoll, MA, LPC, Level II Autplay® provider

Amanda found her life’s calling early, somewhat by accident (or one might say, serendipity).  At 14, she volunteered at the Easter Seals camp because it was something to do and a chance to spend time in the mountains. She enjoyed it, and that experience led to another opportunity.  

“Two summers later, my mom said I needed a job.  She knew Maren [Schreiber, special populations coordinator at…

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The Importance of Play for All ages

The Importance of Play for All ages

Summer is coming and if, like parents everywhere, you are busy planning your kids’ summer activities, be sure to allow for plenty of unstructured time. Experts agree that for children, adolescents and teens play is not merely idle time; it is necessary for healthy development. While you are playing with your kids you experience the same benefits as them. Play your summer away!

Play develops…

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How to Choose a Therapist

How to Choose a Therapist

Making the decision to begin therapy can be a big step. Whether you have a vague underlying sense that something is wrong or you are aware of a specific issue (or somewhere in between), a therapist can help you understand your situation and ultimately help you find relief from the pain or unease you are experiencing. But where do you start?

Why you might consider therapy

Life can be hard, but it…

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Happy Mother’s Day - It’s All Your Fault!

Happy Mother’s Day – It’s All Your Fault!

For centuries, mothers have been revered and vilified. The pressure to be a perfect mom and raise perfect children is high, but it’s a no-win situation because whatever we do, someone will think it’s wrong. We’re too loving or too cold, too permissive or too strict. Our kids love us, roll their eyes at us, never want to leave our homes, and want us around as little as possible. We shouldn’t be…

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How our brains create habits – for better or worse

How our brains create habits – for better or worse

Habitual behavior can be quite useful, but often we continue habits regardless of whether they are good or bad, whether we want to or not. Science has found that our ability to break a habit has less to do with motivation or intention than with what happens to our brains when we repeat behaviors.

Learning to do something new— for example, driving a car with a manual transmission— takes a lot of…

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Spring Cleaning Inside and Out

Spring Cleaning Inside and Out

  History/origins

Spring cleaning has its roots in ancient cultures and traditions, such as Passover in Judaism and Iranian Nourouz, the Persian New Year. (Wikipedia, 2016.) It makes sense, however, that it is practiced universally today. Even for those of us who hate to clean, there is something liberating about getting rid of all the clutter that accumulates over the months spent indoors, and…

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Relieving Trauma Without Reliving It

Relieving Trauma Without Reliving It

Sharon* spent most of her life with a nagging sense of unease that she didn’t understand and couldn’t overcome. Always searching for what felt like an elusive sense of peace and well being, she sought relief in drugs and numerous relationships. Nothing she did brought relief for long and actually compounded the problem.

In her forties, she began to see a psychologist to figure out why she was so…

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Adults Overcoming Childhood Sexual Abuse Now

Adults Overcoming Childhood Sexual Abuse Now

Child sexual abuse has been a shameful secret for too long. Children who are sexually abused often carry the pain and shame of the experience into adulthood. The impact of such a grievous violation can manifest in a number of ways with ongoing ramifications, some of which don’t materialize until many years later. There are several factors that may contribute to this. (RAINN.org)

Approximately…

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