ADHD | Adult | Affair Recovery | Alternative Relationships | Anxiety | Child | Chronic Pain & Illness | Co-Parenting | Couples | Culturally Competent Counseling | Depression | Divorce | Escapism & Addiction | Evaluation Services | LGBTQ | Life Transitions | OCD Therapy | Perinatal & Postpartum | Play Therapy | Premarital | Sex | Trauma & EMDR |
Tween & Teens | Work Burnout
We are currently living an age that I like to the call the “Mental Health Renaissance”. Everywhere you turn in popular media, there seems to be more and more discussion about mental health and mental illness. And as a therapist and a longtime recipient of therapy myself, I think it is a beautiful thing to see. The less taboo we can make the subject, the more people will reach out and get the help they need, and the research seems to be bearing that out!
Read MoreGoing through a divorce is one of the most stressful and painful experiences one can go through. Yet, it’s also such a common experience with about 50 % of marriages ending in divorce. Divorce is a life transition that feels a bit like grief. You grieve the marriage you hoped for, the life that you planned for, the significant other that you fell in love with, and the person you were while married. In an instant, life is flipped upside down. And that is just the emotional grief and stress.
Read MoreAlright, y’all! We made it. I don’t know if anyone else follows those funny memes where people show photos of their slowly declining mood for every month of the year, but I find them incredibly accurate. If I created one of my own, my December photo would probably be me crawling over the finish line with a forced, slightly fearful smile. I would force a smile because there is something refreshing about the New Year that makes me want to believe in new opportunities and positive growth, but the little bit of fear comes from so many unknowns in 2021.
Read MoreFor many people, this may seem like a silly question. Many people do not think much about their gender and how they define it. American culture, along with many others around the world, has had a strong focus on men versus women for a long time. Women have had and still have different rights, advantages, and experiences than men across the globe. Men and women have different societal expectations of roles within families, how they dress, how they play, who they love, and how they work, only to name a few. When most people think of gender, they think of the sexual body parts that we are born with and our chromosomal make-up, however, these things refer to our biological sex, not gender. Gender is how we express ourselves in relation to masculinity and femininity, not our biological sex.
Read MoreThere’s a funny quote going around social media that states something like: “We are all doing the best we can'“ is my response to just about everything these day... Whether you told me you chugged a bottle of wine, had cereal for dinner, robbed a bank, or skipped a shower…” I
Read MoreSelf-reflection. Two words that can seem intriguing, complex, and daunting when put together. Self-reflection is the act of “meditating or thinking about one’s character, actions, and motives”(Webster Dictionary). Reflection allows for growth.
Read MoreRaise your hand if you are feeling frayed. Fatigued. Restless. Edgy. Gloomy. As we continue along the path of living our lives mostly at home, the signs of wear are showing up in therapy. In addition to the “usual” anxious and depressed experiences, we are hearing words like “unsettled,” “lazy,” “unmotivated” and “disconnected.” Even the folks who were initially quite comfortable with the separateness and social shelter of stay-home orders are starting to feel the impact.
Read MoreIt’s officially June which means it is time to celebrate Pride across the world. While many Pride parades and celebrations have been postponed across the nation (including our own Houston Pride Parade) due to COVID-19, we are still celebrating you at Heights Family Counseling. June’s position of the month is the Navel Gazing. How many people enjoy being able to make eye contact while orally pleasing a partner? This is not an uncommon experience, but can be made more difficult to do when offering oral pleasure to a partner in a traditional position.
Read MoreAs Robert Frost writes in his poem Mending Wall, “Good fences make good neighbors.” It’s a metaphor for relationships (all kinds) that I can definitely get behind. Boundaries are our metaphorical fences, and they come in several shapes and sizes.
Read MoreI’m not here to shout toxic positivity your way. My entire body recognizes the magnitude of the pandemic- from grief of losing loved ones, to loss of life’s milestones, to job insecurity of loss, we are hurting. However, I do want to discuss the importance a few of my favorite things resiliency, gratitude and radical acceptance.
Read MoreWhich day is it for you? Number 14? Number 15? Do you have a boss in denial of the changing times and are just now beginning to navigate this new virtual life? Maybe you are an essential worker and are still required to leave the house in the morning, but your partner is now home… still working full time… trying to homeschool three kids and keep up with all the new messes.
Read MoreTerminate?! Most things in the therapy world are warm, accepting, and gentle. So why is the word ‘terminate’ thrown out there? For some it sounds kind of harsh. Termination is a fancy word for ending the therapeutic relationship. Termination can also refer to a break in counseling for a period of time as well.
Read More
