A Toxic Behavior to Watch For Jun 04, 2020

Please note that this is not meant to invalidate pain you've experienced. This is written in the context of resolving conflict that can happen between two people. 

Safe relationships are centered and grounded in forgiveness. When you have a friend with the ability to forgive you for...

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Don’t Allow Yourself to Enable Irresponsible People May 27, 2020

Christine was an administrative assistant in a small company that planned training sessions for different industries. She was responsible for booking the training sessions and managing the speakers’ schedules. Her coworker, Jack, was responsible for the training facilities. He took the...

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How An Addict Started to Make Changes to His Life May 26, 2020

Sam, 28, was admitted into our hospital program after an accidental drug overdose. He had neglected to keep track of how much cocaine he was ingesting.

In the first few sessions, we discovered that although Sam had a genus IQ, he had failed out of two colleges and had never been able to hold down...

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Let Go of the Toxic Friendships and Feel Good About It May 26, 2020

Michelle and Kristin were partners in an online craft business they launched over social media. Though the two had seen a great deal of success, personal issues were starting to come between the two friends.

One day Michelle confronted Kristin on a behavior that had been bothering her.

"You...

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The Mistake You Can Make When You Think Someone Will Change May 26, 2020

When you think about whether or not hope is realistic — whether it’s a relationship or a certain scenario — you have to ask yourself, “Who am I dealing with?” Character, giftedness and all of who a person is, the person’s makeup, is the future.

This is often...

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This is What Your "No" Muscle Can do for You May 25, 2020

"Your safe people need to point out to you that you aren’t really 'present' when you can’t bring your differences to a relationship."

In most adult children of controlling upbringings, the will to be self-directed and separated is undeveloped. We all need the ability to decide what we...

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Addressing the Fear of Confronting a Toxic Person May 24, 2020

The following was written to address general unsafe behavior and may not be applicable for situations where abuse is/was present. If you have been in a relationship where abuse was present, please seek the help of a counselor and/or law enforcement.

As any psychologist will tell you, fear is...

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Why You Struggle With Dating May 22, 2020

After more than 20 years in the profession of helping people, I have come to understand something: we cause much of our pain by the people we choose. And just to note here, I'm not talking about situations of abuse. Abuse is never, ever your fault. 

In every kind of clinical issue that...

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Take Power Away from Unsafe Family Members May 21, 2020

Becoming an adult is a process of taking on more and more power and responsibility as we become old enough to handle them. Adults identify with the adult role enough to be able to do grown-up things without conflict, including developing a career, engaging in sexuality, establishing mutual...

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How to Find the Courage to Love Yourself May 21, 2020

Negative thoughts have power. Everyone has them, but you don’t have to grab them and treat them like reality when they come into your mind. One of the most researched and proven techniques of changing moods is to dispute your negative thinking with the truth, and in this call from The Dr....

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The #1 Reason Why People Hate Change May 21, 2020

One of the most important boundaries that people have to establish is against the tendency to put off changes that they know need to be made. If you think about it, much “waiting” and putting off changes has nothing to do with “getting more information,” or “waiting...

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Don’t Let Toxic Family Members Shame You into Compliance May 20, 2020

Holly was one of the angriest women I had ever seen in my office. She was angry at her family’s excessive expectations of her. Her mother expected her to call her every week and to accompany her on shopping trips. If there was a family function, Holly had to be there. Her father expected...

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