Soft Startup: What It Is and How It Can Help Me Talk To My Partner

By Elizabeth McMahan

What’s your typical view on conflict? Most of us either run away in avoidance or approach it head-on with fighting words.

But did you know it’s actually very healthy to engage in conflict? At least, it is when you know the best way to approach it.

A soft startup can help you view conflict as a productive way to meet your needs, rather than the beginning of a dreadful argument.

What is Resiliency and Why Does it Matter?

By Elizabeth McMahan

We’ve all heard about ‘resiliency’, or the ability to quickly bounce back from a challenging situation. But how does resiliency work in the psychological sense?

Psychological Resilience is defined as “an individual’s ability to successfully adapt to life tasks in the face of social disadvantage or highly adverse conditions”; also “the psychological strength to cope with stress and hardship.”

Live What You Learn After Your Session: How to Push the Reset Button

By Elizabeth McMahan

Therapy usually leaves you feeling great, right? You learn new skills and tactics, you get to focus on yourself, and you figure some things that you may not have been able to on your own. The only downside is you can’t keep your therapist in your pocket at all times…so you have to find ways to live what you learn when your session is over.

Why Self-Care for Parents Must Be a To-Do List Priority

By Elizabeth McMahan

You have a planner, an iPhone scheduler, and a traditional calendar on the wall.

You’re ridiculously busy. You’re driving. You’re planning You’re volunteering.

You’re filling the fridge. You’re shopping. You’re fretting, soothing, disciplining, cheering them on and checking their social media for all the things you might be missing.

Relationship Repair or Call It Quits? Why Counseling Helps Either Way

By Elizabeth McMahan

For the most part, people think of couple counseling and marriage counseling as a means to save their relationship when they have come to the end of their rope.

Either both partners realize they need to make the effort and commit to counseling; or, it’s one spouse’s desperate, last-ditch attempt to convince the other to hold it together.

Grief and Loss: Why It's Okay to Process the Pain Your Own Way

It’s a common misconception that there is one, fixed way to deal with grief and loss. This is because we see mourning as a problem that needs to be fixed when this really isn’t the case.

As uncomfortable as it is to deal with emotional pain, it’s something that we as humans all experience. It’s natural to search for a resolution that will stop our pain.

The Honeymoon Phase: Why Does It End and What Happens Next?

The heady stages of a new relationship are among life’s more exciting moments.

You feel like you’re living in a real-life fairy tale. You idealize your partner and think he or she can do no wrong.

This is called the “honeymoon phase.” It’s fun and romantic.

It usually occurs in the early stages of a relationship and can last anywhere from 6 months to two years. But sooner or later, it comes to an end.