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You Complete You If the title of this post makes you think of an oft-repeated movie line from the mid-nineties, it is supposed to! The quote you’re probably thinking of comes from the 1996 film, Jerry Maguire, starring Tom Cruise and Renee Zellweger. With characteristic intensity, Tom Cruise looks into Zellweger’s eyes and says, “I … Continue reading What is Co-Dependency?
“I don’t like Dad, I love you Mom!” You don’t forget words like that; trust me, I know. My son was seven or eight years old and we were on a short vacation with my parents when he made this proclamation to my wife. I was standing outside the bedroom door of the condo where … Continue reading Parenting Mistake
I really like new beginnings. I look forward to the first day of class with each new semester. I recall the fun of an exciting new job, and I can feel the warmth of the first 40 degree day after a hard winter. One of my favorite parts of being a counselor is the opportunity … Continue reading New Beginnings- Resilient, Strong, Connected
If you are like me, sometimes you look around in your home, your community, and the world and feel overwhelmed by the pain. So many people are hurting. Children are stressed to the point of thinking about taking their own life. Parents struggle to respond when adolescents seem rebellious, angry, lost, and out of control. Married couples … Continue reading Connection Is The Cure For Relational and Emotional Pain
I have been reading Brene Brown’s leadership book entitled “Dare to Lead”. If you are familiar with Brene’s work you know that this book is full of talk about vulnerability, empathy, connection, and relationship. So, since we at Connections Family Counseling are passionate about building a community of connected families it makes sense that we would … Continue reading Five Empathy Skills That Create Connection
Dan Siegel (2014) writes about the amazing tumultuous wild wonderful teenage brain describing the radical changes that occur in the brain through the teenage years. He also writes in his book “Brainstorm: the power and purpose of the teenage brain” (2013) about the four qualities present in teenage minds based on the radical changes that occur … Continue reading 7 Ways to integrate the Teenage Brain
Connections Family Counseling, LLC is now offering online counseling in Quincy Illinois and the surrounding areas. The world has changed and is changing in ways that we could never have imagined a few short weeks ago. We are changing with it by continuing to offer high quality mental health services to meet the needs of our current … Continue reading Online Counseling
Finding your voice in a world of 7.7 billion inhabitants can be quite burdensome. This is especially true for our youngest members of society, who have not mastered the art of verbal or written expression. Try as much as they can, children frequently cannot articulate the feelings, thoughts, or ideas that reflect their worldview. As … Continue reading Play Therapy Explained
Counseling has long been perceived as a mysterious act involving the seemingly “crazy” individual & a bizarre clinician. Even today, many individuals have strong reservations about therapy. Yet, if I asked one hundred random individuals, what they think counseling is, responses would likely be mixed. The mixture would include: appreciation, respect, disassifcation, & fear. For … Continue reading What Is Counseling?
It seems that nearly every month I hear of a new book or article that touts the latest trends in parenting styles. Most recently I heard about the Lawn mower parent –one that cuts down any challenges in front of their children. There is attachment parenting, the helicopter parent, drill sergeant parent, consultant parent and one book … Continue reading Parenting Styles: What Works?