The Unique Opportunity We All Have

This morning as I sat down to make a plan for how I’d like the business to operate during this time it occurred to me that these are very unique circumstances. My mind was drawn back to September 11th, 2001. The last time in my memory that our economy and life was tangibly interrupted. It occurred me that during that event, unless you were a person or family directly affected, the rest of us had to figure out how to…

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Strength Focused in a Culture Focusing on Weaknesses

In America, highlighting weaknesses in people is a billion dollar industry. If a problem can be created, a solution can be purchased. The focus on weakness gets perpetuated by the belief that working on weaknesses as a step toward success. This methodology is effective in sports for instance. I tend to be a slow long distance runner, so recently I have been adding intense interval running to my workout schedule. After just a few months I can feel an improvement…

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Eight Dates Challenge – Week One – Trust and Commitment

It almost never fails that when Joella and I are introduced to new people and they find out that we are both Marriage and Family Therapists either one of two lines will follow.  Either, “You guys must have the perfect marriage… I bet you never fight.”  or “Wow, I bet you guys can really duke it out!”  This always highlights for me that we live under the impression that relationships are either “good” or “bad”.  That either partners get along,…

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Repairing a Relationship

It has been an embarrassingly long time since I have sat down to reflect and write in this space. Michael and I have been spending most of our time providing therapy to some incredible couples over the past few months. Time flies when we are working together… it is such a privilege to do this work. Something we keep running into time and time again is the myth that when couples enter therapy the past wounds will be covered with…

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Self-Care and Restoration

I used to think self-care was quiet time or that I could feel restored after a long night of interrupted sleep. As a new therapist you are encouraged to “practice self-care” as it can be a shock to the system to begin this work. So my first several years as a therapist were spent seeking quiet solitude, watching movies, or attempting to ensure 9 hours of sleep as often as possible. However, as I enter into 2018 I have drawn…

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Interconnected

One of my favorite parts about being a marriage and family therapist (or systems therapist) is that we can pick from a wide variety of context to create change. Our minds and bodies are deeply connected and our relationships and environment are also connected to us. When you think of humans in the way, you can see how picking one area of life and making a positive change can impact the other areas. If you are stuck in some area…

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Escape Rooms and Therapy

A friend recently told me about their experience trying out Bend Escape Room. In case you are not sure what I am talking about here is a summary of the games growing popularity. I had two take aways from listening: One, people are genuinely interested in spending more time with other human beings. In a world with exponential growth in technology and a variety of ways to avoid human interactions, things like Escape Rooms, outdoor sports and recreation, therapy, coaching, and…

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Thanksgiving Guilt

Last year at this time I addressed boundaries and how to use them effectively to have a good holiday season. After giving a presentation to my community about boundaries and family of choice I heard a resounding theme. Guilt. It seemed the crowd had a great grasp on the concept of boundaries including how to use them and how to make them effective. The questions came as we shifted the focus to family of choice. Family of choice refers to those…

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