Grieving a Family Member: What to Expect and How to Care for Yourself

If you’re in the early stages of grief, you might feel like you’re moving through fog. Shock, numbness, sadness, anger, guilt, relief, confusion—grief rarely shows up as just one emotion. It often arrives in waves, sometimes unpredictable and intense.

First, know this: there is no “right” way to grieve.

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When Perfectionism Turns Toxic: Steps to Let Go

Perfectionism can be a double-edged sword. On one side, it can push you to work hard, strive for excellence, and take pride in what you do. On the other, when your standards become too rigid or are shaped by what you think others expect, the pressure can turn heavy. Over time, that constant push for “perfect” can fuel anxiety, chip away at self-esteem, and lead to exhaustion or burnout.

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Overcoming Co-Dependency: Reclaiming Your Independence

Co-dependency often develops quietly, rooted in a deep desire to care for others and maintain connection. At first, these tendencies can feel like strengths: you anticipate needs, offer help, and keep the peace. But over time, you may notice your own needs getting lost in the process, leaving you feeling drained, resentful, or unsure where your identity ends and someone else’s begins. Therapy offers a space to untangle these patterns, so you can care for others without losing yourself.

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Your First Therapy Session: What to Expect and How to Prepare

Starting therapy for the first time can feel exciting, but it’s completely normal to also feel nervous or unsure. You might be wondering, “What will I even talk about?” or “Will this be awkward?” Understanding what to expect from your first appointment can help ease anxiety and make the experience feel more approachable.

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Too Much, Too Fast: Managing Stress as a High School Student

If you’re in high school and feel overwhelmed, you’re not alone. Between classes, homework, tests, extracurriculars, sports, social drama, family expectations, and thinking about the future, it can feel like there’s always something demanding your attention.

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Letting Go of the “What Ifs”: How to Stop Blaming Yourself for the Past

It’s easy to look back on past mistakes and feel like you should have done better. Maybe you said something hurtful, missed an opportunity, or made a choice that didn’t turn out the way you wanted. The problem is that replaying these moments over and over in your head—accompanied by guilt, shame, or self-criticism—doesn’t help you grow. It keeps you stuck.

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Caring for Yourself When You’re Feeling Low: Self-Care for Depression

Depression can make even simple tasks feel overwhelming. Taking care of yourself—eating, showering, exercising, or even getting out of bed—can feel exhausting or impossible. But self-care, even in the smallest forms, is a powerful tool to help you navigate these difficult moments. The key is to start gentle and realistic.

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Psychodynamic Therapy: Uncovering Unconscious Patterns

Sometimes we find ourselves reacting in ways we don’t fully understand. Maybe you keep choosing the same kind of partner, or certain comments hit a nerve more than they “should.” Psychodynamic therapy invites you to slow down and get curious about those patterns, not with judgment, but with compassion.

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Perinatal and Parental Anxiety: Coping Strategies for Expecting and New Parents

Becoming a parent, or preparing to be one, brings profound joy alongside understandable worries about competence, safety, and identity. Perinatal anxiety (anxiety during pregnancy) and early parenting anxiety can include fears such as “What if I harm my baby?” or “Will I ever be a good parent?” If unaddressed, these worries can disrupt sleep, relationships, and overall well-being.

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When Grief Overwhelms: Effective Interventions for Healing Loss

Grief is a universal response to loss, yet its intensity and duration vary widely. In therapy, we differentiate between normal bereavement which are marked by waves of sadness that gradually lessen and complicated grief, where symptoms persist beyond six months and interfere with daily functioning. 

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Setting Realistic Goals: Your Roadmap to Motivation

Setting goals can feel inspiring but can also feel overwhelming if you set the bar so high that success seems out of reach. Realistic goals aren’t about lowering your standards; they’re about creating a pathway where progress feels encouraging rather than discouraging. The first step is to get clear on what matters most to you right now. You don’t need to solve everything at once.

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The Connection Between Gut Health and Your Mood

The mind and body are deeply connected, and one of the clearest examples is the gut-brain connection. Your gut is home to trillions of bacteria that help digest food, regulate inflammation, and produce important neurotransmitters like serotonin which plays a big role in mood regulation.

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Self-Care Myths That Might Be Doing More Harm Than Good

Many of us believe that self-care means indulgence, bubble baths, spa days, or “me time”. While these are all lovely approaches, these narrow definitions can backfire, leaving clients feeling guilty or unworthy when they don’t pamper themselves. In our therapy practice, we reframe self-care as any intentional act that nourishes your mind, body, or relationships.

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Why Boundaries Matter for Everyone

If you’ve ever felt overextended, drained, or resentful, chances are a boundary needed attention. Boundaries aren’t just a therapy buzzword, they’re one of the most common and essential topics we work on in counseling, because they affect every part of life: relationships, work, family, even how we care for ourselves. Learning to set and maintain healthy boundaries isn’t about shutting people out; it’s about creating space for the connections and commitments that truly matter.

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Seasonal Affective Disorder: Coping During Dark Months

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) manifests as recurrent depressive episodes in fall and winter, driven by reduced sunlight and circadian misalignment. SAD affects us in various ways. Clients report low energy, hypersomnia, carbohydrate cravings, and social withdrawal. Some helpful interventions can include strategies like light therapy, behavioral activation, and cognitive strategies within a therapeutic framework.

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Navigating Identity and Belonging in a Diverse World

Navigating identity is not simply about choosing one label or belonging to one group. It is a lifelong process of exploring, defining, and sometimes redefining who you are and how you wish to be known. This journey can be complicated by societal expectations, cultural norms, or messages from family and community.

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