Exploring the Internal Family Systems Approach to Therapy
The Couple and Family Clinic
by Robin S. Smith
11M ago
This coming October will mark the 10 year anniversary since founding The Couple and Family Clinic. Back then, I was a solo practitioner and the practice was named, Your Couples Therapist. Yet, I knew I wanted to build something larger. I envisioned a group practice that would be a professional home for providers in different stages of their careers. The practice has always aimed to destigmatize mental health. The assumption is that when we destigmatize, we increase access to care, and leave our clients filled with more well-being and renewed energy to share the benefits of healing and transfor ..read more
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Marriage Counseling Tips To Combat Overthinking
The Couple and Family Clinic
by Robin S. Smith
1y ago
Have you ever laid awake at night, mentally replaying a conversation from earlier in the day? Or maybe lost a whole lunch break to overanalyzing a short text from your spouse?  If so, don’t fear! You’re not alone in your overthinking — recent research shows that 73% of adults, 25-35, struggle with rumination, and 52% of adults aged 45-55 do as well.  While self-reflection and meditation can be positive forms of directed thought, chronic overthinking causes a whole host of negative consequences for our quality of life, our physical and emotional selves, and our important relationships ..read more
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The Importance of Building a Self-Reflection Practice
The Couple and Family Clinic
by Katy Gustafson
1y ago
With an endless stream of emails, errands, and events making up our days, is it any wonder that many of us are moving through life on autopilot? When we exist in this state of consciousness that is unaware and unintentional, we’re being piloted by our buried habits and behavioral patterns that shape our day-to-day experiences. Constantly working, staying busy, and striving for betterment might be lauded as ideal traits in our fast-paced culture, but it leaves little room for a very important thing called self-reflection.  Self-reflection is an accessible practice that can deepen our aware ..read more
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How to Use Tools of Diplomacy in Your Relationships
The Couple and Family Clinic
by Robin S. Smith
1y ago
Platonic, familial, romantic, professional — what do all the unique, varied relationships this life offers have in common? Each connection requires a degree of communication, collaboration, and compromise.  There are even some applicable skills found in the tools of diplomacy that global leaders use that we can leverage in our own relationships. Navigating compromise and negotiation within a relationship is tricky and gets even trickier when the emotions or the stakes are high. In some cases, both are escalated, and reaching a calm accord can seem impossible. In other cases, both are high ..read more
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Marriage Counseling: Warding off the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
The Couple and Family Clinic
by Lorraine Harpur
1y ago
“Do I need marriage counseling?” If you’re asking yourself that question, you might be reflecting on the entirety of your relationship, from start to present. If you have recently faced some challenges in your marriage, you may feel unsure of where your relationship is headed. Even just contemplating divorce can feel upsetting and stressful. Dr. John Gottman has studied marital satisfaction and stability for decades and is considered an expert in the field of psychology. In his studies on relationships, Gottman and his colleagues discovered four steps that signal the progression toward divorce ..read more
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5 Myths about Substance Use Disorder/Addiction and their Empowering Truths
The Couple and Family Clinic
by Molly J Scanlon
1y ago
For the past 6 months I have been interning at a treatment center for substance abuse. Our center offers outpatient and intensive outpatient (day treatment several days a week) primarily to people who have been court-mandated to seek treatment. There are several reasons someone might seek treatment: to restore their full driving privileges, to regain custody of their children, to avoid a prison sentence because of a DUI or drug possession conviction, or because they have been offered mental health support in lieu of punitive action. We also have self-referred clients who simply realized that t ..read more
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What Is The Role of Male Desperation in Mass Shootings?
The Couple and Family Clinic
by Robin S. Smith
1y ago
I’m Uncomfortably Numb When I was supervising students in the Couple and Family Therapy program at The University of Maryland in the Fall of 2017, I had a slightly disturbing experience. It was Monday, October 2nd and I was the nighttime supervisor on site at the clinic where junior and senior students were meeting with their evening clients.  It was a regular evening; meeting with students, discussing and watching their cases, and providing support where it was needed. As I walked to my car, it struck me – no one had even acknowledged the shooting that happened in Vegas the night before ..read more
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Intentional Change Requires Your Awareness
The Couple and Family Clinic
by Robin S. Smith
1y ago
You may have heard a quote from the ancient Greek philosopher, Heroclitus that, “There is nothing permanent except change.” Or maybe, you’ve come across – a little more recently, “Change is the only constant in life”, Benjamin Franklin. Whether you want things to change or not, things are going to change – even when things feel stuck, as if they’ll never change. Would you like the experience of willing an intentional change into being? If so, might I recommend beginning, or resuming a regular awareness practice in your life? It will do wonders for your ability to bring about the changes you wi ..read more
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Part III: Physiological Benefits of Writing
The Couple and Family Clinic
by Molly J Scanlon
1y ago
In the previous two blog posts of this series, we discussed the therapeutic benefits of writing for our minds and ways writing can support our emotional wellbeing. In this third and final installment, our focus is the physiological or stress-relieving aspects of writing. Writing can become one of the more effective tools in your stress-relieving/self-care toolbox. To explain the ways in which writing can support mindful practices and allow you to release stress from the body, I’m going to start with a brief review of how stressors create stress in our body through our nervous system, taken fro ..read more
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The Most Important Mistake You’re Making When Fighting With Your Family Member
The Couple and Family Clinic
by Robin S. Smith
1y ago
Let’s cut right to the chase. The answer: The most important mistake you’re making when you fight with your family member is…  …being lost in your own protective emotions, many of which reliably keep your attention aimed on the other person. You get sucked into protecting yourself, defending yourself, explaining yourself, or maybe even numbing yourself. Does this fit with your experience? There is a way to wake up from this mistake, again, and again. And it requires? … you guessed it; Awareness of your feelings. It also requires the courage to keep your attention curiously set on what is ..read more
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