As parents, it is hard to know how to support your children as they begin to really embrace more independence.   Sometimes, as parents, we want to point out to our teenagers what they are doing is not helpful or that they are doing it wrong. Teens often respond with resentment and anger.  It can be hard to know how to support your teen as they begin to look more to their peers for acceptance and want to hear less from you.  Here are my tips on dealing with some of those changes and ways to support your teen! Experimenting with Appearance – Just Go with It! At this time, the ..read more

Sometimes we believe that by pushing it will lead to someone being motivated.  Unfortunately, that’s not always the case. My husband and I have been working on renovating our home slowly but surely.  We decided that we could get this gigantic corner cabinet up the two flights of stairs and down through a narrow hallway. My husband measured, but like most things, not everything goes according to plan!  When we first started moving this cabinet I knew we were in for a long awful journey.  The cabinet was insanely heavy.  The cardboard surrounding the cabinet was loose an ..read more

By nature we are all storytellers; we all have memories that we love sharing. We share the moments that helped define who we are in an attempt to help connect with others. Yet, teens often disregard or don’t fully absorb these conversations, especially if they have heard the story several times. In fact, we all at some point stop listening if we already know the ending.  Often, we underestimate how well teens listen and remember these stories. We believe they aren’t paying attention, but they are, and we have just forgotten we have told the same story. Can we really be upset if we have to ..read more

There are times where it is difficult to cope with the stress of anxiety, depression, or anger. Therefore, we want to find a way to escape the pain, but we do not know how to get there.  In counseling, coping skills are a constant topic!  Coping skills help teens and adults deal with the everyday problems that occur.  As adults, we may use them and not really think about it because we know they work on helping us feel better.  However, teens sometimes do not know what to do and this causes more sadness, worry, or anger. By giving them options it helps them to ..read more

We all have those friends that seem to always be in relationships. When you’re the only single friend, it can be difficult to be around friends who seem so blissfully happy in their relationships. If you’re constantly surrounded by couples, it’s easy to slip into the “What’s wrong with me?” line of thinking. Even if you know a couple is unhappy, it’s hard to ignore the envy you feel at their companionship. I’m here to tell you that even though you might feel it, YOU ARE NOT ALONE! According to research done in 2015 by Pew Research Center, 64% of teenagers have not been in a romantic relationsh ..read more

Life is this incredible, beautiful journey of trying to find out who we are, what we want, and the people we want in our lives.   We may search our entire life to find out who we are and still never recognize our strengths. In counseling, I focus on building and uplifting teens to know that they are so much more than their mistakes, their grades, or their romantic status.  They are filled with kindness, deep thoughts, powerful ideas, beauty, fierceness, adventure, and abilities to teach not only the peers around them, but also the adults in their life.    As we work to ..read more

The pressure to bring home good grades can lead to constant tension and frustration in the home for both the parent & the teen. We know that poor grades can lead to low self-esteem in students, and, as a parent, it’s easy to get caught up worrying about your teen’s future when they aren’t performing academically.  You want them to succeed and feel confident in their future.  But, most of the time teens under this sort of pressure feel their parents are too overbearing, constantly nagging, or care about grades more than them. When I was younger my parents put me in swimming lesson ..read more

Do you find yourself frequently saying “Yes” when others ask for something (time, favors, money, etc.) from you? Do you find it hard to say no? Do you feel guilty if you do? You’re probably having trouble with people pleasing.What does it mean to be a people pleaser? According to an article written by Amy Morin on Psychology Today, people pleasing is when one seems to frequently “confuse pleasing people with kindness. When discussing their reluctance to turn down someone’s request for a favor, they say things like, ‘I don’t want to be selfish,’ or ‘I just want to be a good person.” Conseq ..read more

The Body – Mind Connection What if I told you that there might be a connection between your anxiety and your body? Sometimes anxiety can manifest in the body as physical aches and pains. It also can show up as stiff muscles, tension headaches, and exhaustion. The good news is there is a way you can help your anxiety and your body at the same time – through exercise! It’s understandable if the gym is not your thing, or you feel that you never have enough time in your week. Many people hate going to gyms and do not like getting their sweat on. What if you could still exercise without gettin ..read more

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