Tag: Connection

Five and a half months of living with COVID-19 has been exhausting. I’m feeling it and I’m sure that you are as well! We’ve quarantined, we’ve adjusted to wearing masks and we’ve all navigated the weekly, daily and hourly changes that this crisis has forced upon us. Each major transition point in the calendar brings new opportunities for exhaustion and the upcoming school year is one of them. Are my kids online, in the classroom or hybrid? How long will that last? Are they safe? How will this impact their learning? Am I going back to campus? Is it time for a gap year? Will I finish the semester or will everything change. Again, it’s exhausting. 

I know I’m feeling it. I know my client’s are feeling. And the hardest part in all of this is that we don’t know when it is going to end. So what do we do? Here are a few thoughts:

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I recently read a blog written by a fellow counselor called “Dating your Therapist”. This title caught my attention and I was intrigued about what it meant as the boundaries between client and therapist are strictly professional and should never be blurred or broken. The blog went on to suggest that looking for a therapist that is a good fit is appropriate and good. As I read the blog, I realized I agree with the sentiment. Sometimes, to get the best possible outcome it may mean trying several therapists. Therapists each have their own philosophy of counseling, temperament, experiences, and training. My goal is to do my best to connect with each client and help them achieve their goals. Sometimes this may mean helping a client or potential client find a counselor who can meet their needs more effectively than I can. This is difficult to explain, I can only describe it as a feeling of connection and rapport. I went to a counselor many years ago. After ...

An adolescent’s day to day can be very stressful and demanding, especially when school is in session. There are multiple things that weigh on their minds. For example, their academic success, future and college aspirations, athletic performance, peer pressure, parental expectations and demands, and relationship issues to name a few. This daily pressure adds an insurmountable stress on the adolescent mind which, in turn, requires action to address the threat of not measuring up. 

Therefore, it is important to help the adolescent build what is commonly known as resilience, which is the ability to become flexible to uncomfortable and/or demanding situations/experiences. Another way to look at it is the ability to “bounce back.” There will always be stressful and demanding situations that cause stress and weigh heavily on the mind. Building resilience will help the adolescent to adapt and overcome demanding or uncomfortable situ ...