Two words can change your relationship? Admit it, you’re a touch skeptical. I admit that I was when the principle was first shared with me. But not now, because now I’ve seen it work. When I was in grad school studying to become a counselor, I would often have people engage me via social media…
Did you know that yesterday is supposed to be the most depressing day of the year? At least that is what I read on Facebook. I was thinking about the lack of sunshine as I was driving to an appointment today. It’s bitter cold, there is little sunshine, the wind is blowing almost non-stop. It’s…
As a counselor, I am often tasked with helping people create and experience change in their lives. I often walk this road with couples. I often talk to them about the fact that they have to choose to be vulnerable or to not be vulnerable, but without vulnerability I don't know how change happens. The…
Being in the people helping business is one of the most interesting tightropes I have ever walked. On the one hand, I want to help people. On the other hand, I want to pay my bills. I have a bias towards the actual field of counseling. Not all counseling is done by counselors. Some is…
Voluntary Madness is a disappointing book. I was intriqued by the premise of the book and the writing started out all right. Ms. Vincent "voluntarily" checks herself into three separate mental health organizations in attempt to bring down the system around our ears. She sets out to expose the big bad system. She doesn't actually…
Dr. Gregory L Jantz’s book, Hope, Help and Healing for Eating Disorders deals with both “eating disorders” and “disordered eating.” As a Counselor I was immediately drawn to this book. It seems in our society, overweight people are the last people group that it is OK to mock and make fun of for our enjoyment….
Bowlby (1969) theorized that there were four interrelated behavioral systems that govern human behavior – attachment, caregiving, exploration, and sex. Of these, Bowlby recognized the attachment system, which moti- vates children and adults to seek safety and security through close contact with attachment figures, as being of primary importance in regulating the other systems. ~Taken…
If you are licensed to counsel people in the fine state of Michigan, I am excited to announce that Creative Solutions Counseling is looking for Associates. If you want the benefit of having your own practice and the opportunities and companionship that come with not having to do it alone, shoot me an email. We…
So often we allow our thoughts to run unexamined through our brain. Often those thoughts lead to negative behaviors. Below is a list of 8 limited thinking patterns that I will often explore with clients. They are taken from the book Thoughts & Feelings by Matthew McKay, Martha Davis and Patrick Fanning. It is a…
One of the central facets of addiction is the unwillingness to take responsibility. Without exercising the all-important watershed of self-responsibility, breaking the compulsive cycle that leads to addictive behavior is all but impossible. Systems like AA or the Minnesota Model, which allow the abdication of self-responsibility to The Program, The Meeting, The Sponsor and even…
