Welcome the New Year with a plan for Joy and Fulfillment!
It’s time to say good-bye to 2015! Often the start of a new year prompts reflection, and the setting of resolutions – usually things we want to change about ourselves or our habits to be “better”. While this can be a positive thing, and setting realistic goals for ourselves can be a powerful motivator, I’ve started shifting things slightly for myself in the last few years by making a “Plan for Joy and Fulfillment” each year. I got this idea from Brene Brown in her book, “T
Attachment Mix Tape Track #2: "The Heart of the Matter" by Don Henley
One of the wonderful things about my job as a psychotherapist is that I learn from my clients all the time and they are always inspiring me and sharing great ideas for coping and resilience. This past week a client was talking about some ideas for fostering self-compassion. She asked me, “do you know that song? It goes, Forgiveness….Forgiveness”? and she sang this little bit of the song’s chorus. “Oh yeah! The Don Henley song!” I responded, recognizing the refrain. She then
The Wisdom of No Escape: Post Vipassana Meditation Course reflections
I returned home from the 10 Day Vipassana Meditation course this past Sunday. Its taken me awhile to digest all that I learned and experienced over these 10 days of complete silence, reflection, and meditation and I am sure I will continue to digest things and realize more and more as I continue my meditation practice on a daily basis. When people ask me how it was, my answer is that it was equal parts wonderful and horrible. Luckily, right before I left for the retreat, one
Vipassana Meditation retreat - Reflections before!
This afternoon I am on my way to Pecotonica, IL for my first extended meditation retreat. The retreat is a 10 day experience where you commit to observing noble silence with your fellow students for the first 9 days, and meditate for a total of 10 hours per day interspersed with breaks, meals, and a daily lecture. The type of meditation that is taught is called Vipassana meditation where your mind and body are used as tools to develop insight into the nature of experience. So
My New Favorite Song
I just attended 4 day intensive training in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) this past week that was hosted by my DBT Team at The Family Institute. It was absolutely incredible! For those of you who are unfamiliar with DBT, it is a model of psychotherapy that combines the philosophies of behaviorism (how we learn to behave and what maintains or changes our behavior), the philosophy of dialectics (a way of looking at the world and the practice of synthesizing multiple pers
Happy World Mental Health Day!!
Today is World Mental Health Day, and the theme of this year’s day of awareness is Depression and its impact globally on the lives of people. The goal of the day is to raise public awareness about signs and symptoms of depression, but also to put forth ideas about how communities, and larger health care and government systems can respond more effectively to the needs of people with depression. Depression is considered the “common cold” of mental illness as it impacts most of
Do things that terrify you
This September has been like “back to school” for me for the first time in literally a decade! I started a new position as a staff therapist at The Family Institute at Northwestern on the Tuesday after Labor Day complete with new supplies (no ruler or calculator this time, but lots of steno pads), and some new clothes just like the old school days. (You can check out my new staff listing at the Family Institute here: http://www.family-institute.org/counseling-and-psychotherap
Is it me? Taking things too personally may be hazardous to your self-esteem!
I hope you are all enjoying these last few weeks of summer! I have been going through many changes these last few months, and will be announcing a change in my practice coming up in September on my web site this week! Meanwhile, I was looking at my Twitter feed this morning, and Lauren Hale (of www.mypostpartumvoice.com) had posted a quote from Anais Nin, “We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.” I’ve seen this quote before, but it struck me today because I’v
Nick Offerman's 10 Tips for Prosperity
Happy Independence Day I hope you are all enjoying the summer so far! So, I’ve had this blog post in the hopper for a few weeks. My husband is really into stand-up comedy, so I usually go with him to see different shows or comedy festivals. Most recently we went to the TBS “very funny” comedy festival and saw quite a few hilarious shows including Nick Offerman, otherwise known as “Ron Swanson” from the show Parks & Rec. I wasn’t sure what to expect, and it ended up being a co
Women & Happiness: Re-learning important lessons
I just returned from a long weekend in NYC where I attended a conference entitled Women and Happiness: The Give and Take of Joy. I was inspired to go by a few things. If you read my blog, then you know that I am in the midst of career shift that has required me (and continues to require me) to practice courage and mindfully tolerate uncertainty. In the name of maintaining my own momentum, I thought it would be good to attend this conference to inspire me personally. Working p
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