Communication

Codependency Follows Us Home for the Holidays

By Jennifer Pitman, LCSW Joy to the world, the holiday season is upon us! It is a time to rejoice, focus on giving to others and relish the time spent with friends, family and loved ones. At least that’s what Christmas songs and Hallmark movies say. But for many of us this is anything but…
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Helping Children Learn About Gender: A Guide for Parents

By Allison Dickens, LPC Happy Pride Month! During this month, alongside the celebrations honoring the LGBTQIA+ community, there may be questions from children about the meaning of some of these acronyms and terms.  Specifically, gender has become a more prominent and important topic to many youths and adolescents.  More and more, young people are questioning…
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Red and Green Flags in Teen Relationships

By Kailani Akana Murphy, LCSW Adolescence comes with a sometimes overwhelming amount of changes – both for the adolescent and for their families. One of the biggest changes is in social relationships and learning how to navigate them. How an adolescent navigates this developmental stage sets up their mental health outcomes later in life –…
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Back to School Tips To Prepare For A Successful School Year

by Liza Ibrahim, LPC Summer is still in full swing with a few weeks left to enjoy the sun, family vacations, and the outdoors, but starting off a new school year can be stressful for both the student and parents. It can bring a mixture of emotions including anticipation, excitement, and worry. Every family can…
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Navigating Gender & Identity with your Kids

by Allison Dickens, LPC Happy Pride Month!  I hope all reading this have a joyful month full of celebration and self-exploration. As we come to the close of this important month, it’s important to remember that the conversation about gender and identity continues throughout the year.  As a parent, it is common to feel confused…
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10 Common Relationship “Green” Flags

by Jennifer Pitman, LCSW As a culture, sometimes we become obsessed with playing detective in our own lives, searching for clues that will blow the case wide open. Whether streaming the newest true crime podcast or diving head first into articles about relationship “red” flags, we are on the hunt for the negative. “How did…
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Not Everything Happens for a Reason:  Kicking the Toxic Positivity Habit

by Danielle Taylor, PsyD We’ve all had our loved ones share their stressful experiences with us. For many of us those moments can feel uncomfortable and challenging because we want to help them feel better. Maybe we aren’t sure what to say or to do so we might throw something rote out there like-”focus on…
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Is it Gaslighting or Another Form of Communication?

By Jennifer Pitman, LCSW  The use of the term gaslighting has exploded in pop culture. At its core, gaslighting is a form of emotional and psychological abuse. It is a pattern of behavior in which the gaslighter has the intent to cause confusion, to force a person to question their own reality and ultimately to…
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