Yvonne came to her counseling session upset about her friend group. "I'm always the one that initiates getting together," she explained. "I find the movie, pick the latest restaurant, or find the concert tickets. Then I text everyone, coordinate schedules, budgets and...
Paul came to the Zoom screen looking exhausted, yawning after every answer to my checking-in questions. "What's going on?" I finally asked him. "Are you sleeping ok?" "I guess," he mumbled. I started asking him about his schedule for the past week. "Normal?" he said....
"I know my mom loves me and I know my dad loves me," Rodrigo shared with me during a recent session. Rodrigo's parents have gone out of their way to make sure the kids felt loved, valued, and not at fault for the recent...
One challenge people report throughout the past pandemic year is more difficulty communicating with others. Some folks focus on hurtful interactions with family and friends while others highlight frustrating exchanges with the world at large (colleagues, customer service representatives, grocery store clerks, etc.). ...
Looking out over the falling snow during our most recent three foot snowstorm I was struck by how the extremes of the weather matched the extremes of our past year with COVID-19. March 2020 our schools, businesses, governments, places of worship, gyms, hair salons…everyone...
Suzanne came in frustrated with her family. "I've been taking care of my elderly father for the past few years. I turned my life upside down to accommodate his needs and wants, building an addition on my house, making sure he gets to...
Martha loved her life. She grew up in a small town, surrounded by family and friends. She married her high school sweetheart, moved into her favorite little yellow house on the corner and filled it with kids, dogs, and community. She'd...
Saul came in upset that "no one cared about him." "My family doesn't reach out, my neighbors don't know I exist, no one at work ever asks me out for happy hour, and my guy friends don't call unless it's time for the annual...
Sandra was considered the black sheep of the family. She worked in national parks, farmed, and was a stay-at-home mom while her siblings were lawyers and corporate managers. Family reunions consisted of golf games and spa appointments, which Sandra rarely attended as she...
We've all heard the phrase, "put your oxygen mask on before helping others." It's such a common metaphor for self-care these days, I couldn't find the source of who first took it out of the plane instructions and into daily life. When the...
