Hope House Counseling and Education

10/26/2021

Henry Cloud’s teachings on boundaries are essential for any healthy relationship, addiction recovery, and trauma healing.

This is where boundaries move from a conversation to consequences and actions. It will be important to warn the person of the consequences so that they can still decide to change. And we always seek to communicate our boundaries with grace and truth.

Are you looking to resolve an issue in your family? Join me at my next workshop, When Family Hurts: Breaking Destructive Patterns: boundaries.me/family. *Price goes up 11/2

05/16/2021

Journaling is such an important tool that we encourage all of our clients to use. So many times I start writing and find out thoughts, dreams, emotions, fears, and joys that I would have never realized had I not spent the time with pen and paper. I have often found that simply identifying and putting a word to an emotion I am feeling allows me to let that emotion inform my behavior without controlling my behavior, which is usually what happens when emotions go unrecognized. Spending a few minutes with my pen and my journal gives me some much needed time to recognize and sit with those emotions. In the upcoming days I will share some of my favorites journaling tools ideas and I would love to see some of yours in the comments!

05/08/2021

I just saw this and immediately felt sadness for anyone who feels this way. Even sadder is that many would see this and laugh. Many of us are actually very angry at our younger selves and that is what could be causing much distress in our lives today. EMDR and IFS can bring a lot of personal healing and even calm the distress oftentimes felt today. Richard Schwartz book Greater Than The Sum Of Our Parts and Jenna Riemersma’s book Altogether You have great exercises I personally use.

10/06/2020

"Whether facing s*x addiction, betrayal trauma, grief, drug/alcohol addiction, or any number of mental health issues and life issues, one of the common issues is rationalization. S*x addicts rationalize that it really is not hurting anyone. The betrayed loved ones of addicts who have been unfaithful rationalize away their feelings of hurt. It is a powerful tool and it is used as a defense mechanism to hide from a truth we usually already know..."

Rationalization is a common issue in many mental health and life issues. It is a powerful tool and it is used as a defense mechanism to hide from a truth we usually already know. In reality, we are NOT really thinking rationally about these things! What we are actually doing is trying to make an i

10/03/2020

Hope House Counseling and Education is looking for LPC, LMFT, or LCSW therapists who specialize in relationships, trauma and addiction to join our team of counselors and life coaches.

Working in a group practice gives you many advantages over a solo practice including administrative services, marketing, therapy tools and resources, office space, and referrals. HHCE is a collaborative team environment where professionals from diverse educational and training backgrounds work together and support each other as we work to support our clients.

Tired of handling your own admin work and billing? Looking to have other professionals you can collaborate with on cases and consult with on cases? Let’s see if we can help each other reach our professional goals and be the best helpers we can be for our clients who deserve the best.

09/03/2020

What’s the one thing that you keep wanting but don’t choose? What’s a longing of your heart that you are too afraid to imagine coming true for you?

When I know where I have come from I can get curious about the choices that led me there. Knowing my pain from wounds in my past is crucial to understanding the dynamics that have brought me to where I am today. But the absolute truth is that I still have to look forward and choose where I want

09/02/2020

We’re wired for connection so long-term, committed partnerships should be just as instinctive, right? And if you don’t have that instinct naturally, you’re just out of luck? Fortunately, there are ways of communicating with each other and being a better partner that can be learned and practiced.

I tell my clients this all of the time, especially when it comes to being empathetic. It is a skill that can be developed.

I love reading the Gottman marriage minute and encourage almost every client I work with to sign up for these. The email takes one minute to read and if you want to go deeper on the subject, there are links at the bottom of the email to click for further reading. Enjoy!

08/31/2020

Whether you are experiencing grief, s*x addiction, betrayal, infidelity, trauma, depression, anxiety, or many of the other common issues that beset us, denial is almost there to hold us back from healing. There are a number of tools and assessments I have used to help clients break through various aspects of denial. One of the most straightforward and effective tools I teach my clients is how to create and utilize a problems list.

Basically, if something causes a problem, it goes on the problems list!

Whether you are experiencing grief, s*x addiction, betrayal, infidelity, trauma, depression, anxiety, or many of the other common issues that beset us, denial is almost there to hold us back from healing... One of the most straightforward and effective tools I teach my clients is how to create and u

08/24/2020

The S*xual Dependency Inventory (SDI-V4) is one of the most robust instruments for assisting you in determining if you suffer from s*x addiction and would call yourself a s*x addict. Secondly, it helps us determine what behaviors we will focus on in treatment if you are a s*x addict or even if you are not a s*x addict but just have some s*xual behaviors you want to stop.

The S*xual Dependency Inventory (SDI-V4) is one of the most robust instruments for assisting you in determining if you suffer from s*x addiction and would call yourself a s*x addict. Secondly, it helps us determine what behaviors we will focus on in treatment if you are a s*x addict or even if you

08/22/2020

Have you been cheated on by your partner? Are things finally coming out in the open about your spouses s*xual behavior and you think your spouse may be a s*x addict?

This is known as discovery. Discovery is when the spouse first finds out (whether by accident, following a hunch, or being told by your partner) that your spouse has been lying to you and doing things behind your back. Discovery can be relieving, shocking, depressing, and maddening all at the same time. You probably aren’t sure what to do next and your instincts tell you to do different things every hour.

Have you been cheated on by your partner? Are things finally coming out in the open about your spouses s*xual behavior and you think your spouse may be a s*x addict?

08/21/2020

Using assessments is a way to get a more descriptive picture of your strengths and the specific areas where you can focus on growing and strengthening. Many clients just know they have a problem but they don’t know the roots of that problem. They know they need to talk about something but they aren’t sure exactly what to talk about. Assessments can help you focus your goals and give us specific information to guide our conversations and which tasks to focus on as you walk your healing journey.

Using assessments is a way to get a more descriptive picture of your strengths and the specific areas where you can focus on growing and strengthening.