ARA Counseling

12/09/2021

What are your favorite ways to spend time with your child?

Turning toward your kid's bids for connection isn't always easy; the responsibilities of parenting can feel like a constant juggling act.

It's often helpful to notice opportunities for connection that are already in your schedule. This could be a hug in the morning before sending your young one to school, or listening to music you both enjoy in the car after work. Maybe you let your little one help with simple tasks around the house, giving them the chance to learn new skills and gain a sense of accomplishment.

You might be pleasantly surprised by the many opportunities for connection you find throughout the day. Discover tools to connect with your children and model emotional awareness by starting Emotion Coaching: The Heart of Parenting today: https://bit.ly/3fSRoHO

06/22/2021

02/02/2021

https://www.facebook.com/149200885864/posts/10158765550425865/

09/26/2020

https://www.npr.org/2020/09/24/916377135/pathmarking-the-way-ruth-bader-ginsburgs-lifelong-fight-for-gender-equality

Early in her career, the Supreme Court justice argued cases that expanded rights for women and men.

09/26/2020

https://www.facebook.com/149200885864/posts/10158433355010865/?substory_index=0

Often, subtle forms of contempt feel perfectly justified but what you may not realize is that you’re putting yourself in opposition to your partner saying: “I am standing up for myself—against you.”

While contempt may seem like the expression of genuine feeling, it’s actually an expression of negative judgment. Try to practice expressing yourself with feelings and longings that can unite you and your partner, rather than judgments that can divide.

Ken Fremont-Smith, MAC, LMHC highlights the difference between standing up for yourself and subtle contempt: https://bit.ly/32TWH52

04/13/2020

It is disheartening to read news on xenophobic incidents against Asians. Racism against Asians is not a new concept; however, I realize that such is not at the center of conversation when it comes to conversations of oppression in non Asian communities. Model minority stereotypes neglect that there are many individuals and groups that suffer from poverty and lack of access to social services and health care. Experienced racism for Asians tend to be more covert than overt. That said, with COVID19, the phenomena is changing, unfortunately in a more worrisome direction. I have noticed that once again conversations about raising awareness and combating these negative activities are happening mainly in Asian communities than say the White or Black communities. I hope that practitioners and educators bring these discussions to the table with students, families, clients, and individuals so that Asians do not continue to experience undue neglect and silence.

03/31/2020

https://time.com/5811146/coronavirus-married-relationship/

Married couples therapists on living and working in the same space

01/29/2020

https://www.psychotherapynetworker.org/magazine/article/2368/the-politics-of-mental-health/00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000?fbclid=IwAR3OEuvaA5DWcgF2RS9yxf5TQXDj-kC70MGAzAzduqRp16MM9qY235X63d4

Pioneering trauma specialist Bessel van der Kolk took aim not only at the politics within the therapy field that determine what diagnoses get into the DSM, but the politics in the larger arena that lead people to ignore the prevalence of trauma in society.

01/06/2020

Quote that reminds me of my mentor, advisor, phd mommy, Dr. Donna Harrington. I miss her much and I hope to continue her legacy.

01/02/2020

Social media has created a platform for artists and talents to expose themselves to the world. It has allowed people from different walks of life to talk to each other. On the other hand, negative use of media has also been rampant; people compare themselves to lives represented in images, allow influence from biased viewpoints, and engage in superficial and illusioned interactions with others more frequently than they had before. There is certainly agreement that in spite of all the wireless connections, people are lonelier than ever. I hope that we can encourage and consciously participate in making real connections with others, engage in conversations and ask questions about challenges and hopes, whether it be political, societal, religious, or personal, so that we can experience growth.

11/16/2019

To fellow readers...

Literay experience heals the wound, without undermining the privilege, of individuality. . . In reading great literature I become a thousand men and yet remain myself. Like the night sky in the Greek poem, I see with a myriad eyes, but it is still I who I see. Here, as in worship, in love, in moral action, and in knowing, I transcend myself; and am never more myself than when I do.

C.S.Lewis

08/30/2019

Cannabis use often comes up in sessions and casual conversations because of the changing sociocultural and legal context. Research is showing that it can have positive effects in pain, seizure and anxiety management. People often argue liberal use because of the benefits and the "non-addictive" nature of ma*****na.

Cannabis and byproducts of cannabis certainly appears to have a place in current and future medicinal and recreational use. That said, research recognizes that ~9% of users meet Cannabis Use Disorder and a portion of these individuals are more likely to meet Addiction criteria. Usage among teens and young adults should also be carefully monitored, since substances can have a stronger effect on the brain system.

As with any substance, it is important for consumers to ask what their relationships with ma*****na is like, whether it is their main coping mechanism, and whether it impacts their socioemotional and physical being.

08/02/2019

Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom

Viktor Frankl

07/23/2019

https://hbr.org/2019/07/how-our-brains-decide-when-to-trust

Insights from neuroscience

07/19/2019

https://www.yesmagazine.org/peace-justice/hard-conversations-solve-conflicts-20190710

Research suggests that structured engagement with someone who holds divergent views can be transformative, even without a concrete resolution.

03/07/2019

The therapist invites us to experience who we are under the words, the excuses, and the explanations. We embrace our inner life (our urges, thoughts, and feelings) and the outer world, hidden from us by the lies we have believed about others and ourselves. And by facing what we have been hiding from, we go through the inner challenge known as healing.

The lies we tell ourselves. Jon frederickson

01/23/2019

Even though we live in a society where we supposedly have free range with regards to how we can define ourselves, I often hear people wonder if they are "normal." People express feeling alone and perturbed.

Perhaps we are forgetting that feeling broken, incomplete, uncertain, frustrated, anxious, and irrational are part of a very normal and ubiquitous human experience.

https://www.theschooloflife.com/thebookoflife/on-being-very-normal/

It really matters what we think of as ‘being normal,' because we are collective creatures. We're acutely receptive to group dynamics and sensitive to where we fit in – or the ways in which we don’t. No matter how much we praise individualism and see ourselves as unique we are, in fact, deeply ...