Jetty Sawyer: Accredited Psychotherapist

09/13/2010

Most couples enter a relationship with the expectation that their passion for each other will endure forever. In the beginning, passionate feelings and romantic gestures seem to flow without much effort. As time goes on, we settle into routines and many couples forget to do the things to keep their passion alive. You have to be proactive to make an effort to stay connected. You need to invest time in your partner. Be a selfless partner; put the needs and desires of the other person first; you will be rewarded by your partner's return of affection.

How to keep the flames of passion alive:

Have candlelight dinner at home
Plan a special day together for just the two of you
Be playful; laugh together
Take walks together
Take turns initiating affection

For more information on relationship therapy or counseling, please contact a mental health professional. www.jettybeim.com/MentalHealthInfo

How to Keep Passion in a Relationship. Relationships can lose some spice when life's responsibilities get in the way. Follow these steps to keep the fire in your relationship.

09/07/2010

The Emotional Effects of Moving

Families who move have the added burden of helping their children adjust. When a child has to move it is often completely out of their control. "Most of the stress is felt by children who didn't make the decision to move," said Dr. Frederick Medway, a child psychologist at the University of South Carolina. Although the child will feel the loss and need to adjust to a new environment, they will most likely be able to cope with the move, and may even benefit from the experience if prepared and supported by a loving family.

Tips for making your move less stressful:

Familiarize yourself with your new community; and see the move as an opportunity for new experiences and the chance to make new friends.

Children’s Book: Shadow Moves - TLC Publisher

For more information on family therapy or counseling, please contact a mental health professional. www.jettybeim.com/MentalHealthInfo

08/30/2010

MOTHER-DAUGHTER RELATIONSHIPS
No relationship is quite as primal as the one between a mother and her daughter. This relationship goes through numerous ups and downs in life and in the end, still turns out to be the most intimate of all the other relations.
One thing that should never crop up between a mother and her daughter is a communication gap. A mother needs to change according to the various phases of her daughter's life, during which time she needs to give her daughter the appropriate amount of freedom and trust.

Tips for mothers: Accept your daughter as a unique human being
Evaluate your life goals apart from your daughter's life
Avoid blaming your daughter for your own problems
Do not expect your daughter to change for your own comfort

For more information on family therapy or counseling, please contact a mental health professional. www.jettybeim.com/MentalHealthInfo

Mother-daughter relationships can vary depending on age. Learn about mother-daughter relationships at Discovery Health.

08/24/2010

SEXUALITY & THE GOLDEN YEARS
If you enjoyed an active s*x life in your younger years there's no reason to cease enjoying this level of intimacy. As bodies and feelings change, it's more important than ever to communicate your thoughts, fears, and desires with your partner. Naturally your body is going through changes as you age. You look and feel differently than you did when you were younger. But if you can accept these changes as natural and hold your head up high, you'll not only feel better, you'll also be more attractive to others.

For more information on aging or life counseling, please contact a mental health professional. www.jettybeim.com/MentalHealthInfo

If you think that s*x and aging are mutually exclusive, think again. Intimacy is a vital aspect of our lives, and more and more seniors continue to enjoy s*x.

08/12/2010

Anger is a normal, usually healthy emotion. When anger is masked, resentment often becomes a chronic condition. Others are afraid of their anger, fearing the loss of control or of becoming overly aggressive.

In his book, Emotional Intelligence, Daniel Goleman states: "letting go of your anger will improve your temper." Managing anger is a process of learning to recognize the signs that you're becoming angry. Try to take deep breaths, calm down, and think about how you want to handle the situation.

If you have a problem with anger management please contact a mental health professional.

Daniel Goleman's new book, Ecological Intelligence, reveals the hidden environmental consequences of what we make and buy. Goleman is also the author of the New York Times bestseller Emotional Intelligence.

08/05/2010

Dealing with Death and Loss
When you first lose someone you may feel like your world has ended because your emotional landscape has been breached. There are no specific ways to grieve. Tips on helping with loss:Talk about the death/loss as much as you can. Share your feelings with people you are close to. Invite your children to talk about their loss with you. Consult your mental health professional or one of the many support groups available for grief counseling. You are not alone! http://bit.ly/a44AfY

07/27/2010

Dating or living with a ma*****na addict can be overwhelming. Ma*****na addiction can create turmoil in relationships. If you are sober, hanging out with a partner who is high all the time is not an enjoyable experience. If your partner feels his/her pot addiction is a problem and wants to quit, you can suggest addiction treatment. Alternately as a partner, you may want to discuss the effect your partner’s addiction has on you with a counselor or mental health professional.

07/20/2010

Addiction to Internet po*******hy is a growing problem in the US, because of easy accessibility to the Internet. Addiction is the state of being enslaved to a habit or practice or to something that is psychologically or physically habit forming. S*xual addicts have the desire and need to keep coming back for p**nographic images often ignoring loved ones and family. If you or your partner is hooked on internet p**n, addiction counseling with a mental health professional can be a helpful path to recovery.

Welcome to Netaddiction.com and the Center for Online Addiction - Resources for therapists and families, tips on Cyber-wellness, and Personal Therapy.

07/08/2010

School Bullying
Bullying involves three types of abuse: emotional, verbal and physical. Bullying is an act of repeated aggressive behavior in order to intentionally hurt another person, physically or mentally.
Norwegian researcher Dan Olweus defines bullying as when a person is "exposed, repeatedly and over time, to negative actions on the part of one or more persons." Bullying behavior may include name calling, verbal or written abuse, exclusion from activities, exclusions from social situations, physical abuse, or coercion. Bullies may behave this way to be perceived as popular, tough or to get attention.
The effects of bullying can be serious and even fatal. Mona O'Moore of the Anti-Bullying Centre at Trinity College in Dublin, has written, "There is a growing body of research which indicates that individuals, whether child or adult, who are persistently subjected to abusive behavior are at risk of stress related illness which can sometimes lead to su***de.
Anti-bullying programs are designed to teach students cooperation, as well as training peer moderators in intervention and dispute resolution techniques. Some states have implemented laws to address school bullying. If you have a child that is a victim of bullying please contact a mental health professional today.
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Bullying research & studies by Dr. Dan Olweus have resulted in the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program, backed by statistics. Read about Olweus bullying research.

06/29/2010

COPING WITH A CRITICAL PARTNER
Are you involved with a partner who always criticizes you unfairly and looks to nit-pick the smallest things? Overly critical partners do not perceive themselves objectively. They are seeking perfection and believe their way is the right way.

TIPS FOR DEALING WITH A CRITICAL PARTNER:
Tell your partner that his/her criticisms hurt your feelings.

Seriously think about his/her points and determine whether any of their points are valid.

Realize that the overly critical person will not change.

Ask your partner to go to couples counseling if you don't see any progress.

RECOMMENDED READING: "THE VERBALLY ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIP: HOW TO RECOGNIZE IT AND HOW TO RESPOND" by Patricia Evans

Patricia Evans, founder of Evans Interpersonal Communications Institute (EICI), is an interpersonal communications specialist and author of two books on verbal abuse. EICI offers Patricia Evans' services as a consultant, speaker and trainer.

06/23/2010

Realistic Expectations for a Happy & Healthy Relationship

A good looking, well dressed and s*xually appealing man walks into the room. Our radar zooms towards the person we think we want, and we forget to remind ourselves of who we really need, thereby making the worst choice of all, as Schwartz said in his book, the Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less. We have come to believe that our partner's job is to provide us with satisfaction and pleasure. In a relationship we have to accept the other person as they are rather than focusing on the missing parts and remind ourselves of all the ways this person is the one we wanted to be with who has the many qualities we admire. It’s important to choose the right partner, but it's probably more important to be the right partner. Relationships are not about my needs or their needs, but about how well we communicate our needs to each other. Life counseling or relationship therapy can get you on the road to better mental health today. http://bit.ly/arHsVk http://bit.ly/bF23Nn

Are you looking for love but finding disappointment? You may be asking for too much too soon. Five experts shed some light on what to expect from romance.

06/15/2010

Infidelity

Whether your relationship survives infidelity is dependent on many things. Trust has to be restored. Cheating has been reclassified to include not only the physical affair but, also, the emotional affair. An affair exemplifies the violation of a sacred trust between two people. The dynamics of an affair go far beyond the s*xual act. In most cases an affair begins when one of the partners has transferred the emotional energy that was once directed toward the relationship to another. It is the responsibility of both partners to make the relationship work. Do not blame yourself. Although the relationship may have had problems, chances are it had much more to do with a deficiency in your partner than in you. Marriage counseling or relationship therapy can be the first step to rebuilding a life together.
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When Mason and Adena Fickle find their new s*x partner, Loween, dead in their bed just hours after the threesome’s hot and raunchy escapade, they discover the woman was neither who nor what she’d said she was. The ménage à trois should have been nothing special. After all, the ...