Last week I wrote about adopting a personal definition of spirituality and religion as well as exploring your own spiritual and/or religious journey through an autobiography or timeline. The purpose, at least in the counseling context, is to foster a better understanding of your spiritual and/or religious worldview (a.k.a. your spiritual ‘self’). Since many of [...]

One of the most common questions that I get when I tell people what I do is…..what do you do? It’s not a surprising question. Most of us had a “Guidance Counselor” when we were in middle and high school, but the elementary counselor is still somewhat a new concept. So people are often curious [...]

Imagine a cartoon of three slides: The first slide is a line of clients in an outpatient office waiting to be seen by a clinician on a Friday. The second slide is the clinician trying to focus but is showing signs of fatigue by yawning and looking at the clock. The last slide is the [...]

What do emotions sound like? Have you really ever stopped to think about it? While I believe there’s some universality to how we hear the expression of different emotions, I also believe that it’s a little different for all of us. For one person, anger may sound like a loud voice, to another breaking glass, [...]

Client: After therapy, I feel so good. Therapist: What in therapy makes you feel good? Client: I don’t even know. I can’t describe it in words. It can’t be described in words. It’s just…….it feels good. This is what my client told me yesterday at the end of session. She had a lot to say [...]

Have you had the privilege of meeting and/or interacting with a special needs child on a professional or personal level? How did you find the experience? What did you learn? My wife and I are the proud and sometimes ‘confused’ parents of a soon-to-be four year-old boy. Our son was officially diagnosed with cerebral palsy [...]

If you’re looking to improve your public speaking skills try these helpful tips. USE THE POWER OF “TRANSFERABLE CONCEPTS” One of the best ways to create a powerful first impression is through the use of story. It doesn’t have to be a personal story. Any compelling story related to your topic will do. The first [...]

For some reason I feel compelled to put things on the door of my refrigerator. I do not think I am alone in doing this, and I believe that the refrigerator door can sometimes represent where we are in our lives. On my refrigerator, I have about 20 magnets of various shapes and sizes. Some [...]