By Evelia Saucedo AMFT Dealing with difficult parents can cause stressors for many individuals, sometimes it can lead to impulsive behaviors, anxiety, depression, and can be damaging to their children. When is a parent considered toxic? When some of the following characteristics are in place: Someone who gaslights their child, has tendencies of ma[...]

By Lisa Catanzaro LMFT Humans struggle. All humans. Even therapists. Many of my clients have often assumed that I “have it all together,” or that I “don't have these issues." Several of them have said things along the lines of "I bet you have the perfect relationship with your partner,” and "I bet you have the best communication in your fa[...]

By Ruth Victor-Jackson, AMFT “We’re born to connect and as long as we live, we never stop needing connection”, Peter Lovenheim. Many questions come to mind as we live in our own perspectives of what life is or what life should be. One question is, "Why are connections important"? Connections are formed throughout relationships, either goo[...]

By: Nic Love LCSW It is human nature to try things that will make us feel better when our worlds feel like they are crashing down and/or closing in on us. One way that we humans do that is by comparing our lives to others. Basic things that we humans tell ourselves is that someone has it worse than me or my life isn’t as bad….. as fill in the b[...]

By: Lauren Fields AMFT Trauma is defined as acts of commission (harm against another) or acts of omission (failure to act) to an individual or group of people. Acts of commission include violence, theft, and verbal abuse. While acts of omission include neglect, unpredictable living conditions, and unstable connections. When instability becomes the[...]

By Diana Ibarra AMFT Why We Get Triggered Picture this, You hear someone talking about their weight loss. The rational side of you understands that many people diet and lose weight... yet your “irrational” aka the emotionally wounded side of you remembers your mother talking about your body as a child, constantly comparing you and restric[...]

By: Kendall Raymond AMFT 127810 A client sharing disturbing material from a traumatic event prior to the therapist helping them establish safety and emotion management skills to calm down is like taking a hot apple pie out of the oven without using oven mitts and immediately dropping it onto the floor: dangerous, ineffective, and irresponsible.  T[...]

By: Telicia Swihart LMFT In my last blog, I wrote about tips for improving your communication skills. If you have been trying them out, you may have discovered that in some situations you can be using the most effective communication skills possible, but the person you are speaking with is blocking the communication from moving forward. See the li[...]

By: Telicia Swihart LMFT Most of us learned to talk around age two, but not all of us have learned how to effectively communicate. Communicating well with our loved ones involves much more than just talking! Try out some of the tips below to improve your communication with others: · Purpose of Conversation Before you begin a conversation wi[...]

By: Caitlyn Marr, AMFT Grief is an inevitable part of our lives that is often considered taboo to discuss. At some point in our life, we will all be impacted by grief. Whether the impact is indirectly, a friend of a friend, or a tragedy seen on national news; or directly impacted, for example the death of your husband, sister or father figure. Whil[...]