Cultivating Gratitude in Our Lives
We all have busy lives and are constantly bombarded with responsibilities, so it is easy to forget how important it is to stop and smell the roses. If we are able to slow down and pay more attention to the positive things in our lives, we will be able to cultivate a more grateful attitude in general. Practicing gratitude can help us attain a more positive outlook on life and help us achieve genuine fulfillment. Sometimes we need small reminders to help us remember to be grateful for what we have. Keeping a daily journal can be a huge help in...
read moreValidating Our Children’s Emotions
Being able to accurately assess the needs of children can be a daunting task, but it is very important to learn. Young children will often ask for emotional support by showing vulnerability. It is at this point where the response of the parents is extremely important, because what the child is asking for is for their parents to be their allies. These situations are often emotionally charged and many parents respond by trying to distract their child instead of taking the time to understand and mirror their emotions. Learning to emotionally...
read moreSigns of an Anxiety Disorder
We all have anxiety from time to time, but sometimes anxiety can become so persistent that it permeates the entirety of our days. At this point it is valuable to understand some of the symptoms of anxiety disorders in order to help determine if we may have one. One of the primary symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is excessive worry, especially about everyday things. If this is occurring most days of the week for at least six months, chances are an anxiety disorder is present. Another notable symptom is having irrational fears...
read moreLove in the Information Age
If there’s one characteristic that overwhelmingly defines the digital age, it is the fact that we are constantly bombarded by a sea of information. What we may not realize is that all of the videos, websites, shows, and movies are indirectly educating us about love, sex, and relationships. While this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, we have to be careful with some of the biased messages we are receiving. Is this show objectifying and sexualizing woman? Is this video romanticizing and idealizing the way relationships work? Over time, we may...
read moreNavigating the Empty Nest
For many parents, the thought of kids going away to college can be frightening due to the fact that parenting was such a central focus of their life. For other parents, an empty nest seems more like an opportunity, freeing up tons of time that can now be spent on exploring hobbies and other interests. How parents react to their kids moving on depends upon many factors. For instance, if the kids were a distraction to keep the focus off of a troubled relationship, the empty nests might be experienced as a crisis. There are also parents who feel...
read moreTrust in Relationships
New research from Northwestern University and Redeemer University College in Ontario has found that having a trusting personality can be the most helpful thing possible for a relationship. Psychologists have always known the importance of trust and its role in attachment theory. In this new study, however, trust is also considered to be a perspective on life. What this means is that people who have a general attitude of trust enjoy better relationships owing to the fact that they are not caught up in worrying about the small things. By...
read moreAttachment Theory and Social Work
Social work has always seemed to struggle with a lack of resources. An important question to ask is how those resources are being spent, and whether or not families in need are receiving optimal care. One theory states that the deterministic ethos underlying policy agendas is creating a narrative of dependency among clients. Can certain treatment paradigms actually improve the health of clients, and therefore reduce the overall need for treatment services? Some in the field have developed treatment strategies based upon attachment theory...
read moreIs Your Relationship In Trouble?
If you happen to be wondering whether or not your marriage or relationship is in trouble, it probably is. There are some key warning signs you can look for to determine whether or not you and your partner need couples counseling. For starters, ask yourself if you and your partner are having the same argument over and over. If so, this indicates that there’s probably a communication problem that needs to be addressed. You can also ask yourself if it feels like you and your partner are living separate lives, indicating an emotional...
read moreCriticizing Our Partner Undermines Our Relationship
It is natural to feel frustrated when our significant other fails to meet our expectations. Many of us have a certain vision for how our relationship should be, and when our loved ones fail to behave in ways to support this vision, we can become quite annoyed and critical. Unfortunately, if we constantly criticize our partner, they are going to experience it as rejection and respond defensively. This will ultimately undermine not only our own goals in the relationship, but the entire health of the relationship as well. Instead, we should...
read moreCan This Marriage Survive?
When an affair surfaces in a marriage, it is almost impossible to tell what the consequences will ultimately be. First of all, it is important to accept the fact that counseling is a necessity for attempting to work through infidelity. Even then, there are no guarantees that the marriage will survive. Both parties have to really want to work through the issues. Usually, this requires a strong connection that goes back many years before the layers of resentment built up. Also, working through an affair requires both parties to take...
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