7 Ways to Resolve Conflict by "Fighting Fair"

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7 Ways to Resolve Conflict by "Fighting Fair"

Who out there avoids conflict as if it were a death sentence? I would estimate that at least half of my clients struggle with assertiveness – a way of communicating and advocating for themselves in a respectful and honest way. It seems they see no difference between assertiveness and aggression. Aggressive communication is not respectful, often involving making demands of others without listening to them and threatening or attacking the other person.

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Learn More About Impulse Control

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Learn More About Impulse Control

Have you ever found yourself not being able to stop and think before acting upon something? Whether it was buying expensive items, making a quick decision, or answering a question before it was done being asked? If you have found yourself doing any of these things, it may mean you have trouble controlling your impulsive behavior. Often, those who struggle with impulse control tend to act quickly with no thought of the consequences and there may be nothing on your mind beyond that moment in time. Though this is something experienced mostly in children, adults can have difficulty controlling their impulses as well. As we mature, we learn to control these impulses, but sometimes that isn’t the case.

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Great Mental Health Apps To Try

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Great Mental Health Apps To Try

Phone apps can be an incredible support for monitoring behavior and emotions, supplementing therapy, or for improving or maintaining mental health and wellness.  While mental health apps do not substitute treatment from a mental health professional and do not provide a diagnosis, they can be used in conjunction with therapy to help you build awareness of habits and patterns, as well as independently to support self-care.  Many of these apps are based on scientific research and evidence based therapy techniques.  I recommend some of them to support work I do with my clients and I use them personally. 

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Overcoming Self Sabotaging Behaviors

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Overcoming Self Sabotaging Behaviors

Nothing frustrates me more than a  broken or glitchy GPS system. Often they take us in the wrong direction, prolong our destination, and lead us into heavier traffic and traffic lights. The worst part of it all is that it produces massive anxiety in the process. At the time, using the GPS FEELS like the right thing to do but sometimes it is ACTUALLY an inconvenience. Maybe using a GPS has benefited us more often than not, therefore it’s just a natural and comfortable habit of going places. Self-sabotaging behaviors are very similar to broken GPS systems in a sense that often we don’t realize there’s anything wrong until we are further or distant from our goals and/or destination.

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How to challenge 2 Common Mental Mistakes

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How to challenge 2 Common Mental Mistakes

Have you spent days where nothing seems to go right? You find yourself thinking negatively even though there are still positive aspects of your life? There’s a reason for that! They are errors in our thinking that are called Cognitive Distortions or Mental Mistakes and they’re designed to put you in a negative headspace without you even recognizing it. People who experience anxiety or depression often face these negative thoughts. These mistakes in our thinking often occur as a way of coping with negative life events and the longer these negative events occur, there is an increased likelihood that one or more of these mental mistakes will develop. It seems easier to accept these negative thoughts than work through them, however there are different ways to identify and combat them. My hope is to help you understand what these mistakes are and how you can decrease them!

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