What Is The Role of Male Desperation in Mass Shootings?
I'm Uncomfortably Numb When I was supervising students in the Couple and Family Therapy program at The University of Maryland in the Fall of 2017, I had a slightly disturbing experience. It was Monday, October 2nd and I was the nighttime supervisor on site at the...
Intentional Change Requires Your Awareness
You may have heard a quote from the ancient Greek philosopher, Heroclitus that, “There is nothing permanent except change.” Or maybe, you’ve come across - a little more recently, “Change is the only constant in life”, Benjamin Franklin. Whether you want things to...
Part III: Physiological Benefits of Writing
In the previous two blog posts of this series, we discussed the therapeutic benefits of writing for our minds and ways writing can support our emotional wellbeing. In this third and final installment, our focus is the physiological or stress-relieving aspects of...
The Most Important Mistake You’re Making When Fighting With Your Family Member
Let’s cut right to the chase. The answer: The most important mistake you’re making when you fight with your family member is… …being lost in your own protective emotions, many of which reliably keep your attention aimed on the other person. You get sucked into...
The Therapeutic Benefits of Writing: Part II Emotional
Previously, we dove deep into the cognitive benefits of writing. Now, we shift our focus within the human brain to the space of emotion. There are countless therapeutic interventions that explore emotions and utilize writing, but none quite to the extent of Narrative...
You Are Never Alone. You Have a Family Inside of You.
Taking a 16 Hour Internal Family Systems Training Changed Everything I’ve written before on the blog about Recognizing the Importance of Self-Talk, but nothing comes close to what you’re about to learn. I wasn’t prepared for it either. I signed up for a 16 hour...
The Therapeutic Benefits of Writing: Part I Cognitive
As a college writing professor and mindfulness practitioner who now studies Marriage and Family Therapy, I enjoy observing the intersections between the act of writing and its uses in the therapy room and beyond. Consider all of the ways you might have used writing to...
My Ego and I: The Not-So-Conventional Route To Improving Your Communication Skills
How can we become more effective communicators with our loved ones? Let’s take a look at an ingredient in communication that often challenges many of the couples and families I see in therapy. We’re talking, of course, about emotional reactivity. Emotional reactivity...
Robin Smith, LCMFT
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Lorraine Harpur, LGMFT
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Katy Gustafson, LCPC
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Richard Roth, LCSW-C
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Dr. Molly Scanlon
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