Do you have a feeling of dread when you approach a big project or an even bigger life goal? A serious fear of failure can have an impact on your performance. You might even find yourself aborting the whole plan because of how afraid you are…
Most people would say that having high standards is a good thing. If you identify as a perfectionist you may be proud of these traits. You know that you have the ability to perform at a higher level than most people. However, perfectionism comes at a cost…
In a new relationship, you’re driven to be attentive toward your partner and to nurture the relationship. In a long-term relationship it takes intention, energy, and work to keep the love alive. Nothing kills the romance faster than falling into a boring routine. That’s true especially if that routine doesn’t include prioritizing each other…
Spring is a season for new starts and renewal. If your life is not going the way you want it to be, it is most likely because you are not being careful about where your energy is going. You may often find yourself reacting to what is happening around you, instead of focusing on taking a proactive role…
Your fears only exist within your mind. You would rather avoid them than face the beasts. It’s human nature to avoid the things we fear. But avoidance will make you a hostage to the monster. The things in life that you’re afraid of and that make you feel vulnerable are often the most important to you. Your irrational fears hold you back and keep you from enjoying your life…
A long distance relationship is difficult, but not impossible. Although you may have strong feelings for your partner, time apart and lack of intimacy may put a strain on your bond. The extra miles make many things unachievable, but it also makes the simple things the sweetest…
Anxiety & Stress Therapy |
Do you often find yourself doing things you don’t want to do? Do you feel taken advantage of by others? Sitting around praying for people to understand how much pressure they put on you is futile. For some, saying “yes” is a habit. It’s time for you to find your voice…
ADHD isn’t just a childhood disorder. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, about 60% of children with ADHD become adults with ADHD. If you are one of these, approximately, 9 million Americans, certain things can be tough to get done…
Love is cultivated during the grind of the day. You can still find ways to connect more intimately with your partner, no matter how long you’ve been together. If you want more depth and intimacy, you’re going to have to develop more emotional connection…
Many people find themselves too busy these days. It causes stress and it can lead to burnout. Time management can help you remain productive without unnecessary strain…
Voicing disagreement is difficult. We often want to align with others and we don’t want to stand out. There is value in having conversations with people with whom you don’t necessarily see eye-to-eye with…
It can be easy to get swept away and forget to stop and show appreciation for what you have. But, gratitude is literally as easy as saying “thank you”. Yet, it is something you intentionally need to focus on…
There are some occasions when you may not want to trust what your brain is telling you. Cognitive distortions are habitual errors in thinking that cause negative feelings…
A positive attitude is critical when you want to achieve anything or simply improve your quality of life. Here are some tips to help you maintain your positive attitude no matter what’s happening in your life…
The change from having a high social life to nothing at all can be detrimental to your mental health. Isolation is emotionally draining and can feed into social anxiety. As you begin to socialize more in person this season, here are some tips to help you…
Real listening communicates a level of empathy and compassion for the words and emotions expressed to you. People have the emotional need to be seen and heard. Here are some suggestions for doing better…
Life satisfaction is being happy about your life as it is right now. Being content and feeling fulfilled are what we ultimately strive for. It does not preclude ambition. It is simply gratitude, appreciation and acceptance…
Criticism is an inevitable part of life and everyone has something they are sensitive about. If you can face fair negative feedback without overreacting, you will escape feeling hurt and shamed…
The festive season can be stressful at the best of times. In this unique year, you may be noticing that your stress levels are amplified. You may feel anxious because your holiday plans may look different this year…
Anger can be good. It allows you to express your negative feelings and helps motivate you to solve your problems. Anger becomes a problem when it occurs too often, too intensely and leads to issues in your daily life…
At times when you feel particularly anxious or distressed, self-soothing can be a useful tool in your mental health kit. If you struggle to calm down or suffer from unresolved trauma, these tips can help you restore your emotional equilibrium…
Healthy self-esteem is important as it helps you make positive choices in your everyday life, gives you courage to be yourself and helps you deal with difficult situations…
You may spend a lot of time thinking about the risks and rewards and weighing up the pros and cons. Thinking about your options is good, but overthinking just leads to stress. Here are some specific tips to strengthen your decision-making process…
Despite your best efforts, maintaining your well-being in this busy world can be challenging. But, you are not stuck in bad behavior forever. You have the power to create the life you want to live. Good habits happen when you set yourself up for success. Here are a few simple hacks for creating healthy habits…
Depression Therapy |
Everyone experiences shame from time to time. It involves negatively judging yourself and believing that you failed to live up to your standards or the standards of others. It’s an intense discomfort that comes from feelings of inadequacy…
Anxiety and Stress Therapy |
How are you really feeling? By regularly recording your thoughts, you will gain insight into your moods and behaviors. Deciding to journal is a great way to improve your wellbeing. Having time to reflect can do wonders for your psyche….
Psychotherapy |
When a relationship that you devoted so much time and emotion to ends, it can feel like there is no hope. It doesn’t have to be that way. You can think of it as an adventure to rediscover yourself…
Psychotherapy |
You have a nagging feeling that you’re not good enough. You don’t belong. There must have been some mistake. Soon everyone will know that you’re a fraud. Imposter syndrome is a psychological phenomenon…
Depression Therapy |
Major depression is one of the most common mental health disorders in the world. People tend to withdraw when they are depressed, so reaching out to a friend in need is an important first step. You can’t cure them, but social support can remind them that they are not alone…
Anxiety and Stress Therapy |
Most of us have an increase in anxiety about getting sick from COVID-19. Then there are people who have previously been diagnosed with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). The pandemic has the potential to lead to worsening OCD symptoms. You may be wondering how to cope…
Depression Therapy |
Isolation is a major cause of depression. The health consequences of feeling lonely are dramatic. It can also disrupt your sleep, elevate your blood pressure, increase stress and lower your overall well-being…
Psychotherapy |
Uncertainty has become our new normal. Between financial worries, fears about the virus, and concern for your loved ones, there are plenty of things that may be keeping you up past your bedtime…
Anxiety and Stress Therapy |
Boundaries are an essential part of coping with anxiety. You need a healthy sense of personal space. Boundaries help you maintain your identity in your personal and professional relationships…
Couples Therapy |
Human nature dictates that we speak our minds. Progress is usually the result of someone raising an opinion. Everyone has needs and getting them in the context of your relationship is important…
Trauma and PTSD Therapy |
It is normal to experience traumatic stress following a disturbing event. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and other forms of traumatic stress can be incredibly difficult and unpredictable…
Couples Therapy |
Virtual therapy has become more popular over the past decade. In many cases, during the COVID-19 pandemic, it has become the only way to gain access to the services of the couples therapist of your choice…
Psychotherapy |
Cabin fever is not a psychological disorder, but it is the very real feeling of claustrophobia when you are forced to remain in one place for an extended period of time…
Oakland Therapy |
We’re in unsettling times. It’s challenging and difficult. Resilience is a set of habits, skills and behaviors that can be cultivated and practiced. It will help you cope and bounce back after challenges and setbacks…
Grief Therapy |
Bereavement is a painful, stressful and difficult journey at the best of times. Mourning the loss of a loved one is hard and the COVID-19 crisis makes it more difficult. Grieving during a pandemic is complicated…
Couples Therapy |
Not all relationships can handle the tension of indefinite and close proximity. This time of isolation can be a period of great growth or great struggle in your relationship…
Psychotherapy |
Not all relationships can handle the tension of indefinite and close proximity. This time of isolation can be a period of great growth or great struggle in your relationship…
Psychotherapy |
Social contact is a fundamental human need. Without it, you may find yourself spiraling into negative thoughts and feeling very closed in. The goal of social distancing is to be alone, but not lonely…
Psychotherapy |
Unfortunately, social distancing guidelines mean that you can’t just go to a therapist’s office. This is why access to teletherapy is more important than ever…
Anxiety and Stress Therapy |
During the COVID-19 pandemic you may feel unsafe, have trouble sleeping and experience distressing emotions. It is normal to feel some anxiety when a global infectious disease impacts every area of your life. Here are some ways to cope…
Anxiety and Stress Therapy |
Your brain will try to convince you that worrying and ruminating is helpful. Actually, you’re just making things worse. Negative thinking will kill your joy. You need practical tools to help you reduce worry…
Couples Therapy |
You can be a great talker, but you have to be an equally good listener to be a great communicator. It’s about expressing yourself in a healthy way and allowing your partner to do the same…
Psychotherapy |
You have heard that meditation is good for you. However, it may seem like just another thing you don’t have time to learn. Here are some tips that will make it more appealing and less daunting…
Depression Therapy |
Sometimes you underestimate the power of your thoughts. That’s why it’s important to monitor the negative ones. You don’t need to be a slave to your thoughts. Here are some ways to let go…
Couples Therapy |
Relationships can be fun, but they may also be challenging and require work. Maintaining a relationship is not easy. You need to invest time and energy. Here are some ways a relationship therapist can help you…
Psychotherapy |
Admitting that you need help is a brave step. Once you’ve made the decision to reach out, it’s important to take time to find the right professional for you. You will need someone you feel you can connect with…
Psychotherapy |
Willpower is a combination of courage, mental stamina and determination. It makes all the difference in the world and stands behind most success stories. The good news is that willpower can be learned and strengthened..
Couples Therapy |
With the holiday season comes a lot of fun, but also some stress. The holidays can cause friction in even the strongest relationships – established and new. This is especially true if your relationship is already on shaky ground…
Psychotherapy |
Psychotherapy can benefit you if you are struggling with emotional difficulties, life challenges and mental health concerns. In therapy you will learn to cope with the symptoms that don’t respond to treatment right away…
Depression Therapy |
When you suffer from depression many of your coping strategies can actually make your problem worse. Are you hindering your recovery? Only when you overcome these 5 common mistakes will you start making progress…
Couples Therapy |
The silent treatment is a way to inflict pain without physical violence or visible wounds. It actually activates the part of your brain that is responsible for registering physical pain. It can present itself as taking the “high road”, but it’s not…
Couples Therapy |
A healthy relationship needs a solid foundation. You need to be willing to make some changes and become better together in order to improve the quality of your relationship and your life. Evaluate your own contribution…
Depression Therapy |
A lot of people feel a little more melancholy or tired with the reduced light and warmth of the fall into winter. However, if you have the same symptoms each year and it affects your quality of life until winter turns to spring, you may have SAD…
Couples Therapy |
In marriage, what you don’t know can really hurt you. Many couples don’t discuss the difficult things that can actually build a strong foundation. If you don’t deal with an issue before marriage, you will be dealing with it while you’re married…
Anxiety Therapy |
Take a deep breath. Don’t you already feel better?
Breathing is such an ordinary and mundane thing that its true significance can be easily overlooked. It is the most direct way to bring the mind together with the body…
Oakland Therapy |
Why do some people succeed and others don’t? Emotional Intelligence(EQ), is the ability to identify and manage your emotions. Your EQ is what you use to empathize. It allows you to connect with others, understand yourself better and live a more authentic, happy life…
Couples Therapy |
When you are not focusing your emotional energy on your partner, where is it going? Emotional affairs are non-sexual relationships that usually start out as friendships. It may seem harmless, but more than 70% of these seemingly innocent flirtations…
Couples Therapy |
No one likes to hear bad news, but the truth is that the consequences of refusing to talk about issues can be far more damaging. Breaking down barriers and opening the lines of communication is a real skill. Here are 5 ways you can help your partner share…
Couples Therapy |
Your relationship has a magic formula for success. Renowned relationship expert, Dr. John Gottman of The Gottman Institute found that for every negative interaction during a conflict, a stable relationship needs at least 5 positive interactions…
Couples Therapy |
To love is to be vulnerable. That’s why it’s easy to get hurt. It may feel like the whole world is caving in on you right now. To stop loving is not an option. How can you get beyond the pain? Here are some tips to help you move on…
Anxiety & Stress Therapy |
You can never truly be fearless and you shouldn’t aspire to be. Courage is not the absence of fear. Your fear has a purpose. It warns and protects you. Without it you wouldn’t last long. But, it should never prevent you from living your life…
Couples Therapy |
If you have a partner in recovery you may want to know what you can do to help. While you can’t change the addict, there are things you can do to improve the chances of their recovery. Making changes in the way that you interact with the addicted person will put an end to enabling…
Couples Therapy |
Mindfulness is a skill anyone can acquire. It increases your awareness of what you are experiencing and provides enough space to decide how you want to respond in every situation. It’s an easy, always available way to calm yourself…
Berkeley Therapy |
You are not alone. We have all repeated some of our mistakes from one time to another. If we don’t learn from our mistakes, we inflict unnecessary stress on ourselves and others. How do we do that, rather than just repeating them…
Marriage Therapy |
It’s decadent and selfish. It’s inaccessible to me. It’s just a fad.
There are many misconceptions about what self care really means. The truth is that self care is so much more important than treating yourself to something expensive…
Psychotherapy |
Information overload leads to overstimulation of your brain. It occurs when we’re exposed to too much irrelevant information. A stressed brain is at greater risk of neurodegenerative disorders…
Couples Therapy |
The butterflies are gone. Now what? Research shows that the Honeymoon Phase is a very real phenomenon that can last anywhere from days to a couple of years. It takes so much energy that it can not possible last forever…
Psychotherapy |
The butterflies are gone. Now what? Research shows that the Honeymoon Phase is a very real phenomenon that can last anywhere from days to a couple of years. It takes so much energy that it can not possible last forever…
Depression Therapy |
It is normal to feel lonely sometimes, but it’s hard to cope when those feelings won’t go away. You may begin to think that this is how you will always feel. Perhaps you have tried to overcome your loneliness and failed…
Couples Therapy |
Your partner is an addict. Statistics show that 1 in 10 people who enter a therapy office or clinic have an addictive disorder, yet only about 10% receive treatment. Addiction is one of the greatest challenges a relationship will face…
Psychotherapy |
Online therapy, or e-therapy, e-counseling, teletherapy or cyber-counseling, is a development in mental health in which your therapist or counselor provides psychological advice and support over the internet…
Couples Therapy |
You can be in a codependent relationship with anyone. In a romantic relationship it means that you come to rely on your partner for happiness and approval…
Psychotherapy |
Couples Therapy |
Infidelity puts a serious strain on a relationship. It can leave the cheated partner with a sense of betrayal and confusion. Unfortunately, some relationships will not survive…
Couples Therapy |
It is common for couples to seek counseling when communication issues start dominating the relationship. Are you having the same old arguments, over and over again?…
Psychotherapy |
Stigma is a disgrace. It’s a label. It means judging a person before you’ve had the chance to get to know them. Stigma will make you distrust, fear or avoid a person based on the single aspect of their personality you focus on…
Depression Therapy |
Helping a loved one struggling through depression is not ever going to be easy. But, your support may be the key to their recovery. Here are some things that may help…
Depression Therapy |
Stress is part of life. No-one is immune. It has become so normalized that you often don’t even notice the excessive stress you are coping with. If these feelings are having a negative impact on your life…
Anxiety Therapy |
Anxiety is hard. Loving someone with an anxiety disorder can seem impossible. It can be a confusing situation. Here are 5 things you need to think about when your loved one suffers from anxiety…
Couples Counseling |
The new year can be a hopeful time for you and your partner. It brings a chance for reinvention and reinvigoration. Making resolutions together will mean that you will be far more likely to keep each other focused…
Depression Counseling |
High expectations, money woes, and other holiday hazards can spell trouble for those prone to depression. For many people who have clinical depression, the holidays aren’t just hard to get through—they’re unbearable…
Anxiety Counseling |
The festive season is meant to be a time of joy, but for many people it can be a time for stress, anxiety, sadness, frustration, hurry, loneliness, disappointment, overworking, overeating, over drinking, and overspending…
Marriage Counseling |
Relationship counselors report an increase in couples seeking their services following the holiday season. One reason for this is that many people expect that more time together might renew their love and solve all their problems…
Couples Therapy |
Often couples put the idea of getting help on the back burner. Often they wait until it’s too late. We’ve outlined some of the most common indicators that a couple could potentially benefit from seeing a professional…
Oakland Therapy |
According to a study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine more physical activity and specifically walking was shown to dramatically improve the quality of life of participants who reported symptoms of depression…
Oakland Therapy |
Journaling is often recommended as a stress management tool. It can help you clear your mind and make connections between your thoughts, feelings and actions. It can even help improve the symptoms of depression and anxiety…
Couples Therapy |
Often couples struggle for years trying to mend their broken relationships on their own. Or they spend those years avoiding and running away from their problems. Congratulations…
Depression Therapy |
Sadness is part of life. No-one is upbeat all of the time. However, it becomes a problem when it starts controlling you and leaves you feeling helpless and hopeless. When sadness turns into depression, it’s time to take action…
Anxiety and Stress Therapy |
Do you prioritize good sleep? A recent study found a dramatic decrease in paranoia after just six weeks of sleep training through online cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). We’re used to thinking…
Anxiety and Stress Therapy |
What if I told you that you can effectively deal with anxiety and panic attacks in just 30 seconds? Well, you can…