Category: Relationships
I believe ideally, the place to share the deepest form of love and nurture is within the family.
Unfortunately, it is also the space that we are met with the most profound challenges, hurts, disappointments and heartbreak. How do we rectify, reset and rebound with courage, faith, resilience and respect?
I believe by celebrating our strengths, accepting our imperfections, limitations, finding humor, forgiving our mistakes and increasing rising skill we can repair and rebuild.
I believe families have the opportunity to embrace core values, vision and skill building in an intentional way.
“When we know better, we do better.” Maya Angelou
What is the Quest for Families?
Quest for Families is a 6 week to 6 month or even year program that provides counseling, resource and support in order to heal, rebuild the most fractured of families. Services such as:
Multi-generational family counseling
Joint parent/child play therapy
Parent Education and Emotion Coaching for Parents
Groups for children and teens
What is the process like?
- Discovery Session: We meet together to learn about the needs and challenges within your family.
Common issues include:
Issues involving the developmental or social challenges their children or teens are experiencing
Intergenerational communication problems
Divorce or transitions within the family.
2. Customized Plan: We create a plan for family counseling specific to the needs and goals determined
3. Best Fit: Family members are seen through the modality that is most fitting.
4. Pre and post Assessment: We measure the progress made during the duration of our work.
Life is a quest for meaning and joy, love and connection. A quest for couples is a process to increase the connection, emotional engagement, communication and intimacy over time.
Why?
It occurred to me that offering session by session often lacks the commitment to achieve what couples really want. A Quest for Couples increases resource and then practice, practice, practice. Learning new skills, habits, and ways of being with one another takes time. (more…)
What is emotion coaching, you might be wondering? Emotion coaching is a program designed by the Gottman Institute for parents of children. It is designed to increase empathy, connection, and effective parenting.
Emotional Coaching is based on the research done by Dr John Gottman and joined by Julie Gottman, Clinical Psychologist, Co-Founder of the Gottman Institute on emotional intelligence and its effect on children; tracking how they performed in school, related to their peers, how appropriately they behaved socially and how they related to their parents. Emotion coached kids were more successful as adults on measures like peer friendships, gainful employment and academic performance.
“Forget your perfect offering. There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in” Leonard Cohen
How many of us have seen Season 1 and 2 of Big, Little Lies, or have read the book? Wow… it seems to catch on like crazy for some reason. Of course, the brilliant cast, excellent production of a powerful story of such suspense and complexity is without a doubt. The unfolding and tragic weaving of stories of abuse, violence, and tragedy command our hearts, intrigue, and pain. Each character brings forth such a compelling story. (more…)
I was introduced to a friend of a neighbor in our new “digs” recently. I was taken with the question, what do you do? I paused and thought upon that question, usually so easy to answer with my usual professional credentials and response. This time, however, I was truly struck by the existential challenge. I have thought long and hard over the last couple of days and pondered the answer. What is it I really do and why do I do it?
The answer in and of itself sheds so many layers of complexity, specialization, and ego in order to find the simple kernel of truth.
FYI, engaged couples!
You are in the wedding planning stages — planning the location, the venue, the vibe, the dress, the photographer, the honeymoon, everything — to make the day you’ve both dreamed of come true. And you have such love and excitement planning your lives together.
Getting married is exciting! Creating a love that lasts requires wisdom, skill, planning, and conscious ways to build trust and commitment.
These days, there seems to be one tragic event in our world after another not to mention the turmoil within our own country. Over these last years the persistence of violence from Newtown, Charleston , Ferguson and most recently the shootings and violence in Dallas leave strife, heartbreak and lack of a sense of justice and safety. These events are happening at a more frequent pace globally from Paris to Nice, Orlando, Turkey, Baghdad and Munich. We can barely catch our breath when another event occurs. The task at hand is to pick ourselves up, heal from within and learn to live wisely with positive impact, resilience and optimism. What are the steps that can help this happen? (more…)
Joy! Just saw this movie and loved the story based on the life of Joy Mangano, brilliantly portrayed by Jennifer Lawrence nominated for an Oscar for her role. The movie itself had mixed reviews, yet the story and it’s portrayal of female entrepreneurial venture is to be commended. This is what attracted David O Russell (director of American Hustle And Silver Linings Playbook) to put her unlikely life story on the big screen.
“It’s about emotion and about people and humanity and what is ridiculous and ordinary about them – but where that becomes extraordinary and magical,” the director says of his film. “That’s that place where we live.”
