Articles

ARTICLES

Great Expectations - How to Manage the Holiday Season
By Sarah Noel, MS, LMHC

Your home is festively decorated, exactly as you want it to be – every ornament is carefully positioned on the tree, and strings of garland and lights frame the doorways. The sweet smell of freshly baked cookies and the warmth from a crackling fire reach to every corner. Your children are filled with gleeful anticipation as they wonder what is inside the biggest packages under the tree. As you stand back to take it all in, you are filled with pride that you have created such an idyllic Christmas for your family to enjoy and cherish in their memories for years to come. To read more click here.

How to Survive Thanksgiving (When You aren't Feeling Thankful)
By Sarah Noel, MS, LMHC

Picture it: Thanksgiving Day, 2011. You’ve just joined your family at the table to feast on turkey and stuffing when suddenly, a festive, well-meaning relative suggests that everyone go around the table and share something that they are thankful for. Ugh. If you are one of the millions of Americans who is suffering with depression, this may feel like an impossible, unanswerable question. If you’ve been feeling such deep despair that you haven’t been able to get out of bed for the last several days, then you probably feel that you don’t have anything to be thankful for. You’re probably just trying to get through the day. And you probably want to push your chair away from the table, tell your relative to mind his own business, and crawl back into bed. To read more click here.

Hitting the Therapy Wall
By Sarah Noel, MS, LMHC

As marathon runners pass mile after mile, many reach a point where they suddenly feel that they cannot go on. They may feel an unimaginable weight come over their body and a depletion of mental and emotional resources so complete that they can’t imagine taking another stride – they have hit the wall. A similar phenomenon can occur in therapy. You may enter therapy with the commitment and determination of a runner who has just begun to train for a marathon. Then, just as suddenly and inexplicably as a runner hits the wall, you may at some point feel unable to move forward in therapy. You may feel like you have painstakingly explored each and every issue that brought you into therapy, but that your life has yet to change and you are no better equipped to make decisions or take actions than when you entered therapy. You have hit the wall. To read more click here.

How to Move Beyond Anxiety to Make Major Decisions
By Sarah Noel, MS, LMHC

Imagine you have just been offered a promotion at work. This is great news, right? You’ll be making more money, have more status and prestige within your industry and have a whole team of people working under you. Of course, you’ll have to relocate to a new state, pulling your partner and children from their work and schools and you’ll all be leaving a community where you have a strong support system of family and friends. Many people who find themselves in such a position become filled with a paralyzing level of anxiety that renders them unable to make a decision. It is certainly understandable – lots of decisions are tough to make and those that have significant implications for your career, living situation and family are among the toughest. So what can you do? To read more click here.

Class of 2011 – What Now?
By Sarah Noel, MS, LMHC

Colleges and universities across the country have spent the months of May and June conferring degrees on eager, young graduates. There were ceremonies, parties, and tearful goodbyes to friends and professors. Now that all the fanfare has quieted down, many people in the class of 2011 are probably asking themselves – what now? To read more click here.

Parenthood: Acknowledging the Good and the Bad
By Sarah Noel, MS, LMHC

Life is full of transitions. Some are big and some are small, but most involve saying hello to something new and goodbye to something old. There may be no transition for which this is truer than the transition into parenthood. Carefree, late nights out with friends are likely to be replaced with long, stressful nights spent pacing with a crying baby. Sleeping in and leisurely weekend brunches may be swapped out for early morning trips to the park. After work happy hours probably give way to dashing home to relieve the nanny. Most parents will tell you that all of these sacrifices are worth it when your child smiles at you, or says mama or dada (and actually means you), or takes those glorious first steps. And while the parents who say this usually do mean it, are they doing themselves a disservice by not also acknowledging what is lost? To read more click here.

Why Does My Therapist Sound Like a Parrot?
By Sarah Noel, MS, LMHC

... If you read the above vignette and felt like Sonya’s therapist was just paraphrasing and repeating everything she said, you’d be right…sort of. Sonya’s therapist isn’t repeating her statements because she’s disinterested or bored, however. The above conversation is a perfect example of the Rogerian technique called restatement. Restatement is a basic counseling intervention and one of the hallmarks of Rogerian psychotherapy. This technique involves capturing the essence of a client’s statement and then restating it. To read more click here.

Singles' Guide to a Happy Valentine's Day
By Sarah Noel, MS, LMHC

Being single around Valentine’s Day can kind of feel like getting picked last in gym class. The kid who gets picked last in gym class really lacks only athletic ability. Yet, as name after name is called on the playground, the kid whose name has yet to be called feels worse and worse about herself. By the time the team with the last pick finally has to take her, she feels like a totally worthless loser. Certainly, this kid is not a worthless loser. She’s just not a jock. Likewise, around Valentine’s Day, single people who see bouquet after bouquet of flowers being delivered may feel worse and worse about themselves, until they feel just like the kid who got picked last– a worthless loser. And just like the “last pick” kid really lacks only athletic gifts, the single person really lacks only a partner. To read more click here.

For Real Change This Year, Skip the Resolutions and Look to Your Life Goals
By Sarah Noel, MS, LMHC

It's that time of year again– the gyms are packed, nicotine patches and gums are flying off the shelves, and book shelves are loaded with titles that promise dramatic weight loss and a svelte new figure. The obligatory New Year's resolutions are made, and all too often, are forgotten as quickly as they were made. By now, mid-January, many have already abandoned their resolutions. But, why? To read more click here.

Home for the Holidays
By Sarah Noel, MS, LMHC

Home for the holidays– for some, this phrase evokes warm memories of family gathered together. For others, the phrase evokes a tremendous amount of anxiety, wondering how to manage complex and strained family relationships. To read more click here.

What's Wrong with Me?
By Sarah Noel, MS, LMHC

What's wrong with me? I have a job– I mean, I don't love it, but it's not too bad. I have a partner– we have problems, but at least I have someone. I have a few friends too. If I have all of these things, why do I feel so lost, alone and purposeless in the world? If you have ever found yourself anxiously pondering these questions, it may be because the life you are living is not the one you aspire to. To read more click here.

The Healing Power of the Therapeutic Relationship
By Sarah Noel, MS, LMHC

Have you ever been in a relationship that challenged your assumptions and beliefs about yourself and the world around you? If so, then you know how powerful and life changing some relationships can be. Imagine then, forming a relationship with a professional who is trained to develop relationships that encourage self-exploration, insight and positive change. To read more click here.

The Secret That All Clients Should Know but Few Therapists Share
By Sarah Noel, MS, LMHC

So, you made it through the hardest part– you made the decision to seek therapy. You asked for recommendations, sorted through therapist profiles and websites, maybe even spoke to a few. Finally, you selected a therapist who you believe can help you, and you are ready to get started. You think you're on your way to feeling better, but then a strange thing starts to happen; you find yourself feeling worse. How can this be? To read more click here.