Good communication is essential for relationships. Without it, we don’t get our needs met, and we easily get stuck in patterns of conflict and disconnection, as many couples will readily attest.
Continue reading “Self-Awareness: The Key To Better Communication”
Most of us have difficulty accepting our authentic feelings, simply allowing them to be what they are. We try to control our inner experience based on our preferences and our beliefs about what we should and shouldn’t feel. A lot of this happens unconsciously and manifests as automatic patterns of avoiding certain feelings.
Unfortunately, when we avoid our feelings it we become less present with ourselves; we lose touch with what is going on inside of us. However, our feelings don’t go away – they just get pushed out of our awareness and unconsciously shape our lives and relationships. Our bodies often become tense holding these rejected emotions, which can contribute to physical problems, such as disease and chronic pain.
Our society is highly polarized by political and cultural issues. Understandably, someone undergoing therapy might want to know what positions their therapist holds, or may feel concerned about what response they will get if they discuss their own views in therapy. How a therapist handles these issues may affect a client’s trust or sense of safety in therapy. Likewise, the way a therapist deals with political discussion can be useful or not for the therapy process. Continue reading “Political Division And Therapy”
Imagine that some mean, judgmental person followed you around all the time, putting you down and accusing you of screwing up. From the time you woke up in the morning, until you went to sleep at night, they would be there pointing out your supposed mistakes and flaws. To make matters worse, let’s assume that you believed everything that they said about you. How do you think this would affect the way that you see yourself, and how you live your life?