If you would like to be notified of newsworthy items, please sign up for our newsletter.

September 2011 Newsletter

CREATING A STRONG, SUPPORTIVE FAMILY

One key to an emotionally healthy life is having the backing of a strong, supportive family. A strong family may be as small as two people or as large as a kinship network of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. The size of the family, indeed the composition of the family, does not matter as much as the feeling of belonging and the sense of sustenance that emerges from living with stable familial support. People seem to do better in life when they have the feeling of belonging to something larger, and stronger, than they are individually. A familial network diminishes the uncertainties that derive from the stresses of everyday living.

VIEW THE FULL NEWSLETTER (PDF)

A GOOD ARGUMENT HAS ITS UPSIDE

All couples argue. This is a normal and expected part of any relationship. Of course, some relationship experts say that arguing is healthy, while others say beware. While an occasional argument might be unavoidable and can even ultimately clarify boundaries within the relationship, a pattern of habitual fighting left unchecked puts the relationship at risk.

VIEW THE FULL NEWSLETTER (PDF)

POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER

Most of us build our lives around the belief that we will be relatively safe. Granted, normal daily life involves many stressors, especially in these hectic times, but we expect these pressures to happen and we become accustomed to handling them. The more flexible we are and the more we know ourselves and are in touch with our abilities, the easier it is to deal with normal everyday stress.

VIEW THE FULL NEWSLETTER (PDF)

SOCIAL ANXIETY... Overcoming Shyness

Ask people what they fear the most and many of them will answer, “speaking in public.” In surveys that ask people about their fears, about one person in five reports an extreme fear of public speaking. Shyness and other forms of social anxiety are common – and they prevent people from fully experiencing life.

Shyness refers to a tendency to withdraw from people, particularly people who are unfamiliar. Everyone has some degree of shyness. In fact a person without any shyness at all is probably one who does not make good judgments about maintaining appropriate boundaries between people. A bit of shyness is a good thing. But when a high level of shyness prevents a person from engaging in normal social interactions, from functioning well at work, or from developing intimate relationships, it presents a problem – which, fortunately, can be alleviated.

VIEW THE FULL NEWSLETTER (PDF)

Keywords: Therapy | Therapist | Counseling | Counselor | Psychiatrist | Psychologist | Gig Harbor | Tacoma | Port Orchard | Key Peninsula
Bremerton | Pierce County | Kitsap County| Cognitive Behavioral Therapist | EMDR | Practice Areas
Individual Therapy | Couples Therapy | Clinical Hypnosis | Guided Imagery | Depression | Relationships | Carole Bergen