Digital media, including social media, became a centerpiece of day to day life at a seemingly exponential rate. Before I graduated high school in 2006, I remember many evenings spent …
Couples Therapy Palo Alto: Relationships in the Tech World.
Being a Marriage and Family Therapist in the Bay Area specializing in Couples Therapy Palo Alto, means I have the privilege to meet clients from very diverse backgrounds. One of …
Family Stress Test
Family Stress Test Stress is a natural and normal “by-product” of every family’s life. In fact, family stress can bring out the best of us: as we stretch to meet …
Disorganized Attachment
Mary Ainsworth’s work on attachment identified three attachment categories (secure, insecure avoidant, and insecure ambivalent/resistant). The development of the disorganized/disoriented classification evolved as a part of Mary Main’s doctoral research …
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is the most widely used evidence-based treatment for depression and anxiety. In CBT, the focus is on thoughts, and how they directly affect emotions, and behaviors. …
How Well Are You Listening to Your Children and Others?
When our children come to us with a problem, we usually want to help them. So we console, interpret, advise, distract or praise. Other times, we feel we must teach …
Therapist Website Design
Are there Ethical questions surrounding Therapist Website Design & Marketing for Mental Health Services? Brand Image and Therapist Website Design Marketing professionals view you and your business as a “brand.” …
Anxiety vs. Depression: How to Tell the Difference
While Depression and Anxiety are two different medical conditions, their symptoms, causes, and treatments can often overlap. Find out the differences between Anxiety and Depression here. If you ask someone …
A Better Way To Talk About Love
In love, we fall. We’re struck, we’re crushed, we swoon. We burn with passion. Love makes us crazy and makes us sick. Our hearts ache, and then they break. Talking …
Why Sex Gets Better As We Get Older
Aging is generally associated with improvements in our quality of life: We become more proficient in our work, learn how to manage our finances better and our bonds with loved …
How to Let Go of an Old Regret
If we don’t confront the past, we can be haunted by sadness and self-blame. Recently, I went to high school Back-to-School night with my first husband, Mike, and we ran …
Why You Click with Certain People
When you get along with someone right off the bat, your brains may literally be on the same wavelength. Maybe it’s happened to you with a stranger at a party, …
Empowering Kids In An Anxious World
Rates of anxiety and depression among teens in the U.S. have been rising for years. According to one study, nearly one in three adolescents (ages 13-18) now meets the criteria …
What Teens Really Say About Sex, Drugs And Sadness
Want to know what the teenagers in your life really think about sex and drugs? Are you sure? Well, researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have a …
How Storytelling Can Help a Troubled Marriage
When couples understand where their stories come from, they are in a better position to rewrite the story of their marriage. A forty-three-year-old husband and father of two came to …
Can You Be Too Selfless in Your Relationships?
According to a new study, people who are concerned about others have higher well-being—but only if they respect their own needs. How much should we help others? In our close …
Who is couples counseling for?
Couples counseling is for any couple who wants to improve conflicts that arise in their relationship. If these conflicts begin to jeopardize your relationship or cause significant unhappiness, couples counseling …
Couples Counseling 2.0, A System For Lifelong Relationships
Liza Shaw is the Director of Marriage and Family Therapy Services in Hickory, NC and a Clinical Fellow of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT). She received …