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Understanding Self-Harm

Self-harm can be so distressing both for the individual engaging in the behavior and for loved ones hearing, seeing, or learning about it happening.  First, acknowledge how painful self-harm must be for the both of you. What is self-harm? Simply put, this is when an instrument (i.e., razors, lighters) is intentionally used to inflict pain and harm to a part of the body, such as arms, legs, and stomach.   Why does someone self-harm?

5 Self-Care Tips for Black Women’s Mental Health

People often label Black women first and primarily as “strong.” While they may use the term with good intentions, it actually perpetuates racial discrimination. And Black women’s relationship with the term is also complex. Many report wearing the term as a form of armor, used to protect them from the stresses of daily racial discrimination.

How to Convince Your Partner to See a Therapist

My daughter introduced me to early-2000s television show One Tree Hill. In one episode, the character Deb tries to convince her husband to attend therapy by offering him a choice between therapy and divorce. Spoiler alert: the couple begins divorce proceedings. As a therapist, I know better ways exist to convince your partner to see a therapist.

How to Cultivate a More Meaningful Relationship with Your Partner

We all know how to spot the couple in the throes of early-relationship dopamine bliss. They physically space themselves close together and very likely touch. They focus on each other, oblivious to external distractions. Unless being used to take selfies, their phones are tucked away in their carefully chosen garments and accessories. Certainly feelings of love, interest, and passion fuel these attunement behaviors.

Reentry Anxiety

After more than a year of pandemic stress; social isolation; and overlapping demands of work, home and school, many of us have been eagerly awaiting a return to normal. As the pace of vaccinations picked up in the early half of 2021 and states and municipalities relaxed restrictions, that return to a semblance of normality is upon us.

Mental Health & Substance Use

We asked Tamara Faulkner, LCSW, CADC, “What is the relationship between mental health and substance use disorders?”

Pathologizing Disorders

We asked Tamara Faulkner, LCSW, CADC, “We often hear the term ‘pathologizing coping skills,‘ particularly when talking about substance use disorder. What does this term mean?”

Reintegration Anxiety: Tips on Recreating Safety

This past year has provided us with a universal experience which, in turn, has produced vastly different outcomes, both socio-economic and emotional, for different people. Whatever your own experience has been — positive and/or traumatic — we all had to navigate a new set of behaviors and routine to accommodate both our own safety and the safety of those around us.  We now need to consider how to protect our emotional and mental health as well as emotional and physical…