Cultivating Courage

COMMUNITY “Being around people who loved me and whom I loved healed me.” – Dr. Marisa G. Franco Social Connection Quite simply, you are wired for social connection and you need it.  Often, you seek connection through romantic love or nuclear families.  An alternative route, of at least equal importance, is building a community.  Dr. […]

Body neutrality is a waypoint between body negativity and body positivity. Sometimes, body neutrality is the end goal; however, it can be a nice middle ground when working towards body positivity. The process of practicing body neutrality is two-fold.  1. Practice stopping the negativity to make space for body neutrality. You have to make space

A question I am frequently asked is, “Can EMDR be done online?” The answer is yes, it can! Over recent years various online EMDR platforms emerged, making trauma and EMDR work more accessible than ever before. What is EMDR? EMDR is shorthand for Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing Therapy and is a therapeutic model developed by

Anxiety and avoidance are best friends when it comes to keeping someone stuck. First, let’s talk about ANXIETY. Anxiety lives in the body and the brain. For example, people who struggle with anxiety may notice physical symptoms such as upset stomach, muscle tension, feeling on edge, headaches, and shallow breathing. Additionally, the mind can be

Defining an empathy miss is important question, but first, it’s important that you know the different parts of empathy. If you didn’t get a chance to read the earlier blog on empathy, start here: https://www.couragepsych.com/empathy/ Now that you have the four main parts down, let’s dig into empathy misses. What is an empathy miss? Empathy

Are you looking to improve your mood? Have you had a hard day? Maybe you are stressed or feeling down?  Here are five things you can do right now that may help you turn your day around.  1. Smile- even if you don’t mean it! Smiling actually tells the brain to release feel good chemicals.*

What is Empathy? Empathy is “the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another.” (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/empathy) Also, empathy is distinctly different from sympathy. Watch the fun, short clip below to understand how: https://youtu.be/1Evwgu369Jw Furthermore, empathy is a skill that can be developed.  Dr. Brené Brown

Engagement in social media use is a prevalent part of how we spend our time. A way to fill time, to “decompress,” to avoid, to entertain, and to connect. But how often do we really take time to reflect on the impact of social media use on our lives? Are we being responsible consumers and

Those little behaviors… Let’s talk about some lesser known eating disorder symptoms that actually have a big impact. Oftentimes eating disorder thoughts, urges and behaviors are heightened when around food. However, it is not always obvious exactly how an eating disorder impacts time at the table. Here’s a list of some table behaviors that are

“Self-compassion is a way of emotionally recharging our batteries. Rather than becoming drained by helping others, self-compassion allows us to fill up our internal reserves, so that we have more to give to those who need us.” – Dr. Kristin Neff Self-Compassion is a topic that comes up with most clients I work with.  In a