People can begin to experience healing often after just a single encounter of empathy

I would be a rotten therapist if I didn't have empathy. Empathy allows me to understand and feel the world of my clients. It gives me the ability to help clients feel seen, cared for, and feel normal. People can begin to experience healing often with just a single encounter of empathy.

We have all used food to deal with our emotions. If I have a bad day at work, I might come home and eat some ice cream or chocolate. I have clients who stop at the drive-thru on the way home from work and get large meals and binge eat them in their car before heading home. They do this in hopes of push down some of the pain or anxiety they are feeling.

Change your critical self talk and you will change how you feel about yourself. Learn to notice negative self talk, stop it, and replace it with more affirming language. Don't be your own worst enemy.

I have been blogging for a while now. It started from a place of wanting to share information that could be helpful to people who may never walk into my office, as well as people I work with who need resources even when they are not in the therapy room. I love writing and wish I could do it more regularly, but I honestly can't keep up with it, so I decided to make some changes and try vlogging instead.

I always keep tissues in my counseling office. For a lot of people, once they start to open up, the emotions just find their way to the surface. Those emotions have been buried and pushed down long enough and the body knows. It needs an outlet. It needs to cry.

Criticism leads to shame. Self-compassion leads to action.This year, instead of making a resolution that I won't keep, I am resolving to focus on being more compassionate to myself. Sounds hokey, I know. "What does that even mean?" you may be asking. Self-compassion is largely about treating yourself with the same compassion you would treat others you care about even when you fail.