Counseling Solutions of Texas Blog

Sep

Couple's Communication: Getting Unstuck

The content of the arguments may differ: kids, work, money, sex, the division of household labor, and the individual histories differ as well: supportive parents, absent parents, single parent, parent with this challenge or that, but the common ...

Sep

How to Choose a Couples Therapist

You've decided to start couples counseling. Maybe your relationship needs a tune-up or maybe your relationship feels like it is careening out of control. Kudos for taking this courageous step to work on your relationship. But first things first, how ...

Jul

It Feels All Too Real But I Don't Believe You

Yeah, I don't believe you...and it's a good thing.When I first started out, I used to believe couples who proclaimed, "I'm done," "I can't do this anymore," "It's just too hard," "I want a divorce," but over the years I've seen too many couples ...

Mar

What Every Parent of a Young Child Should Do

A few years ago you had your beautiful baby. Those first years are exhausting but you survived them. The sleep deprivation, the feedings, the diapers, and that kitchen sink worth of stuff you carried around, you have mastered. Then the two's and ...

Jan

New Year's You

So often we resolve to begin anew in the New Year. But I'm going to propose something a little different. How about we examine what we already have. In fact, let's examine our values. What are your values? You know, those principles you believe in ...

Dec

It's a Busy Time of Year: How About Some Resources to Manage Stress?

Everyday life is busy, now add the demands of the holidays and overload is understandable. I'm going to keep this blog post short and offer a list of some wonderful apps to for mindfulness and stress management. Check them out! Lots and lots of ...

Nov

The Holidays: A Busy Time of Year for a Therapist

I began working in couples counseling in private practice in 2012. I quickly learned that holidays are a busy time of year. My first two summers, I saw clients on the 4th of July! It wasn't a matter of flimsy boundaries; it was a matter of ...

Oct

You Can't Sleep Either?

Sometimes I hear people bragging about how little they sleep. I believe that's a holdover of the American rugged, fierce self-sufficiency that is so valued culturally. It's really not a badge of honor. In fact, lack of sleep is just as much as ...

Oct

The Day I Smiled

Couples counseling is difficult, for all involved, but more so for the couple. Often by the time couples reach my office they are in significant distress. They've tried what they know to do and it's not working. It's scary and frustrating and hope ...

Oct

I've Been Featured on FreshPractice!

Moving to my new office has been so wonderful, and I am excited to announce the effort has not gone unnoticed in the therapy world. Counseling Solutions of Texas has been featured in FreshPractice, a website offering office inspiration for ...

Oct

Rekindling That Lovin' Feeling

When a relationship gets off track, it's a good bet intimacy is missing. I'm not just referring to sexual intimacy, although that may be a concern, but rather emotional intimacy: sharing, connectedness, and bonding. Maybe you've gotten in a rut, ...

Oct

Check Out My New Digs!

After seven years in private practice as a marriage and family therapist, I am so thrilled to share my new office with you. When I began, I was also teaching high school English, working on my Ph.D., and subletting a space from a colleague. It has ...

Sep

Why You Settle for the Wrong Person

We've all done it...Dated someone who really didn't feel right. Maybe you've done it many times. Why do we do this? Why do we settle for someone who is not emotionally available, engaged in the relationship, at a similar place in life, or remotely ...

Sep

Just Don't: Things to NEVER Do in Your Relationship

Sometimes it's difficult to know what to do in your relationship. It matters so much; it has the ability to make your world awesome or cut you to the bone. With so much at stake, sometimes we make mistakes. But marriage is a developmental process, ...

Aug

When Communication Skills Fail Us

So you want to start therapy to work on communication with your partner, child, or family member. Surely learning the best practices of communication will help to change the constant bickering, the raised voices, the accusations, the ...

Aug

What If You Expected Less From Your Partner?

Trends are suggesting that contemporary Americans are increasingly relying on their spouses to fulfill more of their overall needs. What I'm about to highlight is likely information you already know. You're smart; you've studied history, this will ...

Aug

3 Back to School Hacks to Set Yourself Up for an Awesome Year

Summer is often a time when family memories are made, but it can also be exhausting as we deviate from our schedules. Sometimes getting back to school and the routine is welcomed. Each new school year offers an opportunity to shift your routine ...

Aug

One Skill That Will Absolutely Change Your Relationships!

Below is a link to an informative article about utilizing validation in relationships. Validation is a skill therapists practice with clients everyday. It goes back to the old expression, I don't need you to fix it, just hear me. So many people feel ...

Aug

Ever Wanted to Listen In On a Real Therapy Session?

The truth is most therapy shows on TV get it wrong, just like the hospital ER is not full of hunky Dr. McDreamy's either. But it is interesting to step into the world of another profession, particularly one that is so closed to the public, like ...

Aug

Requirements for a Healthy Relationship: The 4 Qualities You Need

Emotional Intelligence is required to be a suitable mate: it is a bare bones essential. Fundamentally, it’s one’s basic humanness, the ability to relate and interact with others in a healthy way, human decency. The four ...

Aug

Here's My Secret...Want to Know?

So here's a secret...I'm a therapist who specializes in anxiety disorders who had undiagnosed panic disorder and generalized anxiety disorder! What?!! How in the world could I expect to help anyone?But here's the thing, I didn't even know it. I was ...

Jul

Words Matter - Of Course They Do

"It's just words, get over it." When we are not our best selves, we can say some pretty terrible things to each other. Why do we do this? Lots of reasons...to retaliate, to get someone to back off, to get someone to come close (yeah, we provoke ...

Jul

Can We Predict Who Will Divorce?

John Gottman, Ph.D. is a world-renowned clinical psychologist who has studied couples and relationships for 40 years now. He is most well known for being able to predict if a couple will divorce. I know, kind of a bummer. According to Gottman, ...

Jul

Therapy Works!

Being a therapist is a cool job! No really, it is. I love it! Never until I was in grad school to get my doctorate in marriage and family therapy did I feel "these are my people" and I belong, and doing the work, I really get a charge out of ...

Jul

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

Fairly often I talk with clients in therapy sessions about the differences between introverts and extroverts. Some people have a sense of it, how it impacts them, how it impacts their relationships, work, preferences, some haven't given it much ...

Jul

The Work of Marriage

Okay, let's all have a big eye roll together. "Work" on my marriage, you say? You're working at WORK, you're working on your budget, your exercise regimen, having balance, your retirement plan, being a great parent (because let's be real, parenting ...

May

Characteristics of Healthy Relationships

Healthy relationships have elements in common. There are common themes related to intimacy (sharing, connectedness, bonding), a sense of self for each person, fun, boundaries, and a constructive way to solve issues. Below is a list of 20 ...

May

Learn to Manage Your Anxiety: A Gift to Yourself

How well do you recognize when you are beginning to get anxious? You're probably aware of when you get highly anxious and become angry. Yet, your limbic system (the mammalian brain) experiences anxiety and prepares you to emotionally react ...

May

Why Marriage Counseling Fails: A Cautionary Tale

Imagine you are ill, really ill, and you don't quite know what to do. No garden-variety over-the-counter pill will relieve what you have. And day after day it gets worse...and worse. You're becoming really concerned. It's impacting your work, your ...