As the owners and founders of Aspire Counseling Group, we believe that Black Lives Matter and that we have an imperative to help “[create] a world free of anti-Blackness, where every Black person has the social, economic, and political power to thrive.”1 We were called to social work because of a deep and abiding commitment [...]
By Tammy Blackard Cook, LCSW, CDWF Y’all, this is hard. None of us have been through anything like this before. For me, Brené Brown’s words and wisdom have always been a balm, so I was grateful to hear her new podcast “Unlocking Us.” Full disclosure: This post distills the first episode of “Unlocking Us” and [...]
By Hailey Shafir, LCMHCS, LCAS, CCS What do you think about New Year’s resolutions? People tend to be divided on this issue. Some of you may have a list of goals for 2020 already bullet-journaled and divided into color-coded categories. Others may be rolling their eyes, having long ago decided that resolutions are just promises [...]
By Hailey Shafir, LPCS, LCAS, CCS-I If someone asked you to list five words that describe you, what words come to mind? Most people, when asked this question, arrive at a cherry-picked bunch of qualities such as “creative” or “funny” or “kind.” You would probably base the list off a series of parameters like wanting [...]
By Hailey Shafir, LPCS, LCAS, CCS-I As a counselor, I often find myself helping clients reframe, or think differently, about their emotions. Many people come to counseling because they are struggling with difficult emotions like sadness, anxiety, or anger and often describe these emotions as “problems” they are hoping to get rid of. The thing [...]
By Dave Hughes, LPCA Dave strongly believes that his clients see themselves as integrated beings. Our bodies and minds work together to maintain our overall wellbeing. Although therapy has traditionally been focused on a person’s brain, thoughts and emotions, recent studies have shown the deep connection between the mind and the physical body. The practice [...]
The time between the ages of 8 and 14 can be a difficult period for any child. Puberty is a chaotic experience for both boys and girls. Tween and teen girls are forced to cope with the added challenge of their confidence taking a plunge during these years. Girls this age experience an extremely significant [...]
By Felix Blumhardt, PhD, LCSW “Our task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.” – Rumi When is the last time you did something nice for yourself? Like many people, you may easily remember the last time you did something [...]
By Kylie Lambert, LCSW, LCAS-A It’s hard to know where to begin when discussing the sensitive nature of suicide. However, it is absolutely a conversation worth having, especially with the media coverage of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain’s untimely death, as well as the rising popularity of the Netflix’s 13 Reason Why series. When hearing [...]
It’s not every day that someone asks you to give a TED Talk, but two lovely sophomores at Enloe High School asked if our own Allison Grubbs was up for the challenge at their upcoming TEDx event. Recently, Allison made good on her promise, and it did not disappoint. Here’s what she had to say [...]
