As a clinician at Welwynn Outpatient Center, I am known as a “Jane of all Trades” because of my background in multiple modalities of healing: I am a mental health clinician, massage therapist, and yoga teacher.  In the group therapy sessions I lead on Saturday, we meditate and practice simple yoga and relaxation techniques in addition to traditional talk-based activities.  Clients are typically quick to embrace the mind-body relaxation tools that I teach in group simply because they wor...

In our therapeutic groups at Welwynn Outpatient Center, emotional expression covers the range of human possibility. Clients are finally facing family issues, anxiety, depression, and trauma with a sober mind… and it is not easy. There are tears for regret, loss, and hopelessness. There are silences to “be with” the hard feelings present in the room. There are heartfelt expressions of empathy and support… And to top it off, there’s lots of laughter! Our group provides powerful...

I recently saw a post on Facebook with a caption that read “What screws you up in life is the picture in our head of how it’s supposed to be.” I ended up sharing it on Facebook, thinking yes I can relate to that. And, I think many of us can. How things are supposed to be, what things should look like, how our life is supposed to turn out or how our lives should look to others, etc. I work with families every day that try to maintain that picture of “what should be” when dealing with a...

It’s not always easy to see when your drinking has crossed the line from moderate or social use to problem drinking or drug use.  We often only identify the “alcoholic” or “addict” when they seem to have hit the bottom:  loss of a job, legal problems, health issues, serious family strife, etc, but the warning signs start long before then.  In my nearly 30 years as a therapist, alcohol and other drug abuse is one of the most common factors in separation and divorce.  For the alcohol...

Early in my advertising career, I traveled the backroads of North Carolina in my car listening to music while I was alone killing time. This was pre-cell phone days. To date myself even further, I listened to music on audio cassettes. I remember having a cassette player in my car was a big deal! At some point, I found out about a company that put out a series of motivational tapes. These were the thoughts and learnings from guys named Zig Ziglar, Brian Tracy, Earl Nightingale and Napoleon Hill....