How to Communicate Better: 5 Practical Tips
Whether it’s with strangers or the people closest to us, being able to communicate better and clearly is a skill that can serve us well in a myriad of situations. Living well in community with others – at work, at home, at the gym, while you’re out on a run, or at the movies – requires us to relate with others in a way that promotes both our and their well-being. Effective communication can also aid you at work. If [...]
How to Overcome Emotional Eating and Tell the Difference Between Physical and Emotional Hunger
Janet plopped down on the couch after work, exhausted from a day of meetings and everyday demands. She looked around the empty house. Her husband wouldn’t be home for dinner that night due to a meeting and her children had long left the nest. She stepped over to the pantry and pulled out a bag of chips. Repeatedly throughout the night, she made the trip between the couch, pantry, and fridge. A few times, she thought she better stop, but [...]
Christian Counseling for Teens: Common Problems to Address
Is your teen suffering from problems that seem overwhelming to you? Maybe you have noticed withdrawal, moodiness, and a breakdown in communication. Perhaps you see rebellion or suspect self-harm. These behaviors are common for teens and can benefit from compassionate Christian counseling. Today’s teens face enormous pressures, much more than previous generations have experienced. They juggle the responsibilities at school, home, and work, along with social expectations and online temptations. It is common for teens to collapse under the weight [...]
Coping with the Trauma of COVID-19
COVID-19 has upended the world. The entire country feels a collective trauma, and now it is having to navigate through it. Normally during times of collective trauma, people are able to come together and pick up the pieces together. This pandemic has stolen even that away. People are hurting, grieving, and afraid. The country could be on the verge of a massive mental health crisis. When discussing trauma, there is “big T” trauma and “little t” trauma. Though many could [...]
Premarital Counseling: Learning to Leave and Unite
Getting married soon? If you're in the wedding planning process, read this article to find out why premarital counseling is so important. That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh. – Genesis 2:24 These wonderful words from Genesis perfectly encapsulated what is supposed to happen in marriage. The imagery of leaving one’s family and uniting to one’s spouse is quite extreme. It seems to be the opposite [...]
Family Counseling: A Biblical Basis for Confronting Unhealthy Patterns of Generational Sin
What is more important than family? This is a difficult question to answer because beyond your personal relationship with Jesus and your commitment to the church, few things in life trump the importance of family. Considering this, you would think that family counseling would be more common, but it is not. Children’s children are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride of their children. – Proverbs 17:6 The importance of family is evident in culture. Christmas movies [...]