We often get our view of reality from television but it only takes one hospital visit to learn that real life is not like Grey's Anatomy.  Likewise, if you've never been to therapy, it's a dangerous plan to assume it might be what you've seen portrayed on TV or in movies.  So, what can you expect? First of all, you...[ read more ]

One of the courses I teach regularly is Career Development.  As a result, that topic is regularly on my radar.  I really enjoy teaching the class and love even more - working with people who are making decisions about their career.  So, how does the process work? Career development begins with knowing yourself.  (Does this blog have a theme or...[ read more ]

  I've often described it like standing on the sea shore.  At first, the water is stormy and I'm regularly knocked down by an incoming wave that overwhelms me.  I find myself swallowing a lot of salt water.  Slowly (over years), the water calms down a little.  The waves aren't as huge.  I've developed a strategy for bracing myself.  They...[ read more ]

  This is the fourth and final post in a series on the topic.  Return to the first post here... In our last post, I offered a preview of the difficult path to self love.  Even so, it is hard to truly understand the nuances of the journey until you are in the thick of it.  Nevertheless, as you move...[ read more ]

  This is the third in a series on the topic.  Return to the first post here... We've established the core issue: self love, and we've laid the foundation for the work.  So what's next?  This series emerged largely from a recent discussion with a friend.  About halfway through the conversation she exclaimed - and all this comes from just...[ read more ]

This is the second in a series on the topic.  Return to the first post here... Once we are aware that perhaps we don't love ourselves as well as we would like, we may be inspired to launch some sort of campaign to address the issue.  What does it take to do that successfully?  We've already discerned that good intentions...[ read more ]

This is the first of a series on the topic... Don't worry - I won't bore you with the usual lecture on why self care is important.  I am also fully aware that you could probably recite to me an impressive list of self care tasks that you ought to be doing.  The million dollar question is: despite knowing these...[ read more ]

Last week, I attended the Global Leadership Summit put on by Willow Creek Association.  It has been an annual tradition for several years now as I have a passion for leadership.  When I started attending, I was the Director of the largest department in the Student Development division of the university where I worked.  That first experience was such a...[ read more ]

In late 2013, my body staged a full mutiny against me.  After a lifetime of significant emotional stress, capped off by the loss of my daughter, my body had enough and decided it was no longer going to be "business as usual".  Cognitively, I understood the connection between emotional and physical health.  Over the years, I had done my fair...[ read more ]

  I started teaching in a counseling program because I heard so many stories from clients of woefully inadequate therapy they had received in the past.  It boggled my mind to realize how many counselors existed who would only scratch the surface of a person's pain, then retreat to strategies and interventions designed to band-aid the problem and provide solutions...[ read more ]