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Reversed Caregiving Roles: Impact on the Parentified Child

March 26, 2024

By Evan Tokarz/Symmetry Counseling Parentification is the harmful psychological phenomenon of a child being forced to take on the role and responsibilities typically performed by a parent. In such situations, the parentified child is tasked with parental duties, such as caring for their siblings, managing household duties, or addressing the emotional needs of their parents. The key aspect defining parentification is that the duties and emotional labor requested are beyond the ability of the child’s age and…

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Harmony Within: A Guide to Spiritual Self-Care

March 19, 2024

Ashlee Stumpf, LPC Self-care has been a buzz word for the past decade or so. Conjuring thoughts of getting a massage, taking a day off, seeing a therapist, etc. It’s a broad term which involves the important practice of taking care of ourselves. However, what many people don’t know is that self-care can be divided up into factions. This is because there are many aspects to any person, so there are different aspects when it comes to…

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Why Am I So Hard on Myself? – This Is How You Can Stop It

March 12, 2024

Hannah Cericola Why is it that when our friends need words of encouragement, we jump at the opportunity to ease their discomfort, but when it comes to our internal dialogue, we say things like:  “I’ll never be able to reach my goals”  “ I am never going to make it”  “I am so bad at everything I do”  Many of my patients have come to me saying, “I feel like I am my own worst enemy”, and…

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Coping with Overwhelming Emotions in the Short & Long Term

March 5, 2024

Marissa Widener Struggling with overwhelming emotions is a common occurrence in the human experience given life’s relentless demands in all areas, be it personal, work, social, or even financial-related. Merriam-Webster indicates that the verb “overwhelm” is related to being overpowered or overcome with feelings and thoughts.  That being said, feeling overwhelmed does not indicate personal inadequacy or incapability of any kind, nor should it be perceived as a failure to balance life stressors appropriately. While experiencing overwhelming…

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Loneliness & Depression in Young Adults: Why & How to Cope?

February 27, 2024

Zoe Mittman, LSW Growing up, you may have imagined your 20s to be filled with excitement, love and adventures. But life happens and reality sinks in. Your life is not what you imagined. It is complex. Filled with both pain and growth. Relationships flourish while other relationships suffer. Friends move away and family is too close. Juggling your personal and professional life gets overwhelming. You ask yourself, “what am I doing wrong”?. As you scroll on Instagram,…

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How do I Communicate Better With my Partner?

February 20, 2024

Zoe Mittman, LSW   Do you and your partner find yourselves in the same conflict patterns? Are you feeling unheard, frustrated, or even resentful? If so, then this blog might be for you. Oftentimes, cycles of conflict occur due to a lack of effective communication. Please keep in mind – it takes 2 people to build, break, and/or repair a relationship. While I am going to share tips on how to effectively communicate your feelings, wants and…

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Am I depressed? 

January 20, 2024

You may be reading this because you are wondering if you are experiencing depression. The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) defines depression as “a common but serious mood disorder. It causes severe symptoms that affect how a person feels, thinks, and handles daily activities, such as sleeping, eating, or working”.   The NIMH also mentions a few types of depression, for example:  Persistent depression disorder/dysthymia: long lasting depression, for at least 2 years or longer. Major Depression:…

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Body Image: Why is it so hard to like my body?

January 5, 2024

Written by Kara Thompson-Miller, Licensed Clinical Social Worker: January 2023   “Why is it so hard to like my body?”: A unassumingly complex question that has been asked by many clients in many different variations, but one that, nonetheless, tends to show up in the therapy space time and time again. In this blog, I aim to speak to some theoretical lenses that can allow further exploration of this question and ways to move through it.  …

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Switching Careers: I Did It and So Can You-Here’s How

December 20, 2023

Megan Mulroy, LCPC    Something I see frequently with my clients is job dissatisfaction. Long hours, lengthy responsibilities, and mistreatment from peers and supervisors is all too common. What I also see with these clients is often intense fear around switching careers. “It’s too late,” “It would be a massive pay cut,” “I don’t have the time to apply/study/insert tedious action item here,” “The benefits are too good.” And- I GET IT! These are all incredibly valid…

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Why Do I Hate Myself?

December 5, 2023

Zoe Mittman, LSW Why do I hate myself? As a psychotherapist, self-hatred is a common topic of conversation. The truth is there is simply not one answer. There are a multitude of reasons that you may feel this way, and I am going to share with you some of the most common reasons, as well as tools to cope with those emotions and lean into self-compassion. Before we get started, if you struggle with feelings of self-hatred…

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