Heather Lokteff, LPC

There’s quite the spectrum between guardedness and oversharing. Many people struggle with that catch-22 of “I need to feel trust in order to be vulnerable, and I need to be vulnerable in order to truly trust.” Brene Brown speaks in profound and relevant ways about this issue of vulnerability in her book, “Daring Greatly”. Many people struggle with being too guarded in relationships, which leads to feeling unknown, hidden, distant, isolated, and disconnected. Her main poin

We all have our own set of reactions and feelings that are distinctly ours. We respond to our surroundings based on a combination of our histories, values, perceptions, goals and concerns. The importance of having emotional boundaries is so we are able to accurately tell if something is bothering us, what we need in relationships, and when we’ve been emotional violated (or validated). They ultimately keep us safe. Emotional boundaries are that subtle check in your heart th

The Association for Play Therapy defines play therapy as “the systematic use of a theoretical model to establish an interpersonal process wherein trained play therapists use the therapeutic powers of play to help clients prevent or resolve psychosocial difficulties and achieve optimal growth and development." Children naturally communicate through play and sometimes do not have the verbal language to express their thoughts and feelings about issues in life. In play therapy,

I stumbled across this picture contrasting a harsh start-up and a soft start-up in a confrontational conversation. Dr. Gottman explains in his book, "The Seven Principles of Making Marriage Work", that he can tell whether a conversation is going end well or not by the first three minutes. Conversations generally end the way they begin. If you'd like your conversations to end positively, soften your approach. #confrontation #relationships #counseling #counselor #therapy #thera

"Vulnerability sounds like truth and feels like courage." - Brene Brown #vulnerability #relationships #shame #counseling #therapist #therapy #counselor

“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson Boundaries Relationships make the world go ‘round. Like it or not, we are in this together. In any type of relationship, we often find ourselves in dilemmas of asserting who we are, what we are willing to say or not say, do or not do, and how to not compromise ourselves. Relationships live and thrive or become damaged and even die by the way

I recently finished reading this book and found it to be incredibly practical and tangible. They presented the latest research on many topics regarding marriage, shared relevant stories from their own lives, and gave an abundance of tools to actively pursue a healthy relationship. I appreciated the reflection questions at the end of each chapter. It’s one thing to read a book but another thing entirely to apply the information into day-to-day life. The book was structure