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

Stress is basically any change you have to adapt to. Good or bad, positive or negative, large or small, change causes stress, but it’s not all bad. Imagine feeling stress-free all the time; you might not get anything done or engage in life at all. If nothing ever changed, imagine how boring life would be. On the flipside, sometimes everything hits at once. Researchers have found that illnesses and mental health disorder symptoms are more likely to develop after experien

I found a helpful handout on the different aspects of self-care. Here's the link. Take care of yourself, folks. #selfcare #life #balance #counseling #therapist #therapy #counselor

#courage #counselor #assertiveness #therapy #therapist #counseling

Supportive & Communicative Free, open, easy, spontaneous communication and listening Promotion of intimacy and autonomy Empathy and expression of affection Affirm and support one another Develop a sense of trust Joy and comfort in relating (humor, warmth, optimism) Parents as Leaders Strong marriage (shared power, intimacy and cooperation; devoted, not competitive Democratic parental power (balance of nurture and structure) Clear rules and expectations, consistently enforced

At a basic level, anxiety occurs when we do two things: (1) exaggerate or overestimate the risk, problem, or threat and (2) underestimate our ability to deal with it. Anxiety is the tense emotional state that happens when situations are unpredictable and have no guarantee. In Dr. Chansky’s book, “Freeing Your Child From Anxiety”, she describes research by Johns Hopkins University, which summarized over twenty studies of parenting factors associated with children. These factor

Brene Brown's Wholehearted Parenting Manifesto You can download it free on her website. http://brenebrown.com/downloads-badges/ #parenting #children #child #therapy #therapist #counselor #counseling #family

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

Imagine that your mind is a giant house, and you are the owner and proprietor. You set the rent, decide who the tenants are, and define the conditions of the lease. Now imagine your hurts and disappointments setting up house in your mind. How much are you wanting to accommodate your grievances? Are you setting them up in the master bedroom and installing for them a hottub on the back deck? Are you letting them take over your bathroom and have their stuff lying around ever

"Your stress response has a built-in mechanism for stress resilience, and that resilience is human connection." #stress #thoughts #health #counseling #counselor #therapy #therapist