Shame is the feeling or belief that we are somehow flawed and unworthy of love and belonging. If we are capable of connection and empathy, we are vulnerable to shame. It is a common human experience. Unlike guilt, which is the conviction that I did something bad, shame is the feeling that I am bad. … Continue reading The Benefit of Shame
Category: counseling
Compassion. Easy to preach and difficult to practice. If you know me personally or have read my previous blogs you may know that I am a recovering perfectionist. Perfectionism is often accompanied by harsh judgment of self and others which is in stark contrast if not the complete opposite of compassion. As a result, in … Continue reading 3 Assumptions for Compassionate Living
Eating disorders are serious mental illnesses and potentially life threatening, and they are very complex. Many people want to see the illness as a “disorder of choice,” as if the person made the “choice” to have an eating disorder and should make the “choice” to stop having one. It’s important to understand that well meaning advice may be going to a brain that has been hijacked by a mental illness.
What is EMDR? Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy is “an integrative psychotherapy approach that has been extensively researched and proven effective for the treatment of trauma. EMDR is a set of standardized protocols that incorporates elements from many different treatment approaches” (www.emdria.org). EMDR essentially makes traumatic material less powerful. For example, if you … Continue reading Understanding EMDR Therapy
We live in a fast-paced and often high stress culture. At times we are drawn to the “next big thing” and continually look toward the future or analyze the past. In our competitive culture there are two paths to choose in response to stress: decrease stress by changing factors we can control or manage stress … Continue reading The Truth about Coping
Amarillo Professional Counseling and Consultation 