Blog Articles
Additional resources written by our PCS therapists.
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Approaching 2020 with Open Arms and Hearts
Do you ever wonder what you can tangibly do to get ahead for the New Year? As I reflect on 2019, I think back to many moments during the year that included positive growth, hardship, connection, and loss. I started a life changing internship (Thank you PCS!), while continuing to… -
Hey man, don’t apologize (Cry if you need to. Or don’t.)
When a man tells me he feels weak when he cries, I understand. It makes sense based on the social norms and expectations out there, often perpetuated by us as men. There are times I have cried and have felt weak. But in those same moments (sometimes after) I felt… -
The Time I Fell Into All the Thinking Traps in the Whole World
Do you remember the children’s book (later turned movie that I never saw), Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day? I had a day like that recently. A day when it felt like everything that could go wrong did go wrong. My family and I were travelling… -
Art Therapy for the Anxious Adolescent
“Art is restoration: the idea is to repair the damages that are inflicted in life, to make something that is fragmented – which is what fear and anxiety do to a person – into something whole.” – Louise Bourgeois Anxiety is a normal reaction to stress. However, anxiety can become… -
We Are Infinite
Let us be brave. Let us feel so deeply that we are afraid of what we will discover. We are not finite. We are tied to the idea that who we are is connected to what we do. We believe our worth is rooted in the perception of others; that… -
Siblings of Children with Health Issues
When our children are struggling, or in pain, we scramble for answers, support, interventions — whatever we need to do to get them help, even more frantically when they are fighting for their lives. As adults, with all of our internal and external resources, it is still exhausting, desperate, and… -
Everyone Struggles in Relationships. Why?
Everyone struggles in relationships, especially with their intimate partners. Some people struggle a great deal and can see patterns showing up over and over again in relationship after relationship. Why is this? What makes relationships so difficult and why do we see the same challenges showing up over and over?… -
Don’t Blame Your Parents Just Yet
To some people, therapy is a “blame your parents” exercise. Once you have thoroughly dragged your parents through the dirt, you pay your money, and politely leave the office. By blaming your parents in this way, you effectively abdicate responsibility for your own life and feel better. In reality, effective… -
What is the PCS Intensive Treatment Program?
“Participating in a PCS Intensive Treatment Program is an opportunity each of us have longed for, yet avoided. In 8 days and 68 hours your story has time to unfold and be received by a team of compassionate professionals whose primary purpose is to create a safe and equally challenging… -
What Parents of Junior High-Aged Kids Need to Know About Vaping
Vaping, which is the practice of inhaling the vapor produced by an electronic cigarette (e-cigarette), was declared an epidemic in youth by the U.S. Surgeon General in December 2018. In my therapy practice, which includes specializing in children and adolescents, I have witnessed a stark rise in this behavior, especially… -
Allow Your Children to Fail
Allow my children to fail? Huh? How does that make sense? Why would I not protect my children from failure? If I don’t, my children may feel sad or left out or not good enough. His or her self-esteem will be damaged. Isn’t it my job as a parent to… -
Finding Your T-Spot: Trauma Isn’t Sexy, but We Need to Talk About It
There are a lot of hot topics in the mental health arena right now. People love to talk about self-empowerment, ending toxic relationships, and mindful meditation practices. These are valuable talking points with plenty of helpful information to be gleaned. But there is another, less “hot” topic that we need… -
When Trauma Happens
In the movie Karate Kid we fondly recall the “Kid” seeking karate lessons from Mr. Miyagi, who has the Kid doing a number of house chores until he’s thoroughly annoyed and announces, “I learned plenty!? I learned how to sand your decks, wax your car, paint your house, paint your… -
Building Upon Stonewall
It’s 2:00 pm on the hottest day of the year and I am watching the men lay brick in the full sun, building a second story on the building next door. As I watch them labor and sweat, I am reminded, in this Pride Month, that the rights and freedoms… -
Loving Your Unique Self
We have all heard “If you don’t fully love yourself, how can you love someone else?” As someone who is from Poland, a woman of faith, and life-long member of the Gothic sub-culture, I have been told for a large part of my life that I am odd and too… -
Embracing Sex Addiction
“The essence of recovery is embracing and growing from our mistakes and missteps rather than avoiding pain and discomfort.” My recovery from sex addiction started when I was 28. I was fortunate to participate in a group my father organized consisting of therapists and clergy. It was during one of these… -
“Why Can’t She Just Get Over It!?” Betrayal Trauma and the Hurt That Can Keep On Hurting.
In working with couples where sex addiction has blown up the trust and emotional safety in a relationship, recovery and healing can be an extremely long road. For individuals who discover that the person they love most in the world—and who are likewise supposed to love them back—has betrayed them… -
The 5 Loves
Intimacy. When I talk about this concept with clients, the common assumption is that I’m talking about sex. While sex, ideally, will involve intimacy, many of the people I work with have rarely experienced intimacy and sex together. In fact, many people come to realize they haven’t experienced intimacy anywhere… -
Sex Addiction: An Ineffective Painkiller
As a therapist at Psychological Counseling Services (PCS) in Scottsdale, I see clients from all over the country who share the ineffective practice of numbing emotional pain with sex addiction. They come to PCS for our Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP), and at intake report a common theme – I don’t… -
The Way Forward
If someone tells you that he relapsed again because of his childhood, do you believe him? It is important that he understand more about how he grew up and how life experiences impacted him, so that he is able to heal and have more awareness of his self. This is…
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