Serving West Michigan for Anxiety, Depression, and Couples Counseling

Bullies Are Everywhere These Days—Here’s How to Respond to Them

Elizabeth Bernstein, a writer for the Wall Street Journal and author of this article about bullying, had something to say recently to the guy who pulled up behind her VW Beetle in a jacked-up pickup truck, honked furiously while she waited for a pause in oncoming traffic to make a left turn, then followed her […]

How to Find the Right Therapist for You

Table of Contents If you’re having trouble finding the right therapist, don’t despair. It’s not easy. People usually go with who’s closest to where they live or work, or who takes their insurance, or both—without ever actually deciding what they need personally from therapy. It’s what they need from therapy that should lead them to […]

The Best Way to Support Elderly Caregivers

Five Ways to Help Elder Caregivers with an Alzheimer’s Spouse Be sensitive to how the Traditionalist Generation thinks. Help elderly caregivers let go of the person they knew. With the therapist’s help, identify the kinds of support elderly caregivers need. Forge a circle of support for caregivers, with friends, family, and groups. Remind elderly caregivers […]

What Is Concealed Depression and How Can You Spot Its Sneaky Symptoms?

When you think of depression, you may be inclined to picture someone who struggles to get out of bed every morning and is barely able to function. But unlike many medical conditions, depression is one that often goes unseen and undiagnosed. That’s because many sufferers actually experience concealed or smiling depression, in which they put […]

Putting the Coronavirus into Perspective

Perspective is an important thing to consider when dealing with anxiety-provoking situations. You know this from your sessions with your therapist. Please remember this as you consider your response to Covid-19. Don’t let emotions outweigh logic in your everyday choices surrounding the coronavirus. Whether it’s fighting someone in the grocery store for toilet paper, or […]

Aging Brings Us Closer to Death. Why Do We Get Happier as We Age?

Editor’s note: The following article is by Alex Zhavoronkov, PhD, an expert in artificial intelligence for drug discovery and aging research. He is also the author of The Ageless Generation: How Advances in Biotechnology Will Impact the Global Economy. The premise of the following essay is that feelings of intense grief, intense joy, or the […]

Letting Teens Sit with Silence. Or Not.

The question is one that plagues parents and therapists alike: What to do with kids who won’t talk—who can barely handle talking at all—who also hate all the questions they’re asked, in an attempt to get them to talk? Should you keep badgering them until they say something? Or, do you leave them alone to […]

How to Find and Keep Friends: A Guide for Middle Age

Karla Olson, a 51-year-old mother of three in Park City, Utah, is working on creating what she’s calling the Empty Nester Club. She plans to develop an online community on the video-communication app Marco Polo, and hopes local branches will form around the country for in-person meetups. For Olson, it’s all about creating a community […]

Don’t Let Worrying Make You Sick

In the following article, WebMD explores the potentially deleterious effects of excessive worrying on physical and mental health—and also provides some suggestions about how to combat anxiety that threatens to negatively impact your life. The content is reviewed by Joseph Goldberg, MD, a medical reference expert at WebMD. Are you an excessive worrier? Perhaps you […]

Confession: The Only Way to End an Addiction for Good?

Confession. Who needs it? Criminals admitting their crimes to police? Children caught with their hand in the cookie jar? Congregants talking to their priest? How about confession for those suffering from an addiction? It’s what Dr. Carl Hart, chair of the department of psychology at Columbia University, thinks. His view of addiction focuses less on the […]