Holiday Gifts

When I was newly married, I must have expected my husband to read my mind. I sulked when presented with a sweater he had worked hard to select. “He should have known this is a bad color for me!” My heart sank: clearly the marriage was based on some horrible misunderstanding. I wanted to gather […]

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The Spirit in ‘Holiday Spirit’: The Magic of Meditation

People use meditation and contemplation to gain calmness and perspective, lower blood pressure, augment medical treatments, reach beyond thought and senses to heightened states of awareness, and for many other reasons. Why not use these practices to renew the spiritual aspect of the winter holidays? Since it’s no secret that the holidays offer their fair […]

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Weathering Holiday Stress

Giving thanks. Joy to the World. Peace on Earth. Festivals of Light. Goodwill to Men. While these wonderful holiday sayings and notions can warm our hearts and spirits, the reality is that often thanks, joy, and peace do not find their way into our own homes and lives during the holiday season. Instead, people feel […]

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Monica Corrado, ‘Simply Being Well’: Preferred Providers

We often say we would like to spend more time in the kitchen and less money on processed foods, but at the end of the day many Washingtonians choose faster options over nourishing lifestyle choices. Still, many of us would like to learn how to be more conscious about our food choices, as long as […]

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Red and Blue Relationships

The chairs in my office for working with couples are different colors: one’s red and the other’s blue. I sometimes joke that the red one is for the Republican and the blue one is for the Democrat. Of course, relationships are more difficult than just knowing which chair we’re supposed to sit in. The nature […]

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Balancing Marriage and Children

It’s inevitable – children change marriage. The way this happens is determined by the priorities couples set consciously and/or unconsciously. Some people marry with the intention of being lifetime partners first, and parents second. Others put parenthood on the front burner and their spouse on the back. Children need parents who are devoted to each […]

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Dealing with Panic Attacks

While many people understand the concept of panic – a sensation of seemingly uncontrollable fear spreading throughout the body – there are varying degrees to which people may be affected by the phenomenon. A true panic attack is a “sudden surge of mounting physiological arousal,” according to Edmund Bourne’s “Anxiety & Phobia Workbook.” The physical […]

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Freeing Adults from Childhood Trauma

Adults who endured childhood trauma often continue to suffer distressing effects from their experiences that differ from the posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) commonly associated with war veterans and disaster survivors. Physically and sexually abused children, as well as women exposed to prolonged interpersonal violence, have a complex set of reactions referred to as “complex post-traumatic […]

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Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

It’s become common for people to say, “I’m a little bit OCD,” when explaining their need to check voicemail during dinner, or to sit in a certain chair during a meeting, and so on. But despite the awareness of obsessive-compulsive disorder-like symptoms in popular culture, OCD continues to be a specific, diagnosable condition that impacts […]

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PC&CC to Expand Low-Fee Options with New Fundraising Effort

PC&CC is launching a new fundraising effort to help extend counseling services to those facing financial difficulties. Through a donation option on its website, the nonprofit counseling agency is hoping to increase to its ability to offer more low-fee counseling. “As it stands now, the therapists at PC&CC have volunteered to give 10 percent of […]

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