Search Results for: empathy
You’ve mirrored. You’ve validated. Now what? In the Imago Dialogue, there’s one more step that makes all the difference: empathy. Empathy is where understanding becomes connection. It’s the moment you stop standing beside your partner’s story and actually step inside it, even just for a moment, to feel what it’s like to be them. That […]
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“In order to empathize with your experience, I must be willing to believe you as you see your experience and not how I imagine your experience to be.” Brené Brown All my survival instincts are on high alert and every possible transgression, thoughtless action or selfish choice kicks me into a level of outrage that […]
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In an earlier article “Why Group Therapy for Men: 5 Benefits,” I wrote about how working with other men in a group context can be beneficial. The article raised some questions from readers: one reader said: “Ok, I’m interested but what are the mechanics of this? How does that actually happen? Another asked “what is […]
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Love Begins at the Kitchen Table Culture is a set of customs, rituals, traditions, languages, values, and beliefs within a community that are shared from generation to generation. When I think about love across cultures, I don’t begin with textbooks or theories. I start at my own kitchen table. As an African American woman married […]
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The burdens and blessings of motherhood dance in delicate tandem—a symphony of devotion, introspection, and unconditional love, each note colored by compassion and longing. The quiet weight of maternal guilt, though gentle, is profoundly persistent. It is accompanied by the silent chorus of self-reflection: the late-night unraveling of memories, the wonderings if the paths chosen, […]
READ ARTICLEAfter divorce, the journey of motherhood unfurls in unexpected patterns—each cord intertwined with tenderness and complexity. The quiet weight of guilt becomes all the more intricate, imbued with new shades of longing, regret, and fierce love. Traversing this landscape, mothers are called to a profound form of grace—one that acknowledges their humanity while celebrating their […]
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Feeling heard and understood when we communicate can be tough. You think you said something clearly, then the response you get does not make sense. Or you think you’re responding to what someone just said, and suddenly they sigh—or worse, mutter, “Were you even listening?” Even in close, caring relationships, misunderstandings happen all the time. […]
READ ARTICLEBy Dr. Latasha D. McFarland (Harrison) A New Season, Liminal and Unsettled As adulthood unfurls in unexpected directions, I find myself living an experience I could not have anticipated—one which has quietly stirred the deep waters of empathy within me and unearthed a gentle grief I had assumed was long at rest. Recently, I entered […]
READ ARTICLEPeople often ask: How do you stay married to the same person for over 30 years? Well, here’s the honest answer: You don’t. The person I married 31 years ago is not the same person I live with today. And I’m certainly not the same either. We’ve both changed—sometimes in sync, sometimes not. Somehow, we’ve […]
READ ARTICLEImagine you hear a loud thud coming from outside. What thoughts come to mind? Maybe “That’s concerning…” or “Oh, they were doing road work nearby today…” or “That’s that package I ordered…” Any of those might fit with what has really happened; any one may well be reality. Or none of those might fit. What […]
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