MARRIAGE & FAMILY COUNSELNG BLOG
Therapy2Thrive® Pleasanton
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Pleasanton Counselors at Therapy2Thrive® bring Hope for Healing
Our Pleasanton counselors at Therapy2Thrive® provide compassionate, practical, and evidenced based practices to assist you in the therapeutic process to meet your goals and find hope to heal the challenges you are facing.
Read our blog articles below. Contact our marriage and family counselors in Pleasanton for private consultation.
Finding a Qualified Marriage and Family Therapist or Mental Health Provider
Finding a competent mental health provider may be a little more complicated than finding the perfect pair of shoes. Understanding how to locate and choose a qualified mental health provider can be crucial for positive outcomes in treatment. What are the key steps?
Turning Relationships Up, a Marriage Counseling
Current economic news is influencing more than bank accounts; it is also affecting couples’ relationships. Looking for tips on marriage counseling for couples facing this situation?
Teen Issues on Sexting
“Sexting” is a current trend among an increasing number of teens. Recent studies show almost 50 % of all teens participate in “sexting,” risking social and legal repercussions. What you should watch out for your teens?
Valentine’s Day All Year ‘Round: Creating and Maintaining Romantic Rituals
Valentine’s Day comes once a year but couples can create and maintain a meaningful connection throughout the year by practicing their own special rituals on a regular basis. What rituals should you consider?
Couples Issues and Negotiation Skills for Couples
Developing strategies to manage couples issues and conflict can strengthen your relationship and allow you to move forward toward positive change. Three steps that can help you create a “couple communications” strategy.
Is online dating dying?
Online dating is an integral part of contemporary culture. Recent studies indicate that singles are frustrated with online dating and looking for alternatives. Is online dating dying?
Is happiness born, raised or developed through practice?
Researcher indicates that only about 50% of happiness comes from nature and/or nurture. The other 50% is considered to be a strategy that people can learn, practice and develop.
Love yourself daily!
We can obsess on media to approve of who we are or we can trust ourselves by looking inside to define how truly unique and extraordinary we are! Love yourself daily! Read more.
Is Guilt the Focus of Your Parenting?
Is Guilt the Focus of Your Parenting? Many parents have slipped into guilt based parenting by accident.
Could Reading Children’s Books on Mental Health Issues Help Children?
People often ask, “Will reading children’s books on special concerns, like anxiety, depression or mental health issues help my child?” The answer according to research is, yes!
5 ways to keep your social life alive when you’re super busy
Busy juggling work, school and raising a family? Having a vibrant social life and maintaining friendships is an important part of a healthy lifestyle. Five tips on how to stay plugged into the social scene.
Bullying Prevention for Kids: A Marriage and Family Therapist’s Perspective
Bullying is a serious issue that affects children’s emotional, psychological, and social development. As Marriage and Family Therapists, we often work with families dealing with the impact of bullying, whether the child is a victim, perpetrator, or witness.
Tips for Returning Your Children To School
Returning your children to school can be stressful for both parents/caregivers and children. It can be a stressful time especially now that the summer breaks are shorter. It seems that the days of children going back to school after Labor Day are long gone.
Understanding Childhood PTSD
Childhood is often seen as a time of innocence, joy, and discovery. However, for some children, this period is marred by trauma, leading to what is known as Childhood Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
The Power of Imagination
Within the safety of one type of play, imaginative or fantasy play, kids can see beyond what exists in front of them and explore the unknown with general freedom.
Understanding and Preventing Teen Dating Violence
Teen dating violence refers to abusive behavior within romantic relationships involving teenagers. It occurs when one exerts power and control over their partner through various means. Recognizing signs of dating abuse is crucial for parents and caregivers to help support teenagers who may be experiencing such situations.
Boundaries-Honoring Yourself
“The right person will just know me.” How often have you heard this statement? While it may have some bits of truth to it, the reality is that in order to have this knowing, “the right person” will work hard in the relationship in concert with you to understand you and have you understand them.
Key Benefits of Couple Therapy
Almost all couples have encountered a certain type of issue in their relationship. Some are very tense, even hard to bear; some are moderate and might be tolerable. But they all lead to stressful and negative interpersonal experiences. A good relationship between couples is essential for lifelong interpersonal happiness. What benefits can people get from couple therapy?
The Importance of Mental Health as Adolescents Transition into Young Adulthood
Good mental health is key for a healthy and joyful life for children, teens and adults. Mental well-being primarily includes three crucial aspects of a healthy life: emotional, psychological, and social wellbeing.
Quick Tips To Smoothly Transition Into School
The new school year will bring a big change to your child’s schedule. They might have to wake up earlier, go to bed earlier, eat at different time, be ready to leave the house earlier than they have all summer.
Does Mental Health Affects Relationships
Generally, when relationships fail people blame either individuals or situations or both. For the most part, they totally miss the acknowledged role of unhealthy mental health as a possible factor of a broken relationship and symptoms get ignored until it starts affecting the relationship adversely.
What’s the value in play? Is it just play?
Play is a powerful tool that is not always given the space to be seen or understood for all its glory and worth. As we enter National Play Therapy Week, here are some valuable pieces of play and Play Therapy to be mindful of.
Forgiveness, should we do it?
As human beings, we are bound to hurt and be hurt. It’s part of life and can’t be avoided. So, why can it be so difficult to forgive ourselves and others? And why should we?
Hurdling the Barrier of Saving Face
When it comes to talking about mental health concerns, the Asian community faces many cultural barriers that prevent this open and much needed discussion. One strong cultural force is the idea of “saving face”
The Secret of a Good Relationship
What if I told you that the goal of a good relationship is not to avoid conflict but rather to become a master at managing it? Most likely, this is not what you want to hear but it is true.
NOT just another Self Care Blog
This is not another blog telling you to make time for self-care, adding another thing to your already long to do list. This is a blog about changing the way you think to make the things you are already doing more relaxing.
How to Change
It’s that time of the year when people make resolutions. Whether the goal is to lose weight, drink less alcohol or be more patient, change is hard. And to make change last is even harder. But there is a lot of hope that lasting change can be achieved
A Call to Action of Self
The increase in time spent at home and/or limited to your small social “bubble” has led to much more time for self-reflection. So the self-reflective question becomes, in your moments of solitude, how do you show up for yourself?
Changing your Thoughts for the Holidays
It’s the happiest time of the year. The holidays are wonderful. Getting to see your family and spend quality time with them is so magical. Everyone is happy. These statements don’t often apply to everyone. In fact the holidays can be the most difficult time of the year.
10 Tips to Get Over Heartbreak
Getting your heart broken is painful at any age. Probably one of the worst feelings we can have. Heartbreak can make us feel depressed, anxious, frustrated and lethargic. It can be impossible to conjure up even the tiniest bit of optimism about the future.
Gathering Around the Dinner Table
Mental health can be a common topic for some but not for all families or communities. Mental health affects everyone, all cultures, all ethnicities, all shapes, and all sizes. As a Hispanic/Latinx woman, I never quite understood the importance of mental health. Growing up in a Mexican household, we never really spoke about mental health or even what mental health was about.
Ten Tips on How to deal with Touch Deprivation
Lack of social connection can negatively impact a person’s health and even shorten their live expectancy. An aspect that is frequently neglected in this context is the fact that touch deprivation – a lack of human touch – can further negatively impact health on a psychological and physical level
LGBTQ History Month: 5 Ways to be an Ally
LGBTQ History Month: 5 Ways to be an Ally. According to the 2017 National School Climate Survey, more than half of LGBTQ youth experienced verbal harassment and about a quarter were physically bullied.
Here 5 Ideas of Things YOU can do to support societal change towards LGBTQ people:
Shelter-in-Place: An Emotional Rollercoaster
Have you been surprised by your child’s behaviors since the beginning of shelter-in-place? Are they thriving and loving the new methods for distance learning? Looking forward to meeting with their classmates and friends on zoom? Or are they starting to act differently in other ways?
Homeschool! Homeschool! Homeschool!
It feels like everywhere you look everyone is talking about homeschool. Since the shelter in place was mandated parents are feeling the pressure of homeschooling their own children. We are told homeschooling is the only way that our children will learn. Is it really? Is it really the only way that they will learn?
Grieving During This Difficult Time: If we can name it, perhaps we can manage it
For most people, sheltering-in-place has its challenges. I am one of them.
My daily routine has been turned upside down, including (1) I am no longer going to the office, (2) I can’t go to the yoga studio for my workout routine, and (3) I am unable to socialize with my friends. Without a doubt, you have your own list of things you can no longer do or that have changed.
Anxiety and Coronavirus
We are in uncharted territories. A state of emergency has been declared. Everything seems unknown. Those are all statements that are sure to breed anxiety. Here are some tips on how to manage your Coronavirus anxiety
National Play Therapy Week
What Actually Happens in Play Therapy? “Will my kid really just play?” A fair question, considering a parent carries the burden of bringing their child to therapy, possibly also participating in the session or patiently waiting. Play seems to be indulgent and something kids do all the time already. How can it be therapeutic?
Fuel Your Holidays With Kindness
During this season of gratitude and giving, take notice of the small kindnesses that others show and become a piece of that kindness chain reaction.
Bullying Prevention for Youth and their Caregivers
Bullying remains an enduring problem that youth face both in school and in the cyber world. What’s more, the anonymity of the cyberbullying can make that form of bullying especially brutal and constant as it has the ability to effect youth 24/7 with no breaks from the cruelty.
What Communication Really Is
What Communication Really Is. First, communication is not just talking. Second, communication is sharing wisely. Finally, communication involves sharing your whole self.
Talking to Teens About Suicide So They Will Come to You
According to the CDC, suicide is the second leading cause of death for ages 15-29. The stigma around suicide can make it scary to bring the topic of suicide up to a teen, just like talking about sex and drugs.
Why Is Love Hurting Me So Much?
Recently, a friend alerted me to “National Love is Kind Day” which happens in July. It is a day to celebrate independence from domestic abuse (DA).
Real Friendships Last a Lifetime or Do They?
Real Friendships Last a Lifetime or Do They Therapy2Thrive® Pleasanton 925-998-3392 Real Friendships Last a Lifetime or Do They In honor of National Friendship Day, Sunday, August 4, 2019, let us talk about friendships and Taylor Swift’s essay for...
Therapy and Religion
Being sensitive to culture is an important ethical issue for therapists. Typically, when people think of culture, they usually think of ethnicity. Religion, which is a guiding force in many people’s lives, is usually overlooked.
Culture, My Family and Mental Wellness
Mental health affects everyone regardless of identity, yet identity can greatly influence one’s access to mental health care.
What do I tell my child about therapy?
What do I tell my child about therapy? Therapy2Thrive® Pleasanton 925-998-3392 What do I tell my child about therapy? As a parent, once you’ve decided that you want your child to participate in therapy, the next questions that tend to come to mind...
Break the Silence, Break the Stigma
Break the Silence, Break the Stigma Therapy2Thrive® Pleasanton 925-998-3392 “What mental health needs is more sunlight, more candor, more unashamed conversation about illnesses that affect not only individuals, but their families as well.” -Glenn...
One Simple Tool For Stress Relief
One Simple Tool For Stress Relief Therapy2Thrive® Pleasanton 925-998-3392 One Simple Tool For Stress Relief April is Stress Awareness Month. Most of us know that stress can be a problem that affects our health in so many ways: our physical health, of...
Nourish Your Mind, Body and Soul!
Nourish Your Mind, Body and Soul! Therapy2Thrive® Pleasanton 925-998-3392 Nourish Your Mind, Body and Soul! In the hustle and bustle of daily life, sometimes we get easily caught up in the thoughts and acts of doing rather than the precious moments of...