Posts by Laura K. Schenck, Ph.D., LPC
Identify 8 Obstacles to Interpersonal Effectiveness
“Whenever you’re in conflict with someone, there is one factor that can make the difference between damaging your relationship and deepening it. That factor is attitude.” – William James No matter how skilled we are in navigating our social worlds, obstacles or blocks to interpersonal effectiveness are bound to arise from time to time. When…
Read More
Opposite Action Transforms Powerful Emotions
“There can be no transforming of darkness into light and of apathy into movement without emotion.” – Carl Gustav Jung Emotions color our experience of life with a diverse nuanced range of expression. We are capable of feeling the heights of excitement, love, and pride, as well as the deep lows of sadness, anger, and…
Read More
Top 10 Ways to Get Better Sleep
“Sleep lingers all our lifetime about our eyes, as night hovers all day in the boughs of the fir tree.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson Sleep is an unavoidable, natural, and restorative part of our lives. For some, it is the pure bliss at the end of a long day when they get to plunge into…
Read More
How to Cultivate Compassion
“If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.” – Dalai Lama Compassion is a process of relating to others through identification and understanding. Research tells us that infants begin to mirror the expressions of body movements of primary caregivers in the very first few days of…
Read More
How to Become More Resilient
“Only to the extent that we expose ourselves over and over to annihilation can that which is indestructible in us be found.” – Pema Chodron Resilience is thought of as the ability to withstand and bounce back from difficult and painful circumstances. It is what makes the difference between a person who gives up or…
Read More
Identify Common Cognitive Distortions
“The world we have created is a product of our thinking; it cannot be changed without changing our thinking.” – Albert Einstein Many of the automatic thoughts that pop into our minds are distorted in some way. Perhaps they are unrealistically negative or leave out relevant information. The result of these distorted cognitions is typically…
Read More
Identify Your Level of Self-Esteem
“Nobody can make you feel inferior without your consent.” – Eleanor Roosevelt A healthy sense of self-esteem contributes to our overall sense of well-being in ways that extend far beyond simply “feeling good” about ourselves. While self-esteem is a generally stable concept, it can go up and down throughout our lives as circumstances such as…
Read More
How to Discover Automatic Thoughts
“The forceps of our minds are clumsy things and crush the truth a little in the course of taking hold of it.” – H.G. Wells A key piece of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy’s (CBT) foundation rests upon the idea that thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are intertwined in a complex dance. The idea is that if we…
Read More
Turning Toward vs. Turning Away
“Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind. ‘Pooh!’ he whispered. ‘Yes, Piglet?’ ‘Nothing,’ said Piglet, taking Pooh’s paw. ‘I just wanted to be sure of you.’” – A.A. Milne In relationships, most of us find it a comfort to know that the other person is “there.” But what does this really mean? What is it…
Read More
Top 10 Self-Care Strategies
“When the well’s dry, we know the worth of water.” – Benjamin Franklin Most of us are familiar with the consequences of not taking adequate care of our physical, mental, or emotional health. We typically feel depleted, drained, or frazzled. Dr. Tamara McClintock Greenberg, associate clinical professor of psychiatry, discusses the human tendency to engage…
Read More