by Christine Hammond on August 24, 2012
Do you have a continually guilty client? A person who feels bad over things they have no control over? A person who takes responsibility for other’s mistakes? Or a person who can’t seem to rest because there is so much to do? Frequently their thoughts of “I should not have”, “I can’t believe I did… (more…)
by Christine Hammond on August 24, 2012
“I never do anything right.” While this is an overgeneralization with evidence to the contrary, some people actually believe they can’t to do anything right. Perhaps you have a client like this. It is unproductive to argue the specific points of the matter with them because no amount of reason stops the inferiority feeling. What does work is… (more…)
by Christine Hammond on August 24, 2012
Has a client ever struggled with answering a simple open ended question such as, “Tell me about yourself?” Perhaps they look like a deer caught in the headlights, responding with confusion, “Well, what do you mean?” Or “What do you want to know?” Occasionally they may reply with overly generic statements which still provide no… (more…)
by Christine Hammond on August 24, 2012
A bad outcome of a mid-life crisis tosses people into counseling. They report that the person they knew became entirely different over night. It is almost cliché that with a mid-life crisis comes the impractical sports car, the extramarital affair, late nights at bars, new friends who are twenty years younger, hipper clothes or a… (more…)
by Christine Hammond on August 24, 2012
Do you have a client who pushes away good companions for no real reason? Just when they were getting close, they pull back to the beginning of the relationship refusing to go any deeper. If your client’s behavior is challenged, they react with intense resistance and denial, claiming they are just not in a good enough… (more…)
by Christine Hammond on August 24, 2012
Spend some time in a nursing home and observe two very general types of elderly people: ones who are still happy and others who are still miserable. Both of their stories have a fair share of life tragedies, health problems, loss of loved ones, wars, disappointments, and successes. Yet one group walks away with a… (more…)
by Christine Hammond on August 24, 2012
There he was at six years old running to welcome me home with open arms. His warm embrace and excitement over greeting me filled my heart with overwhelming joy. Our son dominated my greeting making sure that my husband did not get close and when he did, he immediately jumped in-between our embrace. He spoke… (more…)
by Christine Hammond on August 24, 2012
Have you ever wondered why some people can’t trust? Maybe they are a client, a spouse, or a friend. Despite positive efforts of encouragement, they still struggle with being able to trust. It seems they automatically distrust everyone including safe people. There are some concepts that psychology does really well. One that has stood the… (more…)
by Christine Hammond on August 24, 2012
“Love never gives up. Love cares more for others than for self. Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have. Love doesn’t strut, doesn’t have a swelled head, doesn’t force itself on others, isn’t always ‘me first,’ doesn’t fly off the handle, doesn’t keep score of the sins of others, doesn’t revel when others grovel, takes… (more…)