She thinks it's cheating, he thinks it's no big deal. Neither are right. The truth lies somewhere in the middle. Honestly speaking, porn use creates a lot of clients for...
Porn Ponderings
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Category: Individual Therapy
Trick or Treat
When you look into a child's eyes when they are all dressed up in their Halloween costumes, all you see is joy, fun, excitement. Dressing up and pretending to be someone they are...
Reflection Reflections
She catches her reflection in the window. "How appropriate," she thinks, "I'm barely visible." "Where did I go? I used to have ideas, thoughts, beliefs, opinions, interests of...
The Unsexy Side of Therapy – Codependency
You may have noticed how many articles we have on our website about counterdependency, but very little material on its counter part codependency. I've been told that the reason...
Perfection Prison
I am a prisoner of perfection. My cell is fear - fear of saying the wrong thing, doing the wrong thing, writing the wrong words, having the wrong opinion. What is it that makes a...
Therapy – Time to Get Real!
Is Therapy A Place For Venting? Feel free to come into my office and vent. Vent all you want in therapy about your partner and how "they do this!" or "they don't do this!" "They...
Group Therapy is Not Torture!
You should see the look on my clients faces when I suggest they go to group therapy. You would think I asked them to jump into a tank full of sharks with a cut on their leg....
Teachability
It's Hard To Hear The Truth It is hard to hear the truth. Period. No one wants to hear: “You are critical.” “He's hard to talk to.”, “You’re manipulative like your mother!”...
All Alone . . .
Learning how to be alone is an art. It takes patience, tons of patience in fact, but it is so vitally important for good mental health and healthy relationships. If we can’t...
To Be Judged
Far too many of us live our lives in fear of judgment - from friends, family, God, even perfect strangers! Why is it that everyone else's opinion of us is so important? In...
Negative Self Talk
What is your negative self talk like? “You are so lazy, how could anyone love you.” “You are so fat, how could anyone even look at you.” These are horrible statements that most...
Family Roles and the Road Trip
Family vacations are supposed to be relaxing and fun. And while many of us have wonderful memories of trips with parents, siblings, in-laws, or our own children, we also remember...
Codependency – Be True To Who You Are
On a recent family vacation, I witnessed a powerful lesson about codependency and self-trust—and it came from my teenage son. We were fishing for lake trout when he reeled in the...
Codependent Polling – What Do You Think?
Stop Polling: Trust Yourself in Counseling and Recovery in Carmel, Indiana Are you guilty of codependent polling? You might ask yourself: “I have this problem. What would you...
Dating – The “Dumpit” List
The “Dumpit” List: A Guide to Healthy Dating After Divorce in Carmel, Indiana Everyone has heard of a bucket list. But what about a “dumpit” list? If you are dating after a...
Codependent Recovery – Now I’m A Friend of Me!
Codependent Recovery - Not Knowing Your Needs I heard the sweetest words I've heard spoken in a long time today - "Now I'm a friend of me." This, coming from a codependent client...
Hitting Rock Bottom
Finding Thankfulness at Rock Bottom: Lessons from Counseling This morning at church, I had a moment that really made me think about rock bottom and gratitude. The sermon focused...
Counseling – About Christy Aloisio
How Did I Get Into Counseling? I was born and raised in Indianapolis with an older brother and a younger brother (yes, I do have middle child syndrome). I attended Decatur...
Rewrite Your Life Story
How to Rewrite Your Life Story for Healing and Growth We all carry stories about our lives—mental narratives about what has happened to us, from childhood experiences to recent...
Oh, the Shame . . .
Feeling Shame and Guilt Today I was once again reminded of how ugly shame is. This is not your average, 'oh, I forgot to call my sister on her birthday' shame, this is the...
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