“Can he/she just move on?” People sometimes get frustrated about their partner’s unforgiveness. They have to tiptoe around their partner, trying to avoid their raw spots. “Ever since then, she has become super sensitive about my interactions with other women on social media,” said someone who discussed his wife’s “overaction” after he entered into an affair years ago. 

The truth is, without genuine emotional connection between both parties, without corrective emotional response from the injured person, without actions that met the deep needs that have been ignored for so long,  “moving-on” would be extremely hard, if not impossible.

Why is it important to look at the relationship instead of the other person? Because we all carry assumptions, unrealistic expectations, and even baggage from previous relationships. Merely focusing on what our partner has done/said wrong, will result in missing the chance to examine what really gets in the way.

In wedding vows, we promise that we are going to “love”, “cherish”, “support, etc.” our partners through all the ups and downs. It might sound weird to promise “not to use violence” to our partners, probably because people rarely consider themselves capable of getting violent with their significant others.

Although we all dream of a peaceful home, we can shoot word bullets at our loved ones without even noticing. That's why it is crucial to begin by recognizing the bullets.

Have you ever seen groups of seniors practicing Tai chi in the park early in the morning? It has been one of the most nostalgic moments for me ever since I moved to the U.S. three years ago. Tai chi is an internal Chinese martial art practiced for defense training, health benefits, and meditation. Of course, with its increasing popularity, Tai chi is no longer limited to the Chinese community today.

Someone who watches Tai chi practice for the first time may be shocked by how slow and soft Tai chi looks. That's right. The most powerful principle in Tai chi is called “overcoming hardness with softness.”

How many times have you tripped over your thoughts — I say tripped as if to say they come rushing in one after the other and it can be paralyzing in the moment. The “I’m not good enough…” and the “Why did I say/do/behave that way…” thoughts. The common players.

The inner critic is universal. Every human being depends on other people physically, emotionally, and throughout a lifetime for acceptance and psychological well-being.

手心出汗、心跳加速、大脑中却一片空白……很多人在说外语时都有这些紧张不安的表现。尤其是当你忽然被提问，一瞬间无论怎么搜肠刮肚，也找不到合适的词表达。也许你眼前的人正一脸困惑，而你则感到颜面尽失……

对大多数人来说，用母语交流就像吃饭睡觉一样轻而易举，而相比之下，用外语来沟通，真的更费脑子——除了要费尽心思寻找合适的表达方式，还要克服心理上的焦虑。这个焦虑有个专门的词，叫“外语焦虑”（foreign language anxiety，简称FLA)。

Sweaty hands, racing heartbeat, mind going blank, uneasy, nervous, embarrassed… If you speak English as a second language, the above might not sound unfamiliar to you, especially if you are caught on the spot, struggling to figure out what words to use to save your face. Nevertheless, the person in front of you gets more and more confused…

While speaking one's native language seems so natural and easy, trying to command a foreign language requires extra mental resources — finding the right words and calming foreign language anxiety (FLA).

For those who are getting ready for mental health therapy, the most important question is: “how can I benefit the most from therapy?” I have five tips for clients who are getting ready for this journey with their therapist.

Consider, when was the last time you had a conversation with your doctor, nurse, or therapist about your sexual health? When was the last time they asked you about your sexual health? If you’re like many, it’s possible that you’ve never had this conversation with your provider and/or that they’ve never tried having this conversation with you either.

So the question remains, why is nobody talking about sexual health when it is a crucial component of our overall wellness? And, what are the steps we can take to change that?

Sometimes, we have strongly held beliefs that we’ve never questioned. There are times when we might not even be aware that we’ve been clinging to beliefs that are untrue and that don’t actually serve us. In this article, we’ll be talking about 3 common myths about sex, reasons they can be problematic, and ways that you can change your thinking.

You may have seen images of  wellness wheels that highlight the different components of wellness. These wellness wheels remind us that our health and well-being is more than just our physical health. And yet, even some of the most thorough wellness wheels still forgot to include sexual health as one of the components of wellness. Before, we dive in and define sexual health for you, take a moment to consider what comes to mind when you think about what sexual health entails. 

This is an honest talk about stigmas about mental health. Everyone has mental health so the understanding of stigma and its effects are very important! Stigma can make people feel ashamed about something that is not their fault. Stigmas about mental health can create unhelpful beliefs about treatment and prevent people from seeking the professional mental health services they need. All of us can help fight against stigma. The question is: How can you help fight against mental health stigma?

Some couples find that they naturally develop rituals like a hug or a kiss when they part ways at the start of the day and when they reunite.  It’s easy to get caught up in the busy-ness of the day, however, so many couples can benefit from developing intentional rituals in their day. One such ritual developed by John and Julie Gottman at The Gottman Institute is known as the “Stress Reducing Conversation.” 

According to Jon Kabat-Zinn, mindfulness is, “awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgmentally.” Based on this definition alone, you can see that mindfulness can be incorporated into our daily lives without consuming additional time.

As a therapist, I’m often helping people take steps to initiate hard conversations with someone close to them. I often hear people delay these conversations because they don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings, because they think someone will respond poorly, or because they’ve made an assumption about how the other person will respond. While all of these concerns are valid, avoidance of hard conversations prevents important issues from being addressed and resolved.

Women are often raised with messages about being caring, nurturing, thoughtful, and family oriented.  These communicated values, as well as the behaviors that we have observed in the women before us, sometimes result in continued patterns of taking care of others while putting our own wants, needs, and self-care on the back burner.

How do we destigmatize mental wellness and self-care in the workplace? This is a hot topic in the Human Resources world today. For a long time, mental health was not prioritized in the workplace. In fact, it can often be ignored or go unrecognized. Workplaces across the nation are pushing to reform mental health care and improve employee’s overall well-being.

Work related stress can trickle into home life, relationships, and overall well-being. Vice versa, stress at home, relationships, personal matters, etc. can affect your job performance. If you feel like any of these resonate with your current situation, I encourage you to reach out and speak to your Human Resources department!

Pride month may be coming to a close, but we continue to encourage everyone to stay informed, connected, and spread resources to those close to them!

If you, or someone you know, is looking to learn more, or is in need of additional support or services, here are some local and national LGBTQIA+ resources we want to share with you!

This blog will dive into non-verbal communication, or, body language, and the way this can enhance or detract from communication with your child. Awareness around the different elements of non-verbal communication can help set a conversation up for success and build a sense of closeness in a relationship. Strategic use of non-verbals can also enhance the effectiveness of communication and support memory and comprehension.

The phrase “It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it'' has become a cliche at this point, but for good reason! There are many factors outside of the actual words being spoken that affect how communication is received. This blog will focus on paraverbal communication.