Hello everyone, welcome back to the Therapy Spot! I wanted to let you all now that from now on, I’ll be releasing one episode per month. Every month, I’ll bring you information and insights to help you on your path to personal growth and development.

For this month’s episode, I want to bring you some tips on what to do when your relationship feels strained. If you’ve ever had a sports injury, you know this feeling of strain! It hurts, it’s distracting, and it keeps you from doing the things you love. Strain in your relationship has a lot of the same effects. Luckily, just like with muscles, there’s a remedy for your strained, sprained, or inflamed relationship.

[Read more…]

Hello, and welcome back to the Therapy Spot! On today’s episode, I spoke with Cora Forstén ND, MSOM, LAC. After practicing as a naturopathic primary care physician for 6 years in Portland, Oregon, Cora relocated to Stockholm, Sweden. Naturopathic medicine combines natural remedies — including herbs as well as diet and lifestyle changes — alongside modern medicine. Commonly used for healing and recovery (rather than emergencies), the end goal of naturopathic medicine is long-term results.

Together, we discussed the importance of the mind-body connection when it comes to both physical and mental health. Self care is always important — but it’s especially important to attend to your physical body when you don’t feel your best mentally.

[Read more…]

Hello everyone, and welcome back to the Therapy Spot! For this episode, I’ve chosen to reissue a very helpful and informative past podcast. Last April, I had a wonderful conversation with Stan Tatkin about the safety and security we need in relationships. For those of you who didn’t catch this episode the first time, you’re in for a treat. This is a wonderful chance to learn more about being in a mutually satisfying, secure relationship.

Dr. Stan Tatkin wears many hats: not only is he a clinician and an author, but he’s also the co-founder of the PACT Institute. Stan teaches at UCLA, maintains a private practice in Southern California, and leads PACT programs in the US and internationally. He wrote Wired for Dating, Wired for Love, and Your Brain on Love, and co-authored Love and War in Intimate Relationships.

In other words, Stan Tatkin is a relationship expert. He has a lot of powerful insights to share on how to foster a sense of security and safety with your partner. After all, we often forget that close emotional bonds are not a luxury: they’re actually necessary for survival. So let’s dive in and learn more about attachment, security, and our relationships with each other.

[Read more…]

Hello everybody, and welcome back to the Therapy Spot! As more and more of you join me for the podcast, I like to occasionally reissue a previous podcast that newer listeners might have missed. Since this is the #YearofSelfCompassion, I think it’s important to revisit my podcast about something closely related to Self compassion: shame.

Before I recorded this podcast, I had attended a retreat on the subject of shame and self compassion. When I learn more about these topics, I get so excited to share that knowledge with other people. So let’s talk about shame, how it shows up in our lives, and how to “flip the script” with Self compassion.

[Read more…]

Hello everyone, and welcome back once again to the Therapy Spot! This week, I spoke with YY Wei, LCSW, founder and director of The Relationship Center of Colorado. For over 10 years, YY has provided relationship and sex therapy to individuals and couples of all gender identities and sexual orientations, as well as different cultural and racial backgrounds, and relationship styles. YY also offers Marathon Individual & Couples Counseling and Couples Retreat for busy professionals, high end clients, and out of state or country clients. She strives to create a safe, inclusive place where clients can reconnect with themselves, as well as their family members and partners.

On this podcast, we’ll discuss what clients can expect from sex therapy. YY will also share her tips for connecting, both with yourself and your partner, as well as the benefits of conflict in a relationship. If you’re curious about sex and sexuality in your relationship, this podcast is for you. Listen in!

[Read more…]

Hello everyone, and welcome back to the Therapy Spot! On this week’s episode, I spoke with individual and relationship therapist Veronica Lax. Veronica is also the CEO of Turning Point, a center for the international and local community in Stockholm. As she grew up in both Sweden and the United States, Veronica is bilingual and offers counseling in both Swedish and English. Through her work at Turning Point, she has had lots of experience with cross cultural relationships. Veronica believes that “becoming aware of your needs and obstacles can help you make decisions that give more meaning and joy in life.”

During our time together, we discussed the challenges both partners face in a relationship where one person is Swedish and the other is not. While we focused mainly on this pairing, you can apply this lens to your own bicultural relationship. How do different cultural backgrounds affect a relationship? Listen along!

[Read more…]

Hello everyone, and welcome back to the Therapy Spot! This week, I spoke with Laura Goldstein, LCSW, about the difference between curiosity, and telling. In her professional practice, Laura has been helping families, couples, and individuals since 1996. Her integrative mind-body approach incorporates the IFS model alongside yoga and mindfulness practices. We talked about how the Self quality of curiosity can enhance connection — and how telling can create distance. Listen along to our energetic and informative conversation!

[Read more…]

Hello and welcome back to the Therapy Spot! On today’s episode, I spoke with Elissa Stein, founder and director of The Riverwalk Group in Stamford, CT. Elissa is a professional, licensed psychotherapist who believes we all have the power to manufacture a fulfilling life. Working as part of a team allows her to offer clients collaborative and creative professional care. She works with individuals, couples and families and uses a lens of compassion with all clients. Through this work, she helps her clients develop an “emotional toolbox” to explore their challenges. 

While she works with people of all ages, and on all sorts of relationships, our discussion focused on couples. What causes distance between us? How can we bridge that distance? Can we truly have a “do-over” if we need one? Listen along to our delightful, open and honest conversation.

[Read more…]