Relationships
How Does Couples Counseling Help Improve Relationships?
Even the strongest relationships face challenges. Over time, stress, miscommunication, and emotional distance can strain even the most loving couples. Couples counseling provides a supportive environment to reconnect, rebuild trust, and strengthen your relationship. At Marietta West Cobb Counseling Center, our licensed therapists use research-backed methods to help couples improve understanding, communication, and emotional connection.…
Read MoreTen Practical Tips to Prepare Your Child for Back to School
Summer break is winding down and, like it or not, it’s time to start thinking about how to prepare your child for back to school. Whether your child is entering kindergarten or navigating the middle grades, the transition from vacation mode to classroom readiness can be a big adjustment. But with a little planning and…
Read MoreParents and Adult Children: Change the Dynamic, Deepen the Bond
As children grow into adults, the dynamics of the parent-child relationship evolve. Navigating this transition can be challenging for both parents and adult children, especially as expectations, responsibilities, and life stages shift. However, improving this relationship is possible with open communication, empathy, and respect. Here are some practical tips to help strengthen the bond between…
Read MoreTeen Marijuana Use – It Ain’t the Pot from Your Day
As an addiction counselor, I’ve heard all kinds of rationale for using drugs. Some reasonable (“a drink with dinner is relaxing”) and some not so reasonable (“with all my troubles, I deserve to get high”). One rationale I’ve heard many people use about marijuana is, “It’s only pot… it’s natural… like an herb.” Nowadays I…
Read MoreTaking Responsibility in a Codependent Relationship
You know the worst thing about living alone? When you misplace something, you have no one to blame but yourself. I was looking for my headphones the other day. I was frustrated that I couldn’t find a single pair and more frustrated I had no one to blame but me! That got me thinking about…
Read MoreAre You Helping or Enabling?
You are a caring and loving person. You have a deep-rooted desire to help and support your loved ones. However, paradoxically, sometimes helping can lead to unintended consequences that ultimately cause harm to the very people you intend to help. Then help becomes enabling. The Hazeldon foundation defines enabling as, “doing for a loved one…
Read MoreBoundary Setting – How Do I Say No and Mean It?
Saying “no” can sometimes be challenging and evoke feelings of guilt or discomfort. However, setting boundaries and learning to say “no” when necessary is essential for your well-being and personal growth and to have healthy relationships. In her book, Dare to Lead, Brene Brown lists boundary setting as one of the key elements for building…
Read MoreAre You Caught in a Drama Triangle?
When we continue to enable dysfunctional behavior, we fall prey to the Drama Triangle. Developed by Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at UC, San Francisco Stephen Karman, the Drama Triangle consists of three roles, Victim, Rescuer, and Persecutor. While you might see yourself and your loved ones as a specific role, in truth, each person…
Read MoreEffective Communication – Responding to Criticism
Whether talking to your spouse, boss, a friend, or the clerk in the check-out line, conversations can become difficult and sometimes that difficulty is because of your actions. Sometimes we have to hear critical feedback from others. Responding to criticism can be difficult but it’s an opportunity to learn and grow, especially if you approach…
Read MoreWhen Helping Hurts – Enabling the Addiction of Your Child
When I was a beginning therapist and working in community mental health, I witnessed an example of what happens when families fall victim to enabling the addiction of their children. One of our services to the community was to help complete the paperwork for involuntarily hospitalization for a loved one’s treatment. Two families came in…
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