Forgiveness
Forgiveness. That one word provokes an assortment of responses from people. Some smile and say that they are forgiven while others drop their heads and tell you how guilty they feel. Some trumpet the freedom that resulted when they forgave a long-time enemy. Others stare and voice the impossibility of forgiving someone who hurt them years ago. If challenged about unforgiveness, they forcefully provide an assortment of reasons as to why they should never forgive the person who betrayed them. This issue of forgiveness stirs up all sorts of emotions and responses from both churched and the unchurched. Why? Why [...]
EMDR: What It Is and How It Can Help
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) can be used to help people recover from trauma and other difficult life experiences. The ultimate goal of EMDR is to allow individuals to examine the events that have shaped their lives in a healthy way and to move forward stronger and more resilient. What Is Trauma and What Does It Do to the Brain? One of my favorite illustrations for trauma is that of a river dividing two banks. One bank is the rational/logical side of the brain; the other is the emotional side. Normally these two sides are connected and communicate back [...]
Protecting Our Teenagers from Sextortion
Protecting Our Teenagers from Sextortion The scary new trend of sextortion can become overwhelming to navigate. Parents are often paralyzed when they hear their child has dabbled in this area or has fully fallen victim to one of these criminals. Many parents feel they have failed their children when this happens. However, the reality is that this can happen to any teen at any time. The best line of defense is understanding the issue and having a plan. Fight The New Drug (resource link below) is a great place to start learning what we can do to help teens. [...]
The Dark Trend of Sextortion of America’s Teenagers
An Insta message pops up on Tyler’s phone. As he opens it, he notices it’s from a pretty girl who writes, “Hey, you’re kinda cute. Wanna Chat?” Overwhelmed with emotion and its surging flood of positive chemicals, Tyler messages back. Within minutes they’ve exchanged numbers and are casually flirting. An hour or two later, the conversation turns sexual, and the girl asks for nudes. Tyler sends them, unaware of the risks and excited to grow this new relationship. Seconds later, the Cloud 9 experience becomes darker than anything we can imagine. She threatens to send the pictures to his friends [...]
HOW TO KNOW IF YOUR CHILD/TEEN NEEDS COUNSELING
In today’s world, it can be tough being a kid. Social media, bullies, achievement pressure, appearance concerns, fitting in, parental expectations, divorce and the breakdown of the family, all combine to make today’s children more depressed and anxious than previous generations. Counseling with a therapist with special training and experience in working with kids can be the key to providing tools for healthy ways to deal with the stressors in your child’s life. Answer These Questions Ask yourself these questions to determine whether your child needs help that a counselor can provide. Your child’s teacher reports academic problems such as [...]