How to set and respect bedroom boundaries. No, you don’t. Based on what my clients tell me, the world needs to learn sexual boundaries. No one should feel guilty about practicing self-care in the bedroom, which is what saying “not tonight” is. Photo: Adobe Stock: Icon Jewelry Recently, several clients talked about Read More
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My Family Programmed Me to Get My Identity From Others
I learned who I really was after their way almost killed me. Mom and Dad in 1986. By then, the damage had been done to their children. We were programmed to attach ourselves to powerful and prominent people to catapult ourselves in society. As for me, I mastered that and had amazing life experiences as Read More
Why I Specialize in Marriage Therapy and Marriage Crisis
Marriage counseling that works is hard to find. The Schmidt family would soon divorce. Here we are at the Broken Bone Ranch in Medina, Texas circa 1990, three years before the end. This marriage and our terrible marriage therapy experience motivated me to become a proactive, hands-on marriage therapist and create a marriage crisis intervention. Read More
A Guide to Healthy Self-Esteem and Setting Boundaries
If you think working on yourself will be too hard, start with self esteem and boundaries. Get these two down and see how it changes your life. After that, you can move on to other goals. Photo: Canva/Becky Whetstone When a person begins their journey to get healthy, the first step is to learn Read More
Why the Words Selfish and Selfless Need to be Removed from the English Language
The American culture has dysfunctional beliefs and values that affect and injure us all, and two that have especially limited people’s ability to thrive are the toxin-packed adjectives selfless and selfish. Our society perpetuates the idea that individuals of highest character are those who are selfless, doing absolutely nothing for themselves, and the lowest form, the selfish, Read More
Your family is nuts and you still visit during the holidays?
Why do we visit people we dislike visiting? Sense of duty and guilt, usually. The holiday season for family get-togethers is here, and numerous clients reach out to their therapists for an inoculation of protection meant to shield them from the verbal and emotional land mines they will encounter when stepping into their extended family Read More
Your Marriage Won’t Survive Betrayal Without Therapy
Thirteen excuses why people won’t seek help, and how to overcome them. Whether this heart stays broken or can be repaired is in your hands. The choices and decisions you make once betrayal is uncovered are the key Life situations can be like getting hit by a car, so emotionally and physically painful that Read More
Understanding Immature Adults and Ways to Handle Them
Adult immaturity is difficult, here’s what to do. Who’s paying the bills for the unmotivated adult? Everyone. For many reasons, some adults don’t grow up. Emotionally stuck at ages 5, 8, 14, 16 … they live in a world of dependency, social anxiety, lack of boundaries, and/or low self-esteem. In the most extreme cases, these Read More
The Golden Bachelor is a Gift to Americans.
Showing senior citizens dating and having fun is a reality. Golden Bachelor Gerry Turner has people of all ages turned on and tuned in to the reality show. (ABC/Brian Bowen Smith) Although I have watched numerous reality TV and dating shows and ABC’s The Bachelor before, nothing compares to the first-time experiment that’s going on every Thursday Read More
Thanksgiving Tradition and Gratitude is What Life’s About.
For a new holiday tradition, plan how you want, with who you want. We can celebrate holidays or not, be with family, or not, or handpick our own people. This is about mine. Gratefulness is one of the most powerful energy fields we can put into the world, and Thanksgiving Day and the holiday season Read More