Essential Communications Skills Group Starting in 2023! This two-part workshop series starts on January 19, 2023 and will be facilitated by Diane Duan, M.A. and Antonia Jurkovic, Psy.D.. What is the Communication Skills workshop? The Communication Skills workshop is a virtual skills-building group consisting of two parts: “Speaking Your Truth” and “Difficult Conversations.” Each part […] Read more “COMMUNICATIONS ESSENTIALS & BEYOND”
Category: Self-Care and Reflection
The Right Therapist for You
Choosing the right therapist can be daunting. Therapy is an endeavor where the relationship itself is perhaps the most important element. So, choosing the right therapist is not an easy task and there are things you can do increase the chances you find someone with whom you can work well, grow and meet your goals. Read more “The Right Therapist for You”
Alarm Systems: What We Can Learn from Dogs
The following is a list of things my new dog has alerted me to since she came to live with me on Friday: The reflection of the TV in the windows A pot that she nudged off the window A child who changed his clothes Me wearing glasses A fox prowling around my quail coop […] Read more “Alarm Systems: What We Can Learn from Dogs”
Resting into this time of self-care
It has been about 6 months since the shelter in place order in Illinois was announced. Most therapists I know went remote in March. Therapy offices around the city sit unused and many therapists are working from home. The spring challenged all of us to adjust to new precautions and COVID-driven changes to our lives. […] Read more “Resting into this time of self-care”
Music that Carries Us
Staff Favorites has been a monthly installation of 2019 featuring the mental health and self-care picks of LifeWorks’ staff. Thank you for being on this human journey with us, and for sharing the various experiences, objects, books, music, art and more…. Your contributions have helped cultivate change and offer paths to relief and soothing during […] Read more “Music that Carries Us”
The Art of Noticing: Exploring Shifts in Attention
Theoretically I am a strong believer in carving out creative time. I believe as a practice, it aids in self-reflection, cultivates connection and in turn, empathy. It has the power to remind us why we live. In the last several years though, I have struggled to make time for creative expression and prioritize it as […] Read more “The Art of Noticing: Exploring Shifts in Attention”
Transformative Poems
Staff Favorites is a monthly installation for 2019 featuring the mental health and self care picks from our very own LifeWorks staff. 2019 will highlight books, self-soothing items, blogs/instagrams, places to move your body around Chicago, and more!. We look forward to sharing our favorites with you and welcome you to send us your thoughts […] Read more “Transformative Poems”
Self Soothing Items
Staff Favorites is a monthly installation for 2019 featuring the mental health and self care picks of our very own LifeWorkers. 2019 will highlight books, self-soothing items, blogs/instagrams, places to move your body around Chicago, and more personally endorsed by LifeWorks staff. We look forward to sharing our favorites with you! This month we are […] Read more “Self Soothing Items”
Anchoring Rituals
Staff Favorites is a monthly installation for 2019 featuring the mental health and self care picks of our very own LifeWorks Staff. We have been highlighting books, self-soothing items, blogs/instagrams, places to move your body around Chicago, and more — all personally endorsed by LifeWorks staff. This month we are talking about anchoring rituals. Anchoring […] Read more “Anchoring Rituals”
Fueling Up!
Staff Favorites is a monthly installation for 2019 featuring the mental health and self-care picks of our very own LifeWorkers. 2019 will highlight books, self-soothing items, blogs/instagrams, places to move your body around Chicago, and more personally endorsed by LifeWorks staff. We look forward to sharing our favorites with you! This month, LifeWorkers are sharing […] Read more “Fueling Up!”
Self-Care Books
This month we are focusing on our favorite self-care books! As staff members at a therapy practice, we’re not exempt from struggle and darkness. These are the books that our staff members have personally found moving and meaningful footholds on their journeys. Please include your own favorites in the comments section! Greenlee Brown: The Collected […] Read more “Self-Care Books”
8 Ways to Love Yourself thru the Holidays
This is your life and your holiday experience. You get to design it, enjoy savor it, and exercise the power of loving yourself, and the holidays are no different. Try out 8 embodied ways you can love and take good care yourself through the holidays: 1. Align Yourself to Your Desired State of Being What would you […] Read more “8 Ways to Love Yourself thru the Holidays”
Elemental Human Experiences — Getting in Touch
Feeling divorced from the world or alienated from neighbors who are all around us are common complaints. It’s nothing new. People have lamented the rush of modern life at least since the Industrial Revolution pulled them to factory work. When reliable electric lighting became pervasive we began losing our connection to the natural rhythms of […] Read more “Elemental Human Experiences — Getting in Touch”
Queer, Polyam, Kinky, Single? Alternative Valentine’s Day Ideas
Navigating Valentine’s Day can be tricky, especially if you’re single, or if your relationship falls outside the margins of heteronormative monogamy. As the 14th approaches, you might feel like you can’t escape ads selling jewelry by reinforcing the gender binary or promotions trying to push pricey dinner dates for two. But, even as you feel […] Read more “Queer, Polyam, Kinky, Single? Alternative Valentine’s Day Ideas”
Domestic Violence: Power and Rank Dynamics
I practiced family law for 10 years, some 20 years ago now, taking on several domestic violence cases. The police would be called to a house because a man had physically beaten a woman. By the time the police got there, he had released his anger freely, privately; publicly, he presented as calm and rational. The woman, being less powerful, was less free to fight back and express her anger privately; feeling safer once the police had arrived, she was now free to express her terror, anger, and viewpoint.
Read more “Domestic Violence: Power and Rank Dynamics”
How to Create Fulfilling Relationships After Experiences of Abuse
We are pleased to share this article by our friend and colleague, Niyati Evers, MAPW, and diplomate in Process Work. Niyati is a sex-positive therapist with Alchemy of Eros, a Portland, Oregon-based professional counseling services organization that seeks to create a welcoming, non-judgmental space where people can explore issues around relationships, intimacy, power, passion, desire, […] Read more “How to Create Fulfilling Relationships After Experiences of Abuse”
Anam Cara: Soul Lessons From Anxiety & Panic
There is a phrase in Gaelic, anam cara, which means “soul friend.” According to the Anam Cara Therapy Center in California, anam cara is: A teacher, companion or spiritual guide … where consciousness is dulled, distant or blind, its presence grows faint and vanishes. Therefore awareness which brings integration and healing, is one of the […] Read more “Anam Cara: Soul Lessons From Anxiety & Panic”
Interpersonal Boundaries: How Trauma Keeps Us Silent
What are personal boundaries? Personal boundaries are what separate us from other people and things and help us form a distinct identity. Boundaries help us protect ourselves. Boundaries help define what belongs to you and what belongs to someone else. Boundaries can define what is “ok” and what is “not ok.” Boundaries help others know […] Read more “Interpersonal Boundaries: How Trauma Keeps Us Silent”
Refueling: A Guide for Self-Care
As a therapist, I focus on self-care a lot because I think it’s a vital life skill that no one really teaches us to do for ourselves. Self-care allows us to have emotional energy to respond thoughtfully to life’s bumps and obstacles instead of reacting without awareness. That reservoir of emotional energy gives us […] Read more “Refueling: A Guide for Self-Care”
Eating Meditations: A Practice of Equanimity, Gratitude and Blessing
Can mindfulness be useful for difficulties with food and eating habits? Many think so. Here is an exercise I came across years ago that may help you slow down, name your experience, start to tune into your body and be thoughtful about how you nourish yourself. For this approach, at first, try using a small […] Read more “Eating Meditations: A Practice of Equanimity, Gratitude and Blessing”