Published in Bouncin’ and Behavin’ Blogs·Mar 22Member-onlyWhen You Say, “I Don’t Want To Change”This is What Your Therapist is Thinking — I hear this more than most would ever guess. I will dialogue this interaction for you between me and Joe Blow, age 35, a construction worker, who has marriage problems and wants to keep his marriage together. Joe: I’m only coming because my wife is making me. I don’t think…Mental Health6 min readMental Health6 min read
Published in Bouncin’ and Behavin’ Blogs·Mar 12Member-onlyThank You For Helping Me Reach 5000 FollowersI Can’t Believe How Fast This Has Happened — Right now, I am humbled and appreciative of a really big Medium milestone. I’m a bit surprised at how quickly this all happened. And very grateful and thankful. I signed up for Medium back in April of last year. I hadn’t heard of Medium before and didn’t know anything about…Writing3 min readWriting3 min read
Published in Bouncin’ and Behavin’ Blogs·Mar 10Member-onlyThis is What Your Therapist is ThinkingWhen You Say, “I Tried it, and it Didn’t Work” — I love that coffee cup. Most of my clients laugh at it as well. I’m pretty sure if you ask my clients, they will tell you I’m the least intimidating person you could sit across. Some of them can be very challenging, but I appreciate them all. I love clients…Mental Health5 min readMental Health5 min read
Published in Bouncin’ and Behavin’ Blogs·Mar 3Member-onlyMy Mother Made Me Hate My Own CultureLearning the Vietnamese Way — The challenge with being raised by an undiagnosed mentally ill parent is you grow up thinking the world works the way you’re raised. It’s an indoctrination of a different sort but, depending on the situation, a little less extreme than religious indoctrination. If you know me well, you learn I’ve…Culture6 min readCulture6 min read
Published in Bouncin’ and Behavin’ Blogs·Mar 3Member-onlyWomen Won’t Hold the Power Until They Do ThisLadies, Stop Fighting Within Our Gender — Do you ever wonder why guys can rag on each other and friendships don’t end? I’m sure there are a few guys who do become upset and cut people off, but in most cases, they just laugh it off and continue their friendships. Do you ever wonder why women say…Mental Health7 min readMental Health7 min read
Published in Bouncin’ and Behavin’ Blogs·Feb 21Member-onlyThe Top 5 Characteristics of Great ParentingYou Might Have These Skills. If Not, You Can. — People often ask me who my most difficult clients are in my profession. They always think I’m going to tell them about some young kid who doesn’t listen and is completely disrespectful. …Parenting9 min readParenting9 min read
Published in Bouncin’ and Behavin’ Blogs·Feb 14Member-onlyYou’re Not a Realist If You’re Actually a PessimistBe a True Realist By Being Truthful — I’ve heard it numerous times. The pessimist who wants to drag the world down with them and justifies themselves by saying, “Well, I’m just a realist.” No, you’re really not. You’re a pessimist who doesn’t want to admit you’re a pessimist. Pessimists drain us of our energy, and we can…Mental Health6 min readMental Health6 min read
Published in Bouncin’ and Behavin’ Blogs·Feb 7Member-onlyOur Teenagers are Often Negatively JudgedTeenagers Are Actually Wonderful Young People — There is a reason the military takes kids at the age of 18 and stops allowing people to enlist at the age of 26 years old. We all know the government (and not very many individual politicians) is smart and somewhat devious. Not so devious but also smart are car…Parenting5 min readParenting5 min read
Published in Bouncin’ and Behavin’ Blogs·Feb 1Member-onlyWelcome to the JungleStories From a 3rd Cultured Kid — An Unknown Power — My Dad was a civil engineer for a big company out of Boise, Idaho called Morrison-Knudsen (MK). Interestingly enough we only lived in Boise for one year when I was in 4th grade. We came back for the last months of 5th grade but then we were off again. …Psychology6 min readPsychology6 min read
Published in Bouncin’ and Behavin’ Blogs·Jan 18Member-onlyDon’t Forget the Families of Our DeployedDeployment Stress and What We’re Missing — I had a woman in my office crying today. Her husband is being deployed. While I’m sure everyone has their own thoughts about why this must be hard for her, I’m not sure every civilian completely understands it. In the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) we cover deployment stress under…Mental Health8 min readMental Health8 min read
