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Counseling Skills: How to be a More Effective Listener
Listening skills are the building blocks of effective communication. These skills enable you to demonstrate that you are interested in what the other person has to say, as well as hearing and understanding the other person. Four key listening skills are open-ended questions, summary statements, reflective statements, and neutral questions and phrases. They are easy to learn with a little practice.
Counseling Tips: How to Let Go of the Past
Although most often people come to counseling to focus on a current situation or issue, it’s not uncommon to also find that many people have a difficult time coping with the past because they are held back by unfinished business. They may regret choices they have made or feel guilty about past actions. As long as guilt and regret are not resolved, it is difficult to move forward.
4 Ways to Stop the Spiral of Anger
In our counseling work with individuals, we see many people who have a difficult time expressing and managing angry feelings. Let’s take a look at what causes people to become angry and how they can respond to stressful situations more productively.
The Midlife Check-Up
There are challenges and opportunities that come at midlife that we often explore in therapy. But here, you will also have a chance to begin the process of your own midlife assessment with a list of questions presented at the end of the post. We call this assessment the Midlife Checkup.
How 3 letters make a difference
I always loved playing charades when I was a little girl. Trying to get people to guess words or strings of words without speaking. It’s something my parents played with their friends a lot too. They’d be in their best party clothes - while I took time to sneak into the kitchen to steal - I mean eat - as many as those bright red sticky (horrible for you) cherries as my little fingers could reach.
So, here‘s the first clue - the word has 3 letters - starts with a vowel - very common - but I haven’t used it yet!
Inside a Counseling Session: What Really Goes On
I can imagine it with you. Hey, I’ve watched TV and the movies! I’ve seen how people are pouring their hearts out while being judged as crazy or defective.
I mean, we’ve all seen this setup:
The head nod.
The “uh-huh”.
The silence as the counselor sits across from you analyzing every word, every movement you make while looking down at the note pad that holds all your darkest secrets.
Until time runs out, you’re left spilling your guts while being judged to be crazy in some way - yes, judged, analyzed - and you already feel so self-conscious and crazy all on your own!
Who needs that???
I don’t either!
And, that’s why I want to tell you that’s not at all how it works. Breathe. Sense the relief! It’s not how we work anyway!

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