Taylor Swift Songs about Mental Health: The Self-Titled Edition

September 18, 2023

At Council for Relationships, we’re all about making mental health care more accessible, and we know that getting folks to talk about mental health is one of the first steps in getting people the help they need. This is why we’re proponents of efforts, whether implicit or explicit, top open up avenues for mental health…

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A quote from CFR Staff Therapist Joanne Gonzales, MFT, stating, "“The goal of therapy is to help you feel comfortable in your skin and to gain control over your emotions, especially during times of high stress. Life is easy when your brain is firing on all cylinders, but if you are stuck in a cycle of distress or dysregulation, it can sometimes be overwhelming to just exist in this world. I want to bring you back to you.”

Philadelphia Therapist Accepting New Clients: Joanne Gonzales, MFT

September 13, 2023

Finding a Philadelphia therapist accepting new clients can be difficult. CFR is proud to have Staff Therapist Joanne Gonzales, MFT, as a member of our organization. Joanne sees patients virtually or in person and is currently accepting new clients. Continue reading to learn more about Joanne’s therapeutic approaches, goals, and training. Joanne’s journey to becoming…

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10 Facts about Suicide

September 12, 2023

September is National Suicide Prevention Month. Here are 6 alarming statistics on suicide and 4 truths on suicide risk factors, suicide warning signs, and hope (yes, hope) for a total of 10 facts about suicide you need to know about right now. 6 Facts about Suicide in the United States in 2023 According to the…

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How to Breathe Correctly

September 5, 2023

If you are reading this, there is a chance you are also holding your breath or your breath is shallow. You are not unique, unfortunately. Most of us are not breathing correctly, especially when we are looking at a screen. CFR Staff Therapist and CPI Specialist Mike Butera discusses the following in this article: Reflections…

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Working for a Nonprofit: Why I Work for a Nonprofit Organization

August 16, 2023

August 17 is National Nonprofit Day, and having been a nonprofit organization since 1932, we feel as if every day is National Nonprofit Day (spoiler alert: every day is, in fact, not National Nonprofit Day). To recognize the importance of nonprofits in our communities, we asked Council for Relationships (CFR) Administrative Specialist, Anusha Ramdeen, about…

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TBI: Meaning, Importance, and Hope

August 9, 2023

The Philadelphia Phillies‘ partnership with Team Foster and Warrior Canine Connection to bring a new service pup to the Phillies for training reminds us of the importance of learning about and addressing treatment for traumatic brain injury (TBI) in Veterans. TBI was the signature war wound of the Operation Enduring Freedom Afghanistan (OEF) and Operation…

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Neurodivergent: Meaning & Comorbidities

August 7, 2023

What it means to be neurodivergent is often misunderstood. The term is an umbrella for many more contemporarily familiar disorders, such as autism. You will learn more about the following in this article: The meaning of neurodivergent Depression and being neurodivergent Anxiety and neurodivergent people The intersection between trauma and neurodivergence Neurodivergent Meaning In the 1990s, autistic…

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Caring for an Aging Parent: 3 Tips to Keep You from Losing Yourself

July 20, 2023

Caring for an aging parent can feel daunting, frustrating, isolating, and sad. But it does not have to be this way. Read on to the learn more about the following tips to help keep you from losing yourself as you care for your parent.  Tip #1:  Take it slow. Caring for an elderly parent is…

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In My Feelings: Experiencing & Understanding Emotions

July 18, 2023

Raise your hand if you have ever been in your feelings. Have you ever stopped and thought about what being “in my feelings” really means? Experiencing our emotions, and understanding what those feelings mean, is a critical aspect of any mental health journey. Read on for answers to the following questions: What are emotions? Where…

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Philadelphia Therapist Accepting New Clients: Amy Leonard, MSW

July 5, 2023

Finding a Philadelphia therapist accepting new clients can be difficult. CFR is proud to have Staff Therapist Amy Leonard, MSW, as a member of our organization. Amy sees patients virtually or in person and is currently accepting new clients. Continue reading to learn more about Amy’s therapeutic approaches, goals, and training. Amy’s journey to becoming…

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Juneteenth at Longwood Gardens

On Friday, June 16, 2023, Longwood Gardens hosted Fashioning Freedom, a event honoring the power of fashion in the struggle for freedom. It promised to be an evening for celebrating African American fashion and its critical relationship to the work of freedom. After spending her day seeing clients and working towards her doctorate, CFR Staff…

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Notes from the 2023 Drexel MCH Symposium

June 27, 2023

On June 1, 2023, Drexel University held the 2023 Drexel Maternal and Child Health Symposium: Gun Violence: Impacts & Solutions from an MCH Perspective. The Maternal and Child Health (MCH) conference, “highlight[ed] the work of communities and programs seeking to reduce the impact of gun violence on maternal and child health populations, including women, children,…

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Black Joy

While the events that led to the ultimate creation of the national holiday known as Juneteenth may be over 160 years in the past, there is no time like the present to embrace Black joy. But what is Black joy and why is Juneteenth a time for us to embrace it? And what does it…

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How to Support LGBTQ+ Youth in 2023

Americans live in a time of growing societal rifts. One such yawning divide is on how we treat and view members of the LGBTQ+ community. The people who are most harmed by the backlash against the queer and transgender community are, predictably, children. Already disproportionally impacted by discriminatory practices and laws, LGBTQ+ youth are enduring…

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Racial Justice Through Tragic Optimism 

June 12, 2023

The time between the conclusion of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month (AAPI Heritage Month) and the celebration of Juneteenth is a great opportunity to reflect on the complexities of racial justice. CFR Staff Psychiatrist Dr. Maura Dunfey shares how her experience raising biracial children, having a grandfather who fought the Japanese in World…

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The Business of Sex Therapy in 2023

COVID changed everything, and mental health professionals were certainly not exempt. The role mental health professionals (that is, therapist, psychologist, psychiatrists, etc.) played during the pandemic was invaluable…and certainly unique. As we move further from the quarantine days of 2020-2021, many aspects of mental health care continue to evolve, including how practitioners do the business of…

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Supporting the Mental Health of Veterans’ Families

Memorial Day this year is Monday, May 29, 2023. Unlike Veterans Day in November when we honor all who have served, Memorial Day honors all who have died for our country, particularly in battle or from wounds they suffered in battle. So many are impacted by the loss of a loved one who served the United States….

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Relationship Responsibility

May 23, 2023

Too often our relationships with our loved ones are unbalanced. Many people feel as if they are being asked to do too much…or perhaps they feel as if they are not carrying equal weight. When it comes to our relationships, we should strive for balance and to identify evidence that things may have gotten lopsided….

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Using Spirituality to Improve Mental Health

Spirituality can complement and improve your mental health. As American writer and journalist Elizabeth Gilbert has said, “God dwells within you; as you. God dwells within me; as me.” You can use spiritualty to help address your mental health concerns. But how? Read on to learn more about using spirituality to improve mental health. Spirituality…

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Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

COVID-19 remains, for me, a unique experience. When the pandemic struck, it was a sudden, global, isolating, traumatic, and life-changing experience. We went into lockdown mode and the loss was huge. It disproportionately affected people of color. The grief and the recovery work are far from being over. I accepted the pandemic for what it…

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Mental Health Provider Appreciation Day 2023

May 12, 2023

I find myself in an appreciative mood today. Sure, it is Friday (if it is not Friday at the time you are reading this, it will soon be Friday, so you are getting there!), and the weather is unseasonably warm today. But what makes me bask in this appreciative disposition is the fact that today,…

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