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Permission for Pleasure
As summer weather quickly approaches, there are a few things that come to mind: sun, sand, and sex. There is something inherently erotic about hot summer nights, sunbaked skin and wearing less clothing that may motivate your mojo. If you, like so many other folx out there, have some hang-ups about experiencing sexual pleasure, here…
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Summer Slow Down
School’s out (or about to be) for Summer! And that means warmer weather, more daylight, rushing kids around to camps, and hopefully some vacations with friends and family. Summer can often be refreshing, a time to unplug, recharge, and ground ourselves before Fall kicks things back into high gear. But how can we do that…
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Featured Therapist for June, Danielle Silverman
Every month, Council for Relationships features one of our staff therapists. This month’s Featured Therapist is Danielle Silverman, LCSW, MEd. Learn more about her in the below interview! What do you consider to be the goal of therapy? How do you help your clients achieve their goals? I think the goal of therapy is to…
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Processing Emotions and Connecting with Community After a Mass Shooting
I personally have never experienced trauma related to gun violence. But, the emotion I feel each time this happens is hopelessness. Our society has adopted a certain performance mechanism to these acts of terror—we awaken with shock and horror, but quickly bury these emotions. Instead, we choose to debate Second Amendment rights, question forensic profiling,…
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Featured Therapist for May, Remy Kurland
Every month, Council for Relationships features one of our staff therapists. This month’s Featured Therapist is Remy Kurland, MEd, EdS, LAC. Learn more about her in the below interview! How would your clients describe you? I think my clients would describe me as someone who is compassionate and understanding, someone who makes sure that my…
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Reflections on the Holocaust and the War in Ukraine from the Perspective of a Grandchild of Holocaust Survivors
Yom HaShoah, or Holocaust Remembrance Day, is Thursday, April 28, 2022. For several decades, the Transcending Trauma Project (TTP) has been researching the effects of the Holocaust on survivor families. A qualitative research project at Council for Relationships, TTP has interviewed 307 survivors, spouses, children, and grandchildren. TTP’s first book, Transcending Trauma, focused on the…
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A Lesson from Buddhism (and the Seasons)
It’s that time of year when, if you squint your eyes, you can see little green buds on the tips of the trees. What looks like a green haze on the treetops serves as a reminder that we have once again emerged from a seemingly endless winter. As we suffered through the cold of the…
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Featured Therapist for April, Sonja Spangler
Every month, Council for Relationships features one of our staff therapists. This month’s Featured Therapist is Sonja Spangler, LSW. Learn more about her in the below interview! What makes you unique as a therapist and as a person? A quality of mine that I find unique is my sense of wonder. I have always been…
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Help! I’m a Clergy Person and I’m Feeling Ill-Equipped to Handle the Emotional, Spiritual, and Mental Demands of Serving the Congregation in 2022
Can I hear an AMEN! If you have served as a priest, pastor, rabbi, or other member of the clergy in these past two years, you have been on a real learning curve, needing to figure out, probably mostly on your own, how to deal with issues surrounding the pandemic, racial equity, climate crisis,…
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The Great Resignation, the Great “Rethink,” and What Happens Next
The last couple of years have been, from a mental health point of view, pretty much of a perfect storm: extremes of polarization and breakdown in our political process and even our understanding of reality, an increasing societal reckoning with racism and misogyny, an increasingly urgent climate crisis, and now, nearly two years of social…
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Featured Therapist for March, Jae Guy
Every month, Council for Relationships features one of our staff therapists. This month’s Featured Therapist is Jae Guy, LSW, MEd. Learn more about her in the below interview! What makes you unique as a therapist and as a person? I love plants, animals, and nature. I lead an active lifestyle and enjoy traveling. But the…
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Relationship Checkup
As we flip our calendars to February, the focus on love and romantic relationships intensifies. For some this may feel fun and exciting, but it is not uncommon to feel a mix of emotions about our intimate relationships. There aren’t many Valentine’s Day cards that capture feelings like frustration, anxiety, disappointment, longing, and stuck. Navigating…
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How CFR Therapy Changed a Life and Inspired a Powerful Art Series
If you live or work in Philadelphia, then you probably recognize the work of area artist Amberella. Her hearts can be found all over the city with short, yet powerful messages like “YOU ARE NOT ALONE.” Amberella began her series Power Hearts after coming out of a toxic relationship and starting to see a therapist at Council…
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Now More Than Ever, We Need to Empty Our Emotional Jugs
The past two years of the pandemic have flooded many of us with more feelings than we have capacity for, which has led to a lot of feelings spilling out. We have all experienced the spillage of those emotions. Maybe our fuses feel shorter, or we are crying more, or maybe we are drinking more…
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Featured Therapist for February, Kimberly Holt
Every month, Council for Relationships features one of our staff therapists. This month’s Featured Therapist is Kimberly Holt, MS, MFT. Learn more about her in the below interview! Why did you become a therapist? I have always loved people and enjoyed working in a helping role. I believe that we are created to be in…
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Mental Health and The First Responder – Part 2
Try to imagine having a job where you know there is a distinct possibility you could be killed while doing your job. Imagine that your job description requires you to transport the dead bodies of community members to the medical examiner’s office. Imagine arriving on the scene of a drive-by shooting where a child has…
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Mental Health and the First Responder – Part 1
In the last two years, first responders in general, and police officers and firefighters more specifically, have been enduring tremendous stress while dealing with the challenges of a nation divided. The 2020 presidential election; the COVID-19 pandemic; the public murder of George Floyd, social justice protesting following Mr. Floyd’s death, and looters and rioters taking…
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“I Don’t See Color”: White Caregivers Raising BIPOC Children
In previous generations, the phrase “I don’t see color” was a mark of being progressive. Parents would use the phrase to explain why the differences of another person were not important when cultivating relationships. By telling children the color of a person does not matter, it also allows for parents and caregivers to avoid having…
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Featured Therapist for January, Mark Goodson
Every month, Council for Relationships features one of our staff therapists. This month’s Featured Therapist is Mark Goodson, DA. Learn more about him in the below interview! What makes you unique as a therapist and as a person? What makes me unique as a therapist and as a person is the privilege I have had…
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It’s The Most Wonderful Time of The Year – Unless, of Course, It’s Not
The holiday season often injects pressure into our world. Sometimes the holiday season forces family time on us when we may not want or be ready for those interactions. Other times, the holiday season necessitates increased financial strain. What often feels hard throughout the holidays is the lack of space to talk about how difficult…
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Featured Therapist for December, Kathy Klein
Every month, Council for Relationships features one of our staff therapists. This month’s Featured Therapist is Kathy Klein, M.S.Ed., MSW, LSW. Learn more about her in the below interview! What do you consider to be the goal of therapy? How do you help your clients achieve their goals? From where I sit, a primary goal of therapy is developing…
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