June 1, 2024, is the deadline to apply for CFR’s Fall 2024 Postgraduate Certificate Program cohort in Marriage & Family Therapy, Sex Therapy, and Clergy track. Apply here.
Many often do not think about it, but our mood and life experiences play an essential role in our health. Our mood and life stressors can negatively impact our health outcomes and experiences. For example, women who undergo various forms of stress often experience different health conditions such as cancer, heart disease, reproductive illness, and…
Read MoreAs a therapist trained in family systems, I am always entangled in the relational world of the clients that I guide and support. My meditation on the word “relationship” has shifted my perspective on our ability to be inner healers through the ways we rely on socialization and our role in global sustainability. The following…
Read MoreEvery month, Council for Relationships features one of our staff therapists. This month’s Featured Therapist is Mike Butera, MFT. Learn more about him in the below interview! What makes you unique as a therapist and as a person? I have a never-ending lust for learning about human nature that exists both inside and outside the…
Read MoreIn a busy world, it can be challenging to remember to pause and take inventory of how you’re doing emotionally and mentally. With endless to-do lists and constant overstimulation from the news and navigating life in the pandemic, it’s hard to focus on anything other than just getting through the day. Do you ever feel…
Read MoreEvery month, Council for Relationships features one of our staff therapists. This month’s Featured Therapist is Courtney Ragin, MFT. 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 believe that the goal of therapy is to…
Read MoreAs 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…
Read MoreJune 12, 2022 | Here’s what Sean Barry knew from the start about Sarah: She owned a house. She managed a bustling coffee shop. She was assertive; on their first date, she asked a stranger at a bar to move over so the two could nab seats next to each other. So he was startled to…
Read MoreSchool’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…
Read MoreEvery 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…
Read MoreEvery 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…
Read MoreApril 28, 2022 | Every spring around Yom Hashoah — a day of remembrance for the estimated 6 million Jews murdered in the Holocaust — Israeli art entrepreneur Sarah Peguine turns to social media to share a photograph from her late grandfather’s childhood in Belgium that hangs prominently on her wall year-round. It’s a portrait of…
Read MoreYom 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…
Read MoreIt’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…
Read MoreEvery 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…
Read MoreCan 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,…
Read MoreThe 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…
Read MoreAs 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…
Read MoreThe 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…
Read MoreEvery 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…
Read MoreIn 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…
Read MoreThe 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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