Asking for Help

Have you ever been faced with a tough task, life transition or struggle where you pushed through, on our own and made it out on the other end? We all have, and we often count those moments of hard work and resiliency as some of our best moments. Moments when we triumphed over struggle. But …

Jen Kraus: Compassionate Care

The Mental Wellness Counseling “Meet the Counselors” series offers a deeper look into each counselor’s background, experiences, motivations, values, and philosophies. In this series, I put counselors on the couch to learn why and how they do what they do. Q: How did you first get interested/involved in your particular field? A: I became interested …

Jessica Kelley: Nurturing Love and Growth 

The Mental Wellness Counseling “Meet the Counselors” series offers a deeper look into each counselor’s background, experiences, motivations, values, and philosophies. In this series, I put counselors on the couch to learn why and how they do what they do. Q: What experiences have you had that make you feel capable of being a counselor? …

Steve Greenman: Fostering Individual Strength

The Mental Wellness Counseling “Meet the Counselors” series offers a deeper look into each counselor’s background, experiences, motivations, values, and philosophies. In this series, I put counselors on the couch to learn why and how they do what they do. A New Start The 2008 economic recession catalyzed a life-changing series of events for Steve …

Traverse City Marriage Counseling

Traverse City Marriage Counseling

5 Tips for Distant Couples Traverse City Marriage Counseling | Tip #1 Focus on the big goal of marriage: Why did you get married? Probably to spend your life with someone, have a level of intimacy, and grow with them. If you keep focused on the big goal of marriage, feeling that intimacy, then you’ll have …

Traverse City Family Counseling

Traverse City Family Counseling

5 Ways to help angry kids Are your kids angry? Did your son recently get a MIP? Does your daughter sneak out? Do your kids throw tantrums? As experts in counseling children, working with angry kids, and family counseling, we want to help. Whether that is through reading our blog posts about family counselor or …

Microbes, Your Gut, and Your Brain | How new research is changing the face of anxiety

That phrase, “I just felt it in my gut,” might be true after all. Researchers are now finding that what we eat actually has a profound biological effect on our mood. It’s because we’re feeding a bunch of microbe in our body. They react to what we eat. In fact, they out number our cells …

Traverse City counseling family

Nine ways to get better sleep

9 ways to get better sleep Sleep is when our brains organize what has happened. Most adults need at least 7 hours of sleep. People/kids in school need 8-10 hours to appropriately categorize what they have learned. Less sleep = More anxiety/depression/academic failure Don’t have a TV in your bedroom, it stimulates your brain to …

Mental Wellness Parenting Traverse City

Joe’s new parenting book

Joe’s New Book Mental Wellness Parenting | A remarkably simple approach to making parenting easier   From Mental Wellness Parenting | A remarkably simple approach to making parenting easier: Control vs. Voice So how do we use this new information about guiding our kids to help them change their behavior? Ultimately, you have no control …

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14 Ways to Show Your Kids Love on Valentine’s Day

Even parents need reminders. Sometimes it’s easy to just get in the routine of parenting. Although Valentine’s Day is often for lovers, we love our kids! It is a special day to share with them just how much they mean to you. Here are a few tips and ideas. Take them out for breakfast. Give …

Counseling Traverse City therapist

The Teen Brain

“All teenagers are risk-takers, moody, and get embarrassed by their parents.” “They are angry and hate adults.” “They only listen to their friends.” Are these statements really true? Sarah-Jayne Blakemore discusses why teenagers seem more impulsive and less self-aware than grown-ups. She compares the prefrontal cortex in adolescents to adults. Often typically “teenage” behavior is caused by …

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Three things anyone can do to prevent suicide

    Appearing in the Record Eagle on 9-8-12 In 9th grade, the school counselor brought me and several other students into her office. She informed us that a peer had committed suicide. Later, the entire school was informed. It is devastating to get that type of news. Every 15 minutes another family, friend, and …

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Helicopter Parents Gone Wild

A “helicopter parent” is a parent who hovers over their child, waiting to catch them before they skin their knee. “Helicopter Parents” schedule, plan, and create a world for their children. They are usually highly involved and deep down want the best for their kids. They are often high achievers or wish they had been …

sex opposite gender friends counseling Traverse City counseling

Mental Wellness: Opposite-sex friends

Originally featured in the Record Eagle July 14, 2012. Available at: http://record-eagle.com/features/x748660390/Mental-Wellness-Opposite-sex-friends I have seen many a friendship and marriage fail because of opposite gender friends. What happens when you have a great opposite gender friend and you get married? What about friends that you make after marriage that are opposite of your gender? A marriage …

sleep counseling Traverse City counselor family

Mental Wellness: More than beauty rest

Originally appeared in the Record Eagle, April 21, 2012 available at: http://record-eagle.com/bodysoul/x1350020161/Mental-Wellness-More-than-beauty-rest/print My grandma had a sleep mask. You know the kind that blocks out light? Hers was pink. I always thought it looked stupid. Then my wife gave me one last December, except mine is brown and black. When I got it, I thought, …

15 things I learned while in the hospital

            I haven’t told everyone, but I have told a lot of people, my daughter was recently in the hospital for a week. It was something fairly severe and we’re now in recovery mode. Here are some things that I wrote down the night that her surgery was over and …

Mental Wellness: Build time to slow down

            Originally published at http://record-eagle.com/features/x239062040/Mental-Wellness-Build-time-to-slow-down by Joseph R. Sanok I can’t slow down. I need this article more than anyone. I have a baby, house, job, private practice ” the list goes on and on. I bet your list is similar. There is always a reason why I can’t slow down. I …

Three Tips to Relax More as a Parent

How’s it going friend? I hope that your day is going fabulous! Also, thank you in advance for passing this on to one friend, I’m sure you know a parent that can grow with you, so thanks for helping your friends through this newsletter.  Today’s newsletter is going to be a shorter letter with a …

Boundaries | Tantrum-Toddlers to Tantrum-Teens

First let me say “welcome” to all of our new subscribers. It has been overwhelming to see how many new people joined us in the last month. Welcome, welcome welcome and thank you! Those of you that are the vets of the list, thank you as well for sticking with me! Now, down to business.New …