GinaMarie Guarino, LMHC
At some point in a client’s journey, he or she will need to take a step back to evaluate how he or she is managing self-care. It is important for a client to be well-aware of what he or she needs to be able to maintain self-care, and to understand a hierarchy in which the […]
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GinaMarie Guarino, LMHC
It is important to have a list of goals and objectives for the client and therapist to work toward when beginning a new therapeutic relationship. Setting goals creates a foundation that helps the client and therapist stay on track when helping a client feel better. Setting goals also empowers a client to stay on track […]
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GinaMarie Guarino, LMHC
Sometimes a client will struggle to overcome racing or ruminating thoughts. These thoughts can be frustrating for a client, and can prevent him or her from staying productive throughout the day. If a client is struggling with racing thoughts, it is important for him or her to learn skills to manage those thoughts. Managing the […]
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GinaMarie Guarino, LMHC
Teaching emotional intelligence skills is important when working with young children. Often children have feelings they may not understand, which makes it difficult for them to express how they are feeling and if they are upset. This struggle can prevent caretakers and parents from being able to understand the child’s needs, and can further complicate […]
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GinaMarie Guarino, LMHC
Many of the clients that pass through therapy offices struggle a great deal with feeling safe in their own skin. Whether it is due to a history of trauma, personal insecurities, or just a general suspicion or lack of self-awareness, people often develop symptoms of anxiety and panic when confronted with different challenges. Sometimes, this […]
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GinaMarie Guarino, LMHC
Creating mantras is a great way to help your client learn how to cope and self-soothe when going about their day-to-day life. A mantra is a saying or phrase that is created and used by a person in times of distress, discomfort, sadness or anger. Mantras derive from meditative practices and have been found to […]
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GinaMarie Guarino, LMHC
When confronted with a difficult situation or an uncomfortable feeling that is not easily resolved, it can be easy to fall into a pattern of ruminating over the discomfort. It creates an urgent need to resolve a situation or find a solution to help you feel better. As we move through life, we learn that […]
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GinaMarie Guarino, LMHC
In successful therapeutic processes, there will come a point in which a client needs to learn how to maintain a healthy, positive lifestyle that promotes mental health and wellness. Clients learn a great deal while in therapy, and making sure that the skills they learn is important to ensuring the client’s successful completion. It is […]
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GinaMarie Guarino, LMHC
The way we think is a huge component that contributes to the way we feel, behave and react to situations. People develop habits in thinking. Sometimes those habits are healthy, but often people can develop erroneous patterns of thought that affect the way they perceive the world and their place in it. These thoughts are […]
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GinaMarie Guarino, LMHC
It can be easy to get wrapped up in the moment of a stressful situation and instantly feel overwhelmed and without direction or hopes of finding resolution. When dealing with stress it is important to keep in mind that it will trigger anxiety, and each person reacts to anxiety in different ways. It is important […]
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GinaMarie Guarino, LMHC
Sometimes it can be tough for our clients to know what words to use to express what they are feeling. Feelings and emotions are complex, and can sometimes be uncomfortable and overwhelming. When our clients struggle to articulate their feelings it can be helpful to provide a guide to help navigate them through the words […]
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GinaMarie Guarino, LMHC
There are a number or reasons why our clients develop a tendency of stunting their emotional expression. Many grow up in homes where they learn to silence their feelings, some suffer from mood disorders that cause unfamiliar feelings, and some come from traumatic, abusive, or negligent situations that prevent them from being able to understand […]
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GinaMarie Guarino, LMHC
Helping a patient build self-esteem can be a challenging process. Many patients suffer from poor self-esteem, and that poor self-esteem contributes to their presenting concerns. It also will hold patients back from reaching their full therapeutic potential and feeling confident in themselves to make the changes in their lives that will help them improve their […]
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GinaMarie Guarino, LMHC
Cravings to engage in dangerous or indulgent behaviors like drinking, using drugs, overeating, or sex are a difficult thing for a patient to work through. Each time a patient experiences a craving or a trigger to engage in something they know is not good for them they are confronted with the conflict between doing what […]
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GinaMarie Guarino, LMHC
When it comes to teaching children proper behavior it helps a great deal to have a reward system in place in which the child can watch his or her progress grow. Such positive reinforcement helps with keeping children motivated to keep growing and working hard to learn good behavior and responsibility. Especially when dealing with […]
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GinaMarie Guarino, LMHC
It is important for therapists who are trained in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to teach their patients how to deal with automatic negative thoughts (ANTs). ANTs are huge catalysts for negative behavior like lashing out at others and self-destructive behaviors. If a patient is able to identify and understand how ANTs are able to affect […]
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GinaMarie Guarino, LMHC
People who suffer from eating disorders have a difficult time staying on track with a healthy diet. Whether they are inclined to eat too much or not enough, it can be a difficult keep track of the progress they are making in their journey back to health. Often when a patient is first starting out […]
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GinaMarie Guarino, LMHC
Children find it hard to cope with things they do not understand. There are many people, places and things in the world that scare children, and when children are afraid they feel lost, alone and vulnerable. Children who are fearful have a hard time developing the confidence they need to face their fears, but if […]
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GinaMarie Guarino, LMHC
When we are struggling with understanding our mood and emotions it helps a great deal to use a mood journal to keep track of daily activities, triggers from the day, and how we managed out feelings. Sometimes we get caught up in the day and forget to focus on what we are feeling, which causes […]
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GinaMarie Guarino, LMHC
When a patient is learning what is affecting them and ways to feel better it is expected that they take lessons learned in therapy and to them to their lifestyles. Sometimes in the heat of emotions and stress patients can forget what they learned and how to implement them, and need a reminder of why […]
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