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
When working with kids and adolescents, especially those who have behavioral problems, it can be a challenge to teach empathy and healthy socialization skills. Being able to express gratitude and appreciation for others helps a child relate to children and how to identify positive qualities within themselves. When a child is able to express appreciation, […]
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GinaMarie Guarino, LMHC
In recent studies, it has been found that practicing gratitude exercises and positive affirmations have been effective in helping people manage stress, anxiety, depression, and an array of other types of mental health disorders. Teaching a client how to practice gratitude exercises helps him or her learn how to acknowledge and appreciate the good. This […]
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GinaMarie Guarino, LMHC
Working on communication in relationships is an integral part in strengthening the bond between a couple. Often, people who are struggling in a relationship have a hard time expressing their needs in an open and effective way. This can often cause tension in a relationship and cause a rift between partners. About This Worksheet This […]
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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
It is not uncommon to have a client pass through your doors who has low self-esteem and a poor awareness of who he or she is and how he or she fits into the world. This can cause a great deal of unpleasant feelings and anxiety within a person, as he or she struggles to […]
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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 we are kids, we have a good grasp of what it means to experience those staple emotions: Happy, sad, angry, excited, etc. We learn about emotions slowly, what they mean, and how to manage them. As we develop, our brain expands, and our understanding of emotions and how we feel becomes more complex. For […]
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GinaMarie Guarino, LMHC
There are many reasons why rewarding systems and operant conditioning strategies can be beneficial for a client. Whether it is to learn new parenting skills, communication skills, or leadership skills, understanding the process of reinforcement and punishment styles can be instrumental in a client’s therapeutic process. While helpful skills to learn, understanding the difference between […]
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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
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 when it comes to working on goals, it is difficult for a client to really understand what it means to set a goal and how to go about working toward that goal. Often times we think of goals as the end result, without considering the means to which we achieve the goal itself. Sometimes […]
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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
Sometimes we have clients who struggle with finding motivation. They may struggle to find motivation in developing a career, accomplishing a goal, or moving on to the next phase in life. There are a number of reasons why a person may struggle with achieving a goal. This is why it is important that the client […]
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GinaMarie Guarino, LMHC
As therapists, we know that most issues and concerns our clients face are more dynamic and intricate than the client may realize. Many components contribute to presenting issues with our clients, and often there is more than meets the eye. When working with clients on issues like emotional regulation, mood disorders, anxiety, and self-esteem, it […]
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GinaMarie Guarino, LMHC
Sometimes clients struggle with learning how to feel happy and fulfilled in their lives. Whether it is due to depression, low self-esteem, or motivation issues, it is not uncommon for clients in therapy to struggle to find traction toward happiness or contentment. These clients will ultimately feel lost and sometimes hopeless in their efforts to […]
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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
When working with patients who struggle with relationship issues and communication issues, it is important to be sure the patient understands the core elements needed in developing relationships. Patients often struggle with building relationships, getting to know people, being open to others, and communicating. When patients struggle with these issues it is important to teach […]
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GinaMarie Guarino, LMHC
Many patients will struggle with a major issue that all people are best coming to terms with: we cannot control what happens around us. Wanting to remain in control is a natural thing for people, but it can sometimes be difficult for a patient to understand that they cannot control the environment or a situation, […]
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GinaMarie Guarino, LMHC
It is important for children to feel empowered and confident in themselves. Confidence helps a child feel proud, motivates them to learn and engage with others, and helps them build social skills and resilience that will be useful in the real world. Unfortunately, many children find it difficult to identify their positive qualities and what […]
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GinaMarie Guarino, LMHC
A major reason why patients suffer from low self-esteem or emotional issues is a poor sense-of-self. There are many reasons for a person to develop a poor sense-of-self, but one common reason being aware of or understanding the things they value in life. Helping a patient discover what is important to them and their moral […]
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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 patients suffer from more debilitating emotional issues like depression and severe anxiety it can be difficult for them to keep from falling into bad habits like isolating and cutting off things that bring them joy. Of course this is understandable, as with such mental illnesses it can be difficult for a patient to enjoy […]
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GinaMarie Guarino, LMHC
When we are confronted with patients who are fixated on the negative it is difficult to break away from the bad and shift focus on the good. Often we will have a patient who does not acknowledge anything besides the negative in his or her life which not only is detrimental to their overall health, […]
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GinaMarie Guarino, LMHC
Sometimes when people suffer from low self-esteem, low confidence, or mood disorders like anxiety and depression it is easy to focus on the negative and forget about the positive that they have in their lives. When patients focus only on the negative it is hard to imagine a happy and positive life that has hope, […]
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GinaMarie Guarino, LMHC
Patients who are suffering from a mental illness can often feel discouraged from being able to achieve their goals. Sometimes their ambitions and efforts are cut off by thoughts like “why bother?”, “it’s too much, I won’t be able to do it” or “I will start tomorrow”. It helps a great deal to draft a […]
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GinaMarie Guarino, LMHC
With all the responsibilities we have as adults it is all too easy to get wrapped up in the stress of the day and miss out on the things we appreciate in this world. When a patient is overwhelmed with their environment it is helpful to remind them to focus on things that they appreciate […]
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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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GinaMarie Guarino, LMHC
Often those with depression lose sight on what is important to them. Depression is mentally, emotionally, and physically debilitating and when a patient is depressed and does not understand what they can do to manage the depression the patient will feel hopeless about life and the future. It is important to encourage patients to find […]
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GinaMarie Guarino, LMHC
A huge part of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is understanding what core beliefs are and how they affect people. Core beliefs are the perceived conclusions a person makes about themselves, their world, and their future based on what they have learned through life experiences. When a person develops negative, irrational, or maladaptive core beliefs, the […]
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