GinaMarie Guarino, LMHC
Therapists who are trained in cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) find value in teaching their clients how to cope with automatic negative thoughts (ANTs). ANTs can be catalysts for negative behavior like lashing out at others and self-destructive habits. They also cause negative emotions and hurt feelings that may not necessarily fit the situation that caused the […]
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GinaMarie Guarino, LMHC
There are many reasons why a person may have trouble sleeping. Among the most common challenges that come with sleep issues is having racing or anxious thoughts right before going to sleep. Many clients will struggle with falling asleep because as they try to fall asleep they are overwhelmed with thoughts that demand their attention. […]
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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. A fearful child will have a hard time developing the confidence they need to face their fears, but helping […]
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GinaMarie Guarino, LMHC
Working with children is as challenging as it is rewarding. Children see and understand their world very differently than adults. As they grow, they learn more about their lives and how they are influenced by their experiences and feelings. While children grow, their emotions become more complex and difficult to understand. This can often make […]
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GinaMarie Guarino, LMHC
Managing uncomfortable feelings can be challenging at times, but it is not always so tedious when you have the right tools. Coping skills are important because they teach you what to do in the moment when you are feeling uncomfortable or triggered. Knowing how to calm yourself down can help you feel more comfortable, manage […]
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GinaMarie Guarino, LMHC
When working with clients who fixate on the negative it is difficult to break away from the cycles of negativity and shift focus onto good and hopeful thoughts and feelings. Therapists will often work with a client who does not acknowledge anything besides the negative in their life, which not only is detrimental to their […]
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GinaMarie Guarino, LMHC
One of the most important responsibilities a therapist has is knowing how and when to screen clients for indicators that their safety may be compromised. As professionals, therapists do this to make sure their clients stay safe between sessions and have a plan in place when needed. While not every client will require safety planning, […]
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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 things that they appreciate in their lives. When clients focus only on the challenging or painful parts of their life, it is hard to imagine a life […]
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GinaMarie Guarino, LMHC
Sometimes we get caught up in the day and forget to focus on what we are feeling. This can cause us to miss important signs of our changing mood, which can affect our ability to use healthy coping skills. When we are struggling with understanding our mood patterns it helps a great deal to have […]
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GinaMarie Guarino, LMHC
Many clients seek therapy because they struggle with regulating their moods. They go through mood swings that may cause them to easily feel stressed. People who struggle with managing their moods can often feel overwhelmed, which makes it difficult for them to understand and manage what they are feeling throughout the week. A weekly mood […]
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GinaMarie Guarino, LMHC
Suffering from abuse is hurtful, but it is not always easily seen or identifiable. People can commonly find themselves in abusive situations long after it has started, and many do not even realize they are being abused until much later on- or even at all. Abuse is scary to go through, but it is more […]
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GinaMarie Guarino, LMHC
In therapy, a client learns a lot about their emotions and gain perspective on their life challenges. Through self-exploration, they learn different ways to cope with the challenges they face. Therapy teaches coping skills that help clients relieve their symptoms in real-life situations. They learn valuable life skills in sessions, but sometimes it can be […]
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GinaMarie Guarino, LMHC
A person’s mood can fluctuate when they are struggling with mental health issues. Some days are easier than others, and patterns of dealing with harder days can affect a person’s progress in therapy. Clients often have a pattern of how their mood affects them. Throughout the day there are certain triggers based on responsibilities, encounters, […]
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GinaMarie Guarino, LMHC
After learning what cognitive behavioral therapy is, how it works, and how components like cognitive distortions, automatic negative thoughts, core beliefs, emotions, and behavior all contribute to our perceptions, it is important to learn how to challenge negative thoughts and cognitive distortions. A great tool to learn how to challenge cognitive distortions is the automatic […]
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GinaMarie Guarino, LMHC
In cognitive behavioral therapy, a therapist will often work with their client to identify their cognitive distortions. Cognitive distortions are patterns in thinking that typically make someone think in the negative and have negative expectations. This can be detrimental to the client for many reasons, the biggest being it holds them back from growing mentally […]
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GinaMarie Guarino, LMHC
Having coping strategies is an important part of maintaining good mental health, but sometimes a person can develop unhealthy coping strategies without realizing the impact they have on their quality of life. Unhealthy coping strategies may be effective, but that does not necessarily mean that they should be used to cope with life stressors. There […]
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GinaMarie Guarino, LMHC
Core beliefs are the strong and withstanding beliefs that a person has about themselves and how they relate to others, the world, and their future. These beliefs are based on what a person has learned through life experiences and begin being formed during childhood. The way a person sees each aspect of their life is […]
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GinaMarie Guarino, LMHC
Thoughts can be upsetting sometimes, but the thoughts that upset us are not always healthy or realistic. We often have thoughts in reaction to situations that we may not fully understand or are interpreted through our feelings. Upsetting thoughts can affect how we feel about ourselves, our behaviors, and our emotions, so it is important […]
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GinaMarie Guarino, LMHC
Experiencing a traumatic event is a challenging experience. It can cause our bodies and minds to react in a number of different ways. Reactions to trauma can be obvious, like shock and fear, but there are other reactions that may not be so obvious. People who have suffered trauma may be reacting to their trauma […]
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GinaMarie Guarino, LMHC
Trauma can affect a person in different and unexpected ways. People can suffer from different symptoms without realizing that they are from the traumatic event they experienced. Helping a person get in touch with their trauma can help them understand how they are feeling and learn what to expect from the experience. Going through trauma […]
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GinaMarie Guarino, LMHC
Everyone reacts differently when faced with a high-stress situation. It can be confusing for people to know why they reacted to such situations the way they did when reflecting, but there is a theory that suggests that when a person is faced with danger, they will react in one of three ways. They will either […]
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GinaMarie Guarino, LMHC
Anger affects everyone. It is a powerful emotion that can be triggered by many different things. You may feel anger from an upsetting situation, stress or another emotion you don’t entirely understand. Sometimes, when we do not understand our anger or how it negatively affects us, it has a damaging effect on our quality of […]
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GinaMarie Guarino, LMHC
When people are angry, they are not only angry. Their anger is a reaction to a trigger. A trigger occurs in a person’s environment, but it is fueled by much more. Feelings, thoughts, insecurities, fears and memories all contribute to a person’s anger. It is important for a client to understand this fact. Clients rarely […]
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GinaMarie Guarino, LMHC
Rational emotive behavioral therapy (REBT) is a form of therapy that can be very effective in helping clients. It offers a means to gain perspective on challenging situations. REBT suggests that the way people understand situations causes them to be reactive. The concept of REBT implies that a situation is neither positive nor negative. A […]
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GinaMarie Guarino, LMHC
A huge part of having a healthy lifestyle is having proper boundaries with yourself and the people in your life. Boundaries promote healthy relationships with others and a good sense of self-esteem. They are very important, but can sometimes be difficult to maintain. Everyone’s boundaries are different. Each person has their own unique needs and […]
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GinaMarie Guarino, LMHC
Everyone has stressors in their lives. When people are in therapy, different stressors can serve as triggers for different conditions. Most people in therapy will have significant triggers that can cause them to think, act and feel in ways that are not healthy for them. An important part of therapy is helping clients identify their […]
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GinaMarie Guarino, LMHC
A major part of learning how to cope with stress, anxiety and other mental health disorders is to learn effective relaxation techniques. Relaxation techniques are a critical part of maintaining good mental health. They are needed for different areas of your body, and without them you cannot properly cope with stress, anger and other upsetting […]
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GinaMarie Guarino, LMHC
When used properly, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a very effective form of therapy. CBT helps people work on their problem behavior by providing a means to understand their thoughts and feelings. People often react to stressors quickly, and that can prevent them from thinking things through. CBT teaches a person how to slow down […]
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GinaMarie Guarino, LMHC
Throughout the course of therapy, it is important for both the therapist and the client to have a concrete understanding of how the client is growing and developing their coping skills. Therapy is more than just talking about feelings. It is about personal growth and learning how to manage thoughts, feelings, coping skills, behaviors and […]
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GinaMarie Guarino, LMHC
Emotions can be challenging to understand. Sometimes they have concrete reasons for being felt, and sometimes we are not sure why we are feeling a certain way. When we feel emotions we do not understand, we can struggle to understand how to cope. People who struggle to understand how to identify and cope with their […]
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GinaMarie Guarino, LMHC
When dealing with a client who is struggling with self-confidence and low self-esteem, it is important to ensure that they are aware of their protective factors. Knowing your own protective factors is important. Protective factors serve as a source of strength, hope and comfort when dealing with a challenge. Sometimes a client is not aware […]
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GinaMarie Guarino, LMHC
Being aware of a client’s triggers is a critical component of learning how to cope with symptoms of mental health challenges. Triggers are situations that can cause a person to react in an unwanted or unhealthy way. Triggers can cause a person to struggle with unwanted thoughts, feelings, and impulses. They are especially challenging when […]
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GinaMarie Guarino, LMHC
It is not uncommon for a client to feel like a victim of their own anxiety. Anxiety is a difficult feeling to live with, and it is often chronic for people who seek counseling. Anxiety brings ruminating negative thoughts that can have a major impact on a client’s ability to get through their day. When […]
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GinaMarie Guarino, LMHC
Stress is a natural part of life. It is a part of life that everyone must face and learn how to cope with. Some people are able to manage stress well, while others tend to really struggle to cope. Stress can lead to other issues, like anxiety, depression, motivation issues and relationship issues, so it […]
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GinaMarie Guarino, LMHC
Children can have a particularly difficult time communicating how they feel. There could be a few different reasons for this. Whether they are afraid, frustrated, or simply do not understand how to express emotions, the ability to talk about how a child feels is important. An emotion that is especially important to be able to […]
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GinaMarie Guarino, LMHC
The first step to managing stress is learning how to recognize stress. Most people who experience symptoms of stress do not realize that it is a physiological reaction. They also do not realize how often daily occurrences can be triggers for stress. When working with a client who is struggling with stress-related issues, it is […]
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GinaMarie Guarino, LMHC
Dialectical behavioral therapy is particularly useful when it comes to teaching a client how to handle distressing or upsetting situations. DBT teaches coping skills for stress tolerance, emotional regulation, and the reduction of mood swings and panic attacks. DBT provides several different tools that help a person learn how to cope with upsetting emotions like […]
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GinaMarie Guarino, LMHC
Promoting self-love is an important part of therapy, but sometimes can be a challenge for clients. It is a lesson that is dynamic, and should be treated as such. For a client to learn to love himself or herself, he or she must also learn how to love and appreciate those around him or her. […]
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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
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
We all know that sometimes life can get overwhelming. Whether it is stress at work, home, or from an unexpected circumstance that causes us to feel overwhelmed. Whatever the case, it is important to know how to manage the feelings of stress, anxiety, fatigue, and depressed mood that comes with difficult circumstances. We all have […]
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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
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
When teaching a client how to use cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for managing anxiety it helps a great deal to provide a visual aid. Clients who suffer from severe or chronic anxiety struggle to maintain control over anxious thoughts and resulting anxious feelings and behavior. It is important to teach clients in CBT treatment to […]
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GinaMarie Guarino, LMHC
Sometimes our clients have a hard time expressing how they feel to their therapist and others. There could be several reasons for this, like the client was not brought up to express their emotions, they struggled to relate to how others feel, or they simply struggle to make the connection between feeling and expressing their […]
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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
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
When it comes to teaching children healthy behavior it helps a great deal to have a system in place in which the child can watch their progress grow. Such tools for positive reinforcement help motivate children to continue to grow and work hard to learn healthy behaviors and responsibility. Especially when working with children who […]
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