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CCRC Blog
Our blog is updated monthly with mental health-related posts written by CCRC therapists. If you have a topic or question you’d be interested in reading about, let us know!
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Christine Webster, AMFT
Sep 19, 2022
Relational Empowerment
Relationships are complicated. What definitely does not help is how often we are inundated with messages about what they should or...
Taylore Mountain, AMFT
Jul 14, 2022
3 Simple Ways to Show Affection
Giving affection is not always natural for everyone. However, it is a skill that can be learned with a little bit of practice. A verbal...
Melissa Larmon, AMFT
Jun 14, 2022
Calming our Inner Critic with Curiosity
If you are like most of the population, you have an inner voice or part of you that is a tad bit (or a lot bit) self-critical. There is...
Gabe Seldess, LMFT
May 16, 2022
"My relationship is starting to get abusive and toxic." (Anonymous & Response)
A recent query was posed to our anonymous blog Q&A : “My relationship is starting to get abusive and toxic.” Indications of abuse and...
Angela Nguyen, LMFT
Apr 13, 2022
Is it Worth Fighting For? (Anonymous Q & A Response)
We recently had a reader submit the following to our anonymous blog Q&A section: “My question is, although he says he loves and cares for...
Josh Hetherington, LMFT
Mar 14, 2022
How to "Change the Channel" & Rewire Your Anxious Brain
I’ve been listening to a workshop presented by Catherine Pittman Ph.D., on the operation of the Amygdala and the Cortex and how this...
Madalyn Simpson, LMFT
Feb 15, 2022
One of My Favorite Couples Therapy Exercises, & Why it’s Important!
If you take a peek at the early history of the field of Psychology, you may notice a significant focus on pathologizing- focusing on what...
Sara Morrow-Han, LMFT
Jan 15, 2022
Meaning in the Time of COVID
It’s a new year--I don’t know about you, but it doesn’t quite feel like it! I wish we could’ve left COVID behind in 2021. I acknowledge a...
Michelle Ahmed, LMFT
Nov 18, 2021
A Boundaryless Song: Community Healing
Our brains and bodies are incredible. From the moment we are born, we look to our caregiver’s face and analyze what we see—a smile, a...
Josh Hetherington, LMFT
Oct 7, 2021
The Power of Bad: How The Negativity Effect Rules Us and How We Can Rule It
In The Power of Bad , authors John Tierney and Roy F. Baumeister lay out some of the intense ways that we respond to “bad” feedback more...
Anikó Blake, LMFT
Aug 9, 2021
The Illinois Telehealth Act and What It Means for Psychotherapy
The past year and a half have brought significant shifts to the field of psychotherapy. In March of 2020 Illinois Governor JB Pritzker...
Taylor Ariel Pettway
Jul 13, 2021
Worry Is As Worry Does: Making Peace with Anxiety
A few years ago and for the first time in my life, someone looked me in my eyes and told me that I was displaying signs of anxiety. I was...
Emily Gabelman, LMFT
Jun 13, 2021
Why Am I Still Feeling Anxious if the Pandemic is Winding Down?
It’s finally here! Most of the United States population is vaccinated. We can go mask-less in most situations. Businesses are opening up....
Josh Hetherington, LMFT
May 12, 2021
Democracy and Identity in America
I was never very interested in history as a high school and college student. It was always presented in a rather boring way. In...
Madalyn Simpson, LMFT
Mar 25, 2021
An Offering to The Age-Old Question: "...But What Do I Do?"
Several times a week I am met with the age-old question: “Okay, Madalyn, but… what do I DO?” And while I hope to remind my amazing...
Shira Galston, LMFT
Feb 17, 2021
Pregnant & Post-Partum in COVID: A Therapist’s Journey
There are already tons of posts out there about the specific difficulties and issues that come with being pregnant, delivering, and going...
Laura Hagen, LMFT
Jan 31, 2021
10 Minute Adventure
We find ourselves in the doldrums of a particularly dreary Chicago winter. There is little refuge, and we are positively exhausted from...
Teresa D’Astice
Jan 4, 2021
Self-Compassion Playlist
Over the years, music has provided me with a space for community, pleasure, and healing. Sharing playlists with my people, traveling for...
Angela Nguyen, LMFT
Nov 23, 2020
Comfort in Discomfort
Humans are social beings; that's why solitary confinement's one of the harshest punishments. Even feeling ignored or unacknowledged in a...
Melissa Larmon, AMFT
Nov 1, 2020
It’s Okay that You’re Not at Your Best
I was talking with a client recently about just how much is on her plate, and she said to me, “But I’ve always been good at juggling...
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