"Don't make assumptions" is the third guideline for living with integrity, according to Don Miguel Ruiz' book, The Four Agreements. The assumptions he writes about include predicting the outcome of situations, "mind reading" others, or even limiting our risk-taking...

"Don't Take Anything Personally" is Don Miquel Ruiz's second suggestion in his book The Four Agreements. I initially assumed he was talking about choosing to overlook negative feedback, as harsh criticism can be damaging to our self-esteem. But further reading...

  In Don Miguel Ruiz's classic self-help book, The Four Agreements, he offers four rules for living that he suggests will allow us to "escape hell" and live in a "heaven on earth" of our own making. The first agreement is more than a challenge to speak only the...

"Guilt's strength lies not in the failure of others to grant us forgiveness, but in our failure to forgive ourselves." -- Kelseyleigh Reber  Nobody's perfect. We learn from a young age that everyone makes mistakes. And most of us have had to forgive someone who's hurt...

Therapy is not a one-size-fits-all endeavor. Nor does modern-day counseling share much in common with the stereotypes of a client laying on a couch, the therapist interpreting clients' dreams, or people spending decades in counseling to resolve issues. Finding the...

Play therapy is a viable treatment modality for working with children, as it utilitizes their "words" (i.e., toys) in their "language" (i.e., play). For many children, talk therapy is not enough to access inner conflicts and help create behavioral change and relieve...

As Halloween approaches, the stores are full of spooky decorations, pumpkins for carving, and costumes for adults and children, even pets. Rows of masks crowd shelves overflowing with orange plastic Jack 0'lanterns and bags of candy. Masks of former Presidents, movie...

Tearfulness. Apathy. Fatigue. Negative thinking and anxiety. Most people are familiar with the behavioral and emotional presentations of depression. But Mood Disorder with Seasonal Pattern Specifier (previously known as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)), can be...

We all have stories to tell. And when it comes to stories about ourselves, many people don't recognize that those tales aren't necessarily factual. Rather, perspective, magical thinking, flawed memory, subconscious scripts, all influence how we see ourselves and...

The only constant in life is change. -- unknown   Change is the law of life. -- John F. Kennedy    God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. -- Serenity prayer,...