Have you ever noticed your heart rate increase or your body temperature change whenever you go through a distressing situation?

I know I certainly have!

It can be something as simple as anger or anxiety that causes your internal body chemistry to change. Or maybe it’s feelings of panic or sadness that seem to overcome you.

Whatever it happens to be, with all of the ups and downs of the past year, it’s no wonder a lot of people feel as if they are struggling to find ways to navigate their moments of distress.

Now that we've started a new year, let's make it a priority to find better ways to resolve conflict with your partner!

In this month's Therapy Moment, Jazmine Price, ALMFT gives us 4 tips on how to fight more fair and to better resolve issues with your partner.

Have you ever heard the phrase, “new year, new me”? 

I sure have!

I don’t know about you but I’ve been guilty of making some New Year's resolutions simply because it felt like the thing to do! 

In our culture, it seems there is some unwritten rule that since there is a brand new year it must be time to hit the restart button on all our toxic or unhealthy behaviors and start over. 

There are many ways people create these New Years resolutions.

Did you know that leading with "soft emotions" can help you better connect with your partner during times of conflict?

In this month's Therapy Moment, Irene Schreiner, LMFT teaches us the difference between soft and hard emotions and explains why soft emotions allow others to move closer to you during times of frustration.

Even though we talk a lot about marriage and increasing that connection between you and your partner, not all of our clients are married or in a serious relationship. Many of our clients, in fact, come to us because they are either wanting to step into the dating world or are currently trying to find someone to date.

Along their dating journey, they’ve discovered that they have some issue, something blocking them from being successful and finding happiness in relationships.  Those blocks might be lack of experience, self doubts, low self-esteem or a tendency to pick the wrong person.

I think we can all benefit from a mental check in right now, so let me ask you something! 

How are you doing? How are you taking care of yourself? How do you need to be supported right now? 

I don’t know about you, but I have had to ask myself those questions more frequently and the truth is it's okay not to be okay. 

The reality of what we are living through has caused most of us to take a pause and reevaluate what’s important to us and for us in life.

Couples often begin therapy because they feel like their sexual intimacy is in a rut. They complain that they have grown apart, that they are not feeling loved, or that they do not feel important to their partner. They worry that they will never return to how they “once were” early on in their relationship and question how to rebuild their sexual intimacy after what feels like a dry spell.

Arguments and disagreements happen! But they don't all need to be painful or keep you stuck. There are effective way to resolve arguments with your partner? Check out this video from Solid Foundations therapist Robyn Ashbaugh, ALMFT where she talks about one helpful tip to make conflicts with your significant other more productive and help you reach resolution quickly.

Does being reminded of an incident, trauma or difficult memory from your past trigger you to act or feel unlike yourself? Do you notice a change in your demeanor, attitude, physical or mental well-being when this happens? People often seek therapy to help gain the tools needed to better understand the things that set them off and how to process them. While you may not have full control over your own triggers, it is important to learn how to respond to them more skillfully to help improve the overall quality of your life.

Couples who begin therapy typically do so in an attempt to make progress on an existing issue within their relationship, oftentimes something related to communication (or lack thereof!), or arguing (or doing it too frequently!).  They come into therapy asking questions like “Do we fight more than we should?”.....”What’s normal?”....”How often do other couples fight?”

Move over Man-Cave and step aside She-Shed....in this month's therapy moment, Irene Schriener, LMFT is introducing us to the We-Nook!

Get the scoop on this sacred space for you and your partner, and learn how you can create one TODAY in this video. (Hint: No trips to Home Depot required - it's easier than you think!)

If you and your partner have a We-Nook or a similar space, we'd love to hear about it! Share the details or your photos in the comments below!

If you’re reading this, it’s probably because you’re a little more hard on yourself than you’d like to be. Showing compassion for others often comes easy, and more so to those we’re close with. Yet when it comes to the closest relationship we have of them all - the relationship with ourselves - we tend to be less understanding or forgiving of our missteps, while judging ourselves much more harshly than we do others.

We’re going to give you plenty of tips and inspiration on how to negate these behaviors, BUT before we get started, show yourself some compassion

Do you find yourself in defense mode often? If so, you're not alone! Being on the defensive is more common than you might think, but having the ability to recognize it AND the tools to combat it will make a world of difference!

In this month's therapy moment, Breanna Mann, LMFT breaks down what defensiveness could look like for you, and teaches us how to combat defensiveness to become better communicators!

The existence of the “honeymoon” phase is one of the most commonly denied or unacknowledged phase in relationships.  We know it exists, and we know that we’re likely to exit it eventually (especially if we’re not proactively working on ourselves and our relationships!), but new couples deep in the throws of the honeymoon phase are usually the first to deny its validity.  

And honestly - it makes sense.  When we’re in the beginning stages of a new relationship, we’re excited!

There is A LOT going on in the world right now. With anxiety-inducing and emotionally-charged issues coming at us from every direction, it's inevitable that we're going to come across people with opinions we don't agree with, and some that may even make comments or statements that make us feel uncomfortable.

This is never an easy situation to be in, but when it's someone in your family, these conversations can be even more difficult to manage.

Dating has changed A LOT over the last couple of decades, and even more so over the past few years. Standard dating advice about where to meet potential love interests used to include meeting someone at a bar or being introduced by a friend. Even getting set up on a blind date felt somewhat exotic! But nowadays, almost all of our dates can be considered “blind” as more and more people are reaching for their tablets and phones to meet potential love interests on dating sites and apps.

You remember the feeling, don't you? You know - the feeling you got when you and your partner first got together. You felt so safe in their arms, and so secure with a simple kiss. You wanted nothing more than to be around them; breathe in their air; dwell in their space; because it felt like home. It was home.  And it was probably hard to imagine that feeling could or would ever leave you.

But then one day, it’s gone.