The Lifeworks Group, Inc.

By: Megan Brewer, LMHC Gratitude: More Than Just a Seasonal Emotion Every holiday season, we start seeing an outpouring of posts, pictures, and advertisements about gratitude. Words beautifully scripted in calligraphy across warm fall landscapes beckon us to search for those warm feelings and happy memories. I don’t know about you, but when I encounter these reminders, it often feels like whatever is going on in my life or in the world needs to be tucked away so I can start searching for the gratitude I’m supposed to be feeling. I don’t think we do this intentionally; it's just something that happens inside of us. It's as if, to be truly grateful, we must do so at the exclusion of any other emotions that might seem opposed to it. What's more, we're led to believe that gratitude is supposed to be equivalent to a warm, feel-good experience we can wrap ourselves in, making it feel true. But real gratitude isn’t like that. It’s powerful and transformative. It changes us fro...

By Megan Brewer, LMHC           Change can be hard. “I hate change” seems to be a mantra for many as they face situations or seasons where what felt familiar is now foreign. Change can be hard because it requires us to adjust to something new and unfamiliar. That adjustment often feels very uncomfortable because it requires a lot of energy, even when it is a good change. If your life has held the heavy weight of chaos from past harm and wounding, change can be particularly disruptive.              Imagery can sometimes help us capture something of our experience that helps us make sense of what we feel and think. So, I will begin with a story that I hope will be helpful as we seek to navigate changes and transitions well.              I have always enjoyed plants and the ability to cultivate and help them grow. As I have moved through the process of raising plants, I regularly discover the way...

By Megan Brewer, LMHC      School is out, tests have been taken and it’s finally time for summer. You have fun activities planned and lined up for the family in hopes you and your kids will have an enjoyable experience over the break. We hope this will be a stress-free relaxing opportunity to enjoy the sun, fun activities and family. However, somewhere in and amongst the heat, long lines at theme parks and the switching up of routines, we end up experiencing meltdowns and short tempers instead.      So there you are, standing in yet another line at a theme park, waiting for yet another ride. You’re hot and tired. So are your kids. Mikey has been pushing the limits all day by picking on his sister Sara and talking back. Sara is starting to get tired and is more clingy than usual and agitated by Mikey’s behavior. Little emotional explosions have been occurring all day and the very thought of another one is just too much to take. Everyone begins to melt down. ...

  5 Ways Codependency Gets Confused With Love by Megan Brewer, LMHC “If I just love him enough, he will stop his self-destructive behavior.” “I can’t say no to her because I don’t want her to think I don’t love her.” “I know I need to get out of this unhealthy relationship, but I can’t leave because I love them too much.” If these phrases sound familiar, then you may be confusing love with an unhealthily enmeshed and enabling relationship. It can be difficult to distinguish the difference between love and codependency because codependency can often be a distortion of love’s true components.   Below are 5 ways codependency parades as love:   1.      Love does not enable bad behavior.  Love does not excuse the destruction of the beloved. It is difficult to navigate care for someone who is hurting themselves, others, and us. Often, we don’t realize that our attempts at loving someone can be contributing to their destructive behavior. For exa...

  By: Megan Brewer, LMHC Some of the bravest people come to counseling. They are brave because of what they have faced and overcome just to make the appointment and walk into the counseling room. I like the word brave because it has little to do with the absence of fear or anxiety. Bravery is courage to face fearful, uncertain, or painful things while still feeling fear and anxiety.    When I ask a new client what it is like to be in counseling, the client often says that they feel anxious. This anxiety usually exists because of two reasons: First, they do not entirely know what to expect, and second, they know that they will be walking into their own story in ways they have become skilled at avoiding. They are afraid of what they may find. I think new clients are brave for stepping into the therapy process in the face of anxiety because these things are completely reasonable things to fear, especially at the beginning of an unknown and potentially life-changing jour...

  By: Megan Brewer, IMH Most of us are familiar with some level of anxiety. We feel it to one degree or another throughout our life and many of us are feeling it more in the midst of this unpredictable and unsettling season. While we all tend to experience anxiety at some level, everyone’s version of it is a little different and will need to be understood in the context of your unique circumstances.    This remains true when we look at anxiety through the lens of Scripture. Pay attention to what you notice when you read or hear someone reference Philippians 4:6-7 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus”   How do you tend to respond? If you are like me, the very first thought that might enter your head is one of instant and yet unintentional discon...