The Lifeworks Group, Inc.

“Don’t make me pull this car over!” By: Dwight Bain, LMHC, NCC Every parent has said these words at some point because of the bickering of their children in the back seat. These “back-seat battles” can ruin relationships and is one of the most common causes of deadly car accidents according to the National Highway Safety Traffic Administration https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/812260 Why do people argue and fight in the car? It’s one of the most unsafe activities a family will ever face and doesn’t make any sense until you understand what is going on psychologically under the surface. More importantly, there are three words that can disarm or eliminate the conflict to protect both life and peace of mind. The largest source of family conflict in cars is bias. Every human has a way of looking at things shaped by their mindset which psychologist Daniel Kahneman won a Nobel prize describing. Dr. Kahneman researched to show how quic...

By: Christine Hammond LMHC Joey admitted that he lost interest in his favorite sport. Already a state champion with prospects to be a national star, each day he didn’t practice he was throwing away that possibility. His work also suffered. Where he once thrived and was revered for his hard work, he now was barely keeping it together and on the verge of failure. His relationships deteriorated as well. He lost friendships and was at odds with the people he said he loved the most. But there was one area of his life that was thriving. Every day and sometimes well into the night, Joey would play video games. It started off with just a few games but then quickly escalated into more. He made an agreement with his family not to play any games that were rated R, had nudity, or had live chats. But now he was doing just that and hiding it. When he played, he felt powerful, excited, energized and confident in his fantasy worlds. In the real world, he felt anxious, depressed, ov...

By: Christine Hammond LMHC As Monique recounted the abuse from her childhood, it became apparent that the abuse from her mother was not typical. While most abusers follow a pattern of tension building, incident, reconciliation, and calm, her mom did not. The tension building phase was constant with no break or relief from the ensuing harm. The incidents came out of nowhere with no justification or warning. There was no reconciliation phase, instead, Monique endured months of the silent treatment. And the calm phase was non-existent in the house. She had to go to school or a friend’s house to get any resemblance of peace. Monique would come home from school to her raging mother. Her mom would accuse her of doing things that never happened and then insist on punishing her. If Monique protested, the consequences were even more violent. Worse yet, her mother seemed to derive pleasure from her violent rages. Her mom would call her every harsh name in the book, beat her with...

By: Christine Hammond LMHC Maggie and James were involved parents. They participated in their kid’s school, coached a team or two, helped with homework, and knew the names of their kid’s friends. But for some reason, one of their three kids was constantly in trouble. The other two enjoyed a great reputation at their school but their sister was the exception. She spend hours in the principal’s office, got in fights, struggled to make friends, and was difficult to teach. Her parents ran educational tests only to discover that she was brighter than her grades would reflect. On a daily basis, Maggie feared being approached by another parent or teacher with a story of her daughter’s behavior. It always started the same, “I have the funniest story about your daughter. You will never believe what she did today.” Believe what she did? Are they joking? Of course she acted out, when didn’t she? After a frustrating couple of years at school, Maggie and James brought their d...