The Lifeworks Group, Inc.

  By Laura Hull, LMFT Coping Coach   If you’ve read enough of my blogs, you probably will find a common thread among them that starts with “if I had a buck for every time…I’d be writing this from _____” (fill in the blank with some exotic location).   So in an effort to maintain continuity, here you go: if I had a buck for every time I heard someone give a misguided reason for not going for counseling at a time when he/she really needs it, I’d be writing this blog from the sunny beaches of Australia . Here are three of the top reasons I have heard:   Myth 1:   Counseling is too expensive .     Truth 1 :   Divorce is more expensive. Medications are often more expensive.   Losing relationships are more expensive (emotionally).   Losing your ability to experience joy is more expensive.   Times are tough for many people right now.   When people are living paycheck to paycheck or are between jobs, it can ...

by Darryl E. Owens, from OrlandoSentinel.com With the stock market shedding value like gossip-rag celebutantes shed clothes, I'm sure all my 401(k) will afford me in retirement is a Starbucks frappuccino. Small, please. In my misery, there's plenty of company. Take my fellow baby boomers -- the 57.8 million of us who census projections suggest will be around in 2030, when the youngest would be 66. Right now, boomers aren't bullish on our wallets. As a recent Pew Research Center Social and Demographic Trends survey noted, "most boomers have children to worry about, and most have at least one living parent. Three-quarters are homeowners, at a time when home values are stagnant and the mortgage crisis is heating up. Boomers are edging toward retirement, which potentially means living on a fixed income. "Two in three boomers said getting ahead is tougher now than a decade ago. Investment gurus say the stock market is for building wealth in the long run. After the ...