The Lifeworks Group, Inc.

By: Christine Hammond, LMHC For many, the stress of the holidays is overwhelming. The anticipation of family gatherings alone can create anxious, tense, and uncomfortable responses. Then there are the personal expectations of gift giving, the lack of appropriate boundaries of friends, and the increased tension of an end-of-the-year work cycle. Sorting through these conflicting thoughts and emotions can be difficult. Fortunately, Freud identified common coping strategies that many people utilize which he referred to as defense mechanisms. Here is a list of ten typical holiday defense mechanisms: 1.        Denial . At the top of the list is a concept of refusing to accept that anything is wrong or needs to be handled. Denial is very powerful because if something doesn’t exist then it doesn’t have to be addressed. A person may deny that anything is different after losing a family member, forbid discussion about touchy subjects, or reject a new person in...

By: Nancy Tikunoff, IMH What is EMDR? The EMDR acronym stands for E ye M ovement D esensitization R eprocessing. It is a psychological treatment based on a scientific model of adaptive information processing (AIP). The theoretical basis for it was formulated by the founder Dr. Francine Shapiro who found that traumatic or problematic events and their later memories sometimes are processed maladaptively by our brains. The EMDR process allows for those events/memories to be reprocessed in an adaptive manner thus relieving the client's distressing symptoms. How does it work? After ensuring that the client feels safe through the creation of resources to assist them in accessing a place of safety, the actual eye movement reprocessing is started. Hand movements initiated by the therapist & followed by the client's eyes are designed to cause the eyes to move in such a way that allows the brain to correct the way the memory was processed. Other methods such ...

By: Christine Hammond, LMHC, NCC As a mom with a child in the military , every time a news story breaks of a military death, my heart and breathing literally stop. It doesn’t matter what branch, location/country, circumstance, on base, off base, or in the line of duty, life comes to a screeching halt. A flood of emotions takes over any logic at the moment as all five senses become hyper-aware of the potential crisis. It usually takes reading or listening to the story several times before logic returns and the anxiety diminishes. Keeping the anxiety at bay is nearly impossible at the initial onset of news even though that would be ideal. The last thing that is needed in those moments is an emotional overreaction because it clouds thinking. By the end, the emotional toll from the rush of anxiety is exhausting, draining, and can be debilitating. However, there is a better way. Follow these steps to reduce the intensity of the anxiety. 1.        Prepare....

By: Christine Hammond, LMHC Narcissists have the ability to charmingly convince people anything they want to convey. Their manner of speech, intertwined with shallow flattery and a flashy smile, is woven with truths, half-truths, and fiction. While this might gain media attention for the pure entertainment value and seem innocent, it does have the potential to cause harm on a large scale. This is concept is clearly demonstrated in the movie Denial which was released in September 2016. This true-life docudrama portrays the struggles of an American Professor, Deborah E. Lipstadt, as she defends herself in a British court case. Her book on Holocaust deniers portrays people such as historian David Irving who made false historical accusations that Hitler did not order the persecution and execution of millions of Jewish people during World War II. David Irving filed a law suit against Deborah Lipstadt and her publisher Penguin Books for defamation of character. The movie portraye...

By: Nancy Tikunoff, IMH We’ve all seen them - at the doctor’s office, at the grocery store, crossing the street... They may have been pushing a wheelchair, feeding an Alzheimer’s patient who had forgotten to eat or holding the hand of a differently abled person while crossing the street. These everyday examples that cross our paths are people giving care to others in a physical, tangible way and are classified “caregivers”. They may be the last ones to eat and five minutes of quiet alone to prop up their feet may feel live a slice of heaven. They have accepted and committed to a daunting task – taking care of the physical, oftentimes emotional and additional needs of someone they love or care about. It can be a thankless job and requires sacrifices of things they would rather be doing or money they would like to have to spend elsewhere or time spent on hobbies or other interests. No wonder November has been designated as a month to recognize these awesome people and THEIR nee...

By: Christine Hammond, LMHC Ok, I admit it. I have a love/hate relationship with personality tests. And sadly, the tests that are most loved are the silly ones like: which Star Wars, Disney Princess, or Harry Potter character are you? As a cross between Darth Vader, Tiana (Princess and the Frog), and Dumbledore, I’m not sure if I should be wearing all black, dressy white fur, or a colorful robe. What these characters have in common is unclear, but it is amusing to take the test and imagine. Then there are the more involved assessments utilized by coaches, career counselors, and employers to discover strengths and weaknesses at the most basic level. Some of these are available on-line for free or minimal cost. These tests can help avoid poor career choices, offer insight as to strengths, suggest suitable mates, discover ideal environments and identify leadership potential. Some examples include: ·          MAPP (Motivational Appraisal of Per...

By: Christine Hammond, LMHC As if things weren’t bad enough before the divorce and during the divorce, now the hard part of co-parenting begins. Co-parents are the legal parents/guardians of a child. There are many combinations of co-parenting. A biological parent with a grandparent guardian, two biological parents, or adoptive parents are just a few examples. Whatever the situation, having a few guidelines for moving forward can save time, energy, and money spent on future meditation.   1.        It’s all about the kid’s best interest. One of the things parent fail to recognize is the importance of the other parent in the kid’s life. Even if the the other parent is incompetent, it is better that a child know who that parent is. Otherwise, the child is likely to imagine the other parent as some magical fairy-like godparent who will rescue them from their current parent. There are special circumstances in which this rule does not apply such as...