The Lifeworks Group, Inc.

By: Christine Hammond, LMHC, NCC As Tad hung up the phone, he realized he did it again. He fell for the trap and now it is over. Tad wanted so much to have a relationship with his estranged adult daughter that he kept trying to converse with her. But at nearly every turn, she set a trap for him to get upset or emotional and then she would shut it down saying he was out of control. Susan experienced something similar at work. She felt like her boss hated her. Every time she would approach him, he would give a quick distracted response that didn’t really address the issue. When she asked for clarification, he redirected her to someone else who wasn’t helpful. Frustrated, Susan would attempt again only to hear that she was being indecisive and sensitive. Eric and Erin were out to dinner celebrating their 11 th wedding anniversary. The conversation started off well until Eric mentioned the excessive cost of the lobster on the menu. Erin, tired of hearing him complain a

By: Christine Hammond, LMHC, NCC Chuck knew he was a jerk. He cheated on his wife several times, put his work before his family, rarely went to his kid’s activities, drank heavily on the rare occasions that he was home, and verbally berated anyone who challenged him. And yet, he was a highly successful businessman, intelligent about a wide range of topics, had numerous friends, and was charming (when he wanted to be). Nonetheless, despite getting his way most of the time, Chuck was miserable. He toyed with counselors in the past, going only when needed to preserve his marriage, but not putting any real effort into changing. Instead, he would strategically turn the counselors against his wife over many sessions, leaving her a bigger mess than when they began. He was proud of his ability to manipulate situations that normally would be to his detriment into his benefit. This precise skill was used in business as well to make him far more successful than his natural abilit

  Anger can either equip or hinder our ability to function. Join us as we explore the different types of anger, what triggers it and how we might utilize it as a strength and opportunity for deeper understanding and growth.

By: Christine Hammond, LMHC, NCC The other day, one of my interns (I’m a supervisor for mental health students getting their license) asked, “How do you get it all done?” It is a valid question and I remember being a student and wondering the same thing. When am I going to have time for all of the learning, marketing, and developing a practice and still maintain my sanity, keep my family intact, and enjoy life? How can I possibly add one more thing to my already overwhelming schedule? Years ago, I read three books on time management that radically changed my life. They are: “The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin,” “7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” and “Eat that Frog!” Benjamin Franklin taught about the importance of waking up early: “Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.” His obsession with scheduling every part of his day is admirable but even he admitted that too much scheduling can cause dullness (his word, not mine).