New Year: New (and Improved) Relationship Status

New Year: New (and Improved) Relationship StatusThe New Year brings the renewal of change for many people. This includes relationships. Perhaps you have taken time to reflect on your relationship—aspects that bring you safety, security, joy, pleasure, and happiness and aspects that leave you feeling uncertain, insecure, anxious, disappointed, and depressed.

After contemplation and wishing for a change, now is a great time to take the next step to assess your relationships by working with a therapist. Here are five ways a therapist can help you with your relationships.

Assess the Current Status of Your Relationship(s)

By understanding the current dynamics of your relationship, your therapist will have a framework to help support you with what you are looking for and can create a tailored plan to help you achieve this. This may include making changes to a current relationship, adding new relationships, or working on skills within yourself. If you have been hurt by relationships, it is important to take time to heal and love yourself.

Explore your Relationship Values

What do you value in a relationship? What are the desirable characteristics that you are seeking and what characteristics do you bring to the relationship? Your therapist can assist with open-ended questions to help bring clarity to values. They can also support you with processing experiences within relationships that impact your beliefs and values about relationships.

Identify Your Relationship Needs

After having a good understanding of your relationship values, your therapist can help you identify your needs within relationships. Perhaps you already have clarity of your values and needs but are struggling with communicating these needs and regulating your emotions. Learning and practicing new skills may be the next step for you. This work can be done both individually and with your partner(s).

Learn (and Practice) Effective Strategies to Communicate Needs

Learning and practicing new skills takes time and practice, but the results are worth it! It is important to be consistent when learning and practicing new skills both in and outside of the session for them to be effective. Your therapist is there to help support you throughout this process.

Find Effective Ways to Cope

Sometimes it can be scary to communicate your needs within relationships because there is no certainty in how the message will be received. It may go better than expected, which is wonderful; it can be exciting to take the next steps. When messages are not received well or when consequences impact the status of the relationship, you will likely need additional support with coping. Your therapist is available to support you with coping and can assist with crisis resources if needed.

Written By: Charlotte Johnson, MA, LPCC

SCHEDULE
MEET CLINICIANS
NEW TO THERAPY?
RESOURCES
Increasing Your Vitality Through Nature and Psychology

Increasing Your Vitality Through Nature and Psychology

A common concern for many individuals at this time of year is having difficulties with finding energy and motivation to act.

Learn and Practice DBT Skills to Help You Cope This Holiday Season

Did you know that Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) has some excellent, easy to remember skills that can be used on the go to cope during the holidays?

How can Therapy Help When I am Feeling Overwhelmed with the Holidays?

The holidays can bring a wide spectrum of emotions—from excitement, joy, and anticipation to anxiety, feeling overwhelmed, depression, loneliness, or despair.

5 Reasons Why Affirmations Are Not Working for You

Affirmations are powerful. Positive statements about yourself impact your thoughts, feelings, and beliefs. They help provide motivation for personal goals and can help improve overall well-being.

Building Youth Confidence

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM) with this year's theme focused on Heal, Hold & Center.
Domestic Violence Awareness Month

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM)

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM) with this year's theme focused on Heal, Hold & Center.
Suicide Awareness

The Impact of Suicide. Your Words Matter.

Suicide is more common than we’d want to admit. Suffering is part of the human experience, and there are a lot of heavy stressors that weigh people down.

Supporting Teacher’s Well-being

CARE Counseling is thrilled to begin offering a Doctoral Internship for Counseling and Clinical Psychology doctoral students enrolled in accredited graduate programs!

6 Things to Consider in Supporting Children’s Adjustment to Change

Change can be difficult, especially for children when their need for safety and stability is uncertain. Establishing consistent and predictable routines helps children feel secure.

Because, College is Hard!

The transition to college can be exciting, but also difficult. You may be leaving the comforts of home and sharing space with others for the first time while managing stressors associated with college life.
Inc.5000 Award

INC 5000 Award

CARE Counseling makes the Inc. 5000 list for fastest growing private companies for three years in a row!

MSP Magazine News Feature

CARE Counseling was featured in an article on “Mental Health: Hurdles to Help,” by Lindsey Scharold with Minneapolis/St. Paul Magazine.

Life Satisfaction: 7 Things to Nurture Emotional Well-Being

“The best predictor for adult life satisfaction is subjective well-being and emotional health during childhood” according to the World Happiness Report. Less than half (47%) of Americans report being “very satisfied” with their own lives.

CARE Counseling Announces New Doctoral Internship

CARE Counseling is thrilled to begin offering a Doctoral Internship for Counseling and Clinical Psychology doctoral students enrolled in accredited graduate programs!

Bracing Yourself for Change: Flexible Vs. Blinded Optimism

Change is stressful, and there will be going to be challenges and these will be temporary; however, this is also an opportunity to utilize your strengths and access the internal and external resources that are available.

Suicide Prevention for Co-Workers: 5 Action Steps

The death of a co-worker can come as an unexpected shock, especially when they have died by suicide. If you are aware that a colleague is struggling, you can make a significant impact in helping them get the care they need.

Clinicians Info

clinicians-info

Customized Meditations for You

What comes to mind when you hear the word meditation? Stereotypes hold some people back from mindfulness practice. That is unfortunate. It is important to dispel the myths and understand the things people get wrong about mindfulness.

Going from Good to Great When You Are Not OK

How often do you get asked, “How are you?” and the polite go-to response is “I’m fine” or “good” thank you. How are you? These phrases are common greetings in the United States but seem to lack much depth.

The Client-Therapist Relationship: Transactional or Relational?

There is a transactional element that is present in receiving therapeutic services; however, a strong therapeutic relationship is vital to the success of therapy.
Summer health tips- blue sky with hands in yoga pose

6 Summer Health Tips to Feel Amazing This Summer

Making lifestyle changes has a significant impact on mental health and well-being. When you take care of your body and engage in safe and enjoyable activities, it has a direct impact on how you think and feel about yourself.

Mindfulness-Based Therapies

Meditation helps one become more present, utilizing the practice of being mindful. Perhaps you already have a basic understanding of meditation

Emotional Intelligence for Families

Self-awareness is a key skill of emotional intelligence. One way to build self-awareness early within a child’s life is to build their feelings vocabulary.

CARE COUNSELING IS A 2024 TOP WORKPLACE

CARE Counseling has been recognized in the Star Tribune's Top Workplaces for the third year in a row!  In 2024, CARE was named on the National Standard Setters list.