Support ‘March Pad-ness’ No, that’s not a typo. March Padness is an event sponsored by Distributing Dignity(R) to collect supplies for women in need. Awakening Change Counseling Services LLC is proud to support the awesome work of Distributing Dignity(R) and encourages you to join us in making a difference in our community. Check out the flyer below to learn about ways that you can help to make a tangible difference in the lives of women Read more…
I. Can’t. Breathe. I have been wrestling with a sea of thoughts and emotions stirred up in large part by the recent displays of racial injustice and police brutality. I am human first and a therapist second so allow me this space to share first my human perspective. As a Black woman, wife to a Black man, and mother of 2 Black sons, my heart has been broken beyond words. Many of you have reached Read more…
I’M TIRED!!! It’s May! In New Jersey we are rapidly approaching our third month of sheltering in place with some hope on the horizon as businesses begin to slowly re-open (with some restrictions). May is also Mental Health Awareness Month and I thought it fitting this month to explore one of the ways that the pandemic has impacted our mental health – exhaustion. If you are part of the work from home squad like I Read more…
Coping with Corona Coping and Corona don’t seem like they belong in the same sentence, do they?Who would have ever thought that life as we’ve known it would come to such a drastic hault? As we brace ourselves for a second month of social distancing, many of us are increasingly stressed and counting down the days when we can get back to some semblance of normalcy. It’s a difficult time for sure, but that’s all the Read more…
In the past few weeks as we’ve been gearing up for the start of the new year I’ve lost count of the number of “2020 Vision” posts I’ve encountered on social media. While I get the obvious reference, I think that we do ourselves a MAJOR disservice by simply talking about vision and not being accountable to action. So you can see clearly, now what? If we stop at what we see, we will never Read more…
I remember a show, “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?” that was popular between 2007 -2015. I loved that show! But I soon realized that 5th graders know a lot more than I gave them credit for. The show featured a panel of 5th graders and two adult contestants. The adults had to rely on their 5th grade “classmates” to correctly answer questions in pursuit of the million-dollar prize. If the adult got stuck Read more…
Join us on Saturday, November 17, 2018 for a workshop and roundtable discussion about mental health and wellness within the Christian faith experieince. This is not just for faith leaders!! If you are a person who identifies as a Christian and has an interest in learning more about behavioral health, this session is for YOU!!! Limited space is available so make sure to get your tickets NOW!!!!
I’m always amazed at how sly and cunning self-doubt can be. It is the creepy figure lurking in the shadows that appears in the moments when things are going their best. Right after landing that contract you worked so hard to get. Right after giving an amazing presentation. Right after passing that test that you’d been studying (seemingly) forever for. Can you relate? I DEFINITELY can. It’s always a question of ‘enough”. Was I articulate Read more…
Earlier this week, I was sent a video (on social media) of a distraught mother on the West Coast pleading with parents to speak with their children about substance use. This parent emotionally recounted her daughter’s experience with edibles and a drug known as Triple C’s (we’ll talk about what those are in a moment) both of which were given to her by a peer in school. The child, at only 12 years old, was Read more…
We’ve all heard the phrase, “looking at the world through rose-colored glasses”. It’s typically used to refer to someone who has an all-too-naïve view of a particular situation. I’m not 100% sure why “rose” was the color choice, but I do know that all of us have life experiences that can “color” our perspective. Some of us have experienced a great deal of pain in our lives. We therapists like to refer to this as Read more…