What if the very thing you’ve been trying to get rid of—your anxiety, your sadness, your overwhelm—is actually the path to feeling better?

Many people assume that families should get along, and enjoy the holidays. But for a surprising number of us, that’s not reality.

One of my pet peeves is that I didn't receive a proper education in emotions until I was almost 40 years old. Until I saw the Change Triangle, I judged myself for what I felt and had no tools to help myself move through emotions like anger, anxiety, depression, and shame.

Read the one-page welcome letter excerpted from "Parents Have Feelings, Too: A Guide to Navigating Your Emotions So You And Your Family Can Thrive."

Permission to feel our emotions is very different than permission to act on our emotions.

Culturally, we may picture women as more emotional and men as more stoic. But neuroscience tells a different story. Having and expressing emotions isn’t a “female thing” or a “male thing.”It’s a human thing.

We greatly benefit from understanding which emotions are affecting us and why. By feeling it through and thinking it through, we get the best outcomes. When we work the Change Triangle, we get calmer, more curious, more compassionate, and we gain clarity.

Anger happens to all of us. When we get angry, we must work with it so we don't suppress it. Suppressing anger makes us depressed and/or anxious. We also work with anger so we don't act it out, which hurts others and our relationships. In order to work effectively with our anger, we first need to know what kind of anger it is. There are two kinds to consider: Core anger, and; Defensive anger Core anger Core anger is a survival emotion which arises when we perceive an attack

Consider these scripts designed to soften defenses so you can relate more authentically with emotions in mind.

Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom . - Aristotle Lillian, a patient of mine, didn’t know who she truly was. She lacked a sense of self. At any given moment of the day, she struggled to know what she felt, what she needed, what she wanted, and what she desired. Equally important, she struggled to know her limits and boundaries and what she did NOT want or like. “I feel like a shell,” she said early in our work, “or sometimes like a willow tree. I feel blown around

In the kind of psychotherapy I practice called AEDP, we often focus on feel-good emotions like joy and pride. Deepening the experience...

"He's an idiot," my father would snap when someone didn't do something the way he wanted. It didn't bother me then. But now I realize my...

The emotional challenges following a traumatic brain injury are many.

Most people have never had any emotions education at all. In 2022, this is an astounding fact. As a result of the lack of education in...

Our dysfunctional society fails to educate us on emotions. Here are a few basics to start you on your way to more knowledge.

Dating tips for finding emotional intimacy and connection

Hilary Jacobs Hendel explains the difference between healthy and toxic shame. The Change Triangle tool guides healing.

(The personal reflections on confusion quoted throughout this article were generously shared by "Michele." Thank you, Michele.) "I often...

It's hard to hold hope that healing and transformation are possible especially if nothing has helped so far. Here's why I hold hope.

Anxiety and fear are words often used interchangeably. But they are not the same! Distinguishing between anxiety and fear is crucial.