Articles of Interest:
About the Practice
About my practice in ‘The Journal’
A local press announcement from when Colleen opened her private counseling practice in downtown Edmonds.
Thoughts, Beliefs & Self-Talk
Troublesome thought
A guide to common cognitive distortions — the thinking habits, like all-or-nothing thinking and “should” statements, that can quietly fuel our pain.
Untwist your thoughts
Fifteen practical techniques for challenging and untwisting distorted, negative thinking.
Self-Defeating beliefs
A list of ten self-defeating beliefs, from perfectionism to fear of rejection, that can keep us stuck.
Guilt
A number of people that I’ve talked with lately have been carry around tremendous guilt for a long time. They beat themselves up over any conceived flaw.
Eating, Food & Body Image
Understanding Eating Disorders
An in-depth look at eating disorders — the personal, family, cultural, and biological factors behind them, why they are “about feelings, not food,” and how parents can help.
Women, Food and Feelings
For many people, especially women, their relationships with their bodies and with food become a daily struggle.
Emotional Wellbeing & Everyday Life
Are You Feeling Overwhelmed?
On the exhaustion of taking on too much, and how identifying what to delegate and where to set boundaries can protect your wellbeing.
Living With ADHD
A compassionate look at ADHD as a neurotype rather than a disorder, its challenges and strengths, and tools for living well with it.
Experiencing Gratitude During Covid
With so many struggling to cope with Covid 19 and the problems it has created in our lives, I think it’s important to acknowledge the things we do have to be grateful for.
A Call for Consideration
I feel it is important to stand up for myself and for those that don’t have a voice. It could be children, animals or nature.
Golden Rules for Living
A short, timeless list of everyday courtesies for living well and considerately (author unknown).
Parenting & Families
Parenting
How predictable routines, clear rules, and consistent consequences help children feel secure — with reflective questions and a simple framework for parents.
A lesson to parents click here
On teaching children about boundaries, limits, and consideration for others, and why a parent’s loving authority helps kids feel secure.
Cooperation
Nine practical tips for encouraging cooperation from your child through praise, clear expectations, rewards, and consistent follow-through.
Co-Parenting
On the realities of parenting separately after divorce, and why good communication between co-parents protects children from further conflict.
Goals of Co-Parent Counseling
What co-parent counseling aims to do — reduce conflict and build communication and negotiation skills so children aren’t caught in the middle.
Tips for Parents on Raising Healthy Children click here
Ways parents can raise healthy kids and help prevent eating disorders, from modeling healthy eating to promoting size acceptance and positive body talk.
Terrible Twos
On the toddler stage of testing limits and asserting independence, and why clear, consistent, loving boundaries help children feel secure.