Defensiveness
Many times when we get into arguments, one person in the relationship criticizes or is contemptuous, which often leads to the other partner feeling attacked. When someone is feeling attacked they get defensive or shuts down emotionally. Most of...
Corroding Relationships with Contemptment
Another act besides criticizing that negatively impacts relationships is contemptment. This behavior is also known as disrespect or coming from a place of superiority. This is the biggest indicator of divorce according to Gottman’s research. Couples who are contemptuous...
Teens and Vaping
Vaping is a trend that has been on the rise recently, specifically for adolescents in middle school and high school. This trend of using various types of e-cigarettes is an addictive process that more adolescents are engaging in or...
Summit Counseling: Phased Reopening
Governor Kemp has signed an executive order that lifts a shelter-in-place order for most of Georgia’s residents effective Friday, May 1st, while extending restrictions for those who are identified as medically fragile.1 Fulton County continues to lead the state...
‘Some of the Greatest Causes of Misery’: U.N. Warns Of Pandemic’s Mental Health Costs
The dire consequences of the global pandemic have been difficult to escape, let alone ignore. The devastating effects of the coronavirus — from physical symptoms to economic complications — have made themselves apparent in headline after headline, week after...
Distracting from Racing Thoughts
We have all experienced racing thoughts that seem uncontrollable or impossible to untangle. Many times it can be helpful to reframe the thought or return to a calming mantra to feel grounded. These skills can work for many situations,...
Criticism vs. Complaint
In the past two months, we have been in close quarters with our partners and noticed some cute and some not so cute habits of theirs… Or maybe things were rocky before sheltering in place, and now those issues...
Wondering About a Learning Disability? 3 Signs for Parents
Rebecca L. Marshall , Ph.D.
Parents often consult me about signs of a learning disability in their children. Sometimes difficulties are obvious, such as when an adolescent struggles year after year to pass math or when a child struggles to learn to read long...
Bullying in Middle School
We often hear this word being thrown around but what is bullying really? Stopbullying.gov defines bullying as unwanted, aggressive behavior among school aged children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance. The behavior is repeated, or has the...