Gateway to Solutions Blog

Before going into more details about couples therapy, I think it is important to begin by debunking a couple of common misconception about couples therapy. While many people believe that couples [...]

When we think of someone we have heard described as narcissistic, we often think of selfish, attention-craving, or is notably conceited. It is a term many of us have listened to and used or maybe [...]

Probably one of the most expected questions to be asked in therapy. You know, the kind of question you know is coming and yet, when asked, you don’t even know where to start—or why you’re talking [...]

Sometimes life throws us a curveball that leaves us feeling that we need some support to find or accentuate the best version of ourselves. If you are finding yourself at a crossroads, looking for [...]

Holidays tend to be a time of tradition. Company holiday parties, cookie making and Christmas tree decorating with family, dreidel playing and latke eating with friends, singing and dancing for [...]

Throughout my time as a therapist, I have noticed that when people speak about the term “trauma”, they often do so with a very limited definition of the word—and usually in a manner that [...]

If you have ever felt nervous before presenting a speech in class or a report in a team meeting, or felt your heart race as you pull up to a first date or before a conversation with your [...]

If you’ve been following along this blog series, you by now have a brief yet comprehensive introduction to the different types of personality disorders. If you haven’t read the first two blogs [...]

With the upcoming change in season can often come a change in mood as well. While some people are eager for the cold weather of winter so they can put on their cozy sweaters and drink hot cocoa, [...]

There are a number of physical experiences that come with getting angry or feeling frustrated or upset when we are in a situation that triggers us. If you have ever wondered what causes humans to [...]

Last month’s blog provided an introduction to personality disorders – what they are and how they may impact individuals and those close to them. While blog offered brief descriptions of three [...]

An important first step in healing your relationship with food through the Intuitive Eating framework is to Reject the Diet Mentality, but what is diet mentality? This term isn’t part of our [...]

Ask ten people “When’s the last time you’ve felt fear?” and there’s a good chance you’ll receive ten different answers: “the moment before the first big drop on a rollercoaster”, “when I missed a [...]

A personality disorder is a type of mental disorder in which you have a very rigid and unhealthy pattern of thinking, functioning and behaving. Personality disorders affect various areas of an [...]

The therapeutic relationship is unique in many ways, not the least of which is that the client and therapist enter into it with a mutual, ultimate goal of it ending it.  The broad plan is that [...]

Social media has become an incredible vast and popular source of news, entertainment, connection and more. Between Instagram, Twitter, Tik Tok and Facebook, individuals across the globe have near [...]

A diagnosis or presence of disordered eating is a complex issue, that is rarely about just food. To understand eating disorders involves peeling back many layers. When working with clients in [...]

We are likely all familiar with the idea that what we resist persists, yet many of us struggle with actualizing this concept in our lives. Even if we objectively want change, we may fear letting [...]

By definition, gaslighting means to “manipulate (someone) by psychological means into questioning their own sanity.” The term was coined back in 1938 when British playwriter Patrick Hamilton [...]

Last month’s blog introduced Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT), an action-oriented psychotherapeutic approach grounded in traditional behavioral therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, and [...]

OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder) is a mental health disorder defined in the DSM-5 as “recurrent and persistent thoughts, urges or images that are experienced, at some time during the [...]

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT): A Primer New clients often ask me “what techniques do you use?”  They want to understand more about the journey they are about to embark on.  Like many [...]

Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy, otherwise known as REBT, first emerged in the 1950s and quickly became a dominating form of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). As such, REBT has similar goals [...]

Anxiety is our body’s natural response to stress. It can play a very functional role in helping individuals identify and prepare for danger. While anxiety is an essential human feeling, some [...]

New clients often ask me “what techniques do you use?” They want to understand more about the journey they are about to embark on. Like many clinicians, mine is an eclectic approach, drawing on [...]

Anxiety is our body’s natural response to stress. It can play a very functional role in helping individuals identify and prepare for danger. While anxiety is an essential human feeling, some [...]

Have you been procrastinating duties deliberately, isolating yourself from people, giving people backhanded compliments, remaining silent, or dismissing people? Well, you may not believe it; [...]

Burnout, a common expression for feeling overwhelmed and fatigued, is a part of our everyday vernacular. Since May of 2019, it has officially been recognized by the World Health Organization [...]

Many people enter therapy with a request to manage their emotions. They might not like or understand what is coming up for them, and earnestly seek ways to tame their emotions or to make some of [...]

There has been an outpouring of research and articles in recent years about the effects of social media on mental health. As social media usage has increased, so too has concern about the ways [...]

One of the many important things therapy aims to help clients with is taking inventory of their lives to better understand their values and priorities, and how aligned these are with their life [...]

Going down the rabbit hole, thought spirals, overthinking-whatever you call it, all of us have experienced thought rumination at some point in time. When it occurs frequently, it can feel [...]

Loss is a difficult and inevitable part of life. Grief is part of the healing response to loss. Grief is typically considered on a personal scale – an individual or a small group of people [...]

Marijuana, a substance that has been around for centuries, has become an increasingly hot topic as it has become decriminalized and even legal in many states. For many, marijuana offers very real [...]

As I write this, our country and our world are in the grips of the COVID-19 pandemic. There is a pervasive sense of fear of the present and anxiety about what the future might hold. Amidst this [...]

Settling into winter, post-holiday rush can feel overwhelming. Winter blues are a real thing, whether or not you have diagnosable Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD. Seasonal Affective Disorder [...]

Every relationship that we enter into has boundaries. We may not consciously recognize these dynamics at play, but boundaries represent what we are and aren’t willing to let in. They signify [...]

According to Dr. John Mendiola at New York City’s Mindbody-Therapeutics (https://mindbody-therapeutics.com/) “this breakthrough treatment has little to no side effects, 70-80% success rate, [...]

The terms guilt and shame are often used interchangeably. While they may appear to be synonymous and may often be correlated, their true nature indicates important distinctions. Brené Brown, [...]

Clients will often question what they are supposed to feel during therapy. Many times, a client has caught herself laughing during a session and then quickly questioning whether that is ok? And, [...]

Our emotions provide us with lots of information. They are neither good nor bad, even when they feel bad, they are usually signaling important information. Whether it’s highlighting how much you [...]

The weeks between Thanksgiving and New Years typically feel like a busy time, but due to the way this year’s calendar worked, it seems that people are feeling even more overwhelmed than usual [...]

The weeks between Thanksgiving and New Years typically feel like a busy time, but due to the way this year’s calendar worked, it seems that people are feeling even more overwhelmed than usual [...]

In a culture that thrives on 24/7 schedules, self-care offers an antidote to the frenetic pace of life. Self-care is a simple and powerful concept that allows us to check in with ourselves in a [...]

If you every been called sensitive, you might be surprised to learn that there is a scientific term called Highly Sensitive Person or HSP. This is not a diagnosis, it has been deemed by [...]

Attachment theory is based on the idea that as children, we are biologically wired to bond with our earliest caregivers. The original idea pioneered by John Bowlby challenged the commonly held [...]

Fear and anxiety are a natural part of human existence. The amygdala – part of the brain’s limbic system, which represents the most primordial parts of the brain – instantaneously sets forth a [...]

November introduces the start of holiday season with upcoming Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas and Kwanzaa. While this time is marketed as a time of cheer, for many the holiday season triggers [...]

Self- compassion, much like mindfulness and self-care, has earned a spotlight in the mental health community and beyond. Many confuse self-compassion with self-esteem which fluctuates and [...]