Holidays take on various meanings, experiences, and expectations for all of us. Enjoying rituals of connection and celebration; honoring cultural and religious traditions; spending time with family and loved ones; taking some time to reflect and set intentions for the...

The holiday season has arrived! Tis the season for cookie baking, latkes making, and binging cheesy Hallmark movies. It’s the season of giving, joy, and for many…anxiety. While the holidays are intended to bring warmth and cheer, they often leave us feeling...

Perfectionists. We know them, we love them, maybe… we are them.    You might be thinking, well what’s so wrong with being a perfectionist?    Hear me out – there is a distinct difference between the pursuit of growth and achievement, and the pursuit of...

It’s the first of the month and as you’re sifting through your bills and planning out the goings-on for the next month, you find yourself reflecting back on last month. Well, that was kind of hamster wheel. Life feels like an assembly line of tasks, obligations, and...

At Love Heal Grow, most of our clients are survivors of abuse.  Sadly, this isn’t surprising as 1 in 4 women have experienced violence by a partner, 7 million children live in families in which severe partner violence has occurred, and 500 women are sexually assaulted...

Body positivity.    A few years ago, this idea was all over social media: special hashtags on Instagram, related topics trending on Twitter- and I remember thinking, “finally, loving yourself is trendy!”    For those of us who have struggled with...

My recently engaged little sister is in the midst of planning her wedding. After celebrating 11 years of marriage to my husband over the weekend, I thought about what advice I might offer her as she prepares to marry a wonderful person.   So here they are, 11...

March, 2020: I get a call from my children’s school. They’re closing the school. They’re closing the after-school program. Two weeks and they’ll re-evaluate after that.   Two Weeks. Two Weeks! My mind goes in overdrive. But I have to work…but my spouse has to...

If you remember flip phones and unlimited minutes after 8pm, or the pinnacle of early 2000s fashion (bell-bottom jeans and layered tank tops), then you might find yourself as a now twenty-something asking, “When the hell did I become an adult???”    They’re not...

Why it hurts and how sex therapy helps   A new couple walks into my office and here is what they share:   Partner A: “I’m so frustrated; it feels like we never have sex anymore. My partner cares more about the kids and their job than making love to me. They...

  Invisible Labor and How It’s Affecting Your Relationship   Perhaps this is the product of my recent “binge-watch” of Desperate Housewives, but nonetheless I find myself fascinated with the phenomenon of “invisible labor”.    Invisible labor is an...

  I'm hearing over and over again in therapy sessions right now...    "I'm doing all the ‘right’ things but I'm still not feeling very good. What am I doing wrong?”   And then just last weekend (after riding the same roller-coaster in life that we all...

It’s 7:30pm by the time you walk through the front door.   You try to stuff the day’s work meetings, project deadlines, and conference calls to the back of your mind so you can make room to mentally zip through your home to-do list.   It’s Friday night but...

We're more than 8 months in to the coronavirus pandemic and it's safe to say that many of our clients are experiencing burnout related to the changes we've experienced in 2020. We've battled mandatory quarantines, travel restrictions, changes to every "normal" we've...

A couple of months a caught myself in a horrible cycle.  Up late scrolling on the internet, turning my phone off but getting looped in anxious thoughts, dreading the moment my daughter wakes up because I didn't get enough sleep and I was just dying for a few more...

I still remember the first time I had an argument with my now husband. Having met in college, we didn't become serious in our relationship right away.  Something about him, though, I knew that if we did end up moving to the next level--it was going to be a very...

When sex is painful, we may find ourselves wondering what's wrong with us, struggling to relax and enjoy ourselves during intercourse, and maybe even avoiding sex all together.   An activity that we hope will be a time of connection, pleasure and...