Category Archives: Counseling

Valentine’s Day Intimacy Fears?

Valentine’s Day is almost here. For some people this day brings about fears around intimacy. How soon is too soon to celebrate Valentines Day as a “couple”? Maybe just celebrate as friends? lovers? or celebrate love in general?

Do you ever think, “I want to be close, but just how close is it comfortable for me? ”

Are you comfortable with the idea of being close and staying close? Are you comfortable with the idea with giving as well as receiving over a Longterm relationship? Will you be testing your love often? How comfortable are you with commitment? If you move forward into a relationship, will you feel obligated, trapped or controlled? Will you feel like you will be losing your freedom or a part of you?

Exploring these questions is important for you to know where you are as far as desiring and maintaining long term intimacy.

Finally, knowing where your lover is as far as their intimacy abilities? Are they open and available to being intimate? Are they willing, capable and as vested as you? Are you well matched as far as your expectations and abilities? It’s good to think about these things on your own, as well as talking together.

There can be so many ways to celebrate and to create a meaningful intimate relationship on Valentine’s Day, as well as other types of friendships. Taking the opportunity and time to celebrate love in its many forms, is a day well spent.

So…..Happy Valentines Day!

Please call NWA Marriage & Family Therapy at 479-225-0055 to schedule an online appointment, if you would like to talk further.

Thank you.

Relationships are important

Relationships are important in your life.

If the relationships in your life are healthy they can allow you to feel good about your self, be more creative, feel loved and have an over all sense of wellness from day to day that actually makes for better over all health. Making an investment in your relationship is worthwhile.

Please call NWA Marriage and Family Therapy at 479-225-0055. Offices in Fayetteville and Bella Vista, with hours that accommodate any schedule. I would be happy to answer your questions. Now serving online the Fayetteville, Springdale, Centerton, Rogers, Bentonville, and Bella Vista areas.

Happy Valentine’s Day

Celebrate your relationship on this Valentines Day and make it meaningful. It might take some effort sometimes to work out the glitches and endure the ups and downs. If you are needing any type of relationship support, be it dating, in a live in situation, premarital or marriage support.

Please call Northwest Arkansas Marriage and Family Therapy Office at 479-225-0055, leave a voice message and I will return your call. Flexible appointment times to fit all schedules. Look forward to speaking soon about your situation. Serving NWA specifically and all of Arkansas both virtually and in person Thank you.

New Years Tribute, NWA Marriage & Family Therapy

 

Happy New Year’s 2019.  Reflecting on  2018 I was thinking some times it is good to take a look back  to remember those folks who lived and came before us.  Way before us.  We are here because they survived and had the strength to carry on even in very difficult circumstances, often facing situations that in their time seemed impossible to  overcome or endure.  We as people, are stronger and more resilient  than we believe to face our situations.

Please call NWA Marriage & Family Therapy @ 479-225-0055 to set an appointment for couples or individual counseling, at your convenience.  If you need my services, in Fayetteville, Bella Vista, or Ft. Smith.please leave a voice message and I will call back.

Thank you  and I look forward  to hearing from you.

Happy 2019 New Year’s to all as we head forward.

Carmen

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Counseling, Therapy in the age of AI – Erica

Watching this you tube video of Erica an AI android, was eye opening as far as the speed at which AI is progressing and developing as a technology.  These “machines” at first seemed clumsy and slow.  Now they seem realistic and life like, with a better command of  language and a good sense of humor, complete with facial gestures.  Now Erica has her own face book account, and channel.  Soon,  I think humans will have  the option as far as doing therapy with AI versus a human being. The military is already experimenting with  AI’s for therapy.  It is  an interesting choice.

Counseling Research 

The dilemma is research on counseling for the last forty years shows that its not about techniques or theories used by the therapists that determine outcomes of clients,, but the relationship developed with your clients in session that helps them heal.  Will AI’s be able to mimic this situation? Will the create new ways to do therapy?

Basically,  what makes us fundamentally human is how we connect with each other, and share our experience, with others.  These interactions are all part of that human experience, hat helps us heal., and connects us to each other.

We are watching how  the AI phenomenon is developing at great speed and with surprisingly little social discourse.  You tube clip, stated that one AI received citizenship and that we needed to make space for new entities,, not human, not machine.  The  android needed its own space and place.   Wondering how this will all play out ? Any way thought I would share this clip today about Erica.  Still want to talk with a human being?

NWA Marriage and  Family Therapy

I am a licensed  Counselor and a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist  available for individual or relationship therapy.,   Call for an appointment at  479-225-0055 and leave a voice message.  Evening and week end hours are available, serving  the North West Arkansas (NWA )area.

Thank you.

Carmen

Pre Marital Counseling Benefits

Don’t wait till weeks before your marriage to plan your premarital counseling. Knowing your partner well before marriage gives you assurances that the commitment and expectations are right for both of you. Couples spend so much time preparing the ceremony and all that surrounds it, that sometimes this important aspect may be lost.

Pre-Marital Counseling benefits are many:

Learning to talk more effectively to each other, fighting in a  more fair manner, discussing your expectations and wishes, exploring financial issues, and anything that the couple might be avoiding that is a “hot topic” subject.  When one marries another person often times the families have a bigger influence than the couple had previously thought.  Also there can be other issues as well.

I offer premarital session for couples that  are tailor fit with focus on your needs.  I think that it’s good to have a positive experience with a Marriage and Family Therapists, so you
can know that you have the resources to support you in the long run.  I see so many couples use coming to couples therapy as a threat to their partner in the middle of a fight.  Marriage and Family Therapy can be proactive, healthy and an over all smart move for your couple from the start.

I’m a licensed Marriage and Family Therapists (LMFT) offering premarital counseling in the
NWA area as well as in Ft. Smith.  Call me direct at 479-225-0055 and leave a voice message if you would like to discuss your own situation.

Support, Self Improvement in Therapy

Finding Support for Self Improvement in a therapeutic environment is important.

How is support created in therapy?  Many times clients want to come in for one visit to make a variety of changes, often all at one time.  Self improvement happens at your own pace.  It’s usually best in small steps over the course  of your life time.

A variety of self empowering skill sets can be developed over s few sessions.  These skills will later be practiced  one your own with a continued focus on self improvement.   Having  a good  ongoing relationship with a therapist can pave the way to self sufficiency.   An occasional visit with some one who can support you can make your journey easier.

Support can come from many places, people, or even ideas and values.  Uncover who or what supports your integrity and authenticity,   One of my basic therapeutic goals is to self empower you.  Helping you to find a better way to support yourself emotionally as well as to enhance yourself to be your very best at this moment.

Call 479-225-0055 for a counseling appointment if you want help to self empower. NWA Marriage & Family Therapy is serving the Northwest Arkansas area and Ft. Smith.  Start transforming and self empowering your life.

Valentine’s Day

 

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Here is wishing every one a Happy Valentine’s Day.   A wonderful day to remember to celebrate love in all its many forms, be it passionate, romantic, friendship, or all of the above. Sometimes it can be the mix that we create. After all they say, love is blind.

Want to explore your new romance?   Confused as to a dating or an engagement situation?  Maybe a bad past relationship experience is keeping you more closed off than you wish to be, or keeping you from beginning in a new relationship?

Sometimes getting prepared for a new relationship takes some work before it even begins.  A counseling session is a great Valentine’s Day gift for your self or your sweetie.

Give me a call at your convenience 479-225-0055 and please leave a voice message.

 

 

 

 

A Great Holiday Gift Idea

A Great Holiday Gift IdeaA great Holiday gift idea.   So many times around the Holidays I hear clients say their work on their relationship or themselves needs to wait,  till after they pay off  their holiday bills.  That is understandable, I say.

However, I began to think of what material possession might be more important than your relationship with your loved one?  Clothes? Jewelry?  Cell phone? Well maybe a cell phone.  All joking aside, really what material thing can you buy that can supersede having an authentic relationship. A relationship that you can feel really good about?  I was hard pressed to come up with any answer, and you?

Unique Holiday Gift Idea

What about this year giving a few sessions of couples therapy as a unique or unusual gift?  Couples therapy as a holiday gift for both of you, is a novel, unique and  probably a truly unexpected holiday gift.

It might be a great way to initiate that first visit, that for some couples may be difficult.  Do not wait for a catastrophe to get you through the door.

Your partner might be more likely to want to go for a session or two when it was given as a gift.  It might just be an interesting experience for both of you that breaks the ice of any stigma or preconceived ideas about what couples therapy is, in fun way.

A couples session  a great Holiday gift idea. Happy Holidays to all my past, present and future clients.

For more information see Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s)