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The Healing Power of Friendships

by Joseph Hovemeyer, MDIV, MS     Friendship is vastly underrated when it comes to a person’s mental health. What do I mean by this? When we think of mental health, physical health, and even overall happiness, friendship is not often the immediate go-to. It’s on the list somewhere, but not at the top. I want to make the argument that friendship is central to these health pursuits and I want to talk specifically, as a therapist, about the ways that friendships can heal us.    There was a recent longitudinal Harvard study that examined...

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Resolutions in Pandemic Times

By Emily Phifer, M.S. MFT   As mid-February fast approaches, I’m still thinking --without resolve, I might add-- about the best way to approach New Year's resolutions for the year 2021. [perfectpullquote align="full" bordertop="false" cite="" link="" color="" class="" size=""]If you’re like most people, you may currently be hitting a wall - your days characterized by fatigue and the need to juggle many varying responsibilities against the backdrop of pandemic life. [/perfectpullquote] We've spent the last year with high hopes for 2021. But, as the pandemic marathon continues into the new year, we are...

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Up in Smoke: Facing the Fire Threat on Top of the Rest

By Emily Phifer, M.S. MFT   Approaching Burnout How are we to manage the fatigue of yet another threat (that of fires), on top of the Covid-19 specter which has been looming large for the past 6 months, and the racial upheaval and political unrest fueling division in our country? If you’re approaching burnout right about now, wondering how to keep putting one foot in front of another, you’re not alone. With the recent added trauma of the devastating West Coast fires, this year has just served up yet another whopping stressor to...

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Resiliency: Transformation Through Life’s Challenges

by Christian Bonilla, MA, Associate Marriage and Family Therapist   What is resilience? I think we can all agree that life is amazing when everything is running smoothly.  However, life does not always work that way.  It is simply too unpredictable.  I became quite familiar with this fact thirteen years ago, at the age of fifteen.  The result of a diving accident at a lake left me paralyzed from the chest down.  Life as I knew it would never be the same.  Gone was my ability to play instruments and run for my...

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Emotional Refueling: Vital to Mental Health

by Emily Phifer, M.S. MFT   During this difficult life season, Sync Counseling Center wants to remind you that everyone can benefit from prioritizing mental health practices.  Particularly during this pandemic and the collective shifting around long-held systems of  racial inequality in our society today, you may find yourself "running on empty", depleted and fatigued.  It's not uncommon during times of personal or collective grief, or both, for people to find themselves unusually exhausted, slowed down, and having difficulty completing usual tasks or functions.  Grief and stress slow us down physically, emotionally...

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