Blog for Better Living
The Psychology Behind Pelvic Pain
By: Shanni Tal, Psy.D. | April 18, 2025
The mind-body connection plays a crucial role in many pain-related conditions, such as headaches, muscle tension, or gastrointestinal discomfort. This is especially true for pain related to women’s sexual and reproductive health. For some women, sex, gynecological exams, and tampon insertion can cause anxiety and physical pain. The sensations associated with these events are involuntary […]
Read MoreWhat Women Really Want
By: Kristen Lipari, Ph.D. | April 4, 2025
The 6th Love Language of Attunement We often discuss the five love languages – words of affirmation, quality time, acts of service, gifts, and physical touch. But there’s an unspoken sixth love language that many women crave: attunement. It’s the emotional labor of noticing, anticipating, and responding to a partner’s needs without being asked. […]
Read MoreGet Up, Get Moving, Feel Better
By: Demet Çek, Ph.D. | March 28, 2025
The Power of Behavioral Activation Do you feel stuck in a cycle of low energy, lost motivation, and diminished joy? Depression, loneliness, and midlife malaise can leave you feeling exhausted and indifferent, causing you to withdraw from activities and isolate from others, which only deepens the cycle and makes everything harder. To break this […]
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How Written Exposure Therapy Can Help Treat PTSD
By: Natalie Rice-Thorp, Ph.D. | March 14, 2025
If you’ve experienced death, threats of death, serious physical injury, or sexual violence, you may be struggling to cope with the impact of these events. You might experience nightmares or intrusive memories related to the trauma or find yourself avoiding reminders of what happened. It’s possible you’ve had difficulty connecting with others or struggled to […]
Read MoreAm I a People Pleaser or Just a Nice Person?
By: Michael Toohey, Psy.D. | March 7, 2025
Have you ever found yourself agreeing to something you didn’t want to do, just to avoid disappointing someone, and then wondered – am I a people pleaser or just a nice person? The truth is the distinction between being a people pleaser and simply being kind can be more nuanced than you might think. People […]
Read MoreHow To Support Survivors of Natural Disasters
By: Niyatee Sukumaran, Ph.D. | January 24, 2025
Natural disasters like earthquakes, wildfires, floods, hurricanes and tornados can profoundly affect the mental health of both individuals and entire communities. One such example is the Palisades Fire in Los Angeles. As I continue to watch the news, I realize the immense loss and destruction experienced by so many. If you have friends and family […]
Read MoreCultivating Calm in Crisis
By: Ashley Malooly, Ph.D. | November 22, 2024
As much as we hope to avoid them, at some point or another, we are all inevitably affected by crises in our lives. For example, an unexpected bill shows up, a pet or a child falls ill, your flight gets canceled, you need to have a high-stakes conversation with a loved one. All these situations […]
Read MoreHow to Say Goodbye
By: Rochelle Perper, Ph.D. | November 8, 2024
How can we possibly say goodbye to someone we love when they approach the end of their life? It seems like an impossible task because we simply don’t want to say goodbye to the people we love – especially if we are saying goodbye forever. Facing this certainty feels unbearable. As hard as it may […]
Read MoreOvercoming Midlife Malaise: Simple Strategies for Renewal
By: Demet Çek, Ph.D. | November 1, 2024
What is my purpose? How can I make the most of the time I have left? Is this all there is to life? If you’ve been pondering these questions, you may be experiencing midlife malaise. While having a “midlife crisis” is often stereotyped by getting a divorce, splurging on an expensive sports car, and pursuing […]
Read MoreAnxiety, Depression, Personal Improvement, Relationships, Stress