Author: Melisa De Seguirant, LPC, LMFT
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Better Understanding Executive Functioning
Better Understanding Executive Functioning Executive functioning weaknesses can have a significant impact on a person’s mental health. But what is executive functioning? How can we strengthen it? In our brains, the executive functions are the higher-level cognitive skills that help our internal systems work effectively. We can’t talk about strengthening executive functioning without talking… Read more
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Understanding Seasonal Affective Disorder
Understanding Seasonal Affective Disorder Up here in the PNW things are starting to feel colder and darker, making way for seasonal depression AKA seasonal affective disorder. What is seasonal affective disorder? Does everyone get it? How can you manage it? What makes seasonal affective disorder different from the typical “winter blues”? It is common for… Read more
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Navigating Conflict Successfully
Navigating Conflict Successfully Are you comfortable managing conflict in your relationships? Conflict happens! How do we work with it? What happens if we habitually try to avoid it? What skills are important to effectively resolving conflict when it occurs? What happens when conflict is ongoing? How has conflict been modeled for you? One way to start… Read more
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Coming Out as Queer
Coming Out as LGBTQIA+ (or not!) To come out or not to come out as part of the LGBTQIA community. Why is it important for some people to come out, while not a big deal to others? What should be taken into consideration when making the decision whether to come out or not? Read on!… Read more
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Practicing Active Listening
Practicing Active Listening What is the impact of active listening? When people feel heard and understood, their defenses lower. When defenses are lowered, space for effective communication is created. Curious to know more? Read on! Listening to understand… Oftentimes, especially when excited or when navigating conflict, we listen only to plan our next response. While… Read more
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Bisexual Erasure, Invisibility & Stigma
Unpacking Bisexual Erasure, Invisibility & Stigma In honor of Bisexual Visibility Day, let’s start off with some bisexual myth busting… Bisexual people ARE: Bisexual people are NOT: Bisexual erasure is all about the default lenses we look through when we see people engaging in a romantic way. People tend to make automatic assumptions about these… Read more
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Dealing With Procrastination
Dealing With Procrastination I know I’m not alone on this one! Let’s talk about procrastination… What’s the deal with procrastination? What drives it? What is its function and what do we do about it? Instead of focusing on procrastination, try focusing on your inertia. Notice how it is more difficult to initiate a task than… Read more
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Overcoming Setbacks in Life & Relationships
Overcoming Setbacks in Life & Relationships How ridiculous would it be if every time a baby fell while learning how to walk we threw our hands up in the air and said, “Well that’s it! I guess they are never going to get it. Might as well stop trying.” What do we do instead? We… Read more
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Integration in Non-Monogamy
Navigating Partner Integration in Ethical Non-Monogamy REFLECT What has your experience with integration in ethical non-monogamy been like? Have your partners met your other partners? What have your metamour experiences been like? Is integration important to you? Why or why not? What do you wish you would have known at the beginning of your ENM… Read more
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Managing Your Cognitive Distortions
Managing Your Cognitive Distortions The principles from cognitive psychology continue to be a backbone in establishing mental wellness. Our patterns of thinking have a great deal of impact on how we feel. Have you heard of cognitive distortions? Are you aware of which ones you fall into most easily, and what triggers them? How do… Read more