Have you ever been faced with a tough task, life transition or struggle where you pushed through, on our own and made it out on the other end? We all have, and we often count those moments of hard work and resiliency as some of our best moments. Moments when we triumphed over struggle. But …
Why don’t people go to therapy? We go to the dentist every six months for cleanings and check-ups. We go to the doctor when we are sick. We get our hair cut or our nails done as needed, or as desired to feel and look our best. We get a massage or go to the …
Whether you have been with your spouse for 2 years or 20 years, it’s normal to hit a period of boredom in your relationship. The everyday responsibilities of life like taking care of the household, going to work, taking care of the pets or children and the many other roles each partner may take on; …
The Mental Wellness Counseling “Community Spotlight” series introduces key leaders in Grand Traverse County who work to enhance the community’s health and overall wellbeing. Whether it’s focusing on individual health or family dynamics, they are here to help! Ryan Douglass: Court counseling Ryan Douglass used to envision himself as a private practice family therapist—complete with …
Read more “Community Spotlight: Leelanau County Family Court”
The Mental Wellness Counseling “Meet the Counselors” series offers a deeper look into each counselor’s background, experiences, motivations, values, and philosophies. In this series, I put counselors on the couch to learn why and how they do what they do. Passion for Psychology When adults asked young Joe Sanok what he wanted to be when …
The Mental Wellness Counseling “Meet the Counselors” series offers a deeper look into each counselor’s background, experiences, motivations, values, and philosophies. In this series, I put counselors on the couch to learn why and how they do what they do. Survival of the Sickest As a 21-year-old undergrad, Anndrea Terry’s life was changed forever at …
The Mental Wellness Counseling “Meet the Counselors” series offers a deeper look into each counselor’s background, experiences, motivations, values, and philosophies. In this series, I put counselors on the couch to learn why and how they do what they do. Q: How did you first get interested/involved in your particular field? A: I became interested …
The Mental Wellness Counseling “Meet the Counselors” series offers a deeper look into each counselor’s background, experiences, motivations, values, and philosophies. In this series, I put counselors on the couch to learn why and how they do what they do. Q: What has been your most impactful work experience? A: I worked on a crisis …
The Mental Wellness Counseling “Meet the Counselors” series offers a deeper look into each counselor’s background, experiences, motivations, values, and philosophies. In this series, I put counselors on the couch to learn why and how they do what they do. Q: What influenced you to become a counselor? A: As an undergraduate, I studied abroad …
The Mental Wellness Counseling “Meet the Counselors” series offers a deeper look into each counselor’s background, experiences, motivations, values, and philosophies. In this series, I put counselors on the couch to learn why and how they do what they do. Nine Joyless Months Pregnancy according to Nicole Ball is not always the glowing complexion, framed sonogram …
The Mental Wellness Counseling “Meet the Counselors” series offers a deeper look into each counselor’s background, experiences, motivations, values, and philosophies. In this series, I put counselors on the couch to learn why and how they do what they do. Q: What experiences have you had that make you feel capable of being a counselor? …
The Mental Wellness Counseling “Meet the Counselors” series offers a deeper look into each counselor’s background, experiences, motivations, values, and philosophies. In this series, I put counselors on the couch to learn why and how they do what they do. A New Start The 2008 economic recession catalyzed a life-changing series of events for Steve …
By Tarah K. Elhardan, MA, LPC, NCC Last week, as I was laying on my yoga mat in the beginning of a Friday evening yoga class, my instructor gracefully stated that “one is the union of the mind, body and consciousness.” As a mental health professional, this truly resonated with me and I thought about …
By Steve Greenman, MA, LPC, NCC “At the bottom of every person’s dependency, there is always pain, discovering the pain and healing it is an essential step in ending dependency.” Chris Prentiss, The Alcoholism and Addiction Cure Do you have a love one struggling with emotional/physical pain using an unhealthy dependency (alcohol, pornography, gambling, drugs legal …
Depression Common Types & Signs (From National Institute of Mental Health) Major Depression: severe symptoms that interfere with your ability to work, sleep, study, eat, and enjoy life. An episode can occur only once in a person’s lifetime, but more often, a person has several episodes. Persistent depressive disorder—depressed mood that lasts for at least …
I was recently talking with a friend that said, “You know, I realized recently that there was a last time that I carried my child to bed.” His kids are older now. He went on, “There was a last time.” Then he paused. Whether it is a last time hugging your kids in your home, …
A number of photos have recently been circling the Facebook-Twittersphere about the trash at the Traverse City National Cherry Festival. As a counselor and psychologist, I’m interested in the human behavior behind the problem. I’ve traveled throughout Haiti, Nepal, Thailand, and much of South America. In those travels, I’ve observed how different cultures view trash. …
5 Tips for Distant Couples Traverse City Marriage Counseling | Tip #1 Focus on the big goal of marriage: Why did you get married? Probably to spend your life with someone, have a level of intimacy, and grow with them. If you keep focused on the big goal of marriage, feeling that intimacy, then you’ll have …
5 Ways to help angry kids Are your kids angry? Did your son recently get a MIP? Does your daughter sneak out? Do your kids throw tantrums? As experts in counseling children, working with angry kids, and family counseling, we want to help. Whether that is through reading our blog posts about family counselor or …
I love it when “someday we will” becomes “today we are.” Joseph R. Sanok Mental Wellness Counseling, Traverse City, MI Photo by Vox Efx
Steps to reaching goals: 1. Identify your New Year’s resolution or goal. 2. Create a plan that helps you overcome barriers, laziness, and not doing it. 3. Do it daily until you have reached your goal.
How to Improve Kid’s Sleep As parents, we want to stay educated and up-to-date on what best helps our kids learn, grow, and thrive. This page is centered around the topic of sleep. Why sleep? Here are a few reasons: 1. Sleep is core to improvement and maintenance in a number of areas including attention, …
Read more “How to Improve Kids’ Sleep | 10 resources to help kids sleep”
With so many ways to improve parenting, it’s unbelievable that these things are true! What do you think? (Read More to see the full graphic…)
That phrase, “I just felt it in my gut,” might be true after all. Researchers are now finding that what we eat actually has a profound biological effect on our mood. It’s because we’re feeding a bunch of microbe in our body. They react to what we eat. In fact, they out number our cells …
Read more “Microbes, Your Gut, and Your Brain | How new research is changing the face of anxiety”
Watch Jane McGonigal’s TED Talk above to know how this fits into video games. Hospice Workers Report Top 5 Regrets on Deathbeds Here’s the link to the article 1. I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me. 2. I wish I hadn’t worked …
Read more “Kids should play more video games…or should they?”
9 ways to get better sleep Sleep is when our brains organize what has happened. Most adults need at least 7 hours of sleep. People/kids in school need 8-10 hours to appropriately categorize what they have learned. Less sleep = More anxiety/depression/academic failure Don’t have a TV in your bedroom, it stimulates your brain to …
Read more “Why you should sleep more | Better sleep = Better grades”
Basics of School Success Make sure your brain is working, get lots of sleep. Don’t stink, shower and smell good! Eat healthy food. Get lots of exercise. Of course you should study too!
It’s here!!! The Ten-Minute Toddler Turnaround | Improving Sleep The Ten-minute Toddler Turnaround | Improving Sleep: Changing your toddler’s sleep health in ten-minutes. The book we’ve been waiting for!
STEP 001 [PLAN] LEARN HOW SLEEP HELPS THE BRAIN ONE HOUR OF SLEEP IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN “A” STUDENTS AND “B” STUDENTS REDUCE LIGHT AND SOUND
9 ways to get better sleep Sleep is when our brains organize what has happened. Most adults need at least 7 hours of sleep. People/kids in school need 8-10 hours to appropriately categorize what they have learned. Less sleep = More anxiety/depression/academic failure Don’t have a TV in your bedroom, it stimulates your brain to …
[pinit] Joe’s New Book Mental Wellness Parenting | A remarkably simple approach to making parenting easier From Mental Wellness Parenting | A remarkably simple approach to making parenting easier: Control vs. Voice So how do we use this new information about guiding our kids to help them change their behavior? Ultimately, you have no …
[pinit] Even parents need reminders. Sometimes it’s easy to just get in the routine of parenting. Although Valentine’s Day is often for lovers, we love our kids! It is a special day to share with them just how much they mean to you. Here are a few tips and ideas. Take them out for breakfast. …
Read more “14 Ways to Show Your Kids Love on Valentine’s Day”
Being a good parent is like making soup. For those of you who have never made soup, except out of a can I’m sorry. You are truly missing out. When making a good soup you can of course follow a recipe. But, some of the greatest surprises are when you create a soup from what …
Now that Christmas is behind us, 2013 goals are here. Maybe this will help you reach those goals this year. Whether it is to be a better parent, help your kids, improve your marriage, exercise more, or just create a better you…this should help!
[pinit] [pinit] Step 001: know what you want and what makes you happy Step 002: tell yourself that no matter what happens, you are going to do your best Step 003: prepare your family as best as you can. Step 004: do your best to be happier, more helpful, and …
Parents rap about maintaining their household by videosonlytube I just saw this video. I don’t have much insight regarding counseling or therapeutic issues to write about. More that I just love how this couple seems to work together. It is so easy to get caught up in life’s tasks, but when a couple fires on …
“All teenagers are risk-takers, moody, and get embarrassed by their parents.” “They are angry and hate adults.” “They only listen to their friends.” Are these statements really true? Sarah-Jayne Blakemore discusses why teenagers seem more impulsive and less self-aware than grown-ups. She compares the prefrontal cortex in adolescents to adults. Often typically “teenage” behavior is caused by …
Appearing in the Record Eagle on 9-8-12 In 9th grade, the school counselor brought me and several other students into her office. She informed us that a peer had committed suicide. Later, the entire school was informed. It is devastating to get that type of news. Every 15 minutes another family, friend, and …
In July I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. Fairly soon I will be having a bunch of additional tests and have a treatment plan. I will soon have my thyroid removed, have a scar on my neck, and be on medicine for the rest of my life. I feel too young for all of this. …
A “helicopter parent” is a parent who hovers over their child, waiting to catch them before they skin their knee. “Helicopter Parents” schedule, plan, and create a world for their children. They are usually highly involved and deep down want the best for their kids. They are often high achievers or wish they had been …
Originally featured in the Record Eagle July 14, 2012. Available at: http://record-eagle.com/features/x748660390/Mental-Wellness-Opposite-sex-friends I have seen many a friendship and marriage fail because of opposite gender friends. What happens when you have a great opposite gender friend and you get married? What about friends that you make after marriage that are opposite of your gender? A marriage …
Originally appeared in the Record Eagle, April 21, 2012 available at: http://record-eagle.com/bodysoul/x1350020161/Mental-Wellness-More-than-beauty-rest/print My grandma had a sleep mask. You know the kind that blocks out light? Hers was pink. I always thought it looked stupid. Then my wife gave me one last December, except mine is brown and black. When I got it, I thought, …
There are so many factors that go into parenting. It seems that every friend, website, magazine, and blog is telling you how to get more organized and structured in your parenting. But what if I told you that you were too organized and rigid? Would that be freeing? Of course there are times that you …
Bus Monitor Bullied About a week ago, my wife was changing my daughter’s diaper. She was parked outside a pharmacy in Traverse City and she was changing the diaper on the front seat of our car. I wasn’t there. Some teens pulled up and were seated with …
I haven’t told everyone, but I have told a lot of people, my daughter was recently in the hospital for a week. It was something fairly severe and we’re now in recovery mode. Here are some things that I wrote down the night that her surgery was over and …
Originally published at http://record-eagle.com/features/x239062040/Mental-Wellness-Build-time-to-slow-down by Joseph R. Sanok I can’t slow down. I need this article more than anyone. I have a baby, house, job, private practice ” the list goes on and on. I bet your list is similar. There is always a reason why I can’t slow down. I …
You never really appreciate a life of normality until crisis hits. Our family has been through a number of things lately: a death, a major medical issue, and close friends having their own crisis. It is amazing how it seems that high profile events bring out people’s true social skills. I learned through experience what …
It all started when we were shopping for mayonnaise. I mean, we didn’t go to the store just for mayo, it’s not like we have an all mayo diet, but it is now known as the “Mayo Incident.” I would say that it started years before that incident, but it was the catalyst. We …
How’s it going friend? I hope that your day is going fabulous! Also, thank you in advance for passing this on to one friend, I’m sure you know a parent that can grow with you, so thanks for helping your friends through this newsletter. Today’s newsletter is going to be a shorter letter with a …
First let me say “welcome” to all of our new subscribers. It has been overwhelming to see how many new people joined us in the last month. Welcome, welcome welcome and thank you! Those of you that are the vets of the list, thank you as well for sticking with me! Now, down to business.New …
Dear Joe, My five year old daughter talks to everyone, she is a lovely person with a big personality. I am worried that she will talk to strangers and it could lead to something bad. What are your thoughts on “stranger danger.” -A Mom in Traverse City, MI Dear …
Read more “Four Things Every Preschooler Should Do Every Day”
Ask Joe Think “Dear Abby” for a new generation. Each newsletter I will select one or more questions to answer. So if you have a parenting or mental wellness question, please send it my way. I’m sure others have the same question and could benefit. sanokcounseling@gmail.com Dear Joe, What are …
Ask Joe Think “Dear Abby” for a new generation. Each newsletter I will select one or more questions to answer. So if you have a parenting or mental wellness question, please send it my way. I’m sure others have the same question and could benefit. joe@mentalwellnesscounseling.com Dear Joe, There is so much in the news these days …
Ask Joe Think “Dear Abby” for a new generation. Each newsletter I will select one or more questions to answer. So if you have a parenting or mental wellness question, please send it my way. I’m sure others have the same question and could benefit. sanokcounseling@gmail.com Dear Joe, I have a toddler will not …
Ask Joe Think “Dear Abby” for a new generation. Each newsletter I will select one or more questions to answer. So if you have a parenting or mental wellness question, please send it my way. I’m sure others have the same question and could benefit. joe@mentalwellnesscounseling.com Dear Joe, …
Four Parenting Tips Parenting can be so complex, here are some quick tips to get you going: 1. Start observing: When you review your child’s behavior, what do you see, hear, and observe. What is your starting point? Once you establish the description of behavior, it will be easier …