Primary vs. Secondary Emotions
You may have heard the phrase “anger is a secondary emotion”, but what does that mean? To understand this phrase, let me first describe...
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Carpenter Couple & Family Counseling, PLLC
Erica Carpenter, Ph.D., LMFT-S
Blog
Getting to Know Your Partner’s Inner World
How well do you know the inner world of your partner or spouse? Do you know how they think about things, their fears, dreams, etc.?...
The Art of Asking Good Questions
If there’s one thing I’ve learned from being a therapist and teacher, it’s that a good question has the potential to change the whole...
Self-Compassion in Current Times
As we all continue on this journey of navigating a pandemic, I continue to see people be hard on themselves for not being as productive,...
Setting Boundaries While Social Distancing
As many of us are currently social distancing, you are probably spending much more time at home and less time actually out interacting...
The Three Levels of Communication
When you hear the word “communication”, you probably think about talking. But communication includes so much more: body language, tone of...
How Self-Differentiated Are You?
One of the masters of family therapy, Murray Bowen, created the concept of differentiation of self, which is defined as “the ability to...
Creating Shared Meaning in Your Relationship
Relationships between partners/spouses take work in order for the relationship to continue building and growing. According to Dr. John...
Money Narratives
We all have different beliefs about money. We also have different narratives, or stories, that we tell ourselves about money and our...
A Different Kind of New Year's Resolution
Some people love making New Year’s resolutions. But for others, the process can lead to a cycle of setting a high bar goal, and if this...
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