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Relationship Solutions
E-Newsletter
Table of Content
I.
Message from the Director
II.
Featured Article
IV.
Upcoming Events
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Message from the
Director
Welcome to our first
newsletter edition of 2008!
I hope all of you
enjoyed this past holiday season. If you
are reading this newsletter it means you
survived. Yeah!! Winter is still here and
hopefully many of you have some great ideas
of how to spend this year. Many are
probably thinking about changes to be made
or resolutions to stick to. It can be an
emotional time of year with many desired or
undesired changes occurring. The other day
I read in the New York Post about divorce
lawyers being the busiest this time of
year. Often partners will wait until after
the holiday to end relationships. This may
be out of guilt or not wanting to ruin the
holidays. Again, this can make for a very
emotional time of year. With this
unseasonably warm weather in the North East
this past week, we all might feel uneasy,
not balanced or emotional these days. A
friend of mine is a holistic counselor and
she tells me that this weather really throws
us off balance. This is the time of year
where we should settle down earlier in the
evenings (get horizontal) and eat warm,
comforting foods (slow cooked)—its like we
need to be hibernating to revive us for the
spring. So, I suggest that we all think
about slowing down (although, the predicted
slow may mean that mother-nature will help
us), and take care of ourselves so that we
can emotionally be ready for whatever comes
at us this new year.
This months feature
article is about resolutions—the hot topic
this month. Deciding on a resolution is one
thing, but following through with it is
another. It often poses many challenges.
This article will help you to develop a
realistic resolution and tips for keeping
with it.
Best wishes with
keeping to your resolutions, as well as
staying warm, nurtured and balanced!
Warmly,
Cari Sans
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Featured Article
Resolutions
It’s that time
again–the beginning of a crisp, new year
featuring twelve undiscovered months chock
full of opportunity to make a fresh start.
Tops on peoples’ lists this time of year are
typically commitments to weight loss,
increased exercise, and community
service—all valiant causes.
It always amazes me how
difficult it is to find a parking spot
outside the gym in January. Fortunately (or
unfortunately depending on how you’re
looking at it), the end of February offers
more vacancies. Now, not being an Olympic
athlete myself, I bring this issue up to
illustrate a point—that so often we begin
with good intentions but somewhere along the
way we seem to run out of steam. How come?
I have a few thoughts
on this. It seems the older I get, the more
I realize that it is easy to get wrapped up
in the demands of everyday routines, how one
day flows into the next and before you know
it, a year has passed. The intention to
follow through on resolutions is solid in
the beginning, but it is difficult to manage
with the daily commitments to family, jobs,
and so on. So, we end up working on the
resolution when we can, and this may take
place less often than originally intended.
Or, we completely give up.
What to do about this?
One idea is that we might consider being a
little more realistic in our goal-setting at
the beginning of the year. This is where
creating small, attainable goals comes in
handy. For instance, instead of saying “I
resolve to go to the gym every day and get
in shape,” say, “I will commit to attending
two times per week after work and once on
the weekend.” One is more broad—and may
become overwhelming—while the other is more
specific and manageable.
Incidentally,
resolution-making may be a great way to
further invest in your partnership or
family. “How?” you may ask. Simply by
involving your partner or family in some
way. This doesn’t have to mean that they
all commit to the same goal, however. It
could mean that your partner or family
offers you that all-important emotional
support. This element, sometimes taken for
granted, is simple but key at times when you
are really struggling with a challenge. It
would be a bonus if your partner or family
became involved and made some resolutions of
their own that you all can be support each
other with as a team effort—there’s greater
strength in numbers. So, invite your
partner, or family, to join you on your
journey in some way and further invest in
your relationships.
Whatever resolution you
make this year—even if it is a resolution to
not make a resolution—best of luck to you in
your endeavors. Happy New Year!
Making
Resolutions—Keys to Keep in Mind
- Establish
specific, attainable goals.
- Ask for help
from a partner, loved one or your family
as a whole.
- Re-evaluate
resolutions weekly—a status check.
- Adjust
resolutions if necessary—break them into
more manageable bits if needed.
- Don’t give up!
Comments or
suggestions? Email
andrea@couplesandfamilies.com.
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Upcoming Events
10-Week Anger Group in the Manhattan Office
Starting January 19th, 2008
We are close to starting our next Anger
Management program in the Manhattan office.
We are hoping for a few more individuals to
reserve a spot and hope to start by the
year's end. If you are interested in this
group, please contact our Intake Coordinator
at (212) 537-9313 ext. 1 to reserve a spot
today.
Learn effective
tools for dealing with anger in your
relationships. Anger is an emotion that we
all experience when we feel vulnerable or
attacked. The group will teach you effective
ways for managing and expressing anger.
Anger is explored in the context of
relationships and tools for improving
relationships will be provided. The goals of
the 10-week program are:
• To increase awareness of anger expression
patterns
• To learn how our anger experience is
shaped by our development and what we can
learn from our family and environment
• To identify current and past situations
that fuel anger
• To identify responsibilities in the
current anger situation that resulted in
either a self or outside referral
• To develop specific ways to de-escalate
potentially violent situations
• To decrease verbal and physical
manifestations of anger, aggression, or
violence while increasing awareness and
acceptance of emotions
*Participants will receive a certificate of
completion.
Fees:
$60 per group session
$80 for initial intake (required for
participation)
*$125 for individual , couple or family (one-on-one) sessions
(45-minute sessions)
*available
in Manhattan and LI office
Contact us today! (212)
537-9313 ext. 1
Reserve your spot today for next 2007 Anger Management Group or to talk with
a therapist regarding our other services.
email:
cari@couplesandfamilies.com
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The
Relationship
Solutions
newsletter
is written
with
relationships
in mind.
Our staff,
trained in
marriage and
family
therapy, are
dedicated to
helping
individuals,
couples and
families
improve
their
relationships.
Every month
you will
find
effective
tools for
building the
kind of
relationship
that works,
and feel
confident
about how to
make the
changes you
need. If you
are
struggling
with a
relationship,
maybe with
your spouse,
spouse-to-be,
your parent,
sibling or
your
children,
then contact
Counseling
Corner for
Marriage and
Family
Therapy,
P.C., and
find out how
we can help.
Get help
with
resolving
relationship
problems and
feel
empowered to
resolve
future
issues!
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Disclaimer:
Relationship Solutions was
created to provide useful
tidbits, to trigger thoughts
and provide resources. It is
not intended in any way to
be therapeutic. If you
believe you require further
assistance than is provided
here, please contact a
trained psychotherapist.
Contact Us for further
assistance and resources.
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