by Liza Hinchey, LLPC

Liza Hinchey is a Limited Licensed Professional Counselor (LLPC) in private practice at Trinity Family Counseling Center. Liza completed dual Master’s degrees in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and Art Therapy from Wayne State University, and works with individuals, families, and groups across a range of presenting issues.

It’s a wonderful feeling to give to others. For many of us though, it can be a challenge to extend that same generosity to ourselves. If you deal with feelings of guilt or unworthiness when taking time to care for yourself, perhaps feeling that your actions are at the expense of your workload or others’ desires, you are most certainly not alone.
 
During the holiday season, there can often be an increase in this type of stress due to the many tasks and expectations to balance. Maybe you are a student preparing for exams, or a parent balancing both your workload and your focus on making the holidays special for your children. Regardless of your situation, imagine how much work you could get done, how much you could help others, if you were coming from a place of full health and peace. 
 
A giver like this—who has learned to give not only to others, but to themselves as well—is an unstoppable force of nature.
 
To get started, I challenge you to give yourself just one small gift every day during this holiday season. This gift could be as simple as allowing yourself five minutes in the morning to really enjoy a hot drink, buying yourself a cookie, or just taking a few deep inhales and exhales the next time you feel overwhelmed. In these moments, try to recognize that you are actively cherishing yourself—and, most importantly, that you absolutely deserve to do so.

by Liza Hinchey, LLPC

Liza Hinchey is a Limited Licensed Professional Counselor (LLPC) in private practice at Trinity Family Counseling Center. Liza completed dual Master’s degrees in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and Art Therapy from Wayne State University, and works with individuals, families, and groups across a range of presenting issues.

When most people think about art therapy, they think of how it can be helpful for children (which is in no way incorrect!).

Children can benefit from art therapy in many ways. Art offers the ability to access a nonverbal method of communicating thoughts and feelings that many children simply don’t have the vocabulary for yet. It also offers a less intimidating way to interact with a therapist.

However, that doesn’t mean that adults can’t receive similar benefits from art in a therapy setting!
 
Creative therapies are just as helpful for adults as they are for children.  No matter what your age, it can sometimes be difficult to put your feelings into words. Art allows them to flow freely onto the paper instead. The best part is--there is no artistic talent necessary to access these benefits!

I have met many clients who did not think they could try art therapy because they were not artists. However, that couldn’t be further from the truth. As long as you are willing to be open-minded, there is no reason that you could not include art in your therapeutic journey.
 
All in all, participating in art therapy is an act of self-exploration, and that is something to which all ages can relate. My clients who choose art therapy as part of their treatment often discover insights about themselves that they may not have reached otherwise. I can then help them process the emotions that arise through their art, so they can begin healing.

by Liza Hinchey, LLPC

Liza Hinchey is a Limited Licensed Professional Counselor (LLPC) in private practice at Trinity Family Counseling Center. Liza completed dual Master’s degrees in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and Art Therapy from Wayne State University, and works with individuals, families, and groups across a range of presenting issues.

For the past several years, the word “mindfulness” has been heard just about everywhere…but what exactly does it mean? And just as importantly, why does it work?
 
Mindfulness can most easily be understood as a focus on the present moment, whether this moment is pleasant, uncomfortable, boring, ecstatic, or anything else. It means not getting swept away in the tide of thoughts that constantly swirls in our minds, and instead taking a breath, settling, and observing our experience without judgment.
 
Mindfulness is such a positive force in counseling because, by definition, it counteracts two of the most universal struggles we have as human beings: guilt and anxiety. Stripped down to their essence, guilt is a focus on the past, and anxiety a focus on the future. Naturally, learning to be present in the now is a remedy for both. And after all, are we truly ever anywhere but…now? Mindfulness helps us remain in the moment, the only place where our lives are really happening.
 
Once we are able to focus on our experiences without judgment, we can start to make changes to how we react to these moments, and thus change our lives. We can begin to approach each experience, no matter how difficult, with our calm, centered selves. “No pain, no gain” is a myth. Instead, we can observe how we feel in the now, take a breath, and find the ease in any moment.