http://www.newperspectivecounseling.org ...looking at things from a new perspective Mon, 11 Jan 2010 21:54:51 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en   I’m sure we all agree that life can throw us some curve balls. Have you ever wondered why some people seem to be able to cope better with the hardships of life than others?  Those who work in the field of chronic mood and anxiety disorders are telling us that ... http://www.newperspectivecounseling.org/2010/01/enough-to-be-tough/ It’s common for marriage relationships to become distant and cold because one partner indicates they don’t feel love for the other partner anymore.  They may also say they feel numb or don’t feeling anything at all. It is also common for partners to reach a point in their lives where ... http://www.newperspectivecounseling.org/2009/04/feelings/ Do you ever struggle with leaving your faith at home, forgetting to let the Lord have charge of your decisions, responses and behaviors for the day ahead? It’s easy to get frustrated or angry and “blow our stacks” as well as our Christian witness before we know it. If ... http://www.newperspectivecounseling.org/2009/03/anger-problem-try-a-behavioral-reminder/ Counselors are consistently trained throughout their course work and then in their internships to empathize with the client. Indeed, it is essential for a counselor to develop this skill if he or she desires to connect with the client at a therapeutic level. But empathy is not limited just to ... http://www.newperspectivecounseling.org/2008/09/the-relationship-of-empathy-to-forgiveness/ When you grow up without parents you tend to appreciate those who lovingly serve as substitute or surrogate parents. I was blessed to have several aunts and uncles who served in that role. Earlier this month, I said goodbye to an aunt with whom I was especially close ... http://www.newperspectivecounseling.org/2008/07/the-goodbye-of-alzheimer%e2%80%99s-disease/ If you have a real love for learning how to walk in wisdom you might be called a philosopher. Our English word philosophy comes from two Greek words, philos and sophia, which mean love and wisdom. A philosopher then is one who is a lover of wisdom. Of course, ... http://www.newperspectivecounseling.org/2007/07/philosophy-knowledge-wisdom-important-concepts-for-christian-living/ When I was a young man “fundamentalism” was a term that conservative believers claimed with pride. Oh sure, the term had it’s enemies in the form of liberals and modernists who really didn’t believe much of anything. But fundamentalists believed in the “fundamentals of the Christian faith”. Sad to ... http://www.newperspectivecounseling.org/2007/05/fundamentalism-a-term-to-reclaim/ If you’ve been feeling stressed out lately I invite you to spend a few minutes today thinking about the effect increased adrenaline may be having upon you physically, emotionally and spiritually. Man is a tripartite being and while there is plenty of emphasis on physical health and exercise today we ... http://www.newperspectivecounseling.org/2007/05/addicted-to-adrenaline-a-recipe-for-stress/ At this writing, only a week has passed since we were all reminded of the terrible depravity that can surface from members of the human race. Of course, I’m referring to yet another horrible school shooting, this time at Virginia Tech. This time the killer set a new ... http://www.newperspectivecounseling.org/2007/04/virginia-tech-my-opinion/ According to Erik Erikson, one of the primary psychosocial stages of adult development is generativity. He stressed productivity and caring is a task that every adult needs to accomplish if they possibly can. But why? In laymen’s language productivity translates into work. Most of us at some time or ... http://www.newperspectivecounseling.org/2007/04/generativity-versus-stagnation-for-adults-only/ My favorite poem is Robert Frost’s, The Road Less Traveled. In it he explains an individual’s movement toward a certain identity by setting forth the concept of choice. We all have to choose what we are going or not going to do with our lives. Many times our first encounter ... http://www.newperspectivecounseling.org/2007/04/the-road-less-traveled-a-developmental-issue/ What is more frustrating than traveling in a car only to find oneself stalled by the side of the road due to mechanical breakdown? It’s important to us to be able to get from point A to point B in order to move forward in life. The counselor ... http://www.newperspectivecounseling.org/2007/04/it%e2%80%99s-about-not-getting-stalled/ For visitation to work parents need to acknowledge that their children now have two homes. It is important to help children feel safe and comfortable in both homes and to make the transition from one home to the other as smooth as possible. Endeavor to make visitation a normal ... http://www.newperspectivecounseling.org/2007/03/visitation-dos-and-don%e2%80%99t-after-divorce/ Expect that a child’s adjustment to divorce could take a while. Some emotional or behavioral reactions can last for months or even a year or more while other reactions are more temporary. Infants and children: This age group may display problems in sleeping, eating patterns or fussiness. If ... http://www.newperspectivecounseling.org/2007/03/warning-signs-associated-with-divorce/ Following the divorce of their parents children often find themselves facing two primary challenges. How children successfully navigate through these challenges will determine the degree of adjustment accomplished after the divorce. One factor that appears to significantly affect children’s adjustment is the exposure to parental arguments. When parents fight in ... http://www.newperspectivecounseling.org/2007/03/post-divorce-challenges-for-kids/ According to The Newsletter of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (summer 1997), “only acts of war and the events of natural disasters are more harmful to a child’s psyche than the divorce process”. Social science research reveals that the effects of divorce not only impact a child into ... http://www.newperspectivecounseling.org/2007/03/children-and-divorce/ American culture is constantly pursuing change. We talk about change in religion, politics, education and business. Self help books pour off the presses in record numbers each year. We are encouraged to change and in the month of February I have been joining the chorus of voices ... http://www.newperspectivecounseling.org/2007/02/when-not-to-change/ As a counselor I have varied conclusions about the now decades long emphasis on codependency. The term was born in the 1970’s to help understand the alcoholic family system but has grown in scope over the years to include a variety of issues. In one sense, I think it is ... http://www.newperspectivecounseling.org/2007/02/enemies-of-change/ Psychologist Eric Erickson helped us to understand that change can be difficult for us at any stage of life. He proposed 8 stages of psychosocial development that, quite frankly, can go either positive or negative depending upon our environment and circumstances. I suppose in a perfect world we would all ... http://www.newperspectivecounseling.org/2007/02/change-and-childhood/ Welcome to the redesign of New Perspective Counseling website. We are grateful to Aaron Jackson who has volunteered his time and expertise to get this great new look. Aaron is on the board of directors with New Perspective Counseling and his input to our agency is invaluable. Please check out ... http://www.newperspectivecounseling.org/2007/02/a-new-beginning/