Johanna Courtleigh, MA, Licensed Professional Counselor, Lake Oswego, OR
“Listening looks easy, but it’s not simple. Every head is a world.” Cuban proverb It’s a relief when we know someone has really heard and ‘gotten’ us. But most of us, especially in heated situations, aren’t really very good listeners. We don’t really hear what is being said to us because we are so […]
The post On Listening and Being Heard first appeared on Johanna Courtleigh, MA, Licensed Professional Counselor, Lake Oswego, OR.
Resolving Conflict–the Art of Apology
It can be scary and uncomfortable to say we’re sorry. To own up to the fact that perhaps we did something less than stellar and that it negatively impacted someone we care for. We want to just brush it under the rug. To have it let go. To not have to meet and experience the […]
The post Resolving Conflict–the Art of Apology first appeared on Johanna Courtleigh, MA, Licensed Professional Counselor, Lake Oswego, OR.
How To Change Everything–with gratitude to Matt Kahn
For most of us, there’s a state of stress or distress we’ve come to call normal. A humming of the cells. A vibration of the body. A rant in the mind that undermines our sense of well-being and perpetrates great suffering. This may have begun as early as the womb, if our mothers were under […]
The post How To Change Everything–with gratitude to Matt Kahn first appeared on Johanna Courtleigh, MA, Licensed Professional Counselor, Lake Oswego, OR.
Most of us have been taught that love is a commodity. Something someone either has for us or not. Something that can either be given or taken away, won or lost. Thus, we become dependent on an ‘other’ to make us feel happy and secure. But any dependency can be fraught with distress and danger, […]
The post Being In Love Now first appeared on Johanna Courtleigh, MA, Licensed Professional Counselor, Lake Oswego, OR.
Narrating The Present–Being In The Now
Sometimes we get lost. In the swirl and whirl of our thoughts. In the energy of our emotions. So lost, we can find ourselves angry, hurt, terrified, bewildered, or worried and out of time, in a memory we React to as if it were real in this very moment, or a prediction of a future […]
The post Narrating The Present–Being In The Now first appeared on Johanna Courtleigh, MA, Licensed Professional Counselor, Lake Oswego, OR.
Having Faith—Expecting Your Baby Is On Its Way
What if the key to becoming ‘expecting’, was learning to practice Positive Expectancy?
None of us knows what’s going to happen next, nor what the unfoldment of perfect timing might be. But, since thoughts have power, the most helpful thing you can do is begin to replace your negative thoughts and beliefs with positive actions and intentions, and cultivate your capacity to be hopeful and have faith.
The post Having Faith—Expecting Your Baby Is On Its Way first appeared on Johanna Courtleigh, MA, Licensed Professional Counselor, Lake Oswego, OR.
Taking Time-Outs–Stopping the Cycle of Violence with Yourself and Others
Life is stressful, and sometimes we need to take a break to re-group and self-soothe so we don’t become harmful to ourselves or others. A “time-out” is a guaranteed method for stopping the cycle of addictive, self-destructive behavior toward oneself, or destructive, violent behavior toward another. All is takes is conscientious effort to work with […]
The post Taking Time-Outs–Stopping the Cycle of Violence with Yourself and Others first appeared on Johanna Courtleigh, MA, Licensed Professional Counselor, Lake Oswego, OR.
Diets don’t work. It would be great if they did. If diets worked, almost everyone with a ‘weight problem’ would have handled it by now. Because dieting is easy. Just change what you eat for a while, and presto!, the weight melts off and the body you’ve been dreaming of is yours! But diets don’t […]
The post Diets Don’t Work! first appeared on Johanna Courtleigh, MA, Licensed Professional Counselor, Lake Oswego, OR.
Seven Strategies for Managing Everyday Stressors
Life is challenging. We all know that. What we don’t often know is how to manage our reactions to everyday stressors. And, in general, it is those reactions that tend to make things feel bigger and harder, or smaller and more manageable. Here are a few suggestions that might be helpful in soothing your anxiety, […]
The post Seven Strategies for Managing Everyday Stressors first appeared on Johanna Courtleigh, MA, Licensed Professional Counselor, Lake Oswego, OR.
I go to the dentist today. For him to look at my rickety jaw. The jaw that clicks and moans, and that long ago popped itself out of its bony cradle, and now rubs itself the wrong way, making crooked again teeth that were once tamed into straight, proper rows by orthodontia. I watch as […]
The post Awakening Grace first appeared on Johanna Courtleigh, MA, Licensed Professional Counselor, Lake Oswego, OR.