Articles about Boundaries
Teamwork in Tasks and Ministry
Mary Lambrecht, M.S. LMFT
Article describes seven principles to decrease stress through teamwork and delegation in ministry, family, or work-related tasks.
11 Tips to Help Manage Stress
Christine Vander Wielen, M.S.W., LCSW
Practical, clear and helpful ideas to keep you focused and positive in the Holiday Season
Characteristics of a Healthy Family
Christine Vander Wielen, M.S.W., LCSW
Helpful guides to creating a healthy family
Helpful Guidelines For Resolving Conflict
Christine Vander Wielen, M.S.W., LCSW
Conflict is normal and full of potential if we manage it skillfully
Family Relationships: It's Not About Winning and Losing
Christine Vander Wielen, M.S.W., LCSW
What family relationships are not about
How to Stop Bullying
Christine Vander Wielen, M.S.W., LCSW
Helpful suggestions and step by step plan to end bullying
For Shame, For Shame: How to End Shaming When Disciplining
Christine Vander Wielen, M.S.W., LCSW
The power and influence of parents is great; keeping the parent-child relationship in its proper place
Stress Management: Young Children Can Teach Us Well
Christine Vander Wielen, M.S.W., LCSW
Stress management via lessons learned from young children
Attributes of a Successful Marriage
Lynda Savage, M.S., LMFT, LPC
This article lists 15 keys to a successful marriage, including the habit of forgiveness, letting go of mocking and contempt when under duress, and rehearsing the good rather than the “bad†about the other.
Healing at Christmas
Suzan Myhre, M.S.S.W., LICSW, LPC
This article describes the decisions we all have when entering the holidays. We can choose to stop "the war" in our relationships, to enter a time of peace.
Personal Purity
Lynda Savage, M.S., LMFT, LPC
There are benefits to personal purity beyond what we can fully take in as the world is seeming to celebrate impurity. The many faces of sexual impurity is reviewed here. The harmful effects of sexual sin including entertaining impure thoughts are discussed. This piece contains a good discussion of the harm seemingly harmless speech and innuendo brings.
Signs of Unhealthy Boundaries
Check list of some signs of unhealthy boundaries
Fear Less, Love More: To Let Go Is To Love
The positives of letting go and giving over
Behaviors That Inhibit Clarity in Relationships
Brenda Spina, M.S., LMFT, LPC
Behaviors and thoughts that inhibit relationships
Moving From Shame To Respect
Lynda Savage, M.S., LMFT, LPC
Moving away from a sense of shame to self respect is very important to our mental and even physical health. Shame means to operate out of a "down deep" sense of not being good enough or that something is very wrong with us. This article gives great guidelines for healthy ways that combat a shame based way of living.
Scared of My Daughter's Friends
A "Dear Rosa" question and answer regarding parenting concerns when a adolescent daughter connects with friends that seem unhealthy for her.
A Parent's Guide To Minimizing Sibling Rivalry
Christine Vander Wielen, M.S.W., LCSW
Although sibling rivalry exists in virtually every family, parents can be proactive in helping to minimize sibling rivalry and helping children develop positive life long relationships with their siblings.
Don'ts For Parents and Enablers
Compiled by Brenda Spina, M.S., LMFT, LPC
There is tremendous difficulty for parents or spouses when their child or spouse becomes involved in the abuse of drugs, alcohol or addiction of any sort. This handout outlines how to clarify who is responsible for what and provides practical steps in approaching your child or spouse.
Suggestions For Clarity In Relationships
Author Unknown, Edited by Brenda Spina, M.S.,LMFT, LPC
This handout provides a list of specific response one can use when behavior in relationship becomes intrusive or offensive.
Parents Guide to Lingo on the Internet
Lynda Savage, M.S., LMFT, LPC
The benefits and dangers of the internet are becoming more apparent as time passes. Parents have the increasingly difficult task of protecting their children and adolescents from the dangers. Here you will find some of the common uses of letters and symbols by kids as they communicate with one another.
Stay Strong While Raising Strong Willed Children
Christine Vander Wielen, M.S.W., LCSW
Strong willed children can be amazingly creative, innovative and steadfast while at the same time frustrating and exhausting to parents. This article discusses some tools for parents to use to teach, train and motivate their strong willed child.
Managing Food Dilemmas During the Holidays
Food holds many meanings and memories for us, especially during the holiday season. This article offers practical tips and suggestions for those with food allergies or special diets.
Facing the Holidays Together
Brenda Spina, M.S., LMFT, LPC
Each year numerous couples and families struggle to keep pace with the expectations placed upon them from various sources. Keeping extended family, friends, and each other happy requires great skill around negotiation, self-awareness, and the provision of flexibility. This article outlines several guidelines to be aware of as the festivities are rushing in to eat up your time and energy.
The Push/Pull of Adolescence
Brenda Spina, M.S., LMFT, LPC
Adolescence is often been described as a second toddlerhood. Parents of adolescents often express to me the dichotomy of the behaviors they see (laughing as they share). I know parents don't always laugh but this article takes two underlying dynamics and describes them in the larger scheme of development for teenagers. Take hope! There is more to the picture than you know!
Supporting Safety In Our Schools
Brenda Spina, M.S., LMFT, LPC
Safety in the schools has become a major focus for parents and school officials. Based on an interview with an area school counselor, Brenda briefly outlines ways in which parents can actively support safety for their children.
No Longer Little: Key Concerns of Young Adults
Mary Lambrecht, M.S. LMFT
Young adults face many transitions and many fears. This article explores three key concerns that young adults often keep hidden from their parents. Included are helpful parental responses to support parents in this season of their son or daughter’s life.
Coping With Holiday Grief
Compiled by Brenda Spina, M.S., LMFT, LPC
There is no time of year more difficult than the holidays when a loved one has died. Nothing feels the same nor will it feel the same again. Listed here are only a few helps that may make the holidays a bit more tolerable.
Helping Ourselves through the Holidays
Holidays challenge us on every level: emotionally with the memories of family or stressors of getting together, physically because there seem to be so many more activities and details to attend to, spiritually we are stretched thin between honoring our faith and all the demands we face. This handout is designed with those stressors in mind. The ideas suggested are just that...suggestions. Underneath it all we trust each will find ways to care for themselves as God would have.
"The Talk"
Christine Vander Wielen, M.S.W., LCSW
The mere thought of having "the talk" about sexuality with their children often makes parents shudder and want to head for the hills. Parents take heart. This article encourages parents as it provides a step by step nonthreatening approach to discussing sexuality.
Twelve Years, Ten Lessons
Mary Lambrecht, M.S. LMFT
An article of tribute and thanksgiving. As Mary Lambrecht follows God's call to Texas, she shares ten basic lessons learned in the therapy room and in ministry through The Center for Family Healing and Practical Family Living.
Live Within Your Means
Brenda Spina, M.S., LMFT, LPC
Living within our means often is associated with our financial circumstances. In this article, Brenda outlines ideas that help us live within our means emotionally, physically, and spiritually this Christmas season. Nothing drains our joy quicker than attempting to do all and be all to those we love. In addition, it drains our ability to enjoy the real reason for celebrating that which God has provided.
