Perspectives
SCG Staff Articles
Information on Domestic Violence
Domestic Violence is prevalent. As many as 1 in 4 women and 1 in 9 men face domestic violence from an intimate partner, resulting in injury, mental illness, STDs, lack of self-worth, and isolation.
What to Say or Do When a Child Dies
Any time someone is experiencing grief, we all struggle with how to address it. It is hard to know what to say or do to ease the pain of the person. When someone or a couple loses a pregnancy, infant, or child, the difficulty is compounded. We feel completely inadequate in our endeavors to comfort or console them. Words are not enough or seem trite, worn, or inappropriate. Our actions seem to be “too little, too late” or completely insufficient.
World Mental Health Awareness Day
Read what the SCG staff therapists have to say about mental health as we observe World Mental Health Awareness Day.
The Raw Truth about Abusive Partners in a Relationship
Domestic abuse or intimate partner abuse incorporates many aspects of negative patterns in relationships. Unfortunately, domestic abuse does not discriminate by age, race, gender, faith, class, or sexual orientation. In terms of intimidation, manipulation, and control, the abuse can be physical, sexual, emotional, economic, spiritual, or psychological.
Legacy of a Pickpocket
What would you like your legacy to be? Regardless of how small or insignificant or invisible you may feel, how beaten up or beaten down you may be, your legacy is made of nothing more and nothing less than the choices you make. You can choose to be someone you can live with being, someone you can believe in, someone who can leave the world a little better than you found it.
What is EMDR Therapy?
“EMDR Therapy” might seem like a random assortment of letters, but to others it is an amazing treatment that can be used to heal trauma, depression, and anxiety (along with many other mental health issues). The “EMDR”, in EMDR Therapy, stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, which probably still does not mean a lot. To boil it down, any type of trauma can be defined as "a hurt or a wound" and often gets stuck in the amygdala and/or brainstem. The amygdala and/or brainstem are the parts of the brain that hold our “flight, flight, freeze, or fawn” responses.
The Shadow
Why do we spend our time “entertaining” ourselves with these awful tales of terror, death, and manipulation? What is enjoyable about using our rare free moments disturbing our mental peace? We seem to use these moments of sanitized fear to safely explore our own, albeit mostly far less violent, darker sides.
Reflecting on the Past Year
Right at the one-year mark of pandemic life, I began to find myself entering a reflective period. Perhaps you did, too. I suddenly began to pay special attention to all the headlines in my news feed about the effects of the pandemic on various populations and it led me to wonder… How has the pandemic affected me? My family? The clients I serve? Will we ever be the same? Will my children ever be able to relax in a crowd again? Will I? Will the extreme anxiety I see in some clients ever abate?
When Love Hurts: Recovering from Narcissistic Abuse
It seemed like a fairy tale at first. He was charming and charismatic, texting and calling constantly to compliment you, or just to see how your day was going. He even told you he loved you within weeks of dating, which no one had ever done! You feel special, desired, beautiful, and life is exciting and passionate. Roses show up at work for all your coworkers to see, and he drops off dinner at work for you when he knows you have to work late. He’s more thoughtful and romantic than any other guy you’ve dated. So exciting! You’re in love!
Increasing Family Bonds Through Faith and Hope
In light of Mental Health Awareness Month I reflect on the many clients that work to integrate spirituality into their counseling goals. To some this seems controversial; can the two co-exist? It can; and it does!
The Universality of Anxiety
You are not alone in your experience of anxiety. Anxiety is in fact a normal psychological experience that God created as a driver to motivate us closer to or away from things in life.
Faithful or Anxious
All of us have had that sinking feeling, those racing thoughts, and creeping sense of dread. Anxiety, especially in the last year, has been a companion to many of us. In the counseling space, I see anxiety in clients almost daily. It is a privilege to partner with people who want to find a sense of peace and sanctuary among the chaos.
Places of Peace
SCG Therapist and Executive Director Jay Cobb talks about places of peace in this video, which is a part of our Mental Health Awareness month series.
Panning Out After the Pandemic
The idea of panning out comes from the old gold rush days of finding gold by using pans in streams to separate the gold from dirt and sand. Though the pandemic is not yet over, reclaiming our “gold of life,” is something we can actually begin planning at this point.
What is so Special about Pastoral Counseling in a Pandemic?
To say that the last 14 months have been difficult would be a redundant understatement. It has been rough and the whole world knows it. A June 2020 study of more than 5,000 Americans reflected that forty percent of adults in the United States reported higher levels of mental health issues and/or substance abuse.
Peace
There is just something beautiful about springtime. Seeing all the flower buds spring forth signaling the beginning of exciting new life and hopefulness that it will soon blossom into something beautiful. These sights and gentle sounds of nature implore me to relax, slow my pace, and enjoy God’s creation. I feel, “THIS. IS. PEACE.”
Why Women Stay in Abusive Relationships
Domestic violence is a real problem not just in the United States, but around the world. Statistics are showing that in the US alone 1 in 4 women and 1 in 9 men are victims of domestic violence, and over 10,000,000 people are affected by this type of abuse each year. While men are also victims of relationship violence, this article addresses issues around why women stay in these destructive relationships when their lives and often the lives of their children are in danger, and what factors make it so hard for them to leave their abuser?
The Impact of Racial Discrimination on Latino Women’s Mental Health
The Latino/a population encounters one of the most direct and cruel stereotypes in the United States. For Latinos in particular, it is very difficult to establish a credible reputation in American society despite all the efforts, the education, and the hard work put into these tasks. American-born individuals have the erroneous belief that Latinos, in particular, drain the country of its economic resources and do not contribute to a balanced economy. Some of them have even developed a racist ideology, prejudice, and nativist sentiments against this population.
A Moment of Mental Health
I stand at the city bus stop waiting for that cold metal box to transport me to the office. I tick off tasks to complete when I arrive. Adjusting my mask, I review the line items marked through in my mental mead notebook. A woman smiles from six feet away. I thank God for this moment of mental health.