Blog Posts

Category: Therapy Tips

lies your brain is telling you

The Lies Your Brain is Telling You

“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” –Albert Einstein Do you ever have negative thoughts about yourself? Do you ever discount your talents and abilities or think you are destined to fail? When some of us fail a math test, we briefly reason that we are bad

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Finding Certainty in Uncertainty

“Looking deeper, we could say that the real cause of suffering is not being able to tolerate uncertainty.” ~Pema Chödrön Before March 2020, we could make plans and carry them out with relative ease. Now, however, we book a flight knowing that the trip might not happen. We plan a trip for next February, hoping

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Expressing Compassion to Those That Are Different Than You

My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness.” ~ Dalai Lama Last month, David Archuleta shared a heartfelt, vulnerable post on social media about his sexuality. It caught the attention of thousands of followers and sparked many conversations online and in-person. I was struck by the many comments on his post–they were overwhelmingly supportive,

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sunrise

How to Stay Sane During a Busy Summer

“If you feel ‘burnout’ setting in, if you feel demoralized and exhausted, it is best, for the sake of everyone, to withdraw and restore yourself.” ~Dalai Lama Have you found yourself feeling overwhelmed and busy as restrictions have lessened and you have returned back to a more normal life? Have you felt stressed out by

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Freedoms

Home of the Free(doms)

“For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.” ~ Nelson Mandela The Fourth of July, also known as Independence Day or July 4th, has been a federal holiday in the United States since 1941. From 1776 to

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CBT techniques

CBT Techniques You Can Do at Home!

Cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, is a short-term therapy technique that can help people find new ways to behave by changing their thought patterns. You likely have an image of therapy in your mind–a man rigidly reclined on an uncomfortable schedule sofa, talking with a therapist about his mommy or daddy issues. In reality, therapy

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summer 2021

Kicking Off Summer 2021

“The summer night is like a perfection of thought.” —Wallace Stevens Welcome, summer! We made it! It has been a tough year and a half. We have survived a pandemic, quarantines, civil unrest, the school year, mask mandates, and all sorts of uncertainty. No one has weathered this storm with more grace, patience, and maturity

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repair attemts

Relationship Repair 101

“Like gardens, relationships need tending to.” ~ Peg Streep You just had a major fight with your significant other. You are moping around the house, avoiding each other, because you both said some pretty hurtful things. Then you go to bed feeling discouraged and lonely, wondering how you can ever bounce back from a blowout

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ambiguous loss

The Losses You Didn’t Know You Were Grieving

“Once people become more comfortable with the ambiguity and the uncertainty, they are freer to imagine and discover new sources of hope.” ~ Pauline Boss  We often talk about loss in connection with death, but there is another type that we all have experienced this last year regardless of whether or not we have lost

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adults and sexual abuse

Dear Adult Survivor of Sexual Abuse, I See & Hear You

“Don’t judge yourself by what others did to you.” ~ C. Kennedy, Ómorphi Did you know that every 73 seconds, an American is sexually assaulted? One in six American women has been the victim of an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime. Females 16-19 are four times more likely to be victims, and women

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date rape

It’s Not Your Fault: Date Rape

Every 73 seconds, an American is sexually assaulted. One in six American women has been the victim of an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime. Females 16-19 are four times more likely to be victims, and women aged 18-24 are three times more likely to experience sexual violence.  April is Sexual Assault Awareness and

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Part Two: Protecting Children from Sexual Abuse

“Many survivors insist they’re not courageous: ‘If I were courageous I would have stopped the abuse.’ ‘If I were courageous, I wouldn’t be scared’… Most of us have it mixed up. You don’t start with courage and then face fear. You become courageous because you face your fear.” ― Laura Davis Blake (name has been

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Melissa Cluff, MS, LMFT, CSAT

Melissa Cluff is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist based in North Texas, providing face-to-face and telehealth therapy options to clients in Texas.