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INDIVIDUAL & COUPLES THERAPY


Give Yourself Some GRACE 🌟
This holiday season, when there is too much to do and not enough time to do it, give yourself the gift of grace. G. Generosity – Try not...

larahammock
Dec 21, 20242 min read


Out of Energy? Make Sure Your Bucket is Full!
We all have a bucket of energy. It's our job and responsibility to keep our bucket full! Having a full bucket of energy means that we...

larahammock
Nov 26, 20243 min read


Win the 3-Legged Race of Relationship Growth
Many of the couples that I work with come in with really one goal -- each person wants to change their partner. If their partner would...

larahammock
Oct 16, 20245 min read


How to Stop Your Brain from Exploding: A Guide to de-FUSE Your Thinking 💣
First, let's quickly recap my recent blog on triggered or FUSE thinking . FUSE thinking describes our intense thoughts when we are...

larahammock
Oct 8, 20245 min read


Share Legos: Don't Solution Prematurely
I developed this analogy with a former client who, as a child, was obsessed with Legos. The idea is that, on any given topic, we each...

larahammock
Sep 29, 20243 min read


Are You Passive Aggressive (Resistant)?
Have you been called passive aggressive before? Do you know what that means? How do you know if you are passive aggressive? And if you...

larahammock
Aug 31, 20245 min read


Maintaining Emotional Health: A Google Maps Analogy
Everyone knows you need to take care of your physical health. We need to exercise, eat right, go to the doctor and dentist, and...

larahammock
Aug 2, 20246 min read


Are You Triggered? FUSE Thinking
Despite the title of this blog, I'm not a big fan of the word "triggered." I think it can be useful, but it has this sense of going from...

larahammock
Jul 18, 20244 min read


Summary & Takeaways from The Perfectionist's Guide to Losing Control
I read this book because it was recommended to me by a good friend. To be honest, I didn’t know how much I would get out of it. This...

larahammock
Jun 21, 20247 min read


JAB: How NOT to Respond to Sharing
In my last post, I talked about my acronym EARS , which describes green light and yellow light behaviors when responding to someone who...

larahammock
May 30, 20243 min read


EARS: How to Respond When Someone is Trying to Connect
For whatever reason, recently I've been privy to a lot of conversations where the person sharing feels frustrated and the person...

larahammock
May 23, 20244 min read


Summary & Takeaways from Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole by Susan Cain
I am a Susan Cain fan. I’ve recommended her book Quiet to countless people. Quiet was her anthem to the unsung introverts amongst us and...

larahammock
May 16, 20246 min read


Do You Have Healthy Behavior During Conflict? Keeping the Door Open
When I meet with couples for the first time, I take them through a presentation about the stages of relationship development on the...

larahammock
May 2, 20244 min read


The 4 Skills You Need to Make Your Relationship Thrive (Differentiation in Action)
When I started my training in couples counseling -- I read up on several theories that didn't resonate with me entirely either because of...

larahammock
Apr 30, 20245 min read


Try this Amazing Relationship Hack from FX’s The Bear
There are so many things that I loved about the Hulu series “The Bear.” But one thing that has particularly stuck with me is a beautiful,...

larahammock
Apr 16, 20244 min read


Are You Stuck in Blame or Shame? Move to a Place of Agency
This is a theory I’ve been considering for a while. This diagram shows how I think our agency is impacted by how much responsibility we...

larahammock
Apr 11, 20246 min read


The Difference Between "Sweet", "Nice", and "Kind"
Photo courtesy of Caroline Hernandez on Unsplash Here are three words that are often used interchangeably: sweet, nice, and kind. But I...

larahammock
Apr 2, 20243 min read


The Surprising Magic Ingredient for a Long-Lasting Relationship
In an earlier post, I talked about the differences between individual therapy and couples counseling. Of those 8 differences, I think the...

larahammock
Mar 27, 20242 min read


12 Things I Learned from Dr. Mark Brady, a PhD Neuroscientist
As I have been reading and integrating information, I have found that some sources provide a richer trove of information than others. One...

larahammock
Mar 19, 20246 min read


Are You Doing What You "Want" or What You "Should"?
Photo by tabitha turner on Unsplash Most of us have an inner voice. For some of us, our inner voice is full of criticisms and mandates....

larahammock
Mar 12, 20243 min read
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