Adopting a child is an exciting yet complex journey, and one key step for many prospective parents is the pre-adoption psychological evaluation – also commonly known as an adoption psychological evaluation. This process helps ensure you’re emotionally and mentally ready for the responsibilities of parenthood, especially in cases like international
Misattunement is a miss, a misread, a mismatch of emotional signals. Someone close answers a feeling you did not have. A parent laughs when you are scared. One miss is ordinary. Chronic unrepaired misses teach you to hide what you need, and that is how attachment gets shaped. When those
Dissociative disorders are mental health conditions where a person’s thoughts, memories, identity, and sense of reality become disconnected. While occasional dissociation is common—for example, daydreaming or losing track of time—dissociative disorders are more severe, persistent, and disruptive to daily life. At Here Counseling, we help clients understand these conditions, recognize
You’re exhausted, but when bedtime rolls around, they just can’t let go. Instead of drifting off, you linger in the wee hours, scrolling through your phones or binge-watching shows that don’t even hold your interest. It’s not that you don’t know better—you do. You feel the pull to sleep, to
Imagine your teenage daughter scrolling endlessly on her phone late into the night, her face lit by the glow, but her mood darkening with each swipe. She seems more withdrawn, anxious about school or friends, and you’re left wondering if all that time online is taking a toll. If this
Picture your teen pacing the kitchen the night before school starts, clutching their stomach and snapping at small questions, their usual spark dimmed by worry. As summer ends and routines resume in Pasadena, anxiety surges, overwhelming many adolescents with restlessness or tears. Back-to-school transitions stir deep fears in teens, from
The backpacks are packed, schedules are set, but as your teen heads off to school, you notice the shift: sullen moods, short tempers, or withdrawn silence after a long day. The transition from summer freedom to structured routines hits hard, stirring up anxiety, irritability, and more. You’re seeing these signs
Whoever first realized, “I am my own worst critic” brilliantly described a painful and all too-common way many people relate to themselves. Self-criticism involves harsh or negative views and judgements of one’s self. This pattern of self-criticism is especially overwhelming because the critic is not someone “out there” that can
Certain relationships feel like a rerun of old wounds. Maybe it’s a partner whose constant criticism makes you feel small, just like a judgmental parent did in childhood. Or perhaps their helplessness leaves you frustrated and overburdened, echoing the abandonment from an unreliable caregiver. These “toxic” relationships aren’t accidents—they’re born
