Perspectives
SCG Staff Articles
World Mental Health Day
On Saturday, October 10th we invite you to join Sanctuary Counseling Group in observance of World Mental Health Day.
Then Sings my Soul
Music is one of the most versatile and accessible ways to engage in a person’s story. We all have songs that capture our current feelings, our most treasured memories, and the daring hope for our future. Our likes and dislikes of genre, style, and lyrics are almost as unique as our fingerprints. Music is often referred to as a universal language that can unite people across contexts.
So What is Domestic Violence?
For the sufferer, domestic abuse is hard to detect because of the abuser’s capability to calibrate him or herself to the needs, fears, and wishes of the victim. Then, the abusive partner's interactions are manipulative, sudden, and coercive.
Is Peace Possible During a Pandemic?
And when those lonely, hopeless times come, and you feel weighed down by the darkness of this world on your shoulders, I encourage you to remember the promise of our faithful God who said "Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.”
Liminal Spaces
In entering liminal space you leave behind your former ideals and conventions, the status quo, the ordinary routines, inherited mindsets. You also leave behind your safety zone; you exit your place of security. You step out into a space where you will see things differently, where your world view might be shattered, where your existing priorities might be turned upside down.
A Statement from SCG regarding Recent Events in America
At Sanctuary Counseling Group we are called to minister to everyone in all walks of life. As mental health therapists we take great care in refraining from imposing our own personal values within our practice; and yet, we also have a responsibility to advocate for change when witnessing the oppression of others.
Finding Peace Episode 1
Davidson United Methodist Church’s Reverend Jim Humphries speaks with SCG’s own Shannon White in the inaugural video in their Finding Peace series.
Maintaining and Bulding Resilience
These are difficult times by anyone’s standards. The uncertainty of the future, the fear of disease, sickness, and death, the growing financial anxiety, etc., etc., etc. Our old ideas of normal have been uprooted. A new normal has demanded space in our lives that is unfamiliar and that threatens our useful routines and traditions. How do we remain strong in such a time?
How to Understand and Manage Your Child’s Thoughts and Feelings about the Pandemic
SCG Staff Therapist, Shannon White, Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor and Registered Play Therapist, shares advice on understanding and dealing with the big feelings and thoughts about the pandemic with parents of children and adolescents.
Corona-mommy
SCG Staff Therapist JoAnn Mullinix, NC Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Associate and mother, shares insights and reflections on the new normal as a parent during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Managing News Media Intake During a Pandemic
SCG Staff Therapist Megan Clark, NC Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor Associate, discusses managing news media intake during the COVID-19 Pandemic and how to deal with the anxiety that comes with a 24-hour news cycle.
Managing Fear During a Pandemic
SCG Staff Therapist Shannon White (NC Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor and Registered Play Therapist) shares helpful information about how the brain is wired to handle fear and what we can do to manage that fear without letting it control us in the midst of this global pandemic. This is especially helpful for parents of children or teenagers.
A Message of Hope from SCG
SCG Staff Therapist Diana Moscoso, Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor Associate, reads Philippians 4:12 and discusses how to find grace and gratitude during this COVID-19 pandemic.
Help Me, I’m Trapped! Boundaries While Social Distancing
If you have been social distancing for more than a week, the “snow day” mentality has likely worn off for you—that feeling that we all get when we get a day off for the weather, as if it’s a day out of time, lost to work and given over into fun and adventure. For the last few weeks, we have been hit with the sobering reality that these days are long and we are not quite sure when they will end.
For almost everyone, this has strained our coping mechanisms. While most folks are feeling grateful for their loved ones, those same folks seem to be ready to pull their hair out on occasion, at the seemingly boundaryless environment that social distancing has created. In the spirit of coming out of these trying days with our familial relationships intact and perhaps even stronger, let’s look at some ways we can observe healthy boundaries while keeping ourselves physically safe:
Taking Care of your Relationships During a Pandemic
The COVID-19 Pandemic has taken the world by storm, wreaking havoc on many American families.
The frustration and disappointment of the new “normal” can cause discord in the home.
So, how can we take care of our relationships during these stressful, scary, uncertain times?
Is There Hope in Substance Abuse?
In an age when almost twenty-one million Americans suffer from at least one addiction, 500 people die every hour as a result of addiction-related causes, drug overdose deaths have tripled in the last thirty years, and the cost of addiction in America is over $600 billion a year, where do we go for help?
Managing Screen Time for Children and Teens: A Family Approach
John 10:10 says, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” The truth is, media and digital devices are not the enemy or the thief. They may be an integral part in living the abundant life that God has for us.
Let’s Play!
Play is a child's language for expressing joy, anxiety, frustration, fear, and above all, the true experiences of their lives. Play therapy, a tool used by therapists to encourage healing through the symbolic meaning and patterns of the child's play, has been proven to help children overcome a wide variety of behavioral symptoms and emotional difficulties.
Discipline and Finding Your Balance as a Parent
The most effective form of discipline and behavior shaping comes from positive reinforcement. Children should be given rewards, verbal praise and consistent privileges that match their compliance to reinforce the behavior that is desired.
A Closer Look at Bullies and Their Victims
Despite popular belief, the recent research finds that bullies are no longer traditionally the insecure, self-loathing group of people. Bullies tend to be confident, have high self esteem and have an elevated social status among their peers. Bullies often use their position of power to single out their peers for a variety of reasons.