Fresno Family Therapy Blog

How to Handle Holiday Conflict Through the Lens of Validation

by Tammie Makely | Dec 21, 2024 | Couples, Family Therapy, Relationships

Stress and conflict with our partners can feel ten times larger this time of year. Maybe you don’t like how much money your partner devotes to buying your family presents; maybe we don’t like your Uncle Ted who always wants to give us a kiss each time he sees us;...

How Adding More Thankfulness Can Improve Your Emotional Wellness & Relationships This Holiday Season

by Tammie Makely | Nov 27, 2024 | Depression, Relationships, Trauma, Wellness

The month of November is filled with the season changing, the leaves turning, even the darkness coming sooner than before, and holidays beginning. It’s colder outside; we are wearing warmer clothes; and we are often around family for more reasons this time of year....

Four Ways the “Victim Mentality” Affects Us and How to Turn it Around

by Tammie Makely | Oct 17, 2024 | Blog, Depression, Family Therapy, Grief & Loss, Parenting, Relationships, Trauma, Wellness

The term “Victim Mentality” is all over social media right now and before I get way in too deep, please let me take a moment to be clear that there is a huge difference between being a victim and having a Victim Mentality. While TikTok, Insta, Facebook, and even...

How to Talk to our Kids about the 3-D’s: Death, Divorce, and Disease

by Tammie Makely | Sep 23, 2024 | Depression, Family Therapy, Grief & Loss, Parenting, Teen, Trauma

In my 14 years of working as a clinician (Wow! I’m really aging myself!), I have worked with many children and the truth is that I have children myself, but one of the things I have learned is that some topics are more difficult to talk about with our children than...

Back to School… Back to School.

by Leilani Mitchell | Sep 6, 2024 | Family Therapy, Parenting, Teen, Wellness

Back to School Can Be Overwhelming We are at the end of August and school is in full swing events are planned, and sports have started! Which also means that you’re more than likely overbooked with pick-ups, drop-offs, practice, games, performances and maybe even...

Four Ways Depression Changes You as Told Through the Eyes of Eeyore

by Tammie Makely | Jul 26, 2024 | Depression, Family Therapy, Grief & Loss, Trauma

I am reminded of my favorite nursery tale of Winnie the Pooh, which was written by A.A. Milne in 1926. While there have been many adaptations of this story over the years, such as by Disney in 1966 or even more recently by Disney in 2007, Disney updated the look of...

Journaling Your Journey: The Importance of Using Writing to Calm Your Complicated Emotions

by Tammie Makely | Jul 1, 2024 | Depression, Grief & Loss, Trauma, Wellness

Mourning can be a long and lonely journey but through the art of journaling, one can express their truest emotions and biggest fears. Journaling can be a way to cope with the loss of something you never imagined in ways that utilizes many of your creative abilities. ...

Grief and Depression: Learn These Strategies to Understand and Manage Grief Triggers

by Tammie Makely | Jun 4, 2024 | Depression, Grief & Loss

Fyodor Dostoyevsky once said, “The mystery of human existence lies not in just staying alive, but in finding something to live for.” When we experience a loss (either a person, place, thing, or ourselves), it can feel very daunting. It can feel like we are losing...

April Showers Bring May Flowers but Not Very Quickly in Grief

by Tammie Makely | Apr 9, 2024 | Depression, Grief & Loss, Wellness

Traditionally, April is a time of wind, rain, and chill; however, like many other hard times, we must look to the silver lining because just a few days later May is when Earth’s flowers begin to bloom and take growth. When we think of this statement more jovially, we...

Four Ways of Handling Grief this Easter Holiday

by Tammie Makely | Mar 4, 2024 | Family Therapy, Relationships

After losing a loved one, holidays are often not as simple as fireworks for the Fourth of July; Apple Cider Toasts to ring in the New Year’s; Christmas lights for Christmas; or feasts on Thanksgiving. Holidays can also be a reminder of what we have lost and the...