Blog Articles

The Truth About Lying

Posted by Elinor Priest on May 11, 2022 | 0 comment(s)

E5599A37 6445 4BBF A412 8D7097433B0B 1 201 aA question I often get asked is some version of, “Why does my kid keep lying/exaggerating?” This question crops up when parents are relaying what has been so hard at home, in the midst of hearing a story their child told me in therapy, or when they hear about interactions in the group. This question is often accompanied by some level of frustration or anger and bewilderment born of betrayal, sadness, and--at times--hopelessness that this new habit can shift.

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When #1 on the To-do List Becomes Self-Compassion

Posted by Sara Carroll on May 04, 2022 | 0 comment(s)

767BEC21 6E0F 44E8 AAAE CE3DA4BF376F 1 201 aThis past week, I began writing a blog speaking to how some of the current humanitarian crises, such as the war in Ukraine and the conflict in Yemen, affect even those of us living far away from these complex situations. I was only a couple of hundred words into it but I thought it had great potential. I was planning to finish it today but, unexpectedly, my dog was hurt and had to have emergency surgery. My whole day's “to-do list” was turned upside down. I didn’t accomplish any of the things I’d hoped to. For example, I wasn’t able to visit the two Intensive programs that were starting today. And I wasn’t able to provide a new employee the training that I had promised. And I missed a couple of meetings.

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Gordon Hayward Is Not the Answer to Your Problems

Posted by Phil Bryan on April 27, 2022 | 0 comment(s)

977E4C6A D238 4BF2 ABED 012CCFC4FB44 1 201 aI like basketball. Recently, while looking at some news on ESPN, I saw a rumor that the Los Angeles Lakers were considering a trade package to send Russell Westbrook out to the Hornets in exchange for a package that centered around the acquisition of Gordon Hayward. As a Celtics fan who lived through the disappointing Gordon Hayward/Kyrie Irving era, I feel confident in reiterating the title here: Gordon Hayward is not the answer to your problems.

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Parenthood: The Ultimate Common Ground

Posted by Trina Grater on April 20, 2022 | 1 comment(s)

A20A0E6D 38F2 4394 8F24 60E1064E71C5I recently traveled with my two small children across the country on my own. It was the first time I was “outnumbered” for this kind of adventure and length of time. Leading up to it, the internet did its eerie thing of suggesting articles that played right to my fears. Would my children and I be the bane of some folks’ existence during the flights? Is it really possible for a four-year-old to wear a mask all day?

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Hiking Refusal: How to Make it OK

Posted by Devin Frechette on April 13, 2022 | 0 comment(s)

D16AA59D B03E 41CC B2D8 1F6FCD6C7DB9 1 201 aThere is still a question I remember from my initial interview for the field instructor position at Evoke: What do you do if a student refuses to hike? At the time of my interview, I was fresh out of college and had little to no meaningful experience dealing with resistance, defiance, manipulation, and other challenging behavioral patterns that we regularly see from our Evoke students. So, of course, my answer was: um, say okay? I had no idea what to do but give in, say okay, and let a person do what they were going to do. I considered saying I would try to convince them to hike, but I knew that when someone tried to convince me to do something I didn’t want to do, I only dug my heels in deeper. Little did I know, there was more wisdom in my response than young me could have realized.

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Group Therapy & Finding My Fab 6

Posted by Becci McNeely on March 30, 2022 | 1 comment(s)

15E11185 70D9 4769 85E5 6D5AA5FA4AB8When offered the opportunity to attend Evoke's Finding You Intensive, I was swept up with excitement. I speak about this program daily, I hear others' glowing feedback about it, my friends and colleagues have explained it as a life changing experience, and I’ve listened to Dr. Brad Reedy recommend it time and time again on his podcast. I was all smiles, until it hit me, this is group therapy. And my heart began to sink into my stomach. Prior to this intensive I’d attended regular therapy sessions but doing a deep dive into my personal work, with strangers watching me, is far from my comfort zone!

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Creative Maladjustment

Posted by Brand Bonsall on March 23, 2022 | 1 comment(s)

D88F0CC7 4036 447F 81D7 EF64F92012DB 1 201 aIn 1965, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave an address to The University of California, Los Angeles and said, “Modern psychology has a word that is probably used more than any….It is the word 'maladjusted'.…Certainly, we all want to avoid the maladjusted life. But I say to you, my friends, there are certain things in our nation and in the world [about] which I am proud to be maladjusted and which I hope all men of good-will will be maladjusted.”

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When You Look for Others, You Find Yourself Too

Posted by Katelyn BeVard on March 16, 2022 | 0 comment(s)

D0147746 9052 4785 97C7 B2A5EBAB916E 1 201 aOne of my favorite memories from my time as a Field Instructor, was during a week I was working with a group of adolescent girls. One of the students I was working with that week (we will call her Julie) came from a sports family. She played sports and her father was a coach for a professional sports team. She was the type of student who would put her head down and work tenaciously towards a goal, while often ignoring any emotions she was feeling. It was clear to the staff team at the time that this young person was spending a lot of energy on tasks and, in the process, ignoring her emotions.

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