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It’s that time of year when gratitude is top of mind for many. During Thanksgiving month, we see consistent reminders of this word painted on festive candles, hand towels, and other decor. We see it in news headlines and it’s posted all over social media.

As a daily practice, gratitude has been proven to lead to more happiness, fulfillment, and joy. However, when life is difficult due to unwanted change, hardship, news headlines, or loneliness, sometimes feeling thankful for all your have might feel out of reach. More than ever, it’s these times when gratitude is truly essential.

Here are four ways to practice gratitude in difficult times.

Reframe

Have you ever been in a relationship and always felt like you were doing something wrong or something bad was about to happen? Do you have the tendency to blame yourself when things weren’t going as smoothly as you had hoped? Did you find yourself making up stories to explain your partner’s behavior without confirmation from him or her about what was occurring?

As relationship therapists, we often see individuals in our Denver office who tend to blame themselves, make up stories, or lose a sense of objectivity when trying to determine why a relationship isn’t progressing in the way they want it to. This tendency is particularly strong ...

Living in a digital age with endless content can be overwhelming. In my work as a Denver therapist, I often hear from clients that they’ve researched a topic related to relationships on the internet, and haven’t always received the best advice from forums or unreliable sources.

Below you’ll find a collection of top relationship resources that provide solid insight backed by research in a variety of formats.

Old-Fashioned Print Books

There is something almost therapeutic itself about holding a book and the ritual of reading. Here are some top books to consider if you want to better understand both yourself and your relationship dynamics. (Note: All can be found ...

In my work as a relationship therapist, I help clients overcome a variety of relationship challenges by helping provide insights into their experiences and strategies for overcoming common roadblocks.

A challenge I often hear about as a relationship therapist is that the beginning of a relationship felt “easy” and months – or years – later, one or both partners are now trying to understand why things are challenging as the relationship progresses. Along with that ease, the couple experienced a notable “spark” early on, accompanied by an all-consuming feeling. Some clients assume that this ease, intense attraction, and chemistry are indicators of a sustainable relationship and they continue ...

Relationships, like life, are full of change. If you desire to shift any dynamic in your relationships, you must be prepared for and understand how to navigate the natural stages of change.

If your partner in a romantic relationship is attempting to shift his or her behavior such as breaking an addiction, changing long-standing communication patterns, or being more present when with you, fully understanding the process of change, and the fact that it might not be a linear, progressive path, is essential. As I outline the six fundamental stages of change in this post, as coined in The Transtheoretical Model (Prochaska, DiClemente, & Norcross, 1992), I hope to ...

You’ve spent the better part of the last two to ten years putting your children’s needs far above your own. You’ve spent countless months on a nursing and/or pumping schedule, long nights rocking little ones, and endless days cleaning up after them. Your children have consumed nearly all of your time and energy, and you have possibly even thrived within those dynamics.

Now, your little ones are off to school and you're off to...well, you’re not sure. With some quiet time to yourself and less daily chaos in your home, you’re left wondering what to do next. Maybe you’re even wondering what you enjoy anymore, and possibly even ...

In my work as a Denver therapist, I regularly witness the power of individual therapy to heal relationship problems. Setting aside time to talk about the way your relationships influence your thoughts and behaviors one-one-one with a trained relationship psychologist is paramount to transforming a relationship.

Many couples choose couples therapy in addition to, or sometimes instead of, individual therapy to work through their greatest relationship challenges, arguments, and differences. While this can be an effective complement to individual therapy, generally couples wait too long to make the commitment to couple’s therapy, and being more proactive about the need for such therapy is key to it’s success.