Author: Frieda

Grieving The Loss of a Friend: In Honor of My Y Buddy, Robin

We all know somewhere in our being, that one day we will die.  Our hope is to live a long, healthy life with little or no regrets. The deaths that are really hard on us all are:  the death of children and young people, people who have died unexpectedly from illness, accidents, murder or suicide.

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Grief and Loss Counseling, Frieda L. Ferrick, MFT: So Are You Wondering, Did I Grow Up in a Dysfunctional Family?

The meaning of dysfunction is:  “The condition of having poor and unhealthy behaviors and attitudes within a group of people.  If you grew up in a family where the parents were abusing alcohol or drugs, if  there was  any type of violence, degrees of neglect,and or  unrelenting poverty,  then you probably did not get a

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So You Are Wondering: Am I a Narcissist/Borderline?

You have struggled as an adult with relationships and or keeping a job.  You have been told or you have read articles and wonder if you have some type of label.  A label that has a possible negative spin.  It could feel hurtful, harmful or spiteful for someone to call or brand you as someone

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Self-Worth, Compassion and Self-Acceptance.

I was given the challenge by a wonderful therapist, Victoria Marano in New York, to write a blog about the relationship of self-worth and compassion. What struck me was that a part of having compassion and recognizing self-worth could be tied up with self-acceptance.  If you don’t accept yourself, warts, strengths, challenges, beauty,  you might

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Grief and Loss Counseling by Frieda L. Ferrick, MFT: Grief and Loss: Part of Life and Living

Some of us have experienced loss at an early age, a death of a family member, or friend, parents fighting and or getting divorced, lack of money, shelter, dysfunctional parents, you get the drift.  Some of us are older when we experience heart ache, loss of a job or health, a death of a loved

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Recovering From Childhood Wounds

If you grew up in a home that was cold, critical and or abusive, you grew up in fear without real attachment to your parents.  Growing up without support is tough, but the slant of this article is about holding hope for all those who grew up without proper love and parental guidance. Yes, I

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Why People Go To Counseling and What They May Find There!

What is it, that makes people pick up the phone and call or email a counselor?  Why now rather than earlier or later?  My guess is that something got triggered in the client, a worry, fear, sadness and for some reason the timing felt right to work on what is going on internally.  Sometimes people

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Trust Vs. Control

If you come from a family where there was alcohol or drug abuse, mental illness, poverty there is a higher incidence of  fear, neglect and or abuse.  If this happened in your family, I want to share with you that you may be doing the best you can.  If you have been labelled someone who

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Frieda L. Ferrick, MFT, Santa Rosa Counseling: Yearning For the Unattainable

Sometimes we  yearn for people and things that are out of our reach.  We want a relationship with an unavailable person.  We want something expensive that is way beyond our budget.  We think if only and what if constantly, so we are unhappy in our present life. We think if we have this magical relationship

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The New World of Cell Phones and the Internet: Are They Addictive?

As I walk around the city I live and work in, I have become more and more concerned and worried about cell phone and internet addiction.  It bothers me as a counselor and a human being that I am watching people walking with phones in their hands, interacting with an object.  They are not paying

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