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Gina Hicks : AuthorI have 20 years of experience providing a variety of mental health counseling services to diverse populations and cultures. I offer support for teens and adult individuals facing challenges including anger issues, chemical dependency, relationship problems, anxiety, depression, stress, and more. As we work together, I will help you explore and process various feelings and emotions openly and honestly. As my client, you’ll benefit from having a prayer partner and a willing vessel coming alongside you to offer guidance as we rely together on God’s leading and direction.
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Kate Motaung : CuratorKate Motaung is the Senior Writer, Editor, and Content Manager for a multi-state company. She is the author of several books including Letters to Grief, 101 Prayers for Comfort in Difficult Times, and A Place to Land: A Story of Longing and Belonging. Kate is also the host of Five Minute Friday, an online writing community that equips and encourages Christian writers, and the owner of Refine Services, a company that offers editing services. She and her South African husband have three young adult children and currently live in West Michigan. Find Kate’s books at katemotaung.com/books.
Many people think Christians never get angry, or if they become angry, they shouldn’t stay angry. Anger is a strong response to something displeasing. Jesus says, “In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33), meaning there will be struggles during our life’s path. God also says that vengeance belongs to Him (Romans 12:19). God takes on the actionable part of anger because He knows the spiritual, emotional, and physical costs
The idea of eternal youth is a wildly popular narrative in fictional stories and legends. The legend of the Fountain of Youth, for example, was famously sought out by the Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon. He risked his life looking for a magical spring whose waters could restore youth and vitality to all who would drink it. In Tuck Everlasting, the fountain of youth is such a coveted secret that it creates all types of chaos. Why are
How would you respond if a friend were to ask you, “How are your relationships going these days?”? Your relationships may be going amazingly well, meeting your needs and expectations, while also providing you with opportunities to serve others effectively. Healthy and fulfilling relationships such as these are enriching, and they can contribute to an overall sense of well-being. On the other hand, you might be feeling stuck, struggling to make sense of the state of your relationships, or the
The health of your relationships plays a large role in your well-being. We are relational and social beings, created to love God and others. We are most human when we are in nurturing relationships with others who help bring out our God-given potential, and when we do the same for them. Healthy relationships give us accountability, stability, and support during troubled times, as well as an environment to flourish in. If relationships are that influential, it makes sense that when
Whether you are starting a new relationship with someone who was betrayed by their previous partner, or whether you are trying to rebuild a relationship after infidelity, there are certain things every betrayed person needs to heal. Recovering from infidelity is a long and complicated process where some days your partner will feel better, and other days they won’t be able to see a way past their pain. All in all, it can take between three and five years for
My counseling journey began by working with teenagers, a population that often finds itself at the intersection of rapid growth, identity formation, and complex challenges. Supporting teens required me to cultivate patience, flexibility, and the ability to hold space for strong emotions while also encouraging hope and resilience. Although at times it stretched me outside of my comfort zone, these early experiences shaped my foundation as a counselor and deepened my understanding of the importance of empathy, clear boundaries,
Highly sensitive children are those whose nervous systems process stimuli more deeply and intensely than the norm, making them supersensitive to their surroundings and easily overwhelmed by the sensations they experience. In her book, The Highly Sensitive Child, psychologist Elaine Aron depicts highly sensitive children as perceiving more, pondering more, and feeling more in every situation that they quickly reach their limits and the sensory overload becomes more than they can handle. Common Characteristics of Highly Sensitive Children Their
Stress is a factor of life that we experience for different reasons, at various stages of life, to differing degrees, but always with negative long-term results. Stress is the state of our body on high alert, caused by a release of hormones in the nervous system, readying us with a fight, flight, or freeze response. The purpose of stress is to prepare us to survive a life-threatening situation, and this stress response could save our lives. But living in an
There is never a “good time” for a family crisis. Whether things seem good or not, family crises rock people to their core. Whether it is a turn in the financial markets, the economy, the sudden discovery of infidelity, or the sudden death of a loved one, a family crisis has the potential to destroy family cohesion and end marriages. For Christian families, these situations become more complex. There are certain things they must weigh when walking out their
There may be nothing so heartbreaking as to see your child trapped and unable to escape a difficult situation. It could be issues with substance abuse, feelings of isolation, and low self-esteem from being bullied. Struggles with depression may lead them to despair, or they may be struggling with anger, caught up in a hot whirlwind of unbridled emotion. The challenges of the teenage years can be disruptive and detrimental to the teen’s well-being. When someone is hurting, the
Whether you have ADHD or know someone who does, you might have experienced ADHD anger. As with most people who deal with angry outbursts, there is usually something behind and beneath the emotions. Understanding what lies beneath the anger is helpful because it gives us an idea of how to cope with anger. However, unlike neurotypical people, there are unique issues behind ADHD anger. It might take some time to discover what is triggering this anger and how to
Self-care is often perceived as selfish. But it is essential for maintaining balance in life. The metaphor “put the oxygen mask on yourself first” is an example of prioritizing personal health to ensure you have enough energy to assist others, whether at home or work. Managing stress holistically and proactively is essential for people to avoid depression and anxiety, and also helps to take an offensive stance against the devil’s schemes. The Bible states that each of us is











