• : Author

    Therapy offers a unique opportunity for you to engage with your story, to explore with curiosity and kindness, to be seen and heard, and to heal and grow. I approach our work together by inviting a trustworthy, professional collaboration to explore your relationship with yourself, with others, and with the stories that have shaped who you are today. We were created to flourish in our relationships but so often relational experiences feel disconnected, confusing, and messy. With God’s help through the context of Christian counseling, you can experience wholeness, recovery, and lasting hope.

  • : Curator

    Kate 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.

  • Traumatic events are unpredictable and devastating. They can happen any time and anywhere, leaving the people who experience them with significant struggles as they try to process and recover from the memories of the event. Some people are gradually able to come to terms with what happened, but others are not. People whose symptoms do not go away may be suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Their symptoms may become so pervasive that they interfere with their ability to

  • Do you feel like you and your spouse just cannot get through to each other? Or as if you are speaking different languages? Do you often feel unheard or misunderstood? Are you battling with a silent spouse, one who withdraws or avoids conflict, or even the opposite - one who just seems to push all your buttons? Perhaps there are certain important conversations that you just don’t feel that you can have anymore with your spouse without tempers flaring

  • Take a read through this article and see how many of these causes for resentment in marriage you identify with. While this may not be a checklist you want to score well on it may be useful to know what specifically needs work from you as well as your spouse. One contributes more than the other. Between household chores, time with the children, the school run, and the financial contribution to running a household, there are many areas in

  • This article will address what it means to be a real man. I will be touching on three themes: worldview, biblical view, and therapeutic view. My wife just asked me “How are you doing” I replied, “I am living a life of quiet desperation.” This is a well-known quote from Henry David Thoreau. “Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them.” Growing up in the United States I learned

  • The conversations you have with yourself, in your mind or out loud, can either dial up or dial down the amount you worry about. “Inner talk is one of the most effective, least-used tools available to master the psyche and foster life success,” says Psychologist Ethan Kross. Times have changed since we thought others were crazy for talking to themselves. Many of us are doing it, and self-talk is recognized as an exceptionally useful tool as we navigate our

  • A panic attack is a sudden feeling of anxiety or terror distinguished by sweating, shallow breathing, and the nervous system being on high alert. These spells can occur unprovoked and without the presence of any danger or threat. It can take anywhere between ten minutes and an hour for a panic attack to pass. Afterward, it is not uncommon to experience a sense of guilt, shame, exhaustion, and emotional drain. Although singular occurrences are common, most people who experience

  • The holidays bring a string of values and emotions to many: thanksgiving, love, kindness, generosity, and wonder. But, unfortunately, to some, it also brings stress in the form of financial budgets, gift-giving, and unavoidable toxic extended family members. Your mental wellness is an integral part of your overall health. Yet, people spend three months in a stressful fight or flight response to the holidays every year. Make this season different. Enjoy the holidays for the real reason we celebrate:

  • If you have been around friends who attend church regularly or you grew up in a Christian environment, you may have heard the phrase “take every thought captive” before. To apply this to everyday life, it’s important to know what it means, how to do it, and why to do it. What does it mean to take every thought captive? The phrase originates from Paul’s second letter to the church in Corinth. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion

  • Stress affects everyone. Daily stressors are a fact of life, and some pressure can be good. However, when you experience high levels of mental stress for prolonged periods, it can cause exhaustion and burnout. The symptoms of mental stress. The symptoms of mental stress are similar to other mental health conditions. You may want to consult a therapist to rule out other disorders and learn strategies to ease mental fatigue. Symptoms include: Sensations of dread and hopelessness. Feeling overwhelmed

  • Social anxiety can make life challenging. Everyday activities become a struggle. You may not be able to shop inside stores anymore, attend social events, or even spend time with friends. Social interactions are no longer straightforward when your heart and mind race and you worry about how to interact with others or what they think about you. Holiday shopping becomes relegated to online only because you no longer want to deal with the anxiety and the panic. The symptoms of

  • When you experience something that is disappointing, have you struggled with how to handle disappointment? Do you get mad? Do the tears flow? Do you take it out on the people around you? Maybe retreat and isolate yourself? There are plenty of ways to react to disappointment. But you don’t need to stay in that place of reaction. Instead, you can learn how to handle disappointment in ways that are helpful instead of destructive. No one is a stranger

  • God did not design us to live in isolation without connections to others. That is why it is important to help your child attain secure attachment in their development. Learning how to foster those attachments can create a sense of belonging in your child. It can also help them develop a positive mindset about themselves. One of the most influential attachments children make is those with their parents. Attachment parenting is the term that is commonly used to describe