Warren Counseling & Consulting

06/11/2025

Honored to spend the day with Foothills Regional High School! Their summer conference was a fantastic opportunity to share the power of Motivational Interviewing with their dedicated team. The students of NE Georgia are truly fortunate to have such a passionate and innovative educational community.

06/06/2025

Grateful to the folks over at CAPS for hosting today's open house. It's always great to see old friends and make new ones. Athens is so lucky to have such a vibrant mental health and counseling community!

04/29/2025

📌 Save this for the next time you leave for work... or walk back in the door.

💋The “Six-Second Kiss” — Why It’s the Tiny Habit That Can Save Your Relationship

According to Dr. John Gottman (relationship researcher and all-around love wizard), a six-second kiss is more than just sweet—it’s strategic.

Why six seconds?
Because it’s long enough to feel intimate, but short enough to not make you late for work. It signals:
🛑 Pause.
💑 We matter.
⚡ I choose you—still.

It’s a micro-ritual of connection.
It tells your nervous system: this is safe, this is love.
It tells your partner: you’re not just my co-parent, roommate, or calendar-sharing assistant… you’re my person.

Try it.
When you reunite at the end of the day—kiss like you mean it.
Six seconds. No distractions. No agenda. Just presence.

💬 Tag someone who deserves a six-second kiss tonight.
👇 Tell us—what tiny ritual keeps your relationship alive?

04/11/2025

🧠❤️ Six Hours to a Better Relationship?! Yes, Really.

No, it’s not a clickbait headline. It’s science. 🧪

Dr. John Gottman, the relationship expert with over 5 decades of research on all things love, discovered that just six intentional hours a week can supercharge your connection with your partner.

Here’s the cheat code:

🕐 Partings (2 mins/day) – Don’t just grunt “bye” while grabbing your keys. Learn one thing your partner has coming up that day.
🕐 Reunions (20 mins/day) – When you reconnect, really reconnect. Think hugs, listening, and putting down your phone.
🕐 Admiration + Appreciation (5 mins/day) – Compliment your partner like you’re trying to win them over all over again.
🕐 Affection (5 mins/day) – Hugs, kisses, cuddles, awkward dance moves—bring the physical warmth.
🕐 Date (2 hours/week) – Yep, real dates. No talking about bills or your kid’s weird science project.
🕐 State of the Union Meeting (1 hour/week) – A chill, weekly check-in to talk about what’s going well and what could be better. Think of it as a relationship tune-up—not a complaint fest.

It’s not about grand gestures. It’s about consistent, bite-sized connection.
Because love isn’t built in the big moments. It’s built in the small ones you don’t skip.

📆 Which one of these can you try this week?

03/31/2025

03/14/2025

02/06/2025

Sometimes it's hard to keep hope when the pressures of the world feel like they're weighing down so heavily on us. But what if we were to make hope a practice? Educator and prison abolitionist Mariame Kaba, when interviewed for "Hope is a Discipline: On Dismantling the Carceral State," said this about a chance meeting she had with a nun and what it taught her about hope:

"She describes it like this: It became a mantra for me in terms of when I would feel unmoored. Or when I would feel overwhelmed by what was going on in the world, I would just say to myself: “Hope is a discipline.” It’s less about “how you feel,” and more about the practice of making a decision every day, that you’re still gonna put one foot in front of the other, that you’re still going to get up in the morning. . .

It’s work to be hopeful. It’s not like a fuzzy feeling. Like, you have to actually put in energy, time, and you have to be clear-eyed, and you have to hold fast to having a vision. It’s a hard thing to maintain. But it matters to have it, to believe that it’s possible, to change the world.

-- I learned from my father that you may have big dreams and big visions. And, you know, you have to prepare for the day after the revolution. And even when you do that, it’s not guaranteed that things are going to go as you had hoped. So what’s the next best thing you can do from where you are? For you, in this moment, in this possibility space that you have, what’s the next best thing? And it’s such a grounding question. Because it doesn’t tell you: What’s the next 17 things that you need to do to get from where you are to where you need to go? It’s: What’s the next best step to take?"

So the next time life is feeling too much and you're running out of hope, ask yourself "What's the next best thing I could do to help me keep going?"

Comment below your ideas on ways you could start practicing hope today

02/03/2025

Honored to have been invited to guest lecture on Motivational Interviewing at the MSW program's Behavioral methods class today.

01/30/2025

In a world that often measures success by achievements, appearances, or followers, let’s pause and remember this: kindness is the legacy that lasts. 🌱

When was the last time someone’s kind word, thoughtful action, or gentle smile stayed with you? Maybe it was a stranger holding the door, a friend checking in, or someone forgiving you when you least expected it. Those moments are proof that the simplest acts of kindness can transform a day—or even a life.

Your kind heart is your superpower. It doesn’t need to prove itself or fight for space. It already is enough. 💛

💬 What’s one act of kindness that’s stuck with you? Share below to inspire others. 👇

01/22/2025

📢 Real Leadership Isn’t About Titles—it’s About Courage.

🧠 Think about this: True leadership isn’t about a corner office or a fancy title. It’s about rolling up your sleeves, spotting untapped potential in your team, and daring to help it grow.

💡 Here’s the catch: That’s not always easy. It takes courage to have tough conversations, to push people past their comfort zones, and to trust them with opportunities that stretch their skills. But the reward? You create not just a stronger team, but a ripple effect of growth that changes everything.

💥 So ask yourself: Are you willing to lead like this? To see more in others than they see in themselves? To invest in their growth, even when it’s messy or uncomfortable?

🌱 The Bottom Line: Leadership isn’t about power—it’s about purpose. It’s about showing up, seeing potential, and being brave enough to nurture it. And guess what? You can be that kind of leader starting today.

💬 Comment below: Who’s a leader in your life who inspires you to grow? Or how are YOU leading with courage?

📌 Save this for when you need a reminder: Leadership is a choice, not a position.

❤️ If this resonates, double-tap and share with someone who inspires you to be brave.

01/20/2025

Today, on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, let’s reflect on his powerful words:

"Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step."

This quote holds a special kind of magic. It speaks to anyone who’s ever felt the weight of uncertainty, fear, or doubt. It reminds us that progress doesn’t demand perfection—it only asks for courage to begin.

Maybe you're standing at the edge of something right now—a dream, a relationship, or a journey to heal. Maybe the "staircase" feels endless, or the path ahead is clouded with "what ifs."

Dr. King’s legacy is a call to trust that even the smallest, quietest steps matter. Each step forward, no matter how uncertain, has the power to move mountains, change lives, and honor hope.

💡 What’s one small step you can take today—toward yourself, your dreams, or a kinder world?

Let's celebrate Dr. King by choosing action over fear and faith over doubt. Tag someone who inspires you to keep climbing. ❤️

01/18/2025

Fear is a natural part of being human. It whispers doubts, raises walls, and tells us to stay safe in our comfort zones. But courage? Courage is the voice inside you that says, "This matters more than my fear."

Think of the moments that shaped your life—the job interview you thought you'd blow, the difficult conversation you were scared to have, or the leap you took when the safety net seemed too far away. Those moments weren’t fearless; they were fear-filled. But you moved forward anyway because you knew what was at stake: growth, healing, connection, and fulfillment.

Today, I invite you to ask yourself: What’s on the other side of my fear? A dream? A stronger relationship? A version of me I’ve been waiting to meet?

Your courage doesn’t have to roar. It can be a small, shaky step forward. That’s enough. You’re enough.

🌟 What’s one thing you’ll do today to step past fear? Share below—I’d love to cheer you on. 💬👇