Claudia Carballal Counseling

12/29/2022

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Is Family Counseling Right for You?

12/28/2022

It may be useful to talk about past negative experiences, but at some point we must go beyond them and not make them part of our identity.

Simply talking about the past without gaining insight, is a small and temporary remedy to personal problems. It doesn’t help in the long run because new issues will continue to arise in different forms to challenge us.

Through insight, something in us changes fundamentally and we can see new issues in a new light, from a new perspective.

We need to have a burning desire to be free from the past, free from the influence of a negative psychological identity that has been creating our narrative— the story that you tell yourself and others about you and your life.

12/23/2022

Let your days unfold naturally.
Trust that there’s a higher power taking care of everything.
We need “bad” days and “good” days for contrast; they are two sides of the same coin.
Make space for the possibility that maybe things were not meant to be, or were meant to be.
Things affect you depending on the meaning you give to them.
Don’t mind the ups and downs of life, it’s how you respond that matters.
Don’t be afraid of the ups and downs of life. They are like fireworks in the sky.
The fireworks are the ways in which life unfolds.
The vastness of the sky where the fireworks play is always there steady, unchanged as Consciousness.
This Consciousness is your higher nature, it’s what gives space to breathe between problems, it’s what inspires you to raise above difficulties.

12/18/2022

As a Trauma-Informed counselor, people often ask me why abused women (or men) don’t leave their relationship sooner.

This situation becomes clearer when we understand the psychological effects on a mind-person who has been abused.

Abuse is not only physical, but can also be emotional (games, lies, lack of clarity, manipulation), verbal (shouting, insults, constant complaints and criticism, tantrums), financial (hiding money, preventing a partner from making financial decisions or having an opinion about money).

In abusive relationships there’s an unbalance of power where the authoritarian person has the control or wants to have control.

The power of freedom and decision has been eroded or slowly taken away. The abused person stops believing in her capacity to make choices. Psychologically, they may return to a state of adolescence when they felt helpless. The normal response of leaving an authoritarian relationship is diminished.

It can take years for abused individuals to reintegrate to their true power, especially if they saw abuse or authoritarianism in childhood.

As a counselor, my job is to listen and empower, to help face fears, to remind individuals of their capacity and right to make choices.

12/17/2022

Attention is a human superpower.

Discernment is a human superpower.

They are two of the main tools of Yoga, crucial for grounding and life fulfillment.

Wherever your attention goes, that intensifies and it’s taken as “your experience.”

You can decide where you put your attention, and this can transform your life.

To make a good decision, you need the power of discernment.

Discernment helps you make sound decisions, to see clearly what is the right path, what you should do, and why you should do it.

Discernment and intuition need to be applied in collaboration. But be careful not to confuse intuition with emotions that haven’t been processed and observed properly. Some emotions can lead you on the wrong path.

12/17/2022

12/16/2022

Does Marriage Help us Grow and Evolve?

People come together for different reasons — companionship, social status, financial support, cultural expectations, convenience, friendship. However, these reasons are not enough to sustain a healthy relationship. To sustain a healthy and fulfilling relationship, both partners have to evolve as a couple and develop relational skills that support that growth.

12/15/2022

Yesterday on my way home I took an Uber ride. A nice young man was driving the car. He shared his experience with a woman that he likes and told me about some of their interactions. When he knew I work as a counselor, he asked me whether I thought it was wrong to apologize to his girlfriend after an argument, as it can be perceived as a sign of weakness, especially coming from a man. He said that he considers himself a kind person, but that people sometimes take advantage of that.

I asked him: "What is the source of your kindness?" He hesitated for a moment, then said: "Because it's the right thing to do." He got it right.

I told him that if the source of his kindness is to please people or to fit in, that is a sign of weakness. On the other hand, if the source of his kindness is based on principle--the universal principles of peace, respect, and harmony--then apologizing is a sign of great strength.

I told him that the world needs more man who are kind, respectful, peaceful, and use force only when absolutely necessary to protect life and in self-defense, for example, and always trying to do the less harm possible. This is the principle of Zen and traditional martial arts.

I hope this young man's girlfriend appreciates a kind man and that he feels strong and confident in his kindness based on principle.

12/15/2022

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Helping You to Free Your Mind

12/13/2022

When you are seeking professional help to improve your life and relationships, it’s useful to know what therapeutic approach a counselor uses. A therapist’s foundational theory provides a roadmap to achieve your therapy goals. It’s like an airplane’s radar and GPS - guiding the plane to where it needs to go an the best route to take based on data.

I’m primarily a cognitive behavioral therapist — I help explore your thoughts and core beliefs to gain clarity and find solutions. I also facilitate the observation of personal narrative — the story that you tell yourself and others about your life — and the finding of meaning in your experiences.

I found that formal traditional yogic practices, including meditation and sadhana, are not much different from observing thoughts, changing your narrative, and finding true meaning.

It’s the spiritual element — connecting with your higher power — that allows for this deep exploration, observation, transformation, and catharsis.

Find more information at:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/profile/1056493

12/10/2022

CLAUDIA CARBALLAL COUNSELING

I provide bilingual and multicultural counseling for individuals, couples, and families. In person and virtual sessions. Office located in Snyder Plaza in the heart of Park Cities and University Park.

Call for a free 15-minutes phone consultation. I will return your phone call and we’ll determine the best course of action.

More details and contact information at:
https://www.claudiacarballal.com

12/09/2022

ACTING FROM FEAR INSTEAD OF LOVE

Most people make decisions based on fear. Unconsciously or consciously, fear creates a certain emotion and subsequently a behavior.

Most of the time — unless you’re trying to save your life and are acting from a healthy instinct — a decision based on fear is the wrong decision.

EIGHT GUIDELINES TO BE FEAR FREE:

Don’t be a good person out of fear of being judged; be a good person out of love for yourself and others.

Don’t be in a relationship based on fear of being alone; be in a relationship because there’s true love in it.

Don’t stay at a job that makes you miserable because you fear change; stay at a job because it fulfills your life purpose.

Don’t maintain friends out of fear of not being socially accepted; keep the company of friends who help you grow.

Don’t do things out of fear of missing out; do things because you love doing them.

Don’t hold yourself back out of fear of rejection; hold yourself back because you know it’s not your time yet.

Don’t just blindly follow religious precepts or social norms out of fear of punishment; follow principles out of your own conviction that they make a better world.

Don’t please others based on fear of not fitting in; where there’s love you will fit in naturally and no one will ask you to please them.

12/06/2022

In our popular culture, we believe that we have to find our ideal partner. What is an ideal partner is not only a subjective idea, but also an elusive one as we are constantly evolving and changing.

If the institution of marriage doesn’t help us grow and expand, it will lose its original purpose and bound to become obsolete.

Read more

12/05/2022

IS THE INSTITUTION OF MARRIAGE HELPING US GROW AND EVOLVE?
In our popular culture, we believe that we have to find our ideal partner. What is an ideal partner is not only a subjective idea, but also an elusive one as we are constantly evolving and changing. Only our core essence remains the same, but how many couples know themselves and their partners that deep?

Read the full article here https://www.claudiacarballal.com/post/is-marriage-obsolete

12/01/2022

In my work as a counselor I often see people that come out of relationships hurt and disappointed. Things are not the way they expected.

Although we cannot control many things and events in life, wouldn’t it be beneficial to talk about life values, non-negotiables, and big decisions before creating a life partnership with someone?

Premarital counseling (pre-partnership, as I like to call it) can be a positive preventive tool before a couple develops rigidity and problematic habits. During premarital counseling, a couple can talk about important areas, such as values, work, finances, children, and extended family, before they become a larger issue.

Couples counseling, on the other hand, is often focused on repairing and undoing unhealthy habits.

11/30/2022

ANUNCIO-EN ESPAÑOL
📩 Les comunico que he abierto mi consultorio de servicios de consejeria y psicología en Dallas, Texas. Doy terapias en español e inglés. Certificada por la Junta de Examinadores de Consejeros Profesionales de Texas, como licenciada en consejeria profesional (MS, LPC-A) y recibo supervision profesional de Amera Sergie, MS, LPC-S.

📓 Terapia para individuos, parejas y familias.

📔Coaching de Vida- objetivos, retos, carrera, propósito de vida, transiciones de vida, el camino de la Yoga, meditación.

⏰Horario temporal:
Viernes 4pm-7pm
Sabados 11am-6pm
Domingos, dependiendo disponibilidad

📍Sesiones virtuales y presenciales

🌍 Español e Inglés. Sensibilidad cultural y diversidad.

⏳Edades:
Edad avanzada
Adultos
Adolescentes

⚙️Tipos de Terapia y Modalidades:
Teoría del Apego
Cognitivo conductual (TCC)
Culturalmente sensible
Existencial
Familia / Matrimonial
Meditación, Yoga
Cognitivo Conductual Mindfulness (MBCT)
Transpersonal/Espiritual
Enfocado en el trauma

Interesados pueden llamar para una consulta sin costo de 15 minutos (469) 392-4490.

Para más información visita https://www.claudiacarballal.com/

11/28/2022

Read more

11/27/2022

The outlook that we have in life determines how we feel about crisis and difficulties in our personal and work relationships.

11/26/2022

We have difficulty knowing our spiritual aspect because it’s something intangible. Rarely we talk about it or focus on it. We live in a material world and experience the world through the five senses. We live externally, constantly making ourselves busy, entertained, amused, so as to avoid being “alone” and going within.

But it comes a time in everyone’s life when we want to know more, go deeper, fill a certain emptiness that we can’t describe.

This will eventually happen to everyone, our consciousness will be expanding and we will be “forced” to go deeper, we will want to have questions answered, contradiction ended. We will break out of our current cocoon and go to the next level of mental-emotional-physical evolution.

11/24/2022

In evolution, something remains and something has to stay behind. The reason you feel emotional pain is because your consciousness is expanding and at some point the body-mind cannot hold it anymore. Change is necessary.

11/23/2022

WHAT IS COUNSELING?

Counseling is based on the development of a healing, safe, and therapeutic relationship between a therapist and an individual.

It requires exploration of a person’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors with the goal of improving a person’s life and relationships.

It is the depth of the exploration and the capacity to open up and reflect that creates change.

When the therapist is free herself, has no internal or external contradictions, and no projections, this allows for the free flow of energy and that in itself encourages freedom and healing in the individual.

Claudia Carballal, MS, LPC-A

11/22/2022

Our so called problems are not for punishment or “bad luck” but for the growth of our Soul through many experiences. This is the school of life and we are here to learn something. Challenges will always be there; it’s our individual consciousness that changes. When consciousness changes, circumstances change because we see the world from a different perspective.

11/20/2022

WE ARE OPEN FOR BUSINESS
📩Announcing my new private counseling practice in Dallas. Accepting new clients. I work as a Licensed Professional Counselor Associate (MS, LPC-A) and receive professional supervision from Amera Sergie, MS, LPC-S.

📓Counseling for individuals, couples, and families.
📔Coaching- goals, career, life purpose, life transitions, yoga path, meditation.

⏰Hours:
Fridays, 5pm-7pm
Saturdays 11am-6pm
Sunday subject to availability

📍Sessions online and in-person.

🌍 English and Spanish. Culturally sensitive.

⏳Age:
Elders (65+)
Adults
Teen

⚙️Types of Therapy:
Attachment-based
Coaching
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
Culturally Sensitive
Existential
Family / Marital
Meditation, Yoga
Mindfulness-Based (MBCT)
Transpersonal
Trauma Focused

Website: claudiacarballal.com

A healthy mind is aware of its conditioning, thus it doesn't live in the past or the future creating unnecessary sufering. Know how to free your mind with the tools of Western psychology and Eastern wisdom teachings.

11/18/2022

Psychology Today - Claudia Carballal Counseling profile.

I want to let you know about my new private counseling practice in Dallas. I offer bilingual counseling for individuals, couples, and families.

Hours of Operation:
Fridays, 5pm-7pm
Saturdays, 11am-6pm
Sundays subject to availability.

Sessions online and in-person.

For more details visit my website https://www.claudiacarballal.com/

Or click my Psychology Today listing below.

Claudia Carballal Counseling, LPC-Associate, Dallas, TX, 75201, (469) 392-4490, My name is Claudia Carballal. I work as a Licensed Professional Counselor Associate (LPC-Associate) supervised by Amera Sergie, M.S., LPC-S. I obtained a Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from SMU Si...

11/17/2022

When awareness is expanded we become more present, more relaxed, less anxious, more luminous and open. Presence makes your senses more pure and alive and you may feel a new intensity in life.

11/13/2022

What happens when we don’t forgive someone who has hurt us?

Read more

10/30/2022

YOGA PSYCHOLOGY

Automatic thoughts (called vritis in Yogic Psychology) can become an habitual pattern of thinking (call samskaras in Yogic Psychology). They are stuck in a negative loop. It has become like an addiction.

Growth and healing can only happen when we achieve a balanced and steady mind. This is difficult for people with traumatic experiences or excessive emotionality. The logical part of their brain seems to be overpowered by the less evolved primitive part of the brain.

This and more I discuss in my book Yoga Psychology for Mental Health: A Guide to the Wisdom of Eastern Philosophy and Yogic Psychology for Mental Health and Healing.

Available for preorder now at https://www.inner-wellbeing.com/books

10/22/2022

We spend most of our life building the ego, a personality, and an identity that we defend everywhere we go. Then, in the last years of our life some people finally get it; they go inward and let go of the ego identity. The secret is not to be trapped by fear in adulthood.

10/16/2022

HI, everybody! Why is the Brow Chakra the most important chakra? It’s also called Ajna Chakra or the Third Eye Chakra, the chakra that helps activate our wisdom and intuition.

In Bharat, now called India, the Yogis and Rishis developed the era of intuition before the age of intellect and reason. This readiness and ability for Self-discovery, along with long periods of intellectual and spiritual freedom, allowed for the developed of a vast system of knowledge, which evolved into the six great schools of thought of Eastern philosophy, and three of the most important philosophical and religious systems in the world— Buddhism, Jainism, and Hinduism.

09/05/2022

Where you fix your attention and energy, that you will become. Don’t become so well adjusted to your culture to the point of not exercising your independent thinking and your intuition. Instead, pay attention to the subtle energies of your being. It will elevate you to the higher nature if you know how to recognize it and how to respond to it. Unlike the culture around you always trying to pull you down towards the lower nature, your higher self within you will give you a solid ground.

~ Claudia

08/31/2022

We think that the longer we live the wiser we become, but it is the elevation of our consciousness, the development of our spiritual aspect, that makes us wise.

Knowledge is accumulating information; wisdom is consciously applying the right knowledge in an effective way. Our ability to use our wisdom expands when our thoughts and behavior are informed by our spirit within which is connected with universal consciousness.

Claudia

08/21/2022

OUR DIVINE SOURCE

Human beings are much more than the result of random evolution. We have a divine source for we have been blessed with three aspects that are linked to our life purpose on earth:

1. Being born as a human being.

Human beings are the only species on earth that can raise their consciousness, their connection with source or creation. For this, we have the chakra system, which connects with the pranic system (breathing, life force) and nervous system.

The chakras are part of the subtle energy body, the human energy system that allows us to raise our consciousness. The chakras act as energy conductors and are vital to physical health, mental clarity, and emotional balance.

2. Having a deep need and desire to know the highest truth.

Human beings are the only species that can look within themselves. We have the capacity to reflect, to become aware, to go within in order to reflect on situations.

3. Having the potential and capacity to know the highest truth.

When we know the highest universal truths, we gain a broader perspective in life, an understanding of our connectedness to everyone and everything, and our belonging to a greater whole. This knowledge helps us have a more relaxed and balanced outlook in life.

- Claudia

06/12/2022

There is a silent, serene space that exists beyond our mind. Our modern materialistic society is disconnected from this serene space and no one teaches us that our essence is that space of peace and joy. We let our mind take over and the mind is only an instrument.