Steeped in Hope Marriage and Family Therapy

Home
United States
New York, NY
Steeped in Hope Marriage and Family Therapy

Steeped in Hope is a virtual marriage and family therapy practice serving clients in Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey.

We help individuals, couples, and families set and meet goals to live the best versions of their lives.

01/04/2025

Unlike resolutions, intentions encompass a variety of behaviors and lead to an overarching feeling. It can help to create a change that touches all parts of the cognitive triangle (thoughts, feelings, behaviors) and change your whole life for the better.

01/02/2025

Think of behaviors or experiences that support this intention. Using the above example, maybe going to a meetup group is really nerve wracking for me. But if my intention for the year is connection, then that can serve as a catalyst for pushing through the nerves. Challenge yourself to engaged in behaviors that you’ve identified that support this intention.

12/31/2024

When you feel like you have a good handle on this past year, starting thinking ahead. What do you want out of this year? Maybe you’re someone who has felt lonely and disconnected and looking to the new year, you’d like to make friends and feel like you’re part of a community. Is there a phrase or word that you feel like encompasses how you’d like to feel? The above example might lead someone to have “connection” as an intention for the new year. Let this word or phrase serve as an anchor point throughout the year. If my intention is “connection”, then when I’m prioritizing experiences, events, or obligations in my year, I’m going to put those that support connection higher on the list.

12/27/2024

When we talk about intention setting for the new year, first take stock of the year that is ended. Think about how this past year has felt; were there any feelings that stand out as stronger than others? What was good about it? What things did you do or put effort into that supported those good feelings or experiences? What didn’t feel great? Were you feeling too harried, unsupported, or disconnected? Think about the things that you pushed off, took on, or ignored that supported these not great experiences or feelings. This is information too.

12/25/2024

The words “intention” and “intentional” have become very buzzy in the past few years and sometimes it feel like they’ve lost meaning; I want to give them new life today. Setting an intention and being intentional, at its core, is deciding how you want something to feel and how you’re going to put concerted effort into living in a way that creates that feeling on purpose.

12/23/2024

We’re gearing up for another year. For many people this feels like a clean slate and a chance to make major changes. Now, you don’t need me to rattle off the statistics around New Year’s Resolutions and the success rate of this proclamations, and I know there are going to be some diehard resolution setters that are going to keep making them (good for you! I wish you success!). I’m here to offer you an alternative that has been shown to have more success and lead to a wider range of changes: intention setting.

12/21/2024

Be kind. Again, the emphasis is on ways that this relationship CAN feel good, not a laundry list of ways that it can’t feel good.

12/19/2024

Assume positive intent. Again, your inlaws are not typically asking you to do things because they want to bother you. Families are not often making decisions to annoy you. Families are not regularly trying to make your life harder.
Emphasize what you ARE able to do. Ex: We won’t be able to come over this weekend. It looks like Easter is going to be a good option though, does that work for you?
Offer an alternative. If going to a specific event doesn’t feel good for you, offer an alternative that serves the need of connection (the need most regularly bid for). If a conversation doesn’t feel right to you, offer a topic that feels better.
Expect that in the beginning, you will get pushback. This is an entirely new way of being! You may be maneuvering around something that has been an established habit. You may be making a decision that goes against a family’s dream of the future. It’s okay. We are all humans and we adjust.

12/17/2024

How might you set these?
This is the tough part for many people. They’re worried that people will be upset or angry. They’re worried that they’ll be disappointing. They don’t want to have the fight that feels like will inevitably follow.
More often than not, it will be better coming from the partner for whom it is THEIR family of origin. (so everyone navigates and shares the news with their own parents and siblings).
Accept that sometimes it’s going to be frustrating for the receiving party to hear what you have to say. They might be bummed at the decision that you made. That’s okay. That’s not insurmountable. That’s not going to cost you your relationship.

12/13/2024

SO how do you do this when it comes to your partner’s loved ones? Well, first, a conversation with your partner is imperative. You need to figure out together how you want your life to feel and what that means with respect to each of your families of origin.
Maybe it’s important to you guys that you have privacy. So maybe a boundary that you set is that family needs to give a heads up before coming over.
Maybe it’s important to you guys that your finances are just between the two of you. So maybe the boundary that you set it that finances are not conversation for public consumption.
Maybe you guys are really busy and being able to reconnect as a couple or your shared immediate family on the weekends is important to you. Maybe the boundary that you set is that you go over and hang out with families of origin every other week or once a month.
Your boundaries as a couple should flow from your shared values.

12/11/2024

Let me be very clear here, boundaries are not set in order to be punitive. Boundaries are not set to strong arm someone into doing what you want. Boundaries are not set in order to to be retaliatory.
Boundaries ARE set to help define to others how they can have a positive relationship with you. Boundaries ARE set in order to help you live a life that aligns with your desires and values. Boundaries ARE set to avoid burnout.

12/09/2024

One of the most common things that comes up in both individual therapy and couples therapy is issues with a partner’s family of origin. In law issues are not new. There are literally thousands of sitcom episodes centering on this very thing. They can be tricky to navigate though. This week we’re going to talk about the ways that some of these show up and ways that they can be managed while preserving your relationships.
While there are plenty of nightmare inlaw stories out there, by and large, most families are trying to feel connected and are not trying to p**s you off.
This is not to say that there may not be mis-steps along the way or unintended hurt feelings, but again, most of the time everyone is trying to navigate the path of adding someone (or being added) to a family.
Many times the varying expectations of all the different members involved can be managed with appropriate boundary setting.

Address

New York, NY

Telephone

+13472929051

Website

http://steepedinhope.com/contact-us

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Steeped in Hope Marriage and Family Therapy posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Practice

Send a message to Steeped in Hope Marriage and Family Therapy: