Community Counseling Center

Community Counseling Center updated their information in their About section.

Community Counseling Center updated their information in their About section.

According to the CDC in 2019, Su***de was the 10th leading cause of death overall in the US.

Among individuals between the ages of 10 and 34 it is the 2nd leading cause of death.

If you or someone you love is experiencing suicidal thoughts, consider texting the Crisis Text Line.

The Crisis Text Line is a free, 24/7 crisis support by text message and when someone is in crisis, they can text HOME to 741741 to connect with a trained Crisis Counselor who will help them move from a hot moment to cool and calm moment.

"No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear. I am not afraid, but the sensation is like being afraid. The same fluttering in the stomach, the same restlessness, the yawning. I keep on swallowing."

At some point in our life, we all will experience grief. Often we think of a physical loss of a loved one, friend, or pet; but grief can exist as a result of many types of experiences. Sickness, trauma, and emotional loss can all result in grief.

The important thing here to know is you can grieve in a way that is right for you.

Today is National Grief Awareness Day.

We hope to bring awareness to those suffering from grief and those supporting grieving loved ones.

"No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear. I am not afraid, but the sensation is like being afraid. The same fluttering in the stomach, the same restlessness, the yawning. I keep on swallowing."

At some point in our life, we all will experience grief. Often we think of a physical loss of a loved one, friend, or pet; but grief can exist as a result of many types of experiences. Sickness, trauma, and emotional loss can all result in grief.

The important thing here to know is you can grieve in a way that is right for you.

Today is National Grief Awareness Day.

We hope to bring awareness to those suffering from grief and those supporting grieving loved ones.

Join Our Team of Therapist!

We have a full-time, salaried, staff psychotherapist position available. It's the best of both worlds, a collaborative group setting with solo-practice autonomy.
Check out the job description @ www.wantcounseling.com

Spring Plants for Sale at the Community Counseling Center!

Mon-Thur 9-3

The Community
Counseling Center

is hosting a
Plant Sale

Saturday, April 10th,
from 8 to 12 pm.
4810 Wrightsville Avenue, Wilmington
Johnson Nursery will be offering a
selection of beautiful Sprint Plants.

Cash or check only
The Center receives 100% of proceeds!

The Community
Counseling Center

is hosting a
MUM Sale

Saturday, October 10th,
from 8 to 11 am.
4810 Wrightsville Avenue, Wilmington

Johnson Nursery will be offering a
selection of beautiful Mums in two
sizes and many colors to choose from.

Cash or check only

The Center receives 100% of proceeds!

Community Counseling Center

Community Counseling Center
Centerpoint

I keep praying and praying, so why doesn’t God help me with this? That question is one I hear frequently from clients; it’s a question we’ve all asked, probably more than once.

Yet, the question may be as much about ourselves as it is about God. Certainly, it reveals our restlessness and frustration, even our impatience. Maybe the Spirit’s movement in our restless heart and our frustrated thinking is beckoning us to trust God more than we trust ourselves. Maybe we are being led to a deeper level of prayer and discernment than we’ve ever been willing to go. Maybe, ultimately, we are being led toward a closer relationship with God who searches us and knows our heart.

I’ve come to believe we must rely on God‘s greater wisdom rather than our own wits when it comes to the deeper issues in our lives. We must lay aside our impatience for the things we want, or think we want, and trust God‘s goodness and goodwill towards us. Sometimes this quality of trust is strengthened by a counseling experience through which, with time and patience, God equips and prepares us to make the best use of what we’re given.

Call the Center at 910-452-7370. Visit us at www.wantcounseling.com

- George R. Slaton

wantcounseling.com

The Center's Staff had a wonderful time yesterday touring The Harrelson Center! We are so excited about our partnership with them!

We are grateful for our new Harrelson Center Associate Partner, Community Counseling Center (CCC), who spent time with us on campus today. CCC Director Jonathan Kelley, LCMHC, shared his appreciation and joy, "It was truly a wonderful experience to tour the Harrelson Center today. I was inspired by how much the Center encompasses and the many committed individuals who care about others in our community. Surpassed my expectations and uplifted my spirit!"

We will launch a virtual tour next week in hopes of lifting many spirits! Christy, our Outreach Coordinator, couldn't stop sharing and looks forward to resuming first Tuesdays 11 am tour. We miss you, the work continues. Welcome, CCC, a dedicated, affordable professional counseling resource for you.

The Community Counseling Center is currently not able to conduct face-to-face sessions or business. WE ARE, however, able to conduct telehealth sessions per each provider.

Please call to set up an appointment or if you have any questions, 910-452-7370!

Panera Bread
FUNDRAISER!!!

HELP SUPPORT-
COMMUNITY COUNSELING
CENTER

WHERE 1156 Military Cutoff Rd, Wilmington, NC 28405

WHEN Thurs, May 9th FROM 4:00pm - 8:00pm

Ordering Online for Rapid Pick-up or Delivery?
Enter "PRFUND" as your Promo Code to have a portion of your proceeds donated to
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How to Help Children Get through the Holidays

The magic of the Holiday Season is more exciting for children than for adults. Here are some tips to getting excited boys and girls through the holidays smoothly.

- It is important that children still keep a time structure during this time of year. Offer a little bit later bedtime. Not having a bedtime is asking for all kinds of problems. Children gain comfort from routine.
- Maintaining some of the family traditions is important. A family tradition does not have to be celebrated exactly as it was. It can be modified. Ask your child what they would find most meaningful.
- Children often take leads from adults. The way you handle things determines in part how they will handle things.
- Doing something good for someone else can give the holidays special meaning. Some suggestions might be to bake cookies for a nursing home or help serve Thanksgiving dinner at a local shelter with the kids.
- Don’t insist you stay together the entire day. Children may want to spend time with friends. They need the support and security that “hanging out” with friends provides.
- Keep plans flexible. Don’t put too many demands on you or your child.
- Do a post-holiday evaluation. Change plans for the next year according to how it worked this year.

An optimistic outlook will help you and your child cope with challenges that come your way.

Be A Good Listener!

What do you do when a friend or family member comes to you and shares the painful details of a current conflict he or she is experiencing with someone? Maybe that person is having a struggle with the spouse, another family member, or perhaps a mutual friend.

It’s important for you in seeking to be a good listener to remind yourself that regardless of how well you may know both parties you’re probably not fully aware of all the circumstances in question. You may also not be fully aware of the complex range of emotions and deeper history involved in their relationship.

Remember that being supportive doesn’t mean taking sides. Limiting your role to one of support will likely prevent any lingering misunderstandings among extended family or between mutual friends.

Be careful about giving any direct advice. It will probably be more helpful to ask questions and help your friend take a longer look at the situation. Having an understanding of an objective listener like you will make it even more likely that your friend will come to some helpful resolutions.

THE HOLIDAYS ARE HERE ALREADY?
Tips For Those Who Are Grieving at Holiday Time
For many the holidays are a time of celebration. However, for those who have lost a loved one, this can be a time when emotional pain is magnified as individuals face the prospect of a holiday without their loved one. The following are some tips that can help you cope when you are grieving.
-Accept your feelings. Realize that your feelings are important. Cry if you need to or want to. But most importantly realize that whatever “you are feeling, you are feeling.” Allow yourself to feel without guilt.
-Share your feeling with family and/or close friends. Don’t expect others to be mind readers. Let others know how you feel the holidays could be best celebrated. If you don’t feel up to your usual holiday routine tell someone.
- Talk about you deceased loved one. It’s quite common for others to avoid mentioning the name of a deceased person in order to try to protect those who are grieving. If you speak candidly about your loved one, others will recognize your need to remember him or her and will also talk about that person.
-Listen to your heart. If earlier decisions don’t feel right as the time approaches, then make the necessary adjustments. Follow the leading of your heart.
-Be gentle with yourself. Give yourself permission not to live up to the expectations of others. It is alright if you don’t please everyone. If you are alone, find others to be with.
These tips may make the holidays more bearable and that gives us renewed strength and hope.

RETIREMENT

You might be surprised to learn that retirement, the dream of most working people, can often bring with it some unexpected difficulties. This life transition requires some real adjustment to make it a successful one.

Two to five years before you retire you need to decide what you want your retirement life to look like. Define your lifestyle: Do you want to travel, move, volunteer, sit on the porch and read, or complete a bucket list?

Create a financial plan. Work out a detailed retirement income plan. Don’t out live your savings!!!

Be an active partner and joint decision-maker when it comes to planning. Don’t leave all the planning and work to one spouse. Prepare to make compromises in your planning.

Know the details. Make a will or estate plan. Both spouses should know details such as account numbers and life and health insurance info. Do you know what kind of burial plans your spouse wants? These can be hard topics to think about but they are things that need to be discussed.

We shouldn’t assume that retirement will in itself bring contentment and fulfillment. We need to expect inevitable challenges, and savor the well-earned satisfactions when we take the jump into retirement!

Is It Neglect?
(By Ann Thacker)

Emotional neglect is omitting to do things that tend to promote emotional well-being. Emotional neglect of children takes various forms and its impact can be lifelong.

Lack of attention is a form of emotional neglect. Certainly, no parent can devote all their attention to a child. Never showing interest in a child’s thoughts, feelings or activities, however, tells the child they are not important. Conditional love is another form of emotional neglect. This is when parents withhold affection if the child falls short of their expectations. This can make the child feel like a failure. Children who are cared for physically but neglected emotionally may not be shown warmth and tenderness and will begin to feel unloved. Isolating children by not allowing them to pursue their own interests or spend time with friends is a type of emotional neglect that can result in inhibited personality and emotional development.

The effect of emotional neglect is far more subtle than those of abuse, but can be just as damaging. Work to show interest in your child’s thoughts feelings and activities. Let them know you love them even though you may not be happy with their behavior. Nurture them with lots of affection and allow them to pursue interest and friendships. This will help them become emotionally healthy individuals.

Happy Marriage?

Even in the best of marriages, misunderstandings will develop. It is a real cause for concern when a marriage develops layers of misunderstanding so serious that a spouse eventually comes to harbor chronic feelings of resentment. This can cloud of marriage with bitterness which is hard to resolve. Such a situation can be avoided when couples constantly work on their ability to communicate with each other.

The ability to communicate our deeper thoughts and feelings make our lives and our relationships work. If wives and husbands communicated with each other regularly and deeply, the incidence of marital difficulty would plummet. Communicating at this level may sound simple but it is rarely practiced.

Are you and your spouse talking deeply and frequently about things which matter to you? If you’re not, consider setting aside some time soon to make regular and significant communication a central part of your life together.

The Fog of Grief
(By Kenneth Haugk)

Grief causes a fog to roll into our lives. The fog of grief can affect our ability to think or concentrate. This fog often sets in right after a loved one has died but can linger or come and go for a long time.

What happens is that our grief gets so heavy that it surrounds us, clouds our minds, and interferes with our ability to think clearly.

People describe this feeling in many ways. They might say they are “going through the motions” or they are “forgetful and confused.” Be patient with yourself. This fog is normal and will pass in time. For now, try to avoid tackling anything that is really difficult or requires a lot of concentration. If you are forgetting things, carry a little notebook around or write yourself notes and reminders during the day.

Remember the fog is only temporary. It may linger at times or come and go for a while. But sooner or later it will lift.

Hurricane Florence

We will be suffering the after effects of hurricane Florence for a long time. Depression, anxiety, anger, and the sense of grief are some of the typical effects on people. The stress of this kind of trauma not only takes a toll on us emotionally, it can affect relationships as well.

There are some things we can do to cope and facilitate recovery from this type of drama, including being aware of various feelings and reactions that are normal and giving our emotions time to heal. We must also allow ourselves time to mourn our losses and grieve. Taking care of ourselves physically (proper diet, rest, and exercise) and taking steps to repair and cleanup property are a part of the recovery process. Reliance upon our support systems is a very important aspect of coping in recovery. Relying on family, friends, neighbors, church, and more structured systems established to assist people, in addition to our faith and trusting God, is most important in getting through this.

As Thanksgiving approaches, we begin thinking of all we are grateful for. This Thanksgiving, many will be giving thanks for the fact that their losses were no greater than they were, for their very survival, and for those who offered assistance after the storm. The acts of love and kindness shown after hurricane Florence have been heartwarming. Even in the aftermath of Florence we see much to be grateful for.

By Ann Thacker