How to Communicate With Difficult Students: Read the Distress Before the Behavior
Learn how to communicate with difficult students by reading the distress behind the behavior, regulating yourself first, and meeting each kid's real…
Podcast
Written companions to episodes of Behind the Therapy Door, the podcast where Affinity Consultants therapists take on the questions people would only ask their therapist. Each article expands on a single episode with practical takeaways rooted in the Process Communication Model (PCM) and clinical experience. Read them standalone or use them alongside the audio.
Article Categories
Are Therapists Causing Family Estrangement? What Ethical Therapy Actually Does
Are therapists causing family estrangement? Two therapists respond: ethical clinicians do not coach cutting off family except in cases of danger or…
How to Break the Wimpy Parenting Cycle: Regulate Yourself, Not Just Your Kid
The wimpy parenting cycle runs permissive, irritable, explosive, then guilty. Learn to break it with authoritative, emotionally regulated parenting.
Asking for What You Need in a Relationship: Why If You Loved Me, You’d Know Backfires
Asking for what you need in a relationship beats hoping your partner reads your mind. Why If you loved me you would…
How to Deal With Disappointment: Sitting With the Feeling Without Burning It Down
How to deal with disappointment: it is the gap between expectation and reality. Learn to sit with the feeling, stay curious, and…
How to Get Out of the Drama Triangle: Victim, Rescuer, and Persecutor
How to get out of the drama triangle: swap victim for vulnerability, persecutor for assertiveness, and rescuer for resource. A guide to…
How Personality Types Recharge: Burnout and Recovery for Imaginers, Rebels, and Promoters
How personality types recharge is not one-size-fits-all: Imaginers need solitude, Rebels need contact, Promoters need incidence. Here is what each one needs.
How to Practice Self-Care Without Guilt: The Difference Between Selfish and Self-Full
Self-care without guilt starts with one distinction: selfish drains other people, self-full fills your cup so it can overflow. Here is how…
Why You Burn Out Differently Than Everyone Else: How Personality Type Shapes Stress and Recovery
Burnout by personality type: learn why Harmonizers, Persisters, and Thinkers burn out differently and how the PCM® recovery strategy that fits you…
How to Deal With Energy Vampires and Negative People Without Losing Yourself
Learn how to deal with energy vampires and negative people without losing yourself. PCM®-based ways to protect your energy and your closest…
Why Has My Therapy Stopped Working? What a Therapy Plateau Really Means
Hit a therapy plateau? Learn what stalled therapy progress really means, how PCM® failure patterns explain it, and how clinicians move clients…
Can AI Replace Your Therapist? Why Human Connection Still Matters in Mental Health
Can AI replace therapy? Two therapists test ChatGPT on real therapy prompts and explain why human connection still matters most for your…
How Do You Know When You Are Ready to Stop Going to Therapy?
When to stop therapy? Learn the signs therapy is working, when maintenance makes sense, and how to trust yourself enough to conclude…
Can Your Personality Type Predict Your Attachment Style in Relationships?
Does your personality type shape your attachment style? See how PCM® personality types map to anxious, avoidant, and secure attachment in relationships.
How the Do-Over Can Save Your Relationship From Miscommunication
Learn the communication do-over in relationships: a simple repair tool that helps couples fix miscommunication, assume positive intent, and reconnect.
What Is It Really Like Growing Up With a Therapist? A Teacher Turned Counselor’s Perspective
Growing up with a therapist parent is not what you would expect. Maddie Gallagher shares the boundaries, the benefits, and her path…
What Is Polyvagal Theory and How Can It Help You Manage Stress and Trauma?
Polyvagal theory explains why your body responds to stress the way it does. Learn about the vagus nerve and practical techniques for…
What Is It Like Growing Up With a Therapist Parent? An 18-Year-Old’s Honest Take
Dalton Thome shares what it is really like being raised by a therapist. Therapeutic dinner table conversations, PCM® personality insights, and heading…
How Much Should Your Therapist Share With You? The Art of Self-Disclosure in Therapy
Two therapists unpack the art of self-disclosure in therapy. Learn when sharing builds trust, when it crosses the line, and what to…
How to Navigate Life Transitions Without Losing Yourself
Coping with life transitions is hard even when the change is good. Learn why happy milestones feel like grief and how PCM®…