Dr. Chen’s Corner

Home
Dr. Chen’s Corner

May 1, 2024

EMDR Treatment Experience by Anonymous Client # 2

As someone who has struggled with trauma, embarking on the journey of healing was…

Embracing Feeling Broken (Part 2)

Click to read Embracing Feeling Broken (Part I) Throughout my life, I have tried…

Embracing Feeling Broken (Part I)

I am a meditator. After getting myself a cup of coffee in the morning,…

Multiple Truth (Part II)

(Multiple Truth Part I) Gottman couple’s therapy always starts with the couple’s history intake…

Mutiple Truth (Part I)

Multiple Truth~ ~~ Post-show Reflection from a Couple Therapist’s Viewpoints ~~~ (Part I) I went…

EMDR Treatment Experience by Anonymous Client # 1

My EMDR Treatment Experiences ~~~ by Anonymous Client #1 Before EMDR I was so…

EMDR Treatment Experience by Anonymous Client # 0

Before I received EMDR therapy, I was a “functioning depression” person. I appeared fine…

Making the most of EMDR: Difficulties in Going Through EMDR…

When thinking about EMDR, many clients think about the phase four processing: “moving your…

Boundary Setting Difficulties

Recently, several clients ended our sessions with this statement: “I just have to create…

Brain Development and EMDR Therapy, a “bottom-up” approach

Brain development starts prenatally from “bottom-up,” meaning the brain stem develops first. This area…

What is Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) Model

I was introduced to Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) model in my EMDR basic training.…

The Road to “Let It Go”

(This is the story of my “lesson” from my first COVID. It happened two…

Why I don’t take insurance

“Why don’t you take insurance?” I was on many insurance panels for many years.…

Couple Therapy and Medical Insurance

“Hi, My name is XXXX. My significant other and I are looking for couple’s…

Goodbye 2020. Hello 2021~ Word of the Year

How do I use the word of the year in that particular year? It…

COVID-19 Week 12 (6/1 to 6/5) Journal

The two important news this week are: 1) the anticipated announcement of phase two…

“What Ifs” (Part II) — “I trust in myself.”

The treatment goal is for the clients to trust their judgment, to trust their…

“What-Ifs” (Part I) — Control and Anxiety

I believe that any part in us used to be a survival strategy, and…

COVID-19 Week 11 (5/25 to 5/29) Journal

The important news of the week was the business opening. I am not sure…

COVID- 19 Week 10 (5/18 to 5/22) Journal

“Maybe there is no solution. Maybe there is no compromise on how to proceed.…

COVID- 19 Week 9 (5/11 to 5/15) Journal

My logical mind knows that the only thing that is never going to change…

COVID- 19 Week 8 (5/4 to 5/8) Journal

Week 8, (5/4 to 5/8), is it week 8 into the COVID-19 State of…

COVID- 19 Week 7 (4/27 to 5/1) Journal

I found myself in two emotions. The first one was a complete sense of…

COVID- 19 Week 6 (4/20 to 4/24) Journal

Moving into week 6 (4/20 to 4/27), I am tired and exhausted from another…

Crisis—- A Dangerous Opportunity

In Chinese characters, the word crisis looks like this “危機”. There are two characters,…

COVID- 19 Week 5 (4/13 to 4/17) Journal

Moving into week 5 (4/13 to 4/17), I am tired from the training over…

COVID- 19 Week 4 (4/6 to 4/10) Journal

Moving into the 4th week (4/6 to 4/10), I can feel a sense of…

Stress Reaction- Overthinking

I sprained my ankle last week. Yeah, I know, right? How can this happen?…

COVID- 19 Week 3 (3/30 to 4/3) Journal

Moving into the 3rd week (3/30 to 4/3), I finally feel that I have a…

Stress Reaction — Stress Eating

What’s your stress reaction that you are not aware but showing up somatic? In…

COVID- 19 Week 2 (3/23 to 3/27) Journal

This week is chaotic. “Flexible” is the word I have been keeping in mind.…

COVID- 19 Week 1 (3/16-3/20/2020) Journal

The first week (3/16-3/20) was chaotic for me.

[Relationship] Expectations & Fairness

Do I communicate my “expectation” of what’s fair clearly? How do I know my…

[Depression & Anxiety] YouTube Yoga

Here are the channels I have tried and would like to share with you.…

New Year Resolution 2019: Take Charge of the Change

Change is scary, but it helps to take charge instead of being pushed to…

[Podcast of the Week]{12/17/18} 10 Non-Psychological Causes of Anxiety And…

The physical issues related to anxiety and depression are digestive problems, hormonal imbalances, thyroid…

Surviving Holiday Stress with In-Laws (II)

By understanding and accepting your partner’s feelings and perspectives, you offer your acceptance. More…

Surviving Holiday Stress with In-Laws (I)

No matter it’s Chinese, American, or Hispanics, etc.. I can’t tell you how many…

[Podacst of the Week][12/3/18] Angry? Try Loving Kindness

Anger is one of the natural emotions, which means we can’t get rid of…

[The Myth of Sexaul Abuse # 3] Dr. Christine Blasey…

Unable to recall the specifics outside the trauma events but remembering the trauma memory…

[The Myth of Sexaul Abuse # 3] Dr. Christine Blasey…

No matter what’s the reason we lie, the bottom line is: we lie to…

When the chaos becomes norm

Children, without full cognitive, emotional, and brain development, growing up the chaotic household might…

[Podcast of the Week] [091718]Surviving Overwhelming Feelings

To prevent yourself from getting overwhelmed, the most crucial step is to take control…

[Couple Relationship] How much do I give to my relationship?

Equal partnership is vital for a healthy relationship. However, what does equal mean to…

[Podcast of the Week] [091018]”Your life is here, not somewhere…

“Your life isn’t on hold until your dreams come true. You are still alive…

How Do You Give Love?

Maybe, we should start to learn to pay more attention to how our partners…

How Do You Ask for Support

When we ask for the support from our significant other, especially when it relates…

Which role do you play, victim, persecutor, or rescuer? —…

crucial questions to maintain “I am OK and You are OK”: What is the…

Which role do you play, victim, persecutor, or rescuer?—Drama Triangle…

Do you feel regularly lock into a specific role and still unable to get…

Which role do you play, victim, persecutor, or rescuer?—Drama Triangle…

We all play victims, persecutors, and/or rescuers, in our daily life. The goal of…

Change is Harder for the Couples — How Do We…

“No one loses anyone, because no one owns anyone. That is the…

Change is Harder for the Couples— Why?

“When we love, we always strive to become better than we are. When we…

Change is Hard (Part III)–How Do We Change it?

If you didn’t have an adult to provide the boundary of safety…

Change is Hard (Part II) — Why?

Reason # 1: The old pattern used to be a survival strategy or to…

Change is Hard (Part I)— Is it possible?

We all know that personality is generally pretty stable even though the recent studies…

Change your thoughts doesn’t necessarily lead to change your feelings.

““In any situation, planned or unexpected, we all have the desired outcome. In spite…

Family Life Cycle and Couple Relationship: What Does Cedar Cove…

This theory tremendously helpful to understand the couples’ relationship history. It helps to see…

Family Life Cycle and Couple Relationship: What Does Cedar Cove…

“Later, because of their daughters. Dan and Grace had tried hard to make their…

From “13 Reasons Why” to “Facing Your Truth” — Epilogue

Everyone, including myself, spends a lot of time worrying, planning, and thinking about the…

From “13 Reasons Why” to “Facing Your Truth” – “Facing…

Our first step is to help her feel safe when she is in school…

From “13 Reasons Why” to “Facing Your Truth” – “Facing…

What we don’t often think about is the reaction from “the innocent bystander” also…

[Myth about Sexual Abuse # 2]—“Who Caused the Trouble?”

Who is the actual troublemaker? It is the perpetrator who is the troublemaker but…

From “13 Reasons Why” to “Facing Your Truth” — “I…

1. Being vulnerable doesn’t mean you are weak. It says you are strong enough…

From “13 Reasons Why” to “Facing Your Truth” — “I…

when you can face the shame, leave the judgment, face your sadness instead of…

From “13 Reasons Why” to “Facing Your Truth” – “It’s…

Your disappointment, shame, guilt, or helplessness about your behavior is not who you are.…

From “13 Reasons Why” to “Facing Your Truth” – “It’s…

When the other people’s judgment on us becomes how we judge ourselves and when…

From “13 Reasons Why” to “Facing Your Truth” — “I…

1. To be able to see the truth about other people, you have to…

From “13 Reasons Why” to “Facing Your Truth” — “I…

To see the truth about other people, we have to be able to face…

From “13 Reasons Why” to “Facing Your Truth” — “I…

This exercise might elicit different feelings that “feels like” hard to tolerate. If it…

From “13 Reasons Why” to “Facing Your Truth” — “I…

There is no right or wrong for the way you want people to see…

From “13 Reasons Why” to “Facing Your Truth”— “Truth”

“I have heard so many stories about me now, but I don’t know which…

From “13 Reasons Why” To “Facing Your Truth” — Prologue

By evaluating the plots and the characters in the show, I hope to provide…

New Year, New Boundary (Part 2)

You don’t have to give up your virtue or your value. However, you need…

New Year, New Boundary (Part I)

Most of my clients’ suffering is not because they are bad people who did…

[Myth about Sexual Abuse # 1]–“What Does A Perpetrator Look…

The main point I want to make is this: There are many victims out…

Divorce, Co-Parenting, and Mental Health

It is essential to know the symptoms of depression and/or anxiety. When your experiences/emotions…

[Depression & Anxiety] Just One More Step

Do you have the same experience, hearing your “Be perfect Self” beating you down?…

Premarital Couple’s Education: Interview by the Valley Girls on 6/21/2017

Interview by the Valley Girls on 6/21/2017. I had a great time with these…

Gender Schema Theory, Gender Role Expectation and Couple’s Relationship

ask yourself this: what’s your expectation about the male vs. female, or husband vs…

Gender Schema Theory, Gender Role Expectation and Couple’s Relationship (Part…

The Gender Schema Theory proposed that there is a specific cognitive structure with attributes…

Coping with the Holiday Stress; Loving the Scrooge in You…

Just like Scrooges needs the Christmas Spirits to help him get out his slump,…

Coping with the Holiday Stress; Loving the Scrooge in You…

Every day, when you cross the items on your list or when you see…

Coping with the Holiday Stress; Loving the Scrooge in You…

Holiday triggers the memories of the family, and the family triggers the memories of…

“Is there a dream, a belief, or a story behind…

Remember, if a person is so strongly believe in something, there is usually a…

“Why is Half the Nation OK with Sexual Assault?” —-After…

I plead to you, when someone is telling you he/she is scared, try to…

From Election to Relationship — After Election # 1

Next time, before you convicted your partner, think about this: “We are connected with…

Change is hard and life is a series of choices

It makes sense to choose the new behaviors but it is so much easier…

Forgiveness (Part II)

“You did the best you can at the time based on what you know.…

Forgiveness (Part I)

Forgiveness is not to forgive the perpetrator but to let yourself off the hook.

Anger

if all the human emotions are like an iceberg, anger is the tip of…

EMDR and Mindfulness/Meditation (Part II)

EMDR and Meditation After coming back from my 2nd EMDR training, I got very…

EMDR and Mindfulness/Meditation (Part I)

Prologue I started my EMDR training in September 2015 hoping that this treatment method…

Family Life Cycle and Couple Relationship: What Does Cedar Cove…

Family Therapist. Dr. Minuchin reminded the therapists and the couples to watch out the…

Family Life Cycle and Couple Relationship: What Does Cedar Cove…

The main issues at this stage of the therapy are setting the boundary and…

Family Life Cycle & Couple Relationship: What Does Cedar Cove…

Overview of the characters discussed in this series is briefly described here. Family Life…

Cedar Cove to Couple Relationships (Prologue)

I love to read and love to “analyze” the plots and the characters using…

My Partner doesn’t Support My Interests

there is a need or needs behind a complaint, and there is a complaint…

Combat Veterans and PTSD

This is my second appearance to the Veteran Serves Veterans with JT Torress. The…

The Heroes Behind the Heroes

This Veteran’s Day, I ask you to take a few minutes to thank the…

Words of Wisdom from My Successful Couples (Part 2)

I wish that I would have listened to him/her when he/she first mention to…

About Me

I am Dr. Grace Chen, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist.

12 Essex St, STE 8, Andover, MA

[email protected]

978-482-7480

@drgracelmft

Dr. Chen’s Corner

Dr. Chen’s Corner

Categories

Recent Posts