Blog

Tis the Season of Love, Relationships and ... Conflicts - By Emily Kerlin

By Mary Ann Green

Posted: February 14, 2025

I am a therapist who enjoys working with couple’s (spoiler, we are a rare breed)! I love watching two people learn more about themselves, while learning more about each other and applying that knowledge to their relationship. It can be some of the most challenging and rewarding work to do and I do not take it for granted when I get to witness repair and growth within a relationship. It is interesting to me the way that there can be reoccurring themes that come up in couples therapy, no matter the presenting problem. It is also interesting to me that tools that seem to work to resolve issues in romantic relationships also seem to work for any kind of relationship.Since February tends to get this reputation of being the month about love and relationships, I thought I would share two things that can help us strengthen our relationships. As a disclaimer, this is not just for romantic relationships; these tools apply to all relationships in our life.

A Practical Guide to Handle Holiday Stress - By Emily Kerlin

By Mary Ann Green

Posted: November 26, 2024

The holiday season can bring people around a table, who have not seen each other in a long time. For some people, it feels exciting and enjoyable to share a meal or a cup of coffee with family or friends that they have not seen...

Election Stress and Polarization: How to Cope and Cultivate Peace

By Mary Ann Green

Posted: October 29, 2024

Picture this scenario. You’re out to lunch with co-workers one week before the presidential election. You cover all of the small talk pleasantries, and after a while you start to wonder, “Will anyone dare to acknowledge the pressure cooker that our nation is sitting in...

Paris Olympics 2024: Celebrating Strong and Courageous Women

By Mary Ann Green

Posted: August 12, 2024

On Sunday night the torch in Paris was extinguished to close out the 2024 Olympic Games. The world came together as it does every 4 years to watch the most talented athletes compete. Our eyes are captivated by the astounding capabilities of the human body...

Inside Out 2: The Journey of Recovering the True Self

By Mary Ann Green

Posted: July 4, 2024

Summer is officially here with triple digit heat indexes to prove it! Typically, this is a season of slowing down from the usual pace, enjoying time at the pool, kids going to summer camps, family vacations and…summer movie blockbusters! Our family was particularly excited about...

Mother's Day: Honoring Nurture

By Mary Ann Green

Posted: May 13, 2024

On Sunday we honored mothers, and despite my good intentions of having this blog done at least a few days before the holiday, life got in the way. So a day late is going to have to be good enough. More often than not, I’ve...

Thanksgiving 2023: Grief and Gratitude

By Mary Ann Green

Posted: November 22, 2023

It’s been a minute since my last blog, and typically when I procrastinate with writing it’s because I’m avoiding something. I think I’ve known that due to the recent events in my life, this blog would need to be more vulnerable, and it’s risky for...

Tending the Soul: Pruning Through Trauma Therapy and the Enneagram

By Mary Ann Green

Posted: July 13, 2023

Earlier this year on a cold an icy day I wrote about reframing the “dead of winter” as an invitation to rest. Just as the trees let go of their leaves to conserve water and nurture their inner root system, we may need to let...

The Covenant School Shooting: Grieving While Supporting Our Children

By Mary Ann Green

Posted: March 28, 2023

What do you say when there are no words that seem to fully express your deep heartache? That’s where I’m at the day after the Covenant School shooting in Nashville that took the lives of three 9-year-old children and 3 adults, before the shooter was...

Eating Disorder Awareness: Calling for Change

By Mary Ann Green

Posted: March 7, 2023

March is here and the first signs of spring are popping up that reveal the hope of new life. Concurrent with this transition to a new month is National Eating Disorder Awareness Week, which this year was from February 27 – March 5. Because preventing...

Winter 2023 - A Call to Rest

By Mary Ann Green

Posted: February 1, 2023

Winter 2023: A Call to Rest As I type this on January 31st it’s a dreary and cold day in Nashville with ice in the forecast for tonight. Winter is fully present, and despite those sporadic days that tease us with milder temperatures, winter claims...

Cultivating Joy and Peace While Preventing “Holidaze”

By Mary Ann Green

Posted: December 24, 2022

“Are you ready for Christmas?” Every year around this time I hear this question from well-meaning friends and acquaintances trying to make friendly conversation. I’ll engage and recognize their intent, but all the while that question just adds more pressure to the long to-do list...

Thanksgiving 2022

By Mary Ann Green

Posted: November 23, 2022

It’s late November, and Thanksgiving is upon us. I’ve always found it appropriate that before the holiday season of giving and receiving comes the holiday that focuses on gratitude for what we have, or at least that was the original intent. As the American tradition...

September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month

By Mary Ann Green

Posted: September 26, 2022

The focus of this month’s blog is of a more serious topic that isn’t often talked about, which is all the more reason to be talking about it: Suicide. September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month- a time to raise awareness, break the stigma, share vital...

Transitions and New Beginnings

By Mary Ann Green

Posted: July 29, 2022

The end of July is upon us and with that comes not only lots of heat and humidity here in the South, but also the preparation for a transition to more consistent routines. The more relaxed flow of summer will begin to fade for families...

Mental Health, Gun Violence and PTSD: Where is the Hope?

By Mary Ann Green

Posted: June 8, 2022

June 2022 Blog Mental Health, Gun Violence and PTSD: Where is the Hope? May to June: Just this flip of the calendar has always seemed to me like one of the biggest transitions of the year. In May spring is in full bloom, and just...

The Path Towards Growth: Ambivalence, Burnout and Expansion

By Mary Ann Green

Posted: April 28, 2022

So it’s been a minute since I posted a blog…almost 9 months in fact. I could come up with many excuses for not writing and could almost always fall back on busyness as an excuse, but I always say that you have time for what...

Defining Courage: Reflections on Simone Biles and Mental Health

By Mary Ann Green

Posted: July 31, 2021

Defining Courage: Reflections on Simone Biles and Mental Health After Simone Biles withdrew from Olympic competition for mental health reasons, I’ve taken some time to digest what she’s stated, and to read the opinions of others. As a mental health professional and as a former...

Re-entry: Navingating Our Comfort Zone

By Mary Ann Green

Posted: May 29, 2021

Re-entry: Navigating Our Comfort Zone As the case numbers of COVID-19 continue to decrease as vaccinations increase, the world is opening back up. On May 13, 2021 the CDC updated the public health recommendations by stating that fully vaccinated people no longer need to wear...

Spring: The Hope of New Life

By Mary Ann Green

Posted: March 30, 2021

Spring: The Hope of New Life Welcome Spring! For me the early signs of spring are always exciting and hopeful. Everything that had died starts to come to life again. Growing up in Indiana, winters were bitter cold, and I remember how I couldn’t wait...

Doorknobs: The Gateway to Connecting

By Mary Ann Green

Posted: February 11, 2021

A couple of weeks ago I embraced a home project that involved doorknobs- lots of them, 20 to be exact. We moved into our new home a little over a year ago, and while there’s much that we love about it, the shiny brass doorknobs...

2020: Farewell or Good Riddance?

By Mary Ann Green

Posted: January 1, 2021

2020: Farewell or Good Riddance? One more trip around the sun, and the time has come when many reflect upon the previous year and set intentions for the next. When I opened my practice in February of 2018 I intended to begin a blog for...

Reflections from March 2020: The Lion and the Lamb

By Mary Ann Green

Posted: April 4, 2020

I can still recall sitting in my first grade class around March 1, listening to our teacher tell us about the old proverb, “March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb.” I’m not sure why that memory stands out to me. Come...