I learned how to grow old from a woman who never got the chance. My friend Susan Spencer-Wendel was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig’s disease, in 2011, when she was 44. She had three children, ages 14 to 8, and she would…
Ingram & Associates Counseling & Consulting in Royal Palm Beach has been named to the winning list of Nextdoor’s 2023 Neighborhood Faves, the only annual awards where neighbors vote to celebrate their favorite local businesses.
I am writing this to let you know that I will be working to recover from codependency over the next 6 months. Not only am I fully aware that I am a codependent; I also have an understanding of why I am a codependent which…
PTSD – just the thought of it freaked me out. I knew I had unresolved issues, but it was so long ago. Beginning CPT for PTSD scared me, a lot. Each appointment caused anxiety and sleepless nights. Reliving the past is hard and doing the…
How do I explain who I am without explaining who I was? LaVelle Olexa pondered this question when she left her job in 2009. She was used to being a Somebody, one of America’s most influential fashion executives.
Dear anxiety, I must admit, you are a formidable opponent. Your fight is strong, your will to steal unyielding and persistent. You are not satisfied with a portion, always hungry for more, thirsty for blood, and greedy for every moment that I am free from…
I used to address my husband with two toxic words: “you should.” “You should meet your deadlines.” “You should get that done by Friday.” “You should make a plan.”
Dear Shame, I am writing this letter to tell you that it is time to pry your sharp claws out of my brain and sever this unhealthy relationship between you and I. In the past, when I have tried to move away from you, those…
Oprah Winfrey for president? That possibility has caused a stir since last week’s Golden Globe awards, but as viewers of Winfrey’s show for spiritual seekers — “Super Soul Sunday” on her OWN network — know, Oprah will run only if she sets her intention to…
Let’s say your boss fires you and your longtime boyfriend dumps you — in the same week. Your life has just left the comfort zone and careened at top speed into the Big Transition Zone.
“You can’t run away from trouble. There ain’t no place that far.” — Uncle Remus, “Song of the South,” 1946. Trouble will always find us. Sometimes, trouble can even be good for us — because disasters, natural or man-made, strip us down to our basic needs…
“The manipulator holds his prey hostage with accusations of her irrational thinking, because he must always be right and have his own way.”— CONNIE INGRAM, therapist from Royal Palm Beach. If you’re a size 2, but your husband insists you’re too fat, do you believe…
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I have recently (since school has been out) had an influx of parents in despair over the fact that their adolescents are of the opinion that the purpose of summer break is for them to relax and catch up on their sleep. Doing chores or…
Burt Reynolds is a manly man, one of Hollywood’s most macho stars — but he chokes up when he talks about what he loves. At the Palm Beach Book Festival recently, Reynolds didn’t bother holding back the tears when he explained how much he cherishes…
As spring arrives it reminds us that the old has passed away and the new is beginning. In relationships, this is what must happen on a daily basis. Whatever happened yesterday, even God can’t change. Today must be a new day. People sit in my…
This is a question I am often asked in my counseling office. Spouses, girl or boyfriends, friends and family members have committed some act that has caused the offended party to distrust them. Trust is the foundation of any relationship. Without it, the relationship is…
They’ve graduated from high school and you’ve sent them off to college. They are educated beyond their years and have now entered into the real adult world. They find that like many others in their shoes, they are certifiably credentialed with a degree of some…