Posts by Dr. Richard Taborga Psy.D., LMHC

Your mindset influences your response to life’s many challenges. People who have a “growth mindset,†rather than a “fixed mindset,†focus on the journey, rather than the destination. The fixed mindset person will often focus on performance goals such as passing an exam, winning at a competition, and/or being recognized as the best in their…

Research supports that grateful people are more attentive, determined, energetic, enthusiastic, helpful, joyful and optimistic, when compared to those who are not. Gratefulness is also strongly related to what psychologists call a “sense of coherence,†which refers to your belief that life is manageable, meaningful, and understandable. The reason that gratitude has such a powerful…

Journaling is not just some hokey thing that therapists ask you to do. Research suggests that people who write about their life experiences report greater physical and psychological well-being, compared to those who merely think privately about their experiences. This may be because writing requires you to structure and organize your thoughts more carefully and…

Studies suggest that positive and negative emotions are not equal. In fact, positive and negative information doesn’t hold equal weight in our minds. Negative emotions impact our well-being 3 times more than positive emotions. Research Psychologists call this tendency to give more importance to negative experiences over positive and neutral experiences, “negative bias.†This means,…

Children thrive in a loving and understanding environment, with consistency and predictability. Let’s be honest, even in a healthy household this is sometimes a challenge. Divorce can disrupt the equilibrium of a family and present parents with the challenge of working together to co-parent. To succeed in working together, or co-parenting, parents will need to…

“When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we don’t see the ones which open for us.†– Alexander Graham Bell Opportunities are always there; we just have to look a little harder and/or be a little more patient sometimes to…

Tragedy teaches us that life isn’t perfect. It’s so imperfect, that bad things happen to good people sometimes. A tragic event can offer the opportunity to teach children about empathy, gratitude, and compassion. In addition, as children learn that things may not always be perfect in life, they can also learn to adapt and view setbacks as…

Having values, goals, principals, and expectations is normal. But when these healthy inclinations become internal rules, such as “shoulds,” and “musts,” then there may be a big problem. A “should” statement is a type of negative pattern of thinking that is rigid and places unreasonable demands and pressure on a person and can influence a range…

Speaking to Your Children About Divorce February 18, 2022 / Dr. Richard Taborga Psy.D., LMHC / Comments Off on Speaking to Your Children About Divorce Discussing your decision to separate/divorce with your children can be one of the most difficult conversations to ever have. During a time of great guilt and conflicting emotions it can…

5 Minutes to Happiness   When things go wrong, give yourself five minutes. Learn to have a short memory when it comes to difficult events. Give yourself five minutes to bitch, blame, kick yourself, insult yourself and/or give yourself a pity party. BUT THEN, FAIR IS FAIR! Give yourself 5 minutes to talk yourself up,…