Intimacy is hard work! Intimacy must withstand the frustrations and maneuvering of busy lives, families, and changing times. It is easy within the context of the American life to lose a sense of intimacy and forget how it was that we got there in the first place. Have you ever heard yourself say:

• This isn’t working any more
• I can’t trust you
• I don’t know who you are
• I’m tired of trying to please you
• I feel betrayed and let down
• I am lonely although I am married

It is not unusual for couples who are committed and want their relationship to work to go through difficult times. These times, if processed well, provide the opportunity to gain deeper awareness and intimacy over the long term. Separation and divorce are always available, but it is possible to forge a path of compassion, forgiveness, reconnection, and longings that can revitalize a relationship and set it back on the path of intimacy that is fulfilling for both parties.

Benefits The Human Thread has to offer:

• Discovery of “how we got here” (beyond the obvious)
• Tackle beliefs that are non-relational
• Realize the full effects of stress on a relationship
• Learn new strategies for supporting the relationship without being controlled
• Create meaningful “rituals” that support the making of intimacy
• Use the difficult and painful events as stepping stones for transformation and understanding

Staying the course during difficult times in a relationship can be profoundly important to the relationship and adult maturity. It is having the courage to stay when everything in you wants to run or blame your spouse for how you feel. In order to make it to the other side it is important for each partner to realize their own part in the erosion process. Difficult times in a relationship do not happen in a vacuum. It is human nature to withhold and withdraw when tired, frustrated, and in pain. It is these tendencies in all of us that set intimate relationships up for difficult times.

How to tell if you need help getting to “the other side”:

• You keep going round and round with the same arguments that never get resolved
• Pain from the past or present keeps interfering with the growth of the relationship
• Levels of irritability, frustration, and anger are escalating
• The kids ask if you are going to get a divorce
• You feel lonely in the relationship

Call for a free 30 minute consultation

For every session you bring in 2 cans of food you will receive a $10 discount.

Local Distribution Centers

F.I.S.H. of Vancouver – www.fishvancouver.org
13th and Franklin Streets, Vancouver, WA 98660
Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri; 10-3
Required: Photo I.D./POA
Service area: West of Andresen from Downtown to Salmon Creek

F.I.S.H. of Orchards
6008 NE 110th Ave., Vancouver, WA 98662
M-F: 10-12 & 12:30-2:45
Required: Photo I.D./POA
Service Area: 98682, 98684, 98664, 98662

InterFaith Treasure House
91 “C” St., Washougal, WA 98607
M-F: 9:30-5; Sat. 11-3
Required: Photo I.D./POA
Service Area: Camas and Washougal

Neighbors Helping Neighbors
21814 NW 11 Avenue, Ridgefield, WA 98642
Tues. & Fri. 10-1
Required: Photo I.D./POA
Service Area: 98629, 98642, 98686, 98685

North County Community Food Bank
17 NE 3rd Avenue, Battle Ground, WA
M-T 9-11:15 & 1:30-3:15
F 9-11:15
Required: Photo ID/POA
Service Area: North County

The Salvation Army – www.salvationarmyvancouver.org
7509 NE 47th Avenue, Vancouver, WA 98661
M-F 10-12 & 1-4
Required: Photo I.D./POA
Service Area: Clark County

Men are often misunderstood by women. The talents and skills used in the work place that makes men successful are often seen by wives and girlfriends as unimportant in the relationship. Hidden in this assumption by women is the expectation that you turn a part of yourself off in order to achieve a deep relationship with them. Or, the expectation that you become more like them so they feel loved and accepted. What is a guy to do?

I often hear men say they are not emotional and therefore it affects their intimate relationships.
Did you know that men are as emotional as women? It just looks different. It is impossible to know that it is impossible to not be emotional according to the current brain research. Every decision we make as human beings is an emotional decision. Think about how many decisions you make a day. You are emotional. The key is not to change you, but to expand the ways in which you use your natural pathway of emotions to help your partner to know you and understand you more fully.

Have you ever been told:

• You are not emotional
• You just need to change who you are
• You need to get in touch with your feminine side
• You are non-relational
• You need help relating to people
• Your just all about sex, not relationship

How sad it is for men to be so misinterpreted. You are emotional, caring, relational, and a man. Learn ways to take who you are as a man and teach your partner how to relate to you. Stand for yourself and at the same time use all of your talents and skills to do relationship in a new way that gives the opportunity for relational growth and satisfaction for both of you.

Benefits the Human Thread has to offer:

• Increased sense of confidence in intimate relationships
• New strategies for relationships using your current talents and skills
• Learn how to:
  • Recognize the difference between your emotion and thinking
  • Integrate relational language into your current skill and thinking structure
  • Assess the current “temperature” of the relationship that is based on relational
    functioning
  • Listen to your partner in a new way that produces openness and respect

These changes and strategies increase the capacity for intimate relationship, therefore reaping benefits that are both satisfying to your and your partner.

I WANT MORE IF I ONLY KNEW WHAT MORE IS!!!

Whew! So much is going on and never enough time! What is a woman to do? No matter the season of life a women is at it seems that all of  life continues to want more. A woman is often left feeling exhausted, confused, frustrated, and in pain, with a sense of loss of self esteem because her identity has been put on the back burner, while taking care of everyone else or trying to heal from her past.

I often hear women say they don’t know who they are beyond the roles they fulfill.
Between the anxiety, depression, and stress there still lurks a person with longings, hope,
and passions. It is important to look between all of the issues, stresses, and pain to discover the core person inside and create an environment for growth and healing.

Have you ever felt like:

• I have had enough
• I can’t take this anymore
• I am losing it or I have lost it
• I want something more
• I don’t know who I am
• I want to change, but don’t know how

How sad it is that we have to come to such places before we realize that we need to take care of ourselves. It is really OK to invest in yourself, your future, and your sense of well-being.

Benefits The Human Thread has to offer:

• Increased self-esteem
• Increased self-awareness
• Insights and tools for increasing potential
• Strategies for fulfilling longings and desires
• Learn how to stand for yourself without being labeled
• Learn how to let go of the past and move toward a fulfilling life

These benefits increase a women’s capacity to find meaning and fulfillment in her life in a way that benefits not only her, but those who love her.

You have your own history, physical symptoms, beliefs, and needs.
Therefore, your depression, anxiety, and ADHD is like no one else’s.

It has been a common practice to lump all anxiety/depression or ADHD diagnosis into big pots that do not take into account individual differences. Dr. Daniel Amen has done extensive  research over the last several years to determain the way in which the brain functions with these 3 disorders and he has found that there are significant differences. This is groundbreaking research and has had a great affect on our understanding and treatment of these tendencies. Through his research, Dr. Amen realized not all people could afford the $3000 cost of the SPECT scan or were not able to get to one of his clinics. So, he created evaluations based on his extensive research so the average consumer would have access to the information. It is important to The Human Thread that people have this information which allows them to make decisions based on current research and not just symptoms. Because of this belief, I have taken Dr. Amen’s certification course on the assessment and treatment of these disorders and work with doctors, psychiatrists, and/or your therapist to create the best treatment plan to achieve your goals and meet your needs. One of the things I have greatly appreciated about my training is the inclusion of herbs and nutrients as treatment options if medication is implicated.

Dr. Amen has identified:

Seven different types of Anxiety and Depression:

• Pure Anxiety
• Pure Depression
• Mixed Anxiety and Depression
• Overfocused Anxiety and Depression
• Temporal Lobe Anxiety and Depression
• Cyclic Anxiety and Depression
• Lights Are Low Anxiety Depression

Six different types of ADHD

• Classic ADD
• Inattentive ADD
• Overfocused ADD
• Temporal Lobe ADD
• Limbic ADD
• Ring of Fire ADD

All of these different types are related to specific parts of the brain and the function each of those parts play in the emotional, thinking, or spiritual functioning of an individual. Often by taking medication or specific natural remedies a person is able to increase their functioning ability and make changes in their lives that would have been difficult to do otherwise.

An evaluation at The Human Thread includes:

• Dr. Amen’s assessments
• A History of the persons functioning as it specifically relates to
  anxiety/depression/ADHD (1 hour)
• Communication with your doctor and/or therapist on the results
• Information sheet laying out options and recommendations
• Follow-up (30-60 minutes)

The cost per evaluation is $199.00 and is due at the time of the initial history taking appointment.