addiction counseling, adult therapy, cbt, substance abuse
Courtney Glashow
“High Functioning Addict”: Spot The Signs And ...

You hit every deadline this week. You made it to Saturday’s soccer game, answered the late emails, and nobody at work would guess how many nights end with a bottle of wine you meant to stop halfway through. From the outside, life looks fine. So when the thought “Do I drink too much?” shows up, it’s easy to push it aside because you’re handling everything.

If you’ve typed “what is a high functioning alcoholic” into a search bar at 1 a.m., that question deserves a clear answer. A high functioning alcoholic is someone who meets the criteria for alcohol use disorder while still keeping up with work, family, and daily life. That’s why the drinking can stay hidden from the people around you, and often from yourself. Below, we’ll walk through the signs, why this pattern is so easy to miss, what tends to happen over time, and how therapy helps you or someone you love.

“High Functioning Addict”: Spot The Signs And How To Get Help
boundaries, self-esteem, Narcissistic Abuse, family counseling, Childhood trauma
Courtney Glashow
Family Scapegoat Signs and What to Do When ...

Maybe you're the one who gets blamed no matter what actually happened, at home, at work, or even with friends. Something goes wrong, and somehow it lands on you. If that sounds familiar, there's a word for what's happening: scapegoat. A scapegoat is a person who's unfairly blamed for problems they didn't cause. Scapegoating shows up most in families, where it's often called being the family scapegoat.

Family Scapegoat Signs and What to Do When Someone Is Using You as a Scapegoat
toxic relationships, Narcissistic Abuse, breakup therapy, Trust Issues, trauma counseling
Courtney Glashow
How to Recover From Love Bombing

Love bombing can leave you doubting everything you felt. Here's how to recover from love bombing, why it hits so hard, and the steps that help you heal and trust yourself again.

How to Recover From Love Bombing
Couples counseling, toxic relationships, Trust Issues, Hoboken NJ therapist, Narcissistic Abuse
Courtney Glashow
8 Tips for Dealing With A Narcissist

You're walking on eggshells in your own home. Conversations that should be simple turn into something you have to brace yourself for, and the moment you push back on anything, the script flips and somehow you're the bad one. You've started Googling words like "narcissist" and "manipulation" at 11pm because you don't know what to call what's happening, but you know something is wrong. You searched for how to deal with a narcissist, and you landed here. This post walks through what actually counts as narcissistic behavior versus everyday self-centeredness, what to watch for in your own relationship, and 8 specific strategies our therapists at Anchor Therapy use with clients who can't, or aren't ready to, leave the relationship.

The first step to determine your dynamic with someone who you think is a narcissist is to know the difference between someone with narcissistic tendencies and someone with Narcissistic Personality Disorder.

8 Tips for Dealing With A Narcissist
Couples counseling, marriage counseling, relationship counseling, Intimacy therapy, lgbtqia support
Courtney Glashow
Couples Therapy Show: Where Are They Now? Dr. ...

Dr. Orna Guralnik, is a New York City-based Clinical Psychologist and Psychoanalyst, who rose to fame due to her hit Showtime television show, Couples Therapy. Couples Therapy is a documentary series that follows couples as they try to navigate their troubles and concerns. This unscripted series features real couples from the greater New York City area.

As viewers work through the show’s three seasons, they are taught to view the therapeutic process through a lens of compassion and empathy instead of hastiness. Episode by episode, viewers are immersed into the real world of couples counseling, viewing the progress and occasional backsliding of couples.

Couples Therapy Show: Where Are They Now? Dr. Orna Guralnik's Couples on Showtime

adult therapy

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“High Functioning Addict”: Spot The Signs And How To Get Help

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“High Functioning Addict”: Spot The Signs And How To Get Help

You hit every deadline this week. You made it to Saturday’s soccer game, answered the late emails, and nobody at work would guess how many nights end with a bottle of wine you meant to stop halfway through. From the outside, life looks fine. So when the thought “Do I drink too much?” shows up, it’s easy to push it aside because you’re handling everything.

If you’ve typed “what is a high functioning alcoholic” into a search bar at 1 a.m., that question deserves a clear answer. A high functioning alcoholic is someone who meets the criteria for alcohol use disorder while still keeping up with work, family, and daily life. That’s why the drinking can stay hidden from the people around you, and often from yourself. Below, we’ll walk through the signs, why this pattern is so easy to miss, what tends to happen over time, and how therapy helps you or someone you love.

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Dysfunctional Family Roles and How They Develop in Childhood

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Dysfunctional Family Roles and How They Develop in Childhood

You're 34, and you manage a team at a job where difficult conversations are an ordinary part of your week. Then you walk into your parents' house for a holiday, and within ten minutes you're standing between your mother and your brother, smoothing over an argument exactly the way you did when you were eleven.

Dysfunctional family roles are the fixed parts each family member plays to keep the household running when something inside it isn't working. If your family was under strain, it probably had several of them. This post explains how those roles develop during childhood and why you and your sibling ended up with different ones. It also covers what it takes to step out of yours now.

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What Causes Claustrophobia, and Does It Get Worse With Age?

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What Causes Claustrophobia, and Does It Get Worse With Age?

Claustrophobia, the intense fear of confined or enclosed spaces, affects millions of people worldwide and can trigger panic attacks, anxiety, and even physical symptoms like sweating or rapid heartbeat. Check out our blog “3 Ways to Manage Your Physical Anxiety Symptoms.” But what actually causes this fear to take hold? While every individual’s experience is unique, experts believe claustrophobia often stems from a combination of genetic, psychological, and environmental factors. Some people may be more biologically prone to anxiety disorders, while others might develop the fear after a traumatic event, such as being trapped in a small space or experiencing a frightening situation in childhood.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, one in eight adults may have this phobia or roughly 12.5% of the adult population in the United States. In many cases, claustrophobia develops early in life and becomes more pronounced over time. The brain's fear response can become overly sensitive, reacting strongly even in mildly enclosed spaces like elevators or crowded rooms. Learned behavior may also play a role- if a person witnesses someone else showing fear in a confined space, they may internalize that response themselves. Ultimately, understanding the root causes of claustrophobia is the first step toward managing it, whether through working with a phobia counselor at Anchor Therapy, exposure techniques, or self-guided strategies to reduce anxiety.

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Are Empaths Real? What the Science Says

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Are Empaths Real? What the Science Says

Have you ever walked into a room and felt the emotional temperature shift right away? Maybe you picked up on a friend's sadness before they said a single word. Or you left a party feeling drained by emotions that weren't yours. If that sounds familiar, you've probably wondered whether you're an empath, and whether empaths are real.

An empath is a person with an extraordinary sensitivity to the emotions and moods of the people around them, experiencing those feelings as if they were their own. You've seen the word all over social media, and the question of whether empaths are real deserves an honest answer. The science has something to say to both the skeptics and the true believers. In this blog, we'll look at what the research says and what being an empath means for your mental health and relationships.

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No Contact With Parents and How to Know When It Helps

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No Contact With Parents and How to Know When It Helps

Maybe it's the third holiday in a row you've spent bracing yourself before a phone call. Maybe you've rehearsed what you'll say to a parent who never actually lets you finish a sentence. If you've started quietly wondering whether the relationship is worth what it costs you, you're not the only one asking. No contact with parents means deliberately ending communication with a parent, usually after other ways of managing the relationship haven't worked, and even considering it can come with guilt before you've made any decision at all.

This post walks through what no contact actually means, why so many adult children are choosing it right now, and how to tell whether it might be the right move for you. We'll also get into what the research shows about how common this really is, what tends to happen to these relationships over time, and how to go about it if you decide that's where you're headed.

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Friendship Jealousy: Why a Close Friend Can't Just Be Happy for You

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Friendship Jealousy: Why a Close Friend Can't Just Be Happy for You

You tell your friend about the promotion, and there's a half-second pause before "oh, that's great" comes out. Then somehow, within two minutes, she's telling you about the raise she's up for, the one that's actually a bigger deal than yours. You leave lunch feeling like you did something wrong by having good news in the first place, and you can't quite explain why the whole conversation felt off.

A competitive friend is someone who treats your life as something to measure against their own, so your wins land as a threat instead of something to celebrate with you. It's rarely loud or obvious, showing up instead as a pause before the congratulations, a story that tops yours, or a compliment with a small hook in it. If you've ever felt smaller after telling a friend something good, you're not imagining it, and you're not being dramatic about it. This post covers what a competitive friend actually looks like, why it stings more from someone close to you than a stranger, and what you can do about it.

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Covert Narcissist: The Quiet Signs Most People Miss

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Covert Narcissist: The Quiet Signs Most People Miss

You keep replaying the conversation in your head. On paper, nothing that was said sounds that bad, no yelling, no insults, no dramatic scene. So why do you feel small? Why do you feel like you somehow ended up apologizing for something you didn't even do?

Covert narcissism is a pattern of self-focus, fragile self-esteem, and quiet control that hides behind humility, victimhood, or shyness instead of obvious, outward arrogance. You won't see the grandiosity people usually associate with narcissism. Instead, you'll see someone who seems sensitive, self-deprecating, even a little insecure, while somehow still managing to make every conversation circle back to them. 

If you've walked away from someone feeling confused, guilty, or smaller than you were an hour ago, and you can't quite explain why, keep reading. This post covers what covert narcissism actually is, how it's different from the loud, obvious version most people picture, and what it looks like when you're the one living with it.

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What Emotional Contagion Looks Like in a Family

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What Emotional Contagion Looks Like in a Family

You walk into your parents' house feeling completely fine. Twenty minutes later, before anyone has said anything specific, your shoulders are up around your ears and you're bracing for something. Nothing really happened. You just walked into the room your mom was already tense in, and now you're tense too.

Emotional contagion is the process of automatically catching another person's emotional state through their tone, expression, and body language, often without either person realizing it's happening. In families, it usually flows in one direction: one person's mood sets the emotional temperature for everyone else in the house. If you've ever felt your own calm evaporate the second a certain family member walked in, you're not imagining it, and you're not overreacting. This post covers what emotional contagion actually is, why it shows up so strongly in families, and how to stop absorbing a mood that was never yours to carry.

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10 Cognitive Distortions That Are Common Thinking Traps

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10 Cognitive Distortions That Are Common Thinking Traps

Have you ever made one small mistake and immediately thought, “I’m terrible at this”? Or maybe you’ve had a friend cancel plans and found yourself wondering if they’re upset with you, even though they never said anything was wrong. These kinds of thoughts can feel automatic and convincing, but they don’t always tell the full story.

Cognitive distortions are patterns of thinking that can cause us to interpret situations in inaccurate or unhelpful ways. They’re common, and most of us fall into them from time to time, especially when we’re stressed, anxious, overwhelmed, or dealing with difficult emotions. In this blog, we’ll look at 10 common cognitive distortions, what they can look like in everyday life, and how learning to recognize these thinking traps can help you respond to your thoughts with more perspective.

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What Is It Like Being the Golden Child? Golden Child Syndrome Signs

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What Is It Like Being the Golden Child? Golden Child Syndrome Signs

If you're the golden child in your family, chances are you already know the feeling, even if you've never had a name for it. Golden child syndrome is the family pattern where one child gets held up as the favorite, always praised, always expected to succeed, and treated as the example everyone else in the family should follow.

Parents, teachers, and even extended family members may shower you with admiration, reinforcing a sense of confidence and achievement. Knowing that your accomplishments are met with pride and celebration can be very validating and keep you in a loop of wanting to seek constant approval from other people. You may find that your mistakes are overlooked or easily forgiven.

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10 Type A Personality Traits That Drive Success

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10 Type A Personality Traits That Drive Success

Type A personalities are driven, competitive, and time-urgent. Here are the 10 Type A personality traits that fuel success, the real link to stress, and how to keep your edge without burning out.

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Disenfranchised Grief: How to Mourn a Complicated Relationship

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Disenfranchised Grief: How to Mourn a Complicated Relationship

Maybe you hadn't spoken in years. Maybe you had, but every conversation left you drained, hurt, or angry. Maybe you loved them deeply and resented them in equal measure, and now that they're gone, you don't know what you're supposed to feel. The death of someone you had a complicated relationship with is one of the most disorienting forms of grief there is, and one of the least talked about.

Disenfranchised grief is grief that society doesn't openly acknowledge or validate. It's the kind of grief that comes from losing someone you had a complicated relationship with, where the people around you may not understand why you're struggling or may expect you to feel only relieved.

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PTSD and Personality Changes

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PTSD and Personality Changes

PTSD does not just show up as flashbacks, anxiety, or nightmares. Instead, it can subtly reshape how a person thinks, feels, and relates to the world around them. Research shows that 5% of United States adults have PTSD. 

Over time, people who have experienced trauma may notice shifts in their temperament, habits, or even core sense of identity. Someone who once felt outgoing might become withdrawn. A person who used to be trusting may start expecting harm or disappointment as the default. These changes can be confusing, especially when they do not match how someone remembers themselves “before.”

What makes PTSD-related personality changes especially complex is that they are not about becoming a different person entirely, they are often about adaptation. The brain and body adjust to survive overwhelming experiences, sometimes by becoming more guarded, hyper-alert, or emotionally numb. While these responses can be protective in unsafe environments, they may feel out of place in everyday life, creating a sense of internal mismatch. Understanding this shift as a survival-based response, rather than a flaw in character, can be an important first step in making sense of how trauma continues to echo through identity.

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Dating Someone with OCD

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Dating Someone with OCD

Dating someone with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) can be deeply meaningful, but it also comes with nuances that are not always visible from the outside. OCD is not just about being neat or liking things a certain way. It often involves intrusive thoughts, intense anxiety, and repetitive behaviors performed to find relief. As a partner, you may find yourself wanting to help, to reassure, or to “fix” what your loved one is going through. But understanding where support ends and unintentional reinforcement begins is part of the learning curve in building a healthy relationship.

At its core, dating someone with OCD is about patience, communication, and a willingness to understand a world that can feel overwhelming and unpredictable. It means recognizing that your partner’s fears may not always make logical sense but they are very real to them. It also means learning how to show up in ways that are compassionate without feeding the cycle of OCD. With the right balance, relationships involving OCD can grow stronger, rooted in empathy, trust, and a shared commitment to navigating challenges together.

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How To Set Boundaries Without Feeling Guilty

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How To Set Boundaries Without Feeling Guilty

Setting boundaries is essential for maintaining healthy relationships and protecting your mental well-being, yet many of us struggle to assert them without feeling guilty. Whether it is saying no to extra work, limiting time with draining friends, or prioritizing self-care, the fear of disappointing others can make boundaries feel selfish or uncomfortable. But in reality, boundaries are not about pushing people away. Instead, they are about creating space for respect, clarity, and balance in your life. Learning to set them effectively allows you to honor your needs while still nurturing meaningful connections.

The key is approaching boundaries with confidence and compassion, both for yourself and others. It is about understanding that saying no or setting limits does not make you unkind; it makes you human. With the right strategies, you can communicate your limits clearly, manage guilt, and maintain relationships that thrive on mutual respect. In this blog, we will explore practical ways to set boundaries without shame, empowering you to live authentically while keeping your mental health intact!

Exploring the Neuroscience of Happiness

Exploring the Neuroscience of Happiness

Happiness has long been considered an elusive emotion. It is something we chase but can rarely define. With that being said, modern neuroscience is beginning to unravel the brain’s complex role in shaping our sense of well-being! From the release of neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin to the intricate interplay of neural circuits in brain regions, such as the prefrontal cortex and amygdala, researchers are uncovering how our brains generate and sustain feelings of joy, contentment, and fulfillment. Understanding the mechanisms that are at play not only deepens our appreciation for human experience, but also opens the door to practical strategies for enhancing happiness in daily life.

Beyond biology, the neuroscience of happiness reveals that our minds are able to change. Studies in neuroplasticity show that even small changes in thought patterns, habits, and social connections can rewire the brain in ways that promote lasting positive emotions. By exploring how our brains respond to pleasure, reward, and meaning, we gain insight into the delicate balance between nature and nurture in pursuing happiness. Whether you are curious about the science behind a fleeting smile or seeking evidence-based ways to boost your own happiness levels, your brain offers fascinating clues to building a happier life.

The Warning Signs of Depression in Men

The Warning Signs of Depression in Men

Men are often taught to be strong, self-reliant, and emotionally reserved which can make depression in men harder to recognize and even harder to talk about. Unlike the stereotypical image of sadness or tears, male depression often shows up as irritability, anger, exhaustion, or withdrawal. Many men struggle in silence, dismissing their symptoms as stress or burnout, while the weight of untreated depression continues to grow.

Recognizing the early warning signs can be life-changing. From sudden mood shifts and loss of interest in activities to changes in sleep, work performance, or risky behavior, these signals should not be ignored. Understanding what depression looks like in men is the first step toward breaking stigma, encouraging honest conversations, and seeking the right support before things escalate.

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