Therapy and The God Design – Part 3 of 3 By Ivory Bustin, MA, Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor This is Part 3 of a three-part series. Read Part 1 and Part 2. Proverbs 4:22 states that the words of Yahweh are healing to the flesh (referring to living things). Words...

Therapy and The God Design – Part 2 of 3 By Ivory Bustin, MA, Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor This is Part 2 of a three-part series. Start with Part 1. Psychology is not spooky – simply put, it’s the study of the mind, emotions, behavior, and the relationship between these...

Therapy and The God Design – Part 1 of 3 By Ivory Bustin, MA, Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor The human condition: brokenness, pain, suffering, mood swings, trauma, negative thought cycles and corrupt belief systems. These are just some of the vast array of issues that negatively impact our human experience....

We love stories about heroes. Especially the ones who carry the burden alone. Pop-culture has run rampant with comic book heroes in big-budget movies. Shout out to Batman (my personal favorite)! The most intriguing part of these characters is their humanity. We connect with them on a fundamental level. For...

Most of us are taught as children to say “please” and “thank you.” We learn that sharing and waiting our turn is important. I think most of us would agree that those things help us function well in society. But what happens when it’s taken too far – is that...

This article is for the broken. For the ones at rock bottom. Those without direction. For those who always find themselves in the company of failure. Stuck in a pattern of sabotage and rejection. Where loss is the norm and gain is just a dream. What do we do when...

It may not be just a trope that the oldest child is the most responsible while the youngest gets the most attention. In fact, mental health professionals widely agree: in every family system, individuals tend to adopt unique roles, often subconsciously, that help the family maintain its internal balance, or...

Cognitive Distortions and Rules Meant To Be Broken In Part 1, we broke down the difference between Good and Nice. We looked at the definitions of each and how Christians often make “rules” to live by rather than living by “principles” as Jesus did. In Part 2, we will be...

Have you ever walked away from a conversation, especially with someone you know well, and felt disoriented or frustrated by what just happened? Maybe you were confused about what the other person was really trying to say. Or perhaps, on reflection, you realized you didn’t communicate what you truly meant...

If you had to choose, would you say you’re a good person – or a nice one? The two aren’t always the same, and confusing them can come at a cost. While not mutually exclusive, many of my Christian clients (or those who were raised in Christian environments) conflate the...

So much of modern, American culture is soaked in the idea of moving forward, moving upward, moving onward. How do you exist and navigate life when you just feel like you are stuck in one place? Sometimes we can experience a feeling of being stuck relationally, vocationally, or sometimes even...

We’ve all heard people say that we should “face our fears.” What these sages don’t usually tell us is why. The short answer is that our brains – and consequently, our bodies – react very differently when we approach risky or stressful situations head-on rather than avoiding them. Since stressors...

Co-authored by Ivory Bustin What if therapy wasn’t a barrier to your spiritual life, and instead, allowed your spiritual life to flourish and be strengthened through therapy? A common misconception is that pursuing therapy is in opposition to deepening your spiritual life. What if therapy leads me to doubt what...

Does this text conversation look familiar? Jess: Hello? Jess: You haven’t texted me all day. Spencer: Sorry, busy day. Jess: Too busy to check in? So you just forgot about me? Spencer: I didn’t forget. I’ve just been working. How does not texting for a couple hours mean I forgot...

It’s late out, I’m feeling so tired, I’m having trouble sleeping…. Corrine Bailey Rae puts soothing words to what so many of us can encounter in various seasons of our lives– difficulty sleeping– and, at times, difficulty staying asleep. And while it may or not be because we are falling...

One of the most transformative ways therapy can foster health and healing in both an individual and their family system is by encouraging deeper reflection on the motivations behind our actions. This kind of reflective work invites us to look beyond surface-level behaviors, helping us understand and question them at...

It’s almost over. December is here already, and we’re about to start it all over again. For many, this is a difficult time of year. Seasonal depression creeps in for those of us in sun-deprived states. The cold bullies us into staying within the comfort of our homes here in...

Have you ever experienced someone saying something negative about you and you find yourself thinking about it the rest of the day…or longer? Negativity grabs our attention and sticks with us because it causes pain. Pain is an alarm bell; a signal that we might be headed towards death. Our...

Gratitude journaling can help aid in self-reflection, emotional processing, and enhance resilience (Emmons & McCullough, 2003). When we practice gratitude it changes the way we begin to think about things. We can anchor ourselves to the reality of positive experiences, relationships, and personal attributes that our lives truly consist of...

Events in this story are not representative of any specific client with Restoration Center Chicago, but rather, are a compilation of a variety of human experiences and stories. This story contains plot elements of pregnancy loss and miscarriage, as well as unhelpful responses to this experience. If you or a...

Do you remember the last time you moved your body in a way that was different from everyday activities? Maybe you walk your dog or every once in a while you go for a longer walk. Maybe it’s been some time since you got in the gym or did something...