Business Spotlight: Forward Motion Counseling Services

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Now a days, people are really going through it. Artificial Intelligence is changing the landscape of work and challenging creative endeavors. Prices continue to go up making it more difficult to afford basic needs. People are feeling lonelier and lonelier as finding connection seems to be getting more complicated and confusing. If that isn’t enough, more personal experiences like family conflict, grief, trauma, chronic illness, and not knowing what to do with one’s life can make it increasingly difficult to function. Most of the time emotional concerns like depression, anxiety, and anger arise and make matters worse. If you are struggling with any of these concerns, Forward Motion Counseling Services is there to help.

I started Forward Motion Counseling as a means of helping people work on themselves with professionals who are compassionate, knowledgeable, and trustworthy. I hire staff that reflect the community that it serves and who share the value of relationships as a vital aspect of change. No matter your racial or ethnic background, age, sex, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic status we seek to help all people find the means they need to find change in their life.

If you’re new to therapy or wonder how it works, think of it like learning to play the piano. Initially you struggle to read the notes on the page and coordinate the movement of your hands. Getting the rhythm right requires hours of practice and staying on beat feels elusive. To help you get better, you hire a teacher who knows the drills needed to expedite the process. They help you understand the theory and technique, encourage realistic expectations, and cheerlead you when you need the motivation to keep going. Initially it’s hard to even wrap your head around the skills needed, but over time you practice and get better. Your hands quickly know what notes to play, the movement gets smoother, and you start to really enjoy what you’re doing.

Similarly, therapists are like teachers that help you learn about the patterns that slow you down, help motivate you to change them, and gives you the tools to do so. Maybe you don’t know how to be assertive at work. A therapist can help you find the words or they can help you learn to deal with anger. Maybe you struggle with being anxious about going to work. A therapist can help you learn to regulate your body and change the way you think about what you do.

Going back to the piano metaphor, you might also have started with some bad habits. If you had a bad teacher in the past that taught you the wrong notes, or ignored technique, or maybe even worse, put your hand behind you back and expected you to play Mozart, these may end up being difficult habits to unlearn. In real life this may look like expressing your anger by yelling and screaming because it got people to back off in the past. It may also look like using drinking or video games to cope through a stressful home life. These patterns may be holding you back now as you try to establish healthy relationships or improve your self-esteem. Regardless of what it is, your therapist can help you learn about these patterns and help you learn to reduce them so that you can build a life worth living rather than one based on coping with your past.

Life isn’t easy but it doesn’t have to be a struggle. Sometimes it is us holding onto past lessons that keep us stuck. Other times, it comes down to community and finding the right people to hold you up and guide you to the resources and people you need to move forward.

If you want to learn more about how we can help you feel less stuck, you can book a free consultation at fm-counseling.com. We take Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield, Aetna, and self-pay clients and offer services virtually throughout New Jersey. You can also check out our Instagram page at @fmcounseling for free resources and education about mental health.

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