Talk Therapy with Suzanne Perry

 Hi Everyone, Thank you for viewing my blog.  Let me tell you a little bit about myself.  I am registered with the California Board of Behavioral Sciences as an Associate Marriage and Family Therapist (132904) and Associate Professional Clinical Counselor (11290).  I currently practice at Edelman Counseling  in Westlake Village, under the supervision of Marina Edelman, LMFT (51009).   I received a Masters in Professional Counseling with an emphasis on Marriage and Family Therapy from Grand Canyon University in 2021.  I studied for my degree while raising my children and working full-time.  Counseling is a calling for me and I so enjoy working with my clients to help them to better their lives.  I am very grateful to have found this career.  Before becoming a counselor, I held other job positions in food service, entertainment, business management, and information technology.  Suffice it to say, I did a lot of real life research before landing where I am now and I am dedicated not only

Today I'd like to talk about negative self talk.  Most of us do it and it's not always detrimental to our wellness.  An example might be if I were to spill something in the kitchen and I say to myself sarcastically, either aloud or in thought... nice going Suzanne!   Another example is if I took a test and failed, and said to myself, you're such a loser!   When negative thoughts become invasive they can interfere with our self-esteem, social interactions, love/family/friend relationships, employment, and more and then they become a mental wellness issue.  A therapist might work with a client to help them to identify these negative statements and the root beliefs associated with them, and perhaps where they originated.  Negative self-talk is linked to our feelings, thoughts and behaviors.  For instance, when I told myself I was a loser after failing a test, I felt sad and useless and thought badly of myself, leading me to not want to talk to my friends or family and sulk in