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Each week, we post the latest articles and new blog content across a variety of categories. Browse our latest.
Top 5 Counseling Exercises That Work for Couples
At Stenzel Clinical, we help couples move from repeating fights and quiet distance to steady habits that make closeness possible again. Over years of working with couples in Wheaton, Naperville, Geneva, and online, we’ve found five counseling exercises that reliably change how partners relate not overnight, but in ways you can feel and measure. Below we explain each exercise, show exactly how to do it, and give practical tips [...]
From Zoom Fatigue to Office Burnout: 6 Steps to Reclaim Work–Life Balance
Remote meetings, open-office chatter, blurred home boundaries, many of us have traded one set of stressors for another. Video-call exhaustion (often called “Zoom fatigue”) and the slow burnout that builds in office settings can feel like opposite problems, but they share the same fuel: chronic mental load, unclear boundaries, and a daily rhythm that erodes our energy. At Stenzel Clinical, we help people restore balance with realistic, evidence-based steps [...]
The Hedonic Treadmill: Why Happiness Keeps Slipping Away
Be honest: How long does the genuine joy from a new coat, handbag, car, or even a promotion or success at work really last? If these objects and achievements had a long-term effect on our well-being, our happiness would be constantly compounding, and our baseline would steadily rise, right? Sadly, that's rarely the case. We quickly find ourselves caught in a cycle known as the hedonic treadmill (or hedonic [...]
Parenting Through Regret During Adolescence
Nearly all parents and adult children share a common experience: regret about their time together during the teenage years. They lament what they did—the mistakes of commission—and what they didn't do—the errors of omission. Regrets of Commission are the painful memories of action: the things we did that we shouldn't have. An adult child might think, “I wish I hadn’t lied to them about so much and grown so [...]
Is Decision Fatigue a Real Thing? 5 Ways to Overcome It
Every single day we make hundreds sometimes thousands of tiny choices. What to eat for breakfast, which shirt to wear, whether to answer an email now or later. It doesn’t feel dramatic at first, but each decision uses a little bit of mental energy. Over hours and days, that energy can run low. At Stenzel Clinical, we get asked a lot: is this real? Can making choices actually make [...]
Communication Rules for a Healthy Marriage
Marriage is not magic, its work, practice, and respect. Over the years working with couples, we’ve seen the same patterns again and again: small habits that build closeness, and small habits that slowly push partners apart. Good communication isn’t just talking more; it’s learning rules that keep both partners feeling safe, heard, and loved. Below we share straightforward, evidence-informed communication rules you can start using today to strengthen your marriage.1) [...]