HeartSphere Counseling, LLC Michele M. Preste, LMHC
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The Amazin' Raisin Schools Us in Resilience
Jul 9, 2016
This week, I had planned to write about the first of the four spheres of influence introduced in my last blog. However, there has been a change in plans as The Amazin’ Raisin was very insistent about being the topic this week.
Who is The Amazin’ Raisin? She is a cat my husband rescued a year ago. Through true grit, a strong will to live, and a ridiculous amount of resilience, she is gracing our household today.
This is Raisin—then and now!
On a cool, rainy night, Raisin and two siblings were trapped in a large dog carrier on the stoop of an abandoned house. My husband called me on his way home to tell me he was bringing kittens. As the three kittens were retrieved from the carrier, it was obvious that Raisin was in dire straits and was taken directly to the emergency vet. She was cold, wet, severely malnourished, covered with maggots, and had a broken leg. The vet on duty gave her a 10-15% chance of surviving. In fact, they could not get a temperature on Raisin for the first 18 hours because she was so hypothermic. But that kitten wanted to live! She was shaved to get rid of all the maggots and maggot eggs, given intravenous fluids, syringe fed a high protein mix of food, and given daily medications for about 6 weeks. There was concern that she would have to have her broken leg amputated but she responded well to the vet’s version of a splint made with Popsicle sticks. Through it all, Raisin took everything that came her way in stride and thrived. Today, she has only a hint of a limp when she walks slowly (which is rarely) and gets into every nook and cranny she can.
What does all this about Raisin have to do with a blog about mental health? Raisin was, and is, all about resilience and a strong desire to heal and thrive. All too often, it is these characteristics that individuals lose connection with when they turn to counseling.
By definition, resilience is the ability to adapt to whatever life puts before you regardless of the hurdles, barriers, and blocks put in your way. These adversities can be any number of things including abuse (physical, emotional, sexual), loss, prejudice, poverty, neglect, illness, or disability. Each of these are experienced in ways that are unique to the person. What is a hurdle, barrier, or block for one may not be so for another. We each have some level of ability to weather such storms and these experiences school us in resilience. Yet, when these experiences are unremitting or cumulative, a person’s natural resilience can be worn down and broken. When resilience is depleted, a person collapses within themselves even if they outwardly put up a good front for others. Such a person is in a state of scarcity and believes in “I am not ____.”
Working with a patient, compassionate therapist can help such a person reconnect with their strengths and inherent goodness. Babette Rothschild, noted trauma therapist, describes this work as helping “reacquaint the client with resources and resilience she knew but has lost touch with….” Just as each person responds to adversity in their own unique way, the therapeutic healing process is also unique to the individual. In its essence, the process is walking with the client from the place of limitations to the place of possibilities. Together the counselor and client change his or her story from one of lack and brokenness to one of abundance and wholeness. Mary Pipher (best known for her book, Reviving Ophelia) describes the process as “the building of a roomier container to hold our experiences.” We make room for the past experiences as well as our new beliefs about possibilities and growth.
Raisin, for all her heart, would not have been able to heal without the help of others. She accepted that help and did her part. What do you need help with and are you ready to reach out and accept that help?
Peace and joy,
Michele
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Pipher, M. (2009). Seeking peace: Chronicles of the worst Buddhist in the world. New York: Riverhead Books.
Rothschild, B. (2000). The body remembers: The psychophysiology of trauma and trauma treatment. New York: W.W. Norton & Company.
Comments
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Eric Jones says (Mar 31, 2023):
To the heartspherecounseling.com Webmaster! My name’s Eric and I just came across your website - heartspherecounseling.com - in the search results. Here’s what that means to me… Your SEO’s working. You’re getting eyeballs – mine at least. Your content’s pretty good, wouldn’t change a thing. BUT… Eyeballs don’t pay the bills. CUSTOMERS do. And studies show that 7 out of 10 visitors to a site like heartspherecounseling.com will drop by, take a gander, and then head for the hills without doing anything else. It’s like they never were even there. You can fix this. You can make it super-simple for them to raise their hand, say, “okay, let’s talk” without requiring them to even pull their cell phone from their pocket… thanks to Web Visitors Into Leads. Web Visitors Into Leads is a software widget that sits on your site, ready and waiting to capture any visitor’s Name, Email address and Phone Number. It lets you know immediately – so you can talk to that lead immediately… without delay… BEFORE they head for those hills. CLICK HERE https://advanceleadgeneration.com to try out a Live Demo with Web Visitors Into Leads now to see exactly how it works. Now it’s also true that when reaching out to hot leads, you MUST act fast – the difference between contacting someone within 5 minutes versus 30 minutes later is huge – like 100 times better! That’s what makes our new SMS Text With Lead feature so powerful… you’ve got their phone number, so now you can start a text message (SMS) conversation with them… so even if they don’t take you up on your offer right away, you continue to text them new offers, new content, and new reasons to do business with you. This could change everything for you and your business. CLICK HERE https://advanceleadgeneration.com to learn more about everything Web Visitors Into Leads can do and start turing eyeballs into money. Eric PS: Web Visitors Into Leads offers a FREE 14 days trial – you could be converting up to 100x more leads immediately! It even includes International Long Distance Calling. Paying customers are out there waiting. Starting connecting today by CLICKING HERE https://advanceleadgeneration.com to try Web Visitors Into Leads now. If you'd like to unsubscribe click here http://advanceleadgeneration.com/unsubscribe.aspx?d=heartspherecounseling.com
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Eric Jones says (Apr 9, 2023):
To the heartspherecounseling.com Administrator. My name is Eric and unlike a lot of emails you might get, I wanted to instead provide you with a word of encouragement – Congratulations What for? Part of my job is to check out websites and the work you’ve done with heartspherecounseling.com definitely stands out. It’s clear you took building a website seriously and made a real investment of time and resources into making it top quality. There is, however, a catch… more accurately, a question… So when someone like me happens to find your site – maybe at the top of the search results (nice job BTW) or just through a random link, how do you know? More importantly, how do you make a connection with that person? Studies show that 7 out of 10 visitors don’t stick around – they’re there one second and then gone with the wind. Here’s a way to create INSTANT engagement that you may not have known about… Web Visitors Into Leads is a software widget that’s works on your site, ready to capture any visitor’s Name, Email address and Phone Number. It lets you know INSTANTLY that they’re interested – so that you can talk to that lead while they’re literally checking out heartspherecounseling.com. CLICK HERE http://advanceleadgeneration.com to try out a Live Demo with Web Visitors Into Leads now to see exactly how it works. It could be a game-changer for your business – and it gets even better… once you’ve captured their phone number, with our new SMS Text With Lead feature, you can automatically start a text (SMS) conversation – immediately (and there’s literally a 100X difference between contacting someone within 5 minutes versus 30 minutes.) Plus then, even if you don’t close a deal right away, you can connect later on with text messages for new offers, content links, even just follow up notes to build a relationship. Everything I’ve just described is simple, easy, and effective. CLICK HERE http://advanceleadgeneration.com to discover what Web Visitors Into Leads can do for your business. You could be converting up to 100X more leads today! Eric PS: Web Visitors Into Leads offers a FREE 14 days trial – and it even includes International Long Distance Calling. You have customers waiting to talk with you right now… don’t keep them waiting. CLICK HERE http://advanceleadgeneration.com to try Web Visitors Into Leads now. If you'd like to unsubscribe click here http://advanceleadgeneration.com/unsubscribe.aspx?d=heartspherecounseling.com
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Eric Jones says (May 19, 2023):
Dear heartspherecounseling.com Admin! My name’s Eric and I just found your site heartspherecounseling.com. It’s got a lot going for it, but here’s an idea to make it even MORE effective. Web Visitors Into Leads – CLICK HERE http://advanceleadgeneration.com for a live demo now. Web Visitors Into Leads is a software widget that’s works on your site, ready to capture any visitor’s Name, Email address and Phone Number. It signals you the moment they let you know they’re interested – so that you can talk to that lead while they’re literally looking over your site. And once you’ve captured their phone number, with our new SMS Text With Lead feature, you can automatically start a text (SMS) conversation… and if they don’t take you up on your offer then, you can follow up with text messages for new offers, content links, even just “how you doing?” notes to build a relationship. CLICK HERE http://advanceleadgeneration.com to discover what Web Visitors Into Leads can do for your business. The difference between contacting someone within 5 minutes versus a half-hour means you could be converting up to 100X more leads today! Eric PS: Studies show that 70% of a site’s visitors disappear and are gone forever after just a moment. Don’t keep losing them. Web Visitors Into Leads offers a FREE 14 days trial – and it even includes International Long Distance Calling. You have customers waiting to talk with you right now… don’t keep them waiting. CLICK HERE http://advanceleadgeneration.com to try Web Visitors Into Leads now. If you'd like to unsubscribe click here http://advanceleadgeneration.com/unsubscribe.aspx?d=heartspherecounseling.com
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Eric Jones says (Jun 19, 2023):
To the heartspherecounseling.com Admin! My name’s Eric and I just came across your website - heartspherecounseling.com - in the search results. Here’s what that means to me… Your SEO’s working. You’re getting eyeballs – mine at least. Your content’s pretty good, wouldn’t change a thing. BUT… Eyeballs don’t pay the bills. CUSTOMERS do. And studies show that 7 out of 10 visitors to a site like heartspherecounseling.com will drop by, take a gander, and then head for the hills without doing anything else. It’s like they never were even there. You can fix this. You can make it super-simple for them to raise their hand, say, “okay, let’s talk” without requiring them to even pull their cell phone from their pocket… thanks to Web Visitors Into Leads. Web Visitors Into Leads is a software widget that sits on your site, ready and waiting to capture any visitor’s Name, Email address and Phone Number. It lets you know immediately – so you can talk to that lead immediately… without delay… BEFORE they head for those hills. CLICK HERE https://advanceleadgeneration.com to try out a Live Demo with Web Visitors Into Leads now to see exactly how it works. Now it’s also true that when reaching out to hot leads, you MUST act fast – the difference between contacting someone within 5 minutes versus 30 minutes later is huge – like 100 times better! That’s what makes our new SMS Text With Lead feature so powerful… you’ve got their phone number, so now you can start a text message (SMS) conversation with them… so even if they don’t take you up on your offer right away, you continue to text them new offers, new content, and new reasons to do business with you. This could change everything for you and your business. CLICK HERE https://advanceleadgeneration.com to learn more about everything Web Visitors Into Leads can do and start turing eyeballs into money. Eric PS: Web Visitors Into Leads offers a FREE 14 days trial – you could be converting up to 100x more leads immediately! It even includes International Long Distance Calling. Paying customers are out there waiting. Starting connecting today by CLICKING HERE https://advanceleadgeneration.com to try Web Visitors Into Leads now. If you'd like to unsubscribe click here http://advanceleadgeneration.com/unsubscribe.aspx?d=heartspherecounseling.com
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Eric Jones says (Jun 30, 2023):
To the heartspherecounseling.com Owner! my name’s Eric and for just a second, imagine this… - Someone does a search and winds up at heartspherecounseling.com. - They hang out for a minute to check it out. “I’m interested… but… maybe…” - And then they hit the back button and check out the other search results instead. - Bottom line – you got an eyeball, but nothing else to show for it. - There they go. This isn’t really your fault – it happens a LOT – studies show 7 out of 10 visitors to any site disappear without leaving a trace. But you CAN fix that. Web Visitors Into Leads is a software widget that’s works on your site, ready to capture any visitor’s Name, Email address and Phone Number. It lets you know right then and there – enabling you to call that lead while they’re literally looking over your site. CLICK HERE http://advanceleadgeneration.com to try out a Live Demo with Web Visitors Into Leads now to see exactly how it works. Time is money when it comes to connecting with leads – the difference between contacting someone within 5 minutes versus 30 minutes later can be huge – like 100 times better! Plus, now that you have their phone number, with our new SMS Text With Lead feature you can automatically start a text (SMS) conversation… so even if you don’t close a deal then, you can follow up with text messages for new offers, content links, even just “how you doing?” notes to build a relationship. Strong stuff. CLICK HERE http://advanceleadgeneration.com to discover what Web Visitors Into Leads can do for your business. You could be converting up to 100X more leads today! Eric PS: Web Visitors Into Leads offers a FREE 14 days trial – and it even includes International Long Distance Calling. You have customers waiting to talk with you right now… don’t keep them waiting. CLICK HERE http://advanceleadgeneration.com to try Web Visitors Into Leads now. If you'd like to unsubscribe click here http://advanceleadgeneration.com/unsubscribe.aspx?d=heartspherecounseling.com
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Eric Jones says (Jul 2, 2023):
Hi heartspherecounseling.com Owner! My name is Eric and unlike a lot of emails you might get, I wanted to instead provide you with a word of encouragement – Congratulations What for? Part of my job is to check out websites and the work you’ve done with heartspherecounseling.com definitely stands out. It’s clear you took building a website seriously and made a real investment of time and resources into making it top quality. There is, however, a catch… more accurately, a question… So when someone like me happens to find your site – maybe at the top of the search results (nice job BTW) or just through a random link, how do you know? More importantly, how do you make a connection with that person? Studies show that 7 out of 10 visitors don’t stick around – they’re there one second and then gone with the wind. Here’s a way to create INSTANT engagement that you may not have known about… Web Visitors Into Leads is a software widget that’s works on your site, ready to capture any visitor’s Name, Email address and Phone Number. It lets you know INSTANTLY that they’re interested – so that you can talk to that lead while they’re literally checking out heartspherecounseling.com. CLICK HERE https://advanceleadgeneration.com to try out a Live Demo with Web Visitors Into Leads now to see exactly how it works. It could be a game-changer for your business – and it gets even better… once you’ve captured their phone number, with our new SMS Text With Lead feature, you can automatically start a text (SMS) conversation – immediately (and there’s literally a 100X difference between contacting someone within 5 minutes versus 30 minutes.) Plus then, even if you don’t close a deal right away, you can connect later on with text messages for new offers, content links, even just follow up notes to build a relationship. Everything I’ve just described is simple, easy, and effective. CLICK HERE https://advanceleadgeneration.com to discover what Web Visitors Into Leads can do for your business. You could be converting up to 100X more leads today! Eric PS: Web Visitors Into Leads offers a FREE 14 days trial – and it even includes International Long Distance Calling. You have customers waiting to talk with you right now… don’t keep them waiting. CLICK HERE https://advanceleadgeneration.com to try Web Visitors Into Leads now. If you'd like to unsubscribe click here http://advanceleadgeneration.com/unsubscribe.aspx?d=heartspherecounseling.com
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Eric Jones says (Jul 13, 2023):
Dear heartspherecounseling.com Owner! I just found your site, quick question… My name’s Eric, I found heartspherecounseling.com after doing a quick search – you showed up near the top of the rankings, so whatever you’re doing for SEO, looks like it’s working well. So here’s my question – what happens AFTER someone lands on your site? Anything? Research tells us at least 70% of the people who find your site, after a quick once-over, they disappear… forever. That means that all the work and effort you put into getting them to show up, goes down the tubes. Why would you want all that good work – and the great site you’ve built – go to waste? Because the odds are they’ll just skip over calling or even grabbing their phone, leaving you high and dry. But here’s a thought… what if you could make it super-simple for someone to raise their hand, say, “okay, let’s talk” without requiring them to even pull their cell phone from their pocket? You can – thanks to revolutionary new software that can literally make that first call happen NOW. Web Visitors Into Leads is a software widget that sits on your site, ready and waiting to capture any visitor’s Name, Email address and Phone Number. It lets you know IMMEDIATELY – so that you can talk to that lead while they’re still there at your site. You know, strike when the iron’s hot! CLICK HERE http://advanceleadgeneration.com to try out a Live Demo with Web Visitors Into Leads now to see exactly how it works. When targeting leads, you HAVE to act fast – the difference between contacting someone within 5 minutes versus 30 minutes later is huge – like 100 times better! That’s why you should check out our new SMS Text With Lead feature as well… once you’ve captured the phone number of the website visitor, you can automatically kick off a text message (SMS) conversation with them. Imagine how powerful this could be – even if they don’t take you up on your offer immediately, you can stay in touch with them using text messages to make new offers, provide links to great content, and build your credibility. Just this alone could be a game changer to make your website even more effective. Strike when the iron’s hot! CLICK HERE http://advanceleadgeneration.com to learn more about everything Web Visitors Into Leads can do for your business – you’ll be amazed. Thanks and keep up the great work! Eric PS: Web Visitors Into Leads offers a FREE 14 days trial – you could be converting up to 100x more leads immediately! It even includes International Long Distance Calling. Stop wasting money chasing eyeballs that don’t turn into paying customers. CLICK HERE http://advanceleadgeneration.com to try Web Visitors Into Leads now. If you'd like to unsubscribe click here http://advanceleadgeneration.com/unsubscribe.aspx?d=heartspherecounseling.com
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Eric Jones says (Jul 15, 2023):
Hi heartspherecounseling.com Admin. my name is Eric and I’m betting you’d like your website heartspherecounseling.com to generate more leads. Here’s how: Web Visitors Into Leads is a software widget that’s works on your site, ready to capture any visitor’s Name, Email address and Phone Number. It signals you as soon as they say they’re interested – so that you can talk to that lead while they’re still there at heartspherecounseling.com. Web Visitors Into Leads – CLICK HERE http://advanceleadgeneration.com for a live demo now. And now that you’ve got their phone number, our new SMS Text With Lead feature enables you to start a text (SMS) conversation – answer questions, provide more info, and close a deal that way. If they don’t take you up on your offer then, just follow up with text messages for new offers, content links, even just “how you doing?” notes to build a relationship. CLICK HERE http://advanceleadgeneration.com to discover what Web Visitors Into Leads can do for your business. The difference between contacting someone within 5 minutes versus a half-hour means you could be converting up to 100X more leads today! Try Web Visitors Into Leads and get more leads now. Eric PS: The studies show 7 out of 10 visitors don’t hang around – you can’t afford to lose them! Web Visitors Into Leads offers a FREE 14 days trial – and it even includes International Long Distance Calling. You have customers waiting to talk with you right now… don’t keep them waiting. CLICK HERE http://advanceleadgeneration.com to try Web Visitors Into Leads now. If you'd like to unsubscribe click here http://advanceleadgeneration.com/unsubscribe.aspx?d=heartspherecounseling.com
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Eric Jones says (Jul 20, 2023):
To the heartspherecounseling.com Administrator! my name’s Eric and for just a second, imagine this… - Someone does a search and winds up at heartspherecounseling.com. - They hang out for a minute to check it out. “I’m interested… but… maybe…” - And then they hit the back button and check out the other search results instead. - Bottom line – you got an eyeball, but nothing else to show for it. - There they go. This isn’t really your fault – it happens a LOT – studies show 7 out of 10 visitors to any site disappear without leaving a trace. But you CAN fix that. Web Visitors Into Leads is a software widget that’s works on your site, ready to capture any visitor’s Name, Email address and Phone Number. It lets you know right then and there – enabling you to call that lead while they’re literally looking over your site. CLICK HERE https://advanceleadgeneration.com to try out a Live Demo with Web Visitors Into Leads now to see exactly how it works. Time is money when it comes to connecting with leads – the difference between contacting someone within 5 minutes versus 30 minutes later can be huge – like 100 times better! Plus, now that you have their phone number, with our new SMS Text With Lead feature you can automatically start a text (SMS) conversation… so even if you don’t close a deal then, you can follow up with text messages for new offers, content links, even just “how you doing?” notes to build a relationship. Strong stuff. CLICK HERE https://advanceleadgeneration.com to discover what Web Visitors Into Leads can do for your business. You could be converting up to 100X more leads today! Eric PS: Web Visitors Into Leads offers a FREE 14 days trial – and it even includes International Long Distance Calling. You have customers waiting to talk with you right now… don’t keep them waiting. CLICK HERE https://advanceleadgeneration.com to try Web Visitors Into Leads now. If you'd like to unsubscribe click here http://advanceleadgeneration.com/unsubscribe.aspx?d=heartspherecounseling.com
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Eric Jones says (Aug 1, 2023):
Hello heartspherecounseling.com Administrator. My name is Eric and unlike a lot of emails you might get, I wanted to instead provide you with a word of encouragement – Congratulations What for? Part of my job is to check out websites and the work you’ve done with heartspherecounseling.com definitely stands out. It’s clear you took building a website seriously and made a real investment of time and resources into making it top quality. There is, however, a catch… more accurately, a question… So when someone like me happens to find your site – maybe at the top of the search results (nice job BTW) or just through a random link, how do you know? More importantly, how do you make a connection with that person? Studies show that 7 out of 10 visitors don’t stick around – they’re there one second and then gone with the wind. Here’s a way to create INSTANT engagement that you may not have known about… Web Visitors Into Leads is a software widget that’s works on your site, ready to capture any visitor’s Name, Email address and Phone Number. It lets you know INSTANTLY that they’re interested – so that you can talk to that lead while they’re literally checking out heartspherecounseling.com. CLICK HERE http://advanceleadgeneration.com to try out a Live Demo with Web Visitors Into Leads now to see exactly how it works. It could be a game-changer for your business – and it gets even better… once you’ve captured their phone number, with our new SMS Text With Lead feature, you can automatically start a text (SMS) conversation – immediately (and there’s literally a 100X difference between contacting someone within 5 minutes versus 30 minutes.) Plus then, even if you don’t close a deal right away, you can connect later on with text messages for new offers, content links, even just follow up notes to build a relationship. Everything I’ve just described is simple, easy, and effective. CLICK HERE http://advanceleadgeneration.com to discover what Web Visitors Into Leads can do for your business. You could be converting up to 100X more leads today! Eric PS: Web Visitors Into Leads offers a FREE 14 days trial – and it even includes International Long Distance Calling. You have customers waiting to talk with you right now… don’t keep them waiting. CLICK HERE http://advanceleadgeneration.com to try Web Visitors Into Leads now. If you'd like to unsubscribe click here http://advanceleadgeneration.com/unsubscribe.aspx?d=heartspherecounseling.com
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Eric Jones says (Sep 4, 2023):
To the heartspherecounseling.com Administrator! my name’s Eric and for just a second, imagine this… - Someone does a search and winds up at heartspherecounseling.com. - They hang out for a minute to check it out. “I’m interested… but… maybe…” - And then they hit the back button and check out the other search results instead. - Bottom line – you got an eyeball, but nothing else to show for it. - There they go. This isn’t really your fault – it happens a LOT – studies show 7 out of 10 visitors to any site disappear without leaving a trace. But you CAN fix that. Web Visitors Into Leads is a software widget that’s works on your site, ready to capture any visitor’s Name, Email address and Phone Number. It lets you know right then and there – enabling you to call that lead while they’re literally looking over your site. CLICK HERE http://advanceleadgeneration.com to try out a Live Demo with Web Visitors Into Leads now to see exactly how it works. Time is money when it comes to connecting with leads – the difference between contacting someone within 5 minutes versus 30 minutes later can be huge – like 100 times better! Plus, now that you have their phone number, with our new SMS Text With Lead feature you can automatically start a text (SMS) conversation… so even if you don’t close a deal then, you can follow up with text messages for new offers, content links, even just “how you doing?” notes to build a relationship. Strong stuff. CLICK HERE http://advanceleadgeneration.com to discover what Web Visitors Into Leads can do for your business. You could be converting up to 100X more leads today! Eric PS: Web Visitors Into Leads offers a FREE 14 days trial – and it even includes International Long Distance Calling. You have customers waiting to talk with you right now… don’t keep them waiting. CLICK HERE http://advanceleadgeneration.com to try Web Visitors Into Leads now. If you'd like to unsubscribe click here http://advanceleadgeneration.com/unsubscribe.aspx?d=heartspherecounseling.com
