Posted on November 20th, 2024 By Raffi Bilek

I’ve been working as a therapist for about 15 years now. I have seen a range of clients who have entrusted me with their mental and emotional health, from the severely mentally ill to folks […]

Posted on October 15th, 2024 By Raffi Bilek

As we age, performing normal daily activities can become increasingly challenging. Folks in the sandwich generation often discover that their elderly parents require assistance with routine tasks like meal preparation, medication management, and healthcare decisions. […]

Posted on October 2nd, 2024 By Raffi Bilek

Imagine a world where every child grows up feeling safe, loved, and nurtured. Unfortunately, for millions of children, this ideal is far from reality. Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are traumatic events that occur before the […]

Posted on July 5th, 2023 By Raffi Bilek

When service members return from duty, they often carry a lot more than what they began with. For many, the heavy burden of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has a profound effect not only on the […]

Posted on May 3rd, 2023 By Raffi Bilek

Any traumatic event a person experiences in a relationship can change how they feel or think about certain things. Being lied to by a romantic partner or getting your heart broken by your family’s words […]

Posted on February 9th, 2023 By Raffi Bilek

Relationships are hard, there’s no doubt about it. Many people find themselves asking, “how do I know if a relationship is right for me?” Most adults have been through at least one relationship in their […]

Posted on August 1st, 2022 By Raffi Bilek

Substance abuse is a major behavioral and mental health challenge for any person to face. And there is a whole separate set of challenges that their spouse or partner faces. People struggling with addiction need […]

Posted on September 2nd, 2021 By Raffi Bilek

If your child is experiencing negative feelings that persist to the point that they are not functioning properly, then they might be suffering from a depressive disorder. According to the Centers for Disease Control and […]

Posted on August 4th, 2021 By Raffi Bilek

This article was originally published on Social Work Today. One of my least favorite questions to get from potential clients is, “How many sessions will this take?” I hate getting this question because the true […]

Posted on November 20th, 2019 By Raffi Bilek

One of the important components of anger management is getting an understanding of where your anger is coming from so that you can work towards not only managing your anger when it comes up but […]

Posted on December 26th, 2018 By Raffi Bilek

New Year’s resolutions – everyone makes ‘em, few keep ‘em. Why is this so? And how can we do it differently so we can finally make our New Year’s resolutions stick?

Posted on April 17th, 2018 By Raffi Bilek

Change is hard. This is a truth I live by professionally, but it is also a reality in my personal life.  This week we are moving to a new office, and I must admit that […]

Posted on January 10th, 2018 By Raffi Bilek

If you are considering seeing a couples counselor/marriage therapist to address a problem in your relationship, there are a few things it’s vital for you to know before you jump in. 1. Be prepared to […]

Posted on August 30th, 2017 By Raffi Bilek

If you’ve been feeling down a lot lately, always tired, not in the mood to do much of anything, you may be suffering from depression. Depression is different from just feeling sad, and it is a […]

Posted on August 23rd, 2017 By Raffi Bilek

This is a guest post by a colleague of mine in Chicago, Josh Hetherington of the Northside Center for Relationship Counseling. Mindfulness Lately I’ve been reconnecting with some Buddhist writing. It underscores a lot of […]

Posted on April 10th, 2017 By Raffi Bilek

We’re taking a break from our regularly scheduled posts on the Five Love Languages to bring you this exclusive special in which I was invited to a local TV station to do a short bit […]

Posted on November 15th, 2016 By Raffi Bilek

So you’re looking for a therapist in Baltimore.  Maybe you typed “Baltimore therapist” into Google and it sent you here.  But how do you find the right “Baltimore therapist” for you?  What goes in to […]

Posted on June 16th, 2016 By Raffi Bilek

Bariatric surgery and self-esteem are obviously intricately intertwined with each other. Most people who suffer from obesity naturally struggle with their self-esteem, especially in a culture such as ours where beauty and thinness have been […]

Posted on March 31st, 2016 By Raffi Bilek

It is not uncommon for us to field calls from people looking to get help for someone other than themselves. One common category of such callers is the family member of someone with borderline personality […]

Posted on March 21st, 2016 By Raffi Bilek

So what’s the connection between bariatric surgery and therapy? If you’ve gotten the operation done or are considering it, you are probably aware that you have to do a psychological evaluation before going through with […]