Fine-Thomas Psychotherapy

If you know a couple who want to work as a team about money, have them check out relational-media.com. That's the project John Mitchell and I have been working on and we have developed an online course just for couples who want to get on the same page financially.

Yesterday was a great day for me because a project my friend, John Mitchell, and I have been working on is finally live! We created a course for couples who struggle with arguments about money. We hope it will help couples identify what money means to them and how to work together to build the life they want. www.relational-media.com

The new office is starting to take shape. Here is my view from my chair.

In our Women’s Self-Defense program at Poos Taekwondo, we devote a class to tools one might use to ward off an attacker. This tool, the sound maker, comes in a bunch of different forms and sizes. The one shown is a good example but there are other good options too. The up side to a sound maker is that it is easy to draw attention to your location because once activated, these small devices make a lot of high pitched, ear piercing sound. This tool can go on your keychain,... clip to a loop inside your purse, or clip onto a backpack. I think this tool is particularly helpful for college students who may need to walk on campus at night. The example shown has a rechargeable battery and a small flashlight function. Obviously, this tool is not helpful if the battery isn’t charged. To activate it, you just pull the device from the pin at the end of the clip. And, to turn it off, you put the pin back in the slot. As a device that calls attention to your situation, I think this item does well. But, like all tools, it has it’s down sides. As with all tools, if it’s not handy when you need it, it’s not a helpful tool. I think there are two big downsides to this tool. First, once activated, it’s going to affect you as much as it affects an attacker. It’s hard to focus on what you may need to do to protect yourself when a siren is blaring near you. In that way, it introduces chaos into an already really scary situation. Second, it’s probably not helpful at all if there are not people nearby. If you’re alone in your home and you think someone could be planning to harm you, pulling the pin to activate this device may not call any attention from a helpful bystander. Or, if your situation is one of domestic violence and you are home with your partner, activating this may not be enough to gather help from a neighbor. This tool is best used in a space where others are reasonably close and could come to help you. In that way, it’s effectiveness is limited. I still think it’s a good tool, it just has a very specific use. I do like this tool in combination with other tools, like pepper spray. If you were able to deploy pepper spray on an attacker then pull the pin on the sound maker and drop it on the floor near the attacker then run, the attacker would be disoriented from the pepper spray and intense sound. But, this may be some wishful thinking. If you had to use pepper spray, my best guess is that after emptying the canister, you would want to run rather than locate your sound maker. My best advice in any situation that seems dangerous to you is to try to find an exit before the situation escalates. Obviously, that’s not always possible and in that event, you might consider a tool like this sound maker. https://www.amazon.com/Personal-Emergency-Fl//ref=sr_1_14