Jennifer Kooshian, Plano Christian Counseling

About Jennifer Kooshian

Jennifer Kooshian lives in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan with her husband of 32 years on a small homestead near Lake Superior. They have five adult children and one grandson. She also has an ever-changing number of chickens, a mellow old cat, and an aspiring farm dog. The passions that God has pressed on her heart are hospitality, giving college students a home away from home, and helping people learn to grow and preserve their own food. Jennifer spends her spring and summer months growing vegetable plants and flowers to sell to her community and for her own gardens. Her fall and winter months are spent having local college students over for dinner and board games, participating in her church’s college ministry, crocheting, and dreaming of her summer gardens. She also loves living where 15 feet of snow is a light winter. She documents her homestead adventures on Instagram and Facebook as Cooper Island Homestead and runs an Etsy shop under the same name.

Causes and Signs of a Strained Relationship

Causes and Signs of a Strained Relationship

Jennifer Kooshian2024-11-29T06:30:34+00:00November 28th, 2024|Featured, Personal Development, Professional Development, Relationship Issues|

When people get along swimmingly, they enjoy spending time with each other, and they expend effort to create opportunities to have more shared experiences. This is how trust is built over time, and that is how long-lasting bonds are formed. However, even the healthiest relationship can find itself under pressure, and the people in the relationship on less than friendly terms. When a relationship is strained, it can affect how the relationship functions and how the people in it feel about each other. Relationship strain happens, but it’s possible to resolve the tensions in the relationship to restore it stronger than ever before. What Strains Relationships? What does it mean to say that a relationship is strained? When a relationship is described as “strained” it means that it’s a relationship in which relations aren’t normal, and that is plagued by one or more problems that have the result of denying the people in the relationship their needs. A strained relationship goes beyond the rough patches or difficult seasons that even the most healthy and loving partnerships experience every so often. In a healthy relationship, conflict is resolved through clear communication that helps the relationship remain stable even as issues are dealt with. In strained relationships, by contrast, issues aren’t resolved well, and this leads to escalating conflict and increasing anger and isolation in the relationship. Whatever the issues are, whether it’s about money, sex, parenting, or goals, the relationship takes on strain when it begins to break down the bonds between the people in the relationship. When a relationship is strained, the differences that exist between people become a wedge that separates them. Under normal circumstances, those differences would be appreciated and dealt with in ways that promote the health of the relationship and one another. Some of [...]

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The Benefits and Value of Self-Reflection

The Benefits and Value of Self-Reflection

Jennifer Kooshian2024-10-18T13:52:46+00:00October 14th, 2024|Featured, Individual Counseling, Personal Development, Spiritual Development|

It’s easy to take it for granted that you know yourself. After all, you’ve spent every waking (and sleeping) moment of your life with yourself, so surely there aren’t any surprises left or illusions you have about yourself, right? For many of us, the truth is that we act in ways that seem inconsistent with who we say or think we are. Words come from our mouths that make us wonder, “Where did that come from?” Without self-reflection, we are mysteries even to ourselves. We are layered and complex beings. Sometimes we lie to ourselves about who we are; we have high hopes for ourselves, but we disappoint ourselves. We can try to motivate ourselves to act in certain ways but fail to gain traction because the motivation just doesn’t speak to us as much as we thought it would. All this points to the idea that we might not know ourselves as well as we think. Self-reflection through journaling Taking time out for self-reflection is crucial to developing your self-understanding. As you reflect, you can ponder over your actions, thoughts, reactions, and feelings to the things you encountered during your day or week. Ask yourself what challenged you, what inspired you, what puzzled you, or what stirred up powerful emotions such as fear or anger. Life gets busy, which means intentionality toward self-reflection is key. As you self-reflect, you don’t necessarily have to do it with a journal. A journal is helpful because you can always go back and refer to it. It captures the moment in ways that your memory might not, which makes it a valuable tool. With journaling apps out there in addition to written journals, it’s easier than ever to set your thoughts and reflections to paper. Taking the time to reflect through journaling [...]

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Anxiety Symptoms in Men: Signs to Look For and Treatment Options

Anxiety Symptoms in Men: Signs to Look For and Treatment Options

Jennifer Kooshian2024-09-27T12:00:16+00:00September 13th, 2024|Anxiety, Featured, Men’s Issues|

A man may be many things to many people – a friend, husband, brother, colleague, boss, hero, or villain – but at the heart of it all, he’s still just a person, with everything that entails. Anxiety and anxiety disorders are a daily reality for millions of people across the world. Though they typically affect women, anxiety and anxiety disorders also affect many men. Discerning the common anxiety symptoms in men can help a man find effective treatment options. How do men experience anxiety? Many men don’t often discuss their problems, and that includes struggles with anxiety or anxiety disorders. Anxiety affects people of all stripes, and it affects people regardless of gender. Men tend to put off getting support when they need it because of ideas of what masculinity is, including the thought that they’re meant to be tough and self-reliant. This mindset only makes it harder for men to not only acknowledge issues but to find solutions to them. Anxiety is a natural reaction to situations that are or appear threatening. It’s the feeling of uneasiness, dread, tension, or fear that often attends these experiences. People don’t all feel anxious for the same reason, and they respond to it differently, too. While anxiety is often associated with symptoms such as nervousness, sweating, or a rapid heartbeat, anxiety may also go beyond these symptoms. When men experience anxiety, they are more likely than women to deal with their anxiety through substance abuse. This might differ from women who will often turn to avoidance as a coping mechanism. Anxiety in men is often caused by issues such as family dynamics, work stress, heart disease, traumatic events, or a decline in testosterone levels. Men experience various types of anxiety and anxiety disorders, and these include obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder, social [...]

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Preventing Codependency in Marriage

Preventing Codependency in Marriage

Jennifer Kooshian2024-09-27T12:00:07+00:00November 17th, 2023|Codependency, Couples Counseling, Featured, Marriage Counseling, Relationship Issues|

A healthy and balanced marriage relationship may be the goal, but it isn’t always easy. One way you can create and maintain a healthy relationship is by preventing codependency in marriage. By working with your spouse, you can develop a healthy love and care for one another while maintaining the unique characteristics God gave you. Avoiding codependency will help ensure that each person’s feelings are respected, and their needs are met. Healthy marriage tips to avoid codependency in marriage. As you strive for a healthy marriage, you can implement the strategies below. It will help you and your partner foster independence and maintain individual identities as you nurture your marriage. Communication is key. Strive to have open and honest communication with your partner. Prioritize discussing your feelings, needs, and concerns regularly. As you do this be sure that both partners feel heard and understood. Set and respect boundaries. Boundaries are part of healthy relationships. Seek to establish clear, loving boundaries in your relationship. As you recognize that each person has their own needs and feelings, you make each person feel respected and loved. When this happens, you can build a stronger relationship. Prioritize self-care. Self-care benefits both people in a marriage. Encourage one another to engage in self-care activities that promote physical, emotional, and mental well-being. This helps both people function well, enabling them to love one another better. Maintain individual interests and friendships. Everyone has their own passions and interests. Make time and space for pursuing these. Even friendships and social connections outside of your marriage are good for you. Communicate well about it and avoid keeping secrets from one another to foster a healthy relationship as you do this. Try to seek balance. Create a comfortable balance between time spent together and time spent apart. This allows [...]

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Understanding Attachment Issues: 4 Attachment Styles

Understanding Attachment Issues: 4 Attachment Styles

Jennifer Kooshian2024-09-27T12:00:00+00:00November 15th, 2023|Abandonment and Neglect, Featured, Individual Counseling, Relationship Issues|

The concept of “attachment issues” has become a bit of a buzzword, with a distinct lack of clarity around what it means and how it plays out in practice. The picture that comes to mind is of someone who has trouble maintaining healthy adult relationships, who is overly clingy, or behaves in a toxic way. Understanding Attachment Issues Understanding attachment issues requires getting to grips with attachment theory and attachment styles, which relate to how a person experienced attachment as a child. Four attachment styles. The attachment theory which was pioneered by John Bowlby in 1946 defined attachment as a “lasting psychological connectedness between human beings”. His work focused on babies who had either strong or weak emotional connections with their mothers. The four main types of attachment, which can apply in childhood through adulthood, include: 1. Secure attachment. If a baby trusted their primary caregiver and formed a close, healthy bond with them in their early years, this caregiver gave the infant a secure base from which to explore the world. This is the best possible situation because it hardwires the individual’s brain to feel valued and accepted by other people, and they in turn value and accept other people. In adulthood, people who experienced a secure attachment will likely function well in relationships, trusting people (who merit trust), and being able to regulate their emotions apart from others. 2. Anxious-preoccupied. If a mother or other primary caregiver was inconsistent or slow in responding to an infant’s needs or failed to meet them in some way, a child may demonstrate an anxious-preoccupied attachment style. This can lead to attachment issues in adulthood, with the person generally experiencing a negative view of themselves in relation to others. This means that in relationships, they crave intimacy and want to feel [...]

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Jennifer Kooshian

About Jennifer Kooshian

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