
Mind Over Mountains
Welcome to Climbing Hills Counseling’s blog, Mind Over Mountains.
A space for honest conversations, expert insights, and gentle guidance on the journey to emotional wellness.
At Climbing Hills Counseling, we know that even the most capable, high-achieving women can feel overwhelmed, anxious, or stuck in self-doubt. Mind Over Mountains is here to support you, whether you're navigating the weight of perfectionism, adjusting to motherhood, or searching for a more grounded, authentic version of yourself.
Led by Dr. Lauren Chase, a licensed therapist who specializes in working with high-achieving women and perinatal mental health, each post offers compassionate advice, evidence-based strategies, and real-world tools to help you feel seen, supported, and empowered.
Take a breath. You don’t have to climb alone. This is your space to pause, reflect, and keep rising, one step at a time.
Ready to turn insight into action?
Schedule your free 15-minute consultation and take the first step toward feeling more grounded, confident, and in control.
Finding Your Voice: Using Assertive Communication to Advocate for Yourself
This blog post empowers women to use assertive communication to advocate for themselves in relationships, work, and friendships by setting clear boundaries, expressing needs with confidence, and embracing tools like Never Split the Difference and other practical resources for building self-trust and emotional clarity.
Empathy vs. Sympathy: Why Knowing the Difference Matters
This blog post explores the key differences between empathy and sympathy, when each is appropriate, and how women can cultivate deeper emotional connection by practicing empathy in everyday life.
Raising Empathetic Hearts: Teaching Empathy to Our Children (and Ourselves)
This blog post explores how empathy is nurtured through connection, models from caregivers, and self-compassion—offering practical guidance for women to raise emotionally attuned children while embracing empathy in their own lives.
Redefining Success: Aligning Ambition with Personal Values
This blog post encourages high-achieving women to redefine success by aligning their ambitions with personal values, using motivational interviewing and tools like values card sorts to create a more authentic and fulfilling path forward.
Can I Be Both Strong and Struggling?
This blog post empowers high-achieving women to embrace vulnerability as a strength, challenging the myth that they must choose between being strong and struggling, and offering insights inspired by Brené Brown’s research.
Am I Enough? Overcoming Impostor Syndrome in High-Performing Women
This blog post explores how impostor syndrome impacts high-achieving women and offers compassionate, therapeutic strategies to help them recognize their worth and overcome self-doubt.
Boundaries Are Not Selfish: A Survival Guide for High-Achieving Women and Moms
This blog post explores how high-achieving women and moms can use insights from Set Boundaries, Find Peace by Nedra Tawwab to set clear, compassionate boundaries that protect their time, energy, and well-being without guilt.
Loving Limits: What CCPT and CPRT Teach Us About Boundaries in Parenting
This blog post explores how the A-C-T model from Child-Centered Play Therapy (CCPT) and Child-Parent Relationship Therapy (CPRT) helps parents set loving, respectful limits that foster emotional connection and healthy behavior in children.
Small Steps, Big Shifts: How Atomic Habits Can Transform Therapy for High-Achieving Women
This blog post explores how high-achieving women can use the small, sustainable strategies from Atomic Habits to support lasting emotional growth and meaningful progress in therapy.
Understanding Perinatal Mental Health and the Importance of the PMH-C Credential
This blog post explains perinatal mental health, the significance of the PMH-C credential, and why Dr. Lauren Chase pursued it to provide specialized, compassionate care for mothers during pregnancy and postpartum.
Empowering Your Child Without Losing Your Sanity: How Choice Giving in Play Therapy Can Help Moms Thrive
This blog post explores how choice giving, a core technique from Child-Centered Play Therapy, can help moms reduce power struggles, support their child’s emotional development, and parent with more confidence and clarity.
Speak Kindly to Yourself: How Affirmations Can Empower High-Achieving Women
This blog post explores how affirmations can help high-achieving women challenge self-doubt, reduce perfectionism, and build self-worth—while offering podcast and app recommendations to support daily practice.
Rethinking Self-Care: A Realistic Guide
This blog post redefines self-care for high-achieving women and moms, exploring its true purpose, how it can lead to burnout when misused, and offering practical steps—like using the Self-Care Inventory—to build a more sustainable and nourishing routine.
Raising Emotionally Resilient Kids: How Modeling Empathy and Naming Feelings Helps Your Child Thrive
Modeling how to express feelings and show empathy helps moms teach their children emotional awareness and resilience while strengthening their unique mother-child bond, drawing on Child-Centered Play Therapy principles and Brené Brown’s insights.
Be the Thermostat, Not the Thermometer: How Moms Can Lead Emotional Regulation for Their Children
This blog post explains how moms can act as emotional thermostats—using calm regulation and empathy, grounded in Child-Centered Play Therapy and CPRT—to create a secure, balanced environment that helps children develop emotional resilience.
The Power of Encouragement Over Praise in Child-Centered Play Therapy
This post explores the powerful difference between praise and encouragement from a Child-Centered Play Therapy perspective, highlighting how shifting from external approval to reflective recognition fosters children’s self-worth, autonomy, and emotional growth.
What Is Self-Care Really—and Why It Matters More Than You Think
Self-care is an essential, non-negotiable practice that supports your mental, emotional, and physical well-being, helps prevent burnout, and begins with small, intentional actions tailored to your needs.
Attached and Empowered: How Understanding Your Attachment Style Can Help High-Achieving Women and Moms Thrive
This blog post explores how understanding your attachment style through the lens of Attached by Amir Levine can help high-achieving women and moms build healthier relationships, parent with greater empathy, and reconnect with their emotional needs without guilt.