December 16, 2022

Tis the Season of Grief

For some people, the holiday season is filled with celebrations, gift exchanges, luminous decorations, and endless food. Oh, the food. It’s a season expected to bring joy. But for others, it is filled with sadness, disappointment, and grief. The silent expectations from the holiday season left you feeling like Ebenezer Scrooge. Bah Humbug.
September 28, 2022

Live, Laugh, Love: Toxic Positivity and Its Impact on Mental Health

In many circles, there is a growing trend to only focus on the positive. This thought-process touts the idea that if you solely focus on the “good,” you can always be happy and avoid things like sadness, pain, hurt, and anger. Some will say just drink more tea, consume only organic food, use this or that supplement, get into aromatherapy, smile more, or do more yoga.
July 18, 2022

Sitting With Emotions

Many of us have heard the words, “Feel your feelings,” but what exactly does that mean? Such a statement often comes off as vague and confusing. When hit with a wave of anxiety, are we not feeling it? Well, yes and no. Sitting with emotions, AKA, “feeling your feelings,” is more than just feeling it; it is also processing it from a place of curiosity and non-judgment.
June 9, 2022

Can’t Afford a Family Vacation this Year? Plan a Family Field Trip!

Studies have found that spending quality time together gives families the opportunity to be present with each other and strengthen relationship bonds. Family vacations are a great way to take a break from day-to-day responsibilities, explore other cultures, and create life-time memories.
December 2, 2021

Is Social Media Telling You Have Mental Health Struggles?

Social media has served as an important platform for increasing awareness of mental health and helping reduce the stigma of mental health disorders. Many people have found connection on social media with others who are also struggling, as well as a community to share and express themselves in a way that maybe they wouldn’t have felt comfortable before.
September 28, 2021

Finding the Right Therapist

Beyond the stigma of therapy participation, there is a bigger challenge in FINDING THE RIGHT THERAPIST. As a therapist, I am aware that the most valuable part of treatment with a client and the best indicator of success is the therapeutic alliance. This alliance is measured by the patient’s perception of their relationships with the therapist, and is important in the patient’s willingness to share and engage in the therapeutic process.
August 31, 2021

Mental Health and Blame

A big part of the mental health space is emotive language and vocabulary. Therefore, it’s long overdue that we talk about “Blame Culture” and how much of a large part self-criticalness is at the core of the most common mental health issues. Blame is often a means of attempting to hold ourselves accountable. However, it often is excessive and leads to self-gaslighting that involves nitpicking, fault-finding, complaining, exonerating the role that mental health plays.
August 27, 2021

Back to School Rules!

Nearly 93% of households with school aged children reported some form of distance learning during the Covid-19 pandemic (US Census Bureau, 2020). As children prepare to make the transition back to an in-person learning environment, which has a plethora of benefits including peer motivation, social interaction, and an overall better structured learning environment; The transition also may come with some mental health challenges including social anxiety, lack of social skills, and fear.