This past week there was an article about Highly Sensitive Parents and I found myself nodding along in agreement as I read. Since I’m a firm believer in ‘sharing is caring’ (except germs, don’t share those) I felt it only fitting to share this article with you.

As a professional listener - a therapist is nothing if not a person that listens, right? – I found the act of writing to be foreign. Not since college had I really written consistently. But all of a sudden, I was being asked by my therapist to start writing.

PTSD refers to the symptoms that develop after experiencing or witnessing traumatic events, such as significant accidents, sexual or physical violence, natural disasters, military combat, and even chronic invalidation (being told how you are responding does not make sense) within relationships.

Motivation is fickle. It ebbs and flows, comes and goes, and can be gone in a flash. Motivation itself is based on emotion. It's a feeling that is inconsistent, unpredictable, unreliable, and not wholly in our control.

There are multiple levels of care for mental health treatment. People often do not know or understand the options available for personalized mental health care. They can be very confusing and similar. The simplest way to think about each level is to consider the severity and intensity of symptoms and the different treatment settings.

We’ve all passed the first quarter of the year where our health goals have come and maybe gone and with summeritis on the horizon we’re now hearing about beach bodies.

The definition of resolutions according to the Oxford dictionary is: a firm decision to do or not to do something. This gives the option for us to choose if we want to do something or not, it also gives us the opportunity to fail if we choose to forgo a resolution.

During our initial intake with clients that are seeking DBT, we often hear, “I already tried DBT, and it did not work, how will this be any different?” There is a difference between delivering only some of the components of DBT (DBT-Informed Treatment) and delivering DBT to fidelity as it was designed by Dr. Linehan and her colleagues (Comprehensive DBT).

September 10, 2022 is World Suicide Prevention Day. There are an average of 123 suicides each day in the USA. Further, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Global Burden of Disease study estimate that almost 800,000 people die from suicide every year. That’s one person every 40 seconds.

April is Autism awareness month. Autism, or autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a disorder that impacts the nervous system and is usually characterized by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech and nonverbal communication.

As March ends, it is important to highlight the topic of self-injury given that this month is dedicated to increasing awareness around this commonly misunderstood behavior.

Mental Health Awareness is important year-round, and given that it is Black History Month, I wanted to honor this unique month by using our blog to discuss and learn more about the disparities and challenges facing Black communities when it comes to accessing services related to mental health needs.

How about we remove some of the pressure and set new goals, milestones, resolutions, words for when we’re ready and willing as opposed to when the calendar changes?

Welcome to the holiday season! Whatever your background, religion, ethnicity or culture – I am guessing the end of the year is loaded with lots of expectations.

With Emotion Regulation skills class starting this month, I am reflecting on the ways in which I use my skills of accumulating positives and building mastery both presently and in the past.

Some people have dreams of being a doctor, a constructor worker, or a teacher. While some of those were true for me, I ultimately felt called to become a therapist after learning the statistic that 21 soldiers die by suicide every day in my undergraduate entry level psychology class.

September 10th, 2021 is World Suicide Prevention Day. Sadly, suicide is already a leading cause of death in the US. This is of grave concern, prompting the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) to publish a recent article entitled “The dual pandemic of suicide and COVID-19”

Does your child often criticize themselves? Do they jump to say negative things about themselves after making small mistakes? It’s incredibly upsetting for any parent to hear their child say “I’m stupid. I’m lazy. I can’t do anything right.” Even when you rush to convince your child that these self-critical statements are false, your words may not be heard.