Ins and Outs for 2024
As the first month of the New Year draws to a close, we might have a good idea on what is working for us and what is not. In 2024, let’s take a turn into things that are filling our water cups and planting seeds rather than drying up everything.
May the Force (and some Animal-Assisted therapy) be with you!
Animal-assisted therapy (AAT) is a type of psychotherapy that includes animals in treatment to achieve therapeutic goals. It can also be utilized as a complementary treatment modality to supplement other traditional types of therapies.
The Start of Something New
With the new year fast approaching, it’s only natural to think about starting something new, and with that often comes fear and self-doubt. Right now, my Instagram feed is rife with influencers touting their virtual 2024 vision boards, fitness gurus pushing the newest “Hard 30” fad, and plenty of high school acquaintances sharing about their new jobs, new houses, and growing families.
DBT Skills for the Holiday Season
As we participate in the holiday season, there are a lot of happy things and events coming up for many people. However, that is not the case for everyone, and some might struggle more around this time. The holiday season can also bring up complicated feelings around grief and loss, or even discontentment that life is not as you hoped.
Holiday Expectations
With the holidays quickly approaching, expectations and the pressure we all put on ourselves to “do it right” have been on my mind. Whether it's getting the perfect gift for a loved one or planning a get together with old friends, the holidays can be wrought with expectations.
Procrastination Season
Procrastination is often a product of feeling overwhelmed, intimidated, incapable, and/or uninterested. Since this can be boiled down to emotional experiences, we can feel more hopeful and empowered to break this pattern when we acknowledge that it’s actually not a product of an inherent personality trait.
Childhood Attachment and Relationship Functioning
Attachment theory suggests that the way in which children bond with their primary caregiver(s) impacts current and future relational functioning. Being securely attached means having a caregiver who is available for support and comfort, and responds appropriately to a child’s physical and emotional needs.
It’s SPOOKY Season
With the holidays coming around, the season can be spookier than we’d like. Events, traveling, and even more time with family can cause stress and anxiety that we don’t usually have during the rest of the year.
Self Compassion
How often do you stop and allow yourself the time and space to really feel your emotions? Our lives are full of action and we often find it difficult to stop and ask ourselves what is this emotion and what does it need from me.
Back to Life, Back to Reality
The transition out of summer and back to school and reality can be challenging for kids and parents alike. We can find ourselves feeling super stressed out and far more emotionally vulnerable as we settle into our “new normal” for the year ahead.
Finding Hope and Healing
Suicide is a complex issue that touches countless lives and communities. Individuals who experience suicidal thoughts often grapple with emotional dysregulation, overwhelming distress, and a sense of isolation. Peachtree Comprehensive Health stands united with communities worldwide to raise awareness, spread hope, and offer support to those who may be struggling with their mental well-being.
When and How to End a Therapeutic Relationship
Depending on the relationship and the reason it is over, endings can affect us in number of ways. This is the same for our therapeutic relationships. Regardless of the why, having a healthy ending to a relationship, can be even more impactful than the relationship itself.
Optimizing Our Internal DIalogue
One of the core principles to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) suggests that our thinking impacts the way we feel and therefore behave. With that in mind, checking in with ourselves to ensure that we're thinking in optimal, helpful ways is essential.
WOAH, We’re Halfway There!
There are 182 days behind us and 183 days ahead of us (not including in a leap year). The month of July allows us to reflect on how we are doing and where we want to go for the remainder of the year.
Highly Sensitive Parent
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.
Love for Journaling
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 Awareness month
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.
Why Motivation is Overrated
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’s Levels to This
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.
Healthy vs Diet
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.