Finding affordable mental health therapy can be a challenge. Here are 5 ways to afford therapy that you may not know about.

Mindfulness is such a buzz word lately. We hear it everywhere, from the top gurus to Time magazine. Some people choose not to use mindfulness in business because they're afraid that slowing down will make them lose their edge; however, the opposite actually happens. When you can slow down for a few minutes, you're much more likely to be able to ramp up and sustain the energy and creativity it takes run a successful business. Here are 4 ways mindfulness can increase your p

Emotions are tricky. Sometimes they are simple, and can be easy to understand. Other times, they seem to appear out of nowhere. When emotions arise, it is important to engage with them. Avoiding emotions is actually invalidating yourself, which leads to more negative emotions. Allowing yourself to feel your emotions validates your feelings, your thoughts, and yourself. How Do I Validate My Emotions? The first step in validating any emotion is to feel the emotion. This sounds

A healthy self-esteem is described as a positive attitude towards yourself. It includes an appreciative, realistic, and balanced view of yourself. It's normal to sometimes be critical of yourself and engage in negative thinking about your abilities from time to time. We all do that; but when you tend to see yourself as incompetent, unworthy or inadequate for most of the time, your self-criticism becomes a low self-esteem issue. If you want to feel good about yourself, you ne

With everything that is being covered in the news and happening in our country lately, it is natural to feel discouraged and want to discuss these major issues with people; however, we all know that sometimes it can be hard to have these serious conversations. Topics such as mental health, suicide, racial relations, violence, or even politics, are difficult to talk about, but it is so important that we do. Here are four helpful hints for having meaningful and important conver

Mindfulness can be described as an ability to be fully present and aware of the existing moment, without interpreting or judging it. Practiced through meditation, mindfulness exercise can help you become aware of your negative, self-critical thoughts. Moreover, mindfulness can increase your optimism, boost your mood and improve your self-image. How can Mindfulness help you Overcome Anxiety? It is completely normal to feel worried, nervous or afraid from time to time. Most o

Healing From Emotional Abuse and Neglect Is childhood a painful memory for you? Or can you not remember all that much from your younger years? Difficulties with attachment can be at the core of what brings an individual into therapy the first time. Usually, these struggles show up as depression, anxiety, panic attacks, poor self image, attempting to understand why he/she is having difficulties in their current or past relationships, or difficulties with parenting their own ch

Breathing and stress have a very strong connection.  The primary role of breathing is to absorb oxygen and to expel carbon dioxide through the movement of our lungs. But breathing can do much more than that.  We have the power to consciously control our breathing. Why is this important? Because controlling your breath can help you cope with stress and stress-related situations. Breathing and Stress You have probably noticed how your breathing differs when you feel relaxed fro

Why Listening to Your Intuition is the Way to Go How many times have you thought, “I should have trusted my gut!”? When we face an uncomfortable situation or decision, we tend to rationalize it and use logic as the basis of our decision, even though something doesn’t quite feel right. We're left with anxiety and discomfort. If you learned how to trust that gut feeling a little more, you might be surprised how accurate it is. Fun Fact: There are actual brain cells (neurons) i

Visualization for Athletic Success Visualization, also known as mental rehearsal or mental imagery, is a technique in which we imagine ourselves in a specific situation performing a specific activity. You can use visualization in your everyday life to familiarize yourself with a situation before it actually happens. Visualization may also be a powerful motivation tool that helps you build your confidence. You might use visualization or mental rehearsal to view yourself perfor

Valentine’s Day can be really triggering for a lot of individuals who struggle with anxiety, depression, or relationship issues.  Loneliness can be one of the most challenging emotions, but when you love yourself you’re never alone. Whether you’re single or not, here are 4 ways to show yourself a little love this Valentine’s Day. Treat yourself You don’t need a partner just to receive a little love. The best type of love is the one that we give to ourselves. Take yourself for

For many students, stress is simply a part of their college life. High tuition fees, never-ending exams and life away from the family generate a high level ofstress among college students nowadays. According to the Center for Collegiate Mental Health (CMHH) Annual Report (2015), the number of college students seeking campus mental health counseling is growing over five times faster than college enrollment. Around 32 percent of university students report struggling with mental

Have you been thinking about making an appointment with a therapist? Thought about it but haven’t been able to make the call? Are you nervous about what the therapist will think about you? Here’s a tip: A therapist is most likely just as nervous the first time you get together. I know I still get butterflies every time I have a new client coming in. I still wonder, will I be able to help this person? Will they like me? I’ve been doing this for years now, but those thoughts an

An estimated 40 million adults in the United States, 18% of the population, suffer with an anxiety disorder. 8.2% of the adult population struggle with a form of depression. (ADAA 2016) If you do the math, that’s 26.2%…over 1/4 of the US adult population!  In children, the statistic is 1 in 8. (ADAA 2016) The numbers are staggering. Prescription medication is usually the first line of defense for treating these disorders. But anxiety and depression are also symptoms of unres

Psychological distress is undiscriminating. It knows no age, no race, no gender. The good news is EMDR Therapy, which stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, can help relieve it. EMDR has helped millions of people from around the world. But unlike traditional talk therapy, it: Is NOT based on conversation between therapist and client Has 8 structured phases Uses bi-lateral stimulation, where the client discusses distressing material while engaging in eye mov

Thanksgiving.  It’s such a wonderful time of year. It is a time when we take a moment to stop, think and acknowledge gratitude. Unfortunately, the holidays are also a time when many experience an increase in feelings of anxiety, depression, and stress. Here are 5 ways to decrease stress and make the most of your Thanksgiving 1.Cook Mindfully Are you responsible for cooking for everyone this year? Cooking a large meal can be super stressful! Trust me, I’ve been there. Trying t

HOW STRUCTURE, UNDERSTANDING, AND CHOICES HELP The first question most parents of a child with autism will ask me is “How do I best communicate with my child?”  My response is that we first have to take into account that children communicate through behavior, both the behavior they exhibit and the behavior they observe.  While true for most children, this is even more true with children of autism. Understanding Once we focus on behavior as the communication tool, we realize t

Self care is one of the most important things we can do for ourselves. Unfortunately, it is what we most often forget to practice.  Compassion fatigue is a very real struggle that many of my patients experience. Compassion fatigue is when you quite literally care too much. Do you find yourself trying to help others at the expense of your own well being? Do you ignore your own emotions and put the feelings of others first? If so, you can be on the path to burnout. Think of sel