For some, seasonal depression strikes around the same time every year. For many others, that season seems to last all year… especially when the last two years have been chaotic as heck. If you have felt like you are checked out, losing interest, pulling away, and lacking energy, you might be experiencing seasonal or other … Continue reading Imagine Helping Your Seasonal Depression With Something You Already Have
New Year’s Resolutions: Helpful or Hurtful?
How do you feel about New Year's resolutions? For some, the New Year feels like a light at the end of the tunnel. A fresh start. Some people impacted by seasonal depression find this time of year a little more hopeful. New Year’s resolutions feel like the thing that might pull you out of a … Continue reading New Year’s Resolutions: Helpful or Hurtful?
Trauma Assessment in Therapy
In my therapy office in Kansas City, “trauma” can refer to an event, resulting stress, and/or long-term effects a person experiences. Assessing trauma involves asking questions about exposures to life-threatening events and their aftermath. ASSESSING TRAUMATIC EVENTS Traumatic experiences cause our brains to react emotionally and physiologically as if we are facing life-threatening danger. Our brains … Continue reading Trauma Assessment in Therapy
DBT Skills: How to IMPROVE the Moment When You Are in Distress
All of us struggle with moments of distress. Suffering is part of what makes us human. While our bodies and minds are amazingly equipped to help us cope, it can be difficult to remember these innate resources during a moment of suffering. Luckily, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy is here to lend a hand. Marsha Linehan, she … Continue reading DBT Skills: How to IMPROVE the Moment When You Are in Distress
Children don’t need therapy… do they?
It can be a difficult decision to take your child to see a therapist. If you’ve been wondering whether your child or teen could benefit from therapy, then keep reading for some things to keep in mind when considering the mental health of your child. "Do children/teens REALLY need a therapist?" According to the CDC … Continue reading Children don’t need therapy… do they?
Mental Imperfect in a Perfect World
Mental health struggles are so prevalent, they affect 1 in 5 Americans. According to NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, 19.1% of adults experienced a mental illness in 2018. Symptoms are on the rise now. Unemployment is skyrocketing. Life plans are terribly off course. Folks are stuck indoors and sometimes with people they would … Continue reading Mental Imperfect in a Perfect World
Relationship CPR: Applying the DBT skill DEAR MAN
Interpersonal Conflict is amazingly complex. A client recently shared a story about an interaction they had with their parent that had dredged up some old resentments and anger. This interaction resulted in the client becoming extremely upset, and responding with words they later regretted. Through processing in therapy, the client realized … Continue reading Relationship CPR: Applying the DBT skill DEAR MAN
5 Tips for Dealing with COVID-19 from a Kansas City Trauma Therapist
Everyone is dealing with Coronavirus. We are all affected, in many different ways, big and small. Anxiety spikes, sleep disturbance, irritability, sadness and grief over lost experiences. Frustration with kids being home, having to be home yourself, not getting to be home. The list goes on an one. Here are five tips to help you … Continue reading 5 Tips for Dealing with COVID-19 from a Kansas City Trauma Therapist
EMDR basics
You’ve maybe heard of EMDR, and maybe totally get what it is and how it works, or maybe completely don’t. To a lot of people it may sound a little woo-woo at the start. First off, the letters. EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. This means that through the movement of your eyes, … Continue reading EMDR basics
