Imagine Helping Your Seasonal Depression With Something You Already Have

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

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

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