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Did you know this about “grounding” exercises?
I found some research and articles that talked about how all grounding exercises are not good for all clients. For some people, they have spent most of their lives “out” of their bodies, experiencing themselves as “unembodied.” So grounding exercises that ask clients to do things like body scans or monitor their breathing may find themselves activated. For people struggling with being in their body, I often suggest other types of grounding exercises that have clients focus on outward objects. Like 5,4,3,2,1 – notice 5 things you can see, 4 things you can touch, 3 things you hear, 2 things you can smell, 1 thing you can smell. The body…
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How is COVID affecting your mental health?
At this point, I do not believe that anyone can deny that COVID has dramatically affected their lives. I hear of stories of adult children who are unable to visit their elderly parents in nursing homes. I know of another family whose mother was hospitalized, and they were unable to visit her during the hospitalization. Visits via online options like FaceTime were attempted, but often the visits did not happen. Nurses were busy and unable to assist elderly clients with the technology needed to facilitate the visits. So loved ones were separated not just by distance but even technology was unable to assist in keeping them connected. The statistics for…
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CliftonStrengths
CliftonStrengths was previously called StrengthFinder. This is an extensive assessment to determine a person’s five top strengths out of 34. Well, you can purchase the entire report for a little more money. Strengths include terms like Achiever, Strategic Thinking, Restorative, Harmony, Adaptability and many more. A person cannot have a poor set of top five strengths! All of them are valuable. The assessment is used frequently in business environments although I have found it useful for individuals who are looking for a new career, want to improve their relationships, want to work better with their children or figure out how to homeschool more effectively. Basically it finds five strengths that…
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Grounding Box
Physical Grounding Box I’m going to give you two suggestions, a physical grounding box and a virtual grounding box. With a physical grounding box, find a box to contain items like this: small smooth rocks textured fabrics small sculptures fidget toys like fidget spinners, blocks, magnetic sculptures therapuetic putty or play dough or silly putty squishy ball squishy string essential oils like peppermint or lemon Include pictures – pets, safe places, friends Feel free to bring the box with you to in person sessions; and even more importantly, have the box with you for virtual sessions. Virtual Grounding Box music calming photos of the beach or nature photos of you…
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Stress Reduction Techniques
Here are a few of my stress reduction techniques – of note… I don’t include alcohol :)!!! 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 – Notice 5 things you can see, 4 things you can feel, 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can smell, 1 thing you can taste. If you need a printable document, click the link. Notice 5 things that are red or some other color in your room, or 5 things that are circle or rectangles Do square breathing – breathe in for 4, hold for 4, breathe out for 4, hold for 4 Do 7/11 breathing – breath in for 7 and out for 11 Notice…
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Addiction, Anxiety, Coping Skills, COVID, Depression, Mindfulness, Postnatal, Pregnancy, Trauma, Uncategorized
COVID-19 Response for Georgia
In my Marietta office, we are seeing clients face to face. Cleaning procedures are informed by the best practices described by the state of Georgia and the American Psychological Association (APA.) I clean the room in between each sessions which means I need to maintain a 55 minute session time. We do not require a form to be filled out as yet. But please check your temperature before you come for your appointment, verify that you and your household members are not sick with COVID and that you have not been exposed to the best of your knowledge to anyone who has tested positive. I will ask you all these…
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Addiction, Anxiety, attachment, Coping Skills, Depression, DID, Dissociation, Mindfulness, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Somatic, Stillbirth, Trauma
What does “bottom up processing” mean?
A lot of effective therapy is considered “top down.” As in we talk, using our brain, cognitive work. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is a tried and true and effective method for therapy. I happen to use “Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: ACT ( pronounced like the work “act”) to do this cognitive work. But we know from research (in fact the more research that is done, the more it confirms this fact) that trauma memories are stored quite differently than regular memories. Trauma memories when re-experienced can feel here and now, and unending. Often times, they are experienced as “emotional flashbacks.” That is a feeling that has no words or explanation of…
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What is Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: ACT?
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: ACT (pronounced like the word “act” is a cognitive behavioral approach of therapy. I will write more about why I use ACT in working with clients. More to come…