Our Services
01.
Benefits of Individual Therapy
Individual therapy is an effective treatment for many types of mental, emotional and behavioral health issues. But, it can also help people who are facing difficult life situations, or would like to develop healthier, more functional personal habits.
Therapy sessions can provide these seven types of benefits and more:
-
Adding to your support network
-
Gaining a better understanding of yourself
-
Learning how to handle emotions
-
Identifying underlying causes of symptoms
-
Providing coping strategies
-
Managing symptoms
-
Facilitating lifestyle changes
02.
Common Reasons for Family Counseling
There are many reasons that may prompt you to seek family counseling or therapy, including:
-
Child has problems with school, substance abuse or an eating disorder
-
Major trauma or change has impacted the entire family, such as moving, a natural disaster, or incarceration of a sibling or parent
-
Loss of a family member
-
Adjustment to a new family member in the home, such as the birth of a sibling or grandparent moving in
-
Domestic violence
-
Divorce / Parental conflict
Benefits to Family Counseling
-
Eliminate family crisis
-
Development of healthy boundaries
-
Improved communication, family dynamics and relationships
-
Increased coping skills for family members
-
Reduction of family conflict
-
Improvement of a family’s problem-solving abilities
03.
Benefits of Couples Therapy
Many couples seek therapy if they have negative communication breakdown, an affair has occurred, broken trust or they have difficulty resoling issues. There are many benefits to couples therapy.
-
Understanding how to resolve conflicts in a healthy manner
-
Development of communication skills that will foster a healthy relationship
-
Learning how to be assertive without being offensive
-
Learning how to express one’s needs without resentment or anger
-
Learning acceptance and forgiveness
-
Actually processing and working through unresolved issues, as the therapeutic environment allows the couple to express their feelings in a safe environment
-
A deeper understanding of oneself and of one’s partner
-
The ability to address and work through a crisis (e.g., the death of an important family member)
-
Increased honesty and trust
04.
Have you ever gone on a walk in the woods and felt like all your problems slipped away? Studies prove spending time in nature can reduce stress and help people get over depression, anxiety, grief and other mental illness without having to rely on medication. Ecotherapy, or earth-centered therapy, is a form of psychotherapy rooted in the idea of biophilia: people’s bond between themselves and other ecosystems. Spending time in nature can make you feel better and it's intuitive. People who have suffer from stress, sickness, or trauma can spend quiet time in gardens, forest bathe or swim in the ocean to heal. Nature's Spending time in nature reduces mental fatigue, recharges your mind, and helps to increase your happiness!
Researchers are amassing a body of evidence, proving what we all know to be true: nature is good for us and has both long and short term mental and physical health benefits.Veterans and other victims of physiological trauma have positively responded to treatment as well. Ecotherapy has benefits that stretch across the field from prison safety to cancer coping and recovery help. People are tied to nature; it’s “in our genes.”
Types of Ecotherapy
-
Nature Meditation
-
Forest Bathing
-
Animal-Based Therapy
-
Forest Bathing
-
Wilderness & Adventure-Based Therapy
-
Arts & Crafts in Nature
-
Horticulture Therapy
-
Exercise in Nature
-
Nature Conservation
Benefits of Ecotherapy
-
Reduce Stress, Anger, Depression, PTSD & ADHD
-
Lower Stress
-
Fatigue Reduction
-
Improved Memory & Mood
-
Heal Trauma
-
Reduce Substance Abuse & Addiction
-
Reduce Anger & Fear
-
Increase Happiness
-
Benefits Autistic Clients
05.
When you hear the words “psychological testing,” all kinds of questions and thoughts may run through your mind. What will they ask? Will my answers be considered right or wrong? If my answers are wrong, what will that say about me? Don’t panic. Psychologists use psychological testing in the same way medical doctors use lab work, X-rays, and physical exams: to determine the cause of your symptoms and recommend treatment, when necessary.
Psychological testing is the basis for mental health treatment. Tools are often used to measure and observe a person’s behaviors, emotions, and thoughts. Tests are performed by a psychologist who will evaluate the results to determine the cause, severity, and duration of your symptoms. This will guide them in creating a treatment plan that meets your needs. Psychological testing time varies depending on the tests that are performed.
06.
As a parent, do you feel overwhelmed, stressed or frustrated? Are you being challenged by a defiant, strong-willed or explosive child? Do you find yourself yelling and saying hurtful words when you don’t mean to? Parent burnout is real and often not talked about.
Being a parent can be meaningful and full of joy when there is support and understanding. Coaching services helps parents effectively deal with children and teens who have a difficult time following rules and directions. Parent coaching empowers parents to deal with the following issues related to children and youth:
-
Defiance
-
Aggression (towards you or others)
-
Bedtime sleep patterns
-
Sibling rivalry
-
Negative peer groups
07.
Stimulating the vagus nerve is key to reducing mental health symptoms. The vagus nerve is the longest nerve in your body, and it connects your brain to important organs in the body, including the gut (intestines, stomach), heart and lungs. The word "vagus" means “wanderer” in Latin, which accurately represents how the nerve wanders all over the body and reaches various organs. The vagus nerve is a key part of the parasympathetic “rest and digest” nervous system. It influences your breathing, digestive function and heart rate, all of which can have a huge impact on your mental health. It's important to pay attention to the "tone" of your vagus nerve. Vagal tone is an internal biological process that represents the activity of the vagus nerve. Increasing your vagal tone activates the parasympathetic nervous system, and having higher vagal tone means that your body can relax faster after stress.
In 2010, researchers discovered that increased vagal tone promotes positive emotions and good physical health. The more you increase your vagal tone, the more your physical and mental health will improve. Good vagal tone reduces stress, and it reduces our heart rate and blood pressure. It changes the function of certain parts of the brain, stimulates digestion and it promotes relaxation. Studies have even shown that vagal tone is passed on from mother to child. Mothers who are depressed, anxious and angry during their pregnancy have lower vagal activity. Once they give birth to their child, the newborn also has low vagal activity and low dopamine and serotonin levels. Your vagal tone can be measured by tracking certain biological processes such as your heart rate, your breathing rate, and your heart rate variability (HRV). When your heart rate variability (HRV) is high, your vagal tone is also high. They are correlated with each other. If you’re vagal tone is low, you can take steps to increase it by stimulating your vagus nerve. This will allow you to more effectively respond to the emotional and physical symptoms stress and trauma, promote healing and improve mental illness. There are many ways to stimulate your vagus nerve naturally!
Ways that vagus nerve reset and vagal tone can be achieved naturally include:
-
Healing Touch
-
Breathwork
-
Vocal Toning
-
Meditation
-
Healing Music
-
Valaslva Maneuver
08.
Somatic Experiencing Therapy is excellent for healing physical, mental and emotional trauma. Initially, Somatic Therapy was created to help trauma survivors experience relief from their trauma symptoms such as flashbacks, difficulty sleeping, unhealthy eating patterns, chaotic relationships and disfunctional lifestyles.
When we experience trauma, our bodies remember trauma and abuse....quite literally! Trauma is stored in our bodies in our Somatic memory and in the nervous system. The body also stores trauma of within muscular rigidity, keeping us stuck in the past. When a traumatic event is experienced, the brain and our nervous system are wired to store the traumatic experience, leaving the body with unconscious, deeply-rooted core harmful beliefs such as “I am bad” , “I’m alone”, or “I won’t ever heal”.
Traumatic memories are “relived” rather than remembered, which is why people experience flashbacks from when they were traumatized. When a traumatic memory is triggered, the somatosensory experience of the person reliving the memory can be powerful; the whole body “remembers” and replicates the sensations of the trauma, including sympathetic nervous system fight, flight, or freeze responses. The psychophysiological experience is of reliving the trauma, what we call a flashback. In this situation, the client often effectively dissociates from the present reality and is caught in the state of re-living the traumatic memory.
Somatic therapy embraces the integration of body, mind, and environment. Somatic experiencing combines therapy, movement practices, meditation, bodywork, and breathing exercises.
"Somatic symptoms are not caused by the "triggering" event itself. They stem from the frozen residue of engird that had not been resolved or discharged; this residue remains trapped in the nervous system where it can wreck havoc on our bodies and spirits". (Perter Levine) When we release tension in the body and align ourselves and our neural pathways, and it promotes a peaceful mind while reducing pain and stress. The language of our body is primal and we must learn how to listen and tune into it to build a trusting relationship with our body. Somatic experiencing therapy is a holistic approach and combines therapy, movement practices, meditation, bodywork, and breathing exercises.
Techniques of Somatic Experiencing Therapy include:
-
Somatic Body Awareness
-
Myofascial Release
-
Resourcing - Strengthening our Sense of Stability/Safety in the World
-
Grounding/Mindfulness Techniques
-
Co-Regulation & Self-Regulation
-
Titration & Pendulation
-
Integrative Bodywork & Movement