QUICK TIP – 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 GROUNDING TECHNIQUE
This technique will take you through your five senses to help remind you of the present, stay focused, and help get through tough or stressful situations. This is meant to calm the heart rate, reduce anxiety, and help you “reset” when we feel that anxious feeling coming on. HOW TO DO IT: Take a deep […]
Letting go of Anxious Thoughts
Have you ever noticed that the more you try not to think about something the more you actually think about it? Try it! For example, try not to think about a giant warm chocolate chip cookie. See if you can NOT think about it for 30 seconds. Did you succeed? Some might say yes, of […]
Mental Health Tips: Steps to Forgiveness
What is forgiveness? Why do we need to forgive people who don’t deserve to be forgiven? Forgiveness is one of the hardest things to do and it looks different for everyone. Forgiveness doesn’t mean it is a reconciliation or repairing or returning to a relationship, it isn’t forgetting the injustice, or condoning or excusing the […]
Couples Therapy – Relationship Check Ins
I am sure for many of us when we hear the words “couples therapy” or see what couples therapy is on a tv show or in a movie, we want to run away as far as possible. For a lot of people, couples therapy means the relationship is “doomed” or “already over” and it is […]
Gardening and Gratitude
I recently treated myself to a beautiful potted ficus ginseng plant, and its curvy roots and dark green leaves spark joy for me when I see it. My hope is that it will thrive and grow, and still be with me year after year like my resilient rubber tree. But it could go the way […]
Navigating Complex Trauma with Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI)
For many in the AAPI community, the term “complex trauma” is unfamiliar. We go through life thinking our experiences and stressors are normal, suppressing valuable thoughts and emotions- living in survival mode. Our unique experiences follow us from history into childhood and mold our belief system and values, learned habits, and behaviors. Navigating complex trauma […]
Even Therapists Experience Difficulties in Communication
Over Lunar New Year, I gathered with my family and extended relatives. Seeing aunts, uncles, cousins, and close friends at my aunt’s house- some people I had not seen since the beginning of the pandemic. We were enjoying each other’s company, catching up over delicious food at the kitchen table, red lanterns and decorations hanging […]
Healthy Coping Mechanisms vs Unhealthy
It’s the new year, it’s 2022 and yet it still feels like we’re in March of 2020. Covid-19 feels like a never-ending Groundhog’s day and it’s starting to take an emotional toll on us all again. It can feel like there is never a light at the end of the tunnel and that things are […]
Mental Health Tips for Values and Goals
Having a hard time staying focused on your goals? Losing sight of what is most important to you? Feeling stuck and having difficulty moving forward? These are all such common experiences, especially when we lose sight of the bigger picture. It’s easy to go through our days focused on small tasks and mundane chores while […]
Benefits of Group Therapy
Sometimes when we hear “group therapy” it’s easy to think of tv shows where people are “forced to go to group” or “one person just talking the whole time.” In our women’s anxiety group, that’s the last thing you get. Let me tell you a few benefits of group therapy and what this group looks […]