Improving Your Mental Wellness When Suffering from Winter Blues

Winter time blues SAD seasonal affective disorder

It’s normal for many of us to feel a little “blah” so to speak, during the winter months. Lack of sunlight, sundown coming earlier, limited outdoor activities, holidays, increase in sicknesses, and bot liking the cold temperatures are all perfect ingredients for us to get a touch of the winter blues. For those suffering from … Read more

Why It’s Hard to Stay In WiseMind

mind scrabble tiles

If you’re familiar with DBT at all, you’ve probably heard of WiseMind. This skill is all about harnessing your inner wisdom and acting effectively from that wisdom. WiseMind is bringing the left and right brain together to find the “middle path.” To understand WiseMind, it’s best to consider the 3 states of mind it proposes: … Read more

Comparing DBT PE, CPT, and EMDR

orange gradient hand empowered in fist pointing up

Which trauma treatment is best for you? There are so many different therapy treatment modalities out there nowadays and it can be easy to become overwhelmed by the sheer number of options. Plus, they all start to look like alphabet soup given the number of acronyms- DBT PE, CPT, EMDR, TF-CBT, etc.- it can all … Read more

A Breakdown on Ways to Treat Depression 

There are multiple different types of depression, such as major depressive disorder (MDD), persistent depressive disorder (PDD), and seasonal affective disorder (SAD). They’re different disorders, but they do have some similarities. Some common symptoms are feeling depressed most of the day, feelings of worthlessness, recurrent suicidal ideation, and loss of interest in activities. For MDD … Read more

My Teen Was Just Referred to a DBT Program, Now What?!

teen frustrated and discouraged

The first step, breathe. DBT is an intensive therapy program for people struggling with emotion dysregulation, life-threatening behaviors, substance use, etc. So, while I know I don’t know your *exact* struggles, I can only imagine the stress you’re under in trying to help keep your teen safe while also managing other areas of life like … Read more

ADHD: Self-Blame, Poor Self-Esteem, and Shame

girl sad adhd dbt skills

Were you aware that self-blame, poor self-esteem, and shame are frequently common symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder? It’s not a very known fact that these emotions are often common symptoms of ADHD, and it’s essential to understand how they can sometimes lead to the condition being overlooked or misdiagnosed. ADHD is often associated with … Read more

Exposure for Social Anxiety

social anxiety, hiding in bed

Exposure therapy is an evidence-based intervention whereby a person chooses to expose themselves to a feared emotion, situation, or mental imagery to create new associations and decrease reactivity and distress. Exposure therapy is effective for reducing suffering that is generated through repeatedly avoiding situations that are perceived to be dangerous, but do not result in … Read more

DBT Skills for the Neurodivergent Soul

neurodivergent brain dbt skills adhd asd

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is the gold standard treatment for borderline personality disorder (BPD) because of how it balances acceptance and change. DBT sees BPD as an emotion dysregulation disorder. BPD is not the only mental disorder that struggles with emotion dysregulation. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) also have large … Read more

What is a suicide safety plan?

writing on paper making suicide safety plan

When a person who is struggling with suicidal thoughts, urges, or behaviors presents for an intake session at a dialectical behavior therapy clinic, the mental health therapist will conduct a thorough assessment of suicidality to really understand the suicidality in more depth. Often, individuals appreciate knowing more details about what they can expect from this … Read more

Mindfulness Meditation

mindfulness

What is mindfulness? It is being aware of daily behaviors that have become automatic; being fully present and observing without judgment. Mindfulness also is attending to each new moment, not getting attached to the past or grabbing for the future. We are constantly taking in information and so much of this is done unconsciously. When … Read more