Mindfulness, a core practice in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, is incorporated into almost every aspect of treatment. At its simplest, mindfulness is just a conscious awareness of yourself and your surroundings. This is a simple concept to understand and a difficult practice to master. Practicing mindfulness has many health benefits, including improved emotion regulation, flexibility, and empathy, as well as decreased stress and anxiety, just to name a few. Mastering mindfulness starts with the “What” skills of DBT - Observe, Describe, and Participate…

The Mental Health Benefits of being Outdoors

Have you ever thought to yourself, “I need to get a breath of fresh air”? It turns out that it’s not just an idiom we often use when we’re feeling tired, down, or stressed. There’s actually science that supports the idea of spending time outdoors to boost your mental health. Now that it’s finally getting warmer outside, you should consider connecting with nature to help yourself feel better. Let’s look into how nature can improve your mood and what you can do to implement this idea into your daily routine…

Three Ways to Help your Child Manage Anxiety

All kids get stressed from time to time. Most kids will complain, perhaps get upset, and ultimately move on. But for the one in five children in the United States who suffer from an anxiety disorder, it can be a major challenge to manage their worries. If you are a parent or caregiver to a child who tends to worry or exhibit anxiety, your first instinct is to try to quell his or her fears. Although it will be comforting to your child in the moment, it may not necessarily make the fears or worries disappear. Here are some tips to help your child address his or her anxiety.

Using Consistency to be a Calmer Parent

Parenting is not an easy task. It may be tough to reinforce rules that your children will actually follow, or to get your kids from one activity to the next. You might be wondering, how can I make changes in the household that my family will live by? Instead of struggling to enforce the routine, try using consistency and the CARES parenting skill...

Parenting Techniques, Helpful tips, Boundary SettingDana Koonce, LMFTApril 15, 2018parenting, stress, routines, rules

The Power of Guided Imagery

Every day, people suffer from stress. You may feel the pressure of an upcoming presentation at work, or you may feel like you’re being stretched to the limit between running errands and getting your kids to school and to extracurricular activities. The demands of life can take a toll on your mental health. That is why it is crucial to have a coping method that you can utilize to combat the stress you feel. Here’s one scientifically proven, effective way to relax: guided imagery. This is how it works...

Emotions: Why Do We Need Them?

Everyone deals with an assortment of emotions on a daily basis. Emotions can be difficult to understand, but they play a very important role in our lives. Many individuals struggle with the complexity of their feelings—and they may prefer not to have to experience them at all. Life would be easier if we didn't have to undergo the ups and downs that that emotions cause in our lives. So why do we need them? Here's why...

Getting Through the College Acceptance Process

Every year around this time, there are high school seniors all over the world anxiously waiting to hear back from colleges. Just like you, they’re all anticipating that email or letter in the mail from their top choice school. Think about it—you are not alone! This process sometimes feels endless, stressful and tiring, but the most difficult parts are already over! As your decisions roll in, whether they are acceptances, referrals, waitlists or rejections, it is important to stay positive! Here are some tips to help you through this crazy time…

How to Think and Act Dialectically

Dialectical Behavioral Therapy is a well-known and widely regarded, highly effective practice for a wide range of emotional, behavioral, and interpersonal issues. One of the first questions clients often ask is “So what does ‘dialectical’ mean? And why is it such a big part of this type of therapy?” Here are a some simple steps you can take to start thinking and acting dialectically...

Riding the Wave of Emotions

Every day, we encounter a variety of emotions; we can respond to these feelings in many different ways. When most people experience a negative emotion like sadness or anger, we tend to either push the feeling away or react to it quickly. However, there is a different way of handling difficult emotions— a DBT or Dialectical Behavior Therapy technique that can make our negative emotions more manageable. It’s called “Riding the Wave.” “Riding the Wave” encourages us to experience our emotions like waves in the ocean. Here are a few tips to help you practice “Riding the Wave...”

How to Maintain Healthy Relationships

We form so many bonds in our lives: with our partner, with our children, with our family, and with friends. However, sometimes bonds become strained. You might know someone whose relationships are suffering–or maybe your own relationships are suffering too. Maybe you two don’t see eye to eye lately, or maybe you are too busy to maintain the connection. If you could use some advice in supporting yourself and others in your relationships, consider these tips...

Recognizing the Warning Signs of an Eating Disorder

Today marks the first day of 2018 NEDAwareness Week (National Eating Disorders). Eating disorders are serious, potentially life-threatening illnesses and so it is essential to understand the recognize the true warning signs and symptoms. Our culture values and applauds a particular body type and it is cherished and celebrated on social media as well. It is imperative that you recognize the difference between a healthy and appropriate approach to food and weight and a compulsive and unhealthy one. Here are some signs and symptoms of an eating disorder...

Understanding Why You Eat What You Eat

Food is all around you. You eat for enjoyment, when you are hungry, when you are bored, celebrating, sad; and the list goes on. Sometimes it is difficult to know WHY you are being pulled toward a particular food in a particular moment and end up eating “just because." Identifying the kind of hunger you are experiencing is an effective way to gauge your emotional versus physical hunger. Many times it can feel the same. Here are the 7 types of hunger, and some tips on how to stop an emotional eating episode before it starts...

How to Tell When Your Mind is Playing Tricks on You

Did you ever have a thought that you absolutely believed to be true and it turned out that you blew it out of proportion, misinterpreted it, ignored the facts or simply got it wrong??

Probably, because this is super common!! Sometimes, your mind might convince you of things that simply aren’t true. This is called cognitive distortion. If you have ever heard an underweight person claim they are "obese" or a person with a 4.0 GPA state that they have to "try harder," then you understand cognitive distortions. These statements are not based in reality but, rather, in ideas or thoughts or beliefs that are not facts. The mind is very powerful and, often times, it lies to you! Here are five common cognitive distortion “traps”...

How To Practice Mindfulness With Your Kids

Do you ever wish there was an easy way to help your child feel “centered”? Do you practice many activities to “ground” yourself, but don’t know how to adapt them into kid-friendly activities? There are surprisingly many ways to make mindfulness easy and fun for children! Here are a few different ways you can practice mindfulness with your child...

Three Tips to Calm Your Mental Clutter

Did you know that the average person has between 50,000-70,000 thoughts per day? Imagine if we each believed every thought we had. We would swing from one thought to the next every two seconds, and attempt to determine our states of being and potential action steps over 50,000 times a day. Sounds crazy, right? There’s a reason why Buddha called this “monkey mind”! Buddhists believe that if we tame the “drunken monkeys” or racing thoughts in our mind, we will achieve more inner peace. Here are 3 simple ways to calm your overactive (monkey) mind:

IMPROVE the Moment

Life can be unpredictable. Things may be going well, and then out of nowhere, life throws you a curve ball. Or a series of curve balls. How do you keep your cool during these surprises? Everyone tends to act more impulsively, putting our emotions before our logic, when we are met with overwhelming circumstances. A dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) strategy called IMPROVE the Moment can help you manage difficult emotions during stressful situations and regulate your emotions in the present moment. Here's how it works...

How to Make Healthy Decisions This Year

Often times, we may make impulsive decisions. We feel good about the positive choices we make, while we may regret other responses when looking back on them later. Did you know that we all have built-in tools for identifying, understanding, and using our emotions to improve our lives? You can stop repeating negative patterns and start making healthy decisions. Here are some tips to guide you this year…

Using PLEASE Master Skills to Maintain Emotional Control

When people neglect their self care, they may become more emotionally vulnerable—meaning that more often, they get overwhelmed by negative emotions, engage in negative coping skills, and lash out at others impulsively. PLEASE Mastery is a practical skill that helps reduce emotional vulnerability. It enables people to better regulate their emotions and make positive choices. If you work on leading a balanced lifestyle, you are more likely to maintain emotional control during times of stress! This is how PLEASE Mastery Skills work:

3 Mental Health Boosters for 2018

At the end of each year, many people like to reflect on accomplishments and potential improvements for next year. They take note of what they've succeeded at and what they can improve upon moving forward. Whether you call them goals or intentions, here are 3 tips that can benefit your mental health for the start of a new year...

4 Tips to Prevent Holiday Stress

The holiday season can be merry for many people, but it can also be very stressful. All of the plans to make, gifts to give, and growing to-do list items can make life seem overwhelming! Or maybe this season reminds you of unpleasant memories from the past. Here are some helpful tips to reduce your holiday stress...

Helpful tips, Relaxation, Tips for Your MindMarline Francois, LCSWDecember 24, 2017holidays, stress, goals, family time

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