Politicians and pundits tend to politicize mental health, but it should mostly be about helping people. Those who struggle with mental illness and mental health issues are all around you —62 million people, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness. But you need to open your eyes a little wider to see the signs they might need therapy or another kind of professional help. Not Enjoying Things They Used to Love Let’s say you go skating with your best friend once a week....

Studies have proven smiling haspositive psychological effectson the person who smiles and the people who see it. With this in mind, Harvey Ball created the smiley face symbol in 1963 and declared the first friday of every OctoberWorld Smile Dayin 1999. We agree smiling is great and worth celebrating, but not all smiles are created equal. Each one will cause people to perceive you in a slightly different way. Keep reading to see each smile so you can learn how to leverage the great ones and spot the fakes....

Social media makes breakups way harder than they need to be, so you might want extra guidance during the aftermath. At First – Go Out and Away from Social Couples Therapy OnlineStrengthen your relationship through couples therapy you can participate in together or apart, at your convenience.Learn more Couples Therapy OnlineStrengthen your relationship through couples therapy you can participate in together or apart, at your convenience. Couples Therapy Online Strengthen your relationship through couples therapy you can participate in together or apart, at your convenience....

Technology may be revitalizing our lost connections and communications with other people – think of all the people from your high school you would never interact with if not for Facebook – but our dependency on social media is slowing killing our most intimate relationships. Many millennials will disagree with this statement, but those of us age 35 or older can still remember when dating was more of a quality time experience....

“Words of comfort, skillfully administered, are the oldest therapy known to man.” –Louis Nizer There is a big difference between advice and therapy, and this blog post will address that difference. As a therapist, I have received a fairly large amount of inquires from people asking what they should do in a particular situation. For example, “My spouse is having an affair, what should I do?” Or, “I don’t like my job, what advice can you give me?...

Without a purpose in life I feel like I’m floating in the open ocean with no destination. I have a wonderful career, plenty of interests, lovely friends, and a partner I can only thank my lucky stars for, but I often feel incomplete – as if something that I require to be whole is missing.Don’t get me wrong, I still practice gratitude and mindfulness (to the best of my ability anyway), going so far as occasionally engaging in meditation, but whatever that missing part is, it has eluded me thus far....

New research suggests our preferred sleep positions influence the brain’s ability to get rid of metabolic waste, which ultimately affects our overall cognitive function and the manifestation of neurological disease. So, pay attention. You may or may not be aware thatour brains engage in a cleansing process that gets rid of metabolic waste when we go sleep. It’s called the glymphatic system, and it’s super cool! Here’s a brief educational video about how it works from our friends at The University of Rochester Medical School....

Robin Williams was born on July 21st, 1951. During the next 63 years, he would become one of the world’s most esteemed and respected actors, comedians, and storytellers. To me, however, he would become a symbol of hope, compassion, and genuine human kindness. It’s strange to feel a connection to someone I’ve never actually met, but there’s something about Robin Williams that felt so warm and familiar, I believe I didn’t have to meet him to get a sense of who he was....

Although it may seem boring to the rest of us, highly sensitive people (HSP) tend to thrive when they follow a routine, which is actually a vital part of their survival strategy. Have you ever noticed that some people need to follow a routine to stay grounded and productive? As baffling as it maybe for the rest of us to understand, a large percentage of our population is comprised of dedicated creatures of habit; they like to know exactly how their day will unravel and strive to stick to the same routine, day in and day out....

Chatter about how movies portray counseling services has recently been on the rise among mental health professionals. The recently releasedInside Outis an animated motion picture that illustrates the inner thoughts of a young girl. It teaches us that emotions should be accepted and kept under control, rather than simply suppressed. One Talkspace therapist believes funny movies about mental illness can be encouraging, because they help us laugh while learning something about a mental disorder, even if that lesson is a simple as supporting someone through treatment....

It may seem silly – but my personal trainer just dumped me, giving me a glimpse into what clients may feel when they hear that their therapist is leaving or transitioning, and will no longer be able to see them. So, if you have clients that you are training, coaching, providing therapy to, or are offering some other supportive service, remember that hearing that you will no longer be seeing them, no matter the reason, may not be so easy on them....

Whether we know it or not, we are all guilty of inattentional blindness, and it’s something we really need to be more mindful of. The two researchers have been studying inattentional blindness for over a decade. For those of you unfamiliar with the concept, inattentional blindness is when we fail to notice something that is fully visible, though unexpected, because our attention is focused on other tasks, objects, or events. One of their more groundbreaking experiments occurred back in 1999....

It’s no secret that understanding ourselves and those around us can help us control our emotions and behaviors. But it’s easier said than done. How the brain processes sensory information: Taken from: Untangling the mind. Why we behave the way we do. Page 79 Periaqueductal gray (PAG), a small structure located deep in the brain, serves as the final common pathway where emotions and behaviors come together to promote survival. Each dot represents a specialized group of neurons, which when activated, give rise to the listed emotions/behaviors....

It is revolutionary for any trans (transgender) person to choose to be seen and visible in a world that tells us we should not exist. ~ Laverne Cox Over the past couple of years the transgender community has gained a higher level of mainstream exposure. This is in part thanks to the transgender men and women who helped fight for equality at New York City’sStonewall Innriots back in the1960s. They, among many other social influencers, paved the way into popular culture for transgender individuals like Cher’s son Chaz Bono, Laverne Cox on the hit Netflix showOrange is the New Black, as well as activists and authors like Janet Mock, who released last year’sRedefining Realness: My Path to Womanhood, Identity, Love & So Much More....

Updated on 3/3/2022 One of my clinical specialties is relationships (and abuse within them). So naturally, many of my clients come to me because they are struggling in their marriage or partnership. Of all the reasons for a relationship to be in trouble, one that consistently leaves people the most confused and causes the most damage is an invisible form of domestic violence called emotional abuse. What Is Emotional Abuse? How to Recognize Emotional Abuse in Intimate Relationships...