My Best Friend Is Depressed and Suicidal
Ask a Therapist: My best friend is depressed and suicidal. How do I help her? Advice from a therapist on how to help your friends who are struggling with depression and thoughts of suicide.
Ask A Therapist: Will My Therapist Have To Tell My Parents When I Cut Myself?
Many teenagers wonder what therapists are required to tell parents. The fact that your parents are taking you to therapy to get help tells me that they are concerned about you, that they care about you, and that they acknowledge that you are in pain and need professional help.
Ask Alice: LDS Garments and Eroticism
Today’s question:
My question is in regards to LDS garments, and the effect they have on purity culture and our sex lives in marriage. My husband and I have been working really hard to improve our sensual relationship. In realizing after 13 years of marriage that we have fallen victim to a lifetime of culture (from the world and our church), and it is time for us to individually really connect with the innate sensual sides of ourselves. One suggestion from an article was to just simply mentally check in with our sensual beings in simple ways throughout the day. I loved that suggestion but instantly realized my garments have become a block to me. When I have them on I simply don't allow myself to feel sensual, or sexy. How can I get over this block?
Melting an Ice Sculpture: A Metaphor for Treating Depression
Depression is a real struggle that affects millions of people worldwide. It can be tough to deal with and can leave you feeling sad, worthless, unmotivated, and uninterested. Many of us know from experience that these feelings can be overwhelming and lead to a sense of helplessness and despair. But, don't lose hope! Much like melting an ice sculpture one degree at a time, depression may not show progress until it reaches a specific threshold, but gradual efforts towards mental well-being can lead to significant change.
Therapy Resources for Autistic Children and Teens
Though autistic people have existed throughout history, research and discussions about how to support autistic children are relatively new. Adults who are trying to navigate how to parent and support their autistic children may be unsure of where to start. As a child therapist who specializes in working with autistic and other neurodivergent children, I’ve compiled this reference of my most recommended resources for parents of autistic children. Every child is different and has unique needs, but hopefully, this list will provide a place to start and experts to reach out to learn more.
How to Find the ‘Right’ Therapist
The word right is in quotation marks for a reason, right is subjective and will depend on the individual, therapist, and situation. That being said, having a good rapport, relationship, safety, and connection with your therapist is one of the most important aspects of a positive and effective therapeutic experience.
Stopping Negative Thought Patterns
As individuals, we often get stuck in negative thinking patterns. When we are in this head space, it is often accompanied by feelings of self-criticism, doubt, insecurities, self-blame, guilt, or worthlessness.
Am I a Monster: Hidden Fears and Harm OCD
Thoughts about OCD usually are accompanied by stereotypical images of someone scrubbing their hands or straightening a crooked picture frame. The truth this, OCD exists in many dimensions. Contamination and symmetry are two of the better-known dimensions where people with OCD may struggle. However, they are not the only two areas that exist. Two other dimensions where OCD can reside include harm and unacceptable thoughts. Although these areas may be lesser known, they are also very common.
Why is Faith Transition so Hard?
Faith transition is a complex process. Sometimes clients attempt to minimize their experience or feel they are not managing the transition well. The reality is this process is very difficult and can be overwhelming and disorienting.
What Do I Do If I Just Don't Like Sex?
“I think I’m broken.”
“I hate the thought of being touched anymore. I could live the rest of my life without having sex again. Does this mean I am asexual?”
“Sex is the last thing I want to do. All my partner and I do is fight about it.”
These are just a few of the statements I have heard over the years, working with women as a Certified Sex Therapist and relationship counselor.
10 Steps for Defeating Procrastination
I am a great procrastinator. I like to over-analyze whether I am actually procrastinating in different situations or whether I am being productive (this is a great procrastination behavior, by the way). Sometimes I like to think that my excuse for procrastination is that I have too many other things to do… I cannot know for sure whether this is true. Notice, when I over-analyze my procrastination, I am not actually taking steps toward doing the things that I need to get done. It is really easy to be tempted to then analyze why I know I am not doing things that need to get done…which leads me to further procrastination. Since I have experienced procrastination myself, I totally can understand if/when you choose to procrastinate AND I have specific steps you can take that WORK to resolve procrastination.
Books for Bonding with your Child
Parents looking to help their children become emotionally self-sufficient should start integrating weekly hangout time with their children. If starting this new routine feels uncomfortable, beginning the first few hangouts with expressive art books together is easy.
Finding Connection with Your Teens
When our cute little kids turn into teenagers a lot of changes take place developmentally. There is a strange new odor in the air, moods may swing (sometimes amazingly quick!) and one of the harder relational aspects of change is it is common for teens to stop seeking or accepting physical affection and they often stop talking to their parents. While they communicate plenty with their friends, unfortunately, they may not do the same to their parents. This can be a painful and sometimes abrupt change for a parent to make sense of and it is normal to experience hurt feelings. Who knew our kids could hurt our feelings so much?!
10 Suggestions That May Be Helpful To Offer Support To Grieving Friends Or Family.
Grief and loss are the one thing that as humans we can not prepare for. Even harder is hearing about or being faced with a moment of grief. At times we all have faced this. Take for instance, you are in the grocery store and run into an old friend who tells you that their spouse was just diagnosed with cancer and may not live out the year. We are often unprepared for our own grief let alone a surprise attack. This is why we sometimes will fumble over our words, say something that does not make sense, or worse off just say "sorry" without out any context. Embedding of trauma arises not only from the nature of the event, but also from who is there with us before, during, and after the event happens.
7 Signs of Affective Codependency
Generosity, kindness, empathy…without these qualities no relational growth would be possible. The qualities and traits that often foster healthy and supportive relationships can also move into codependency when they become imbalanced in our life because any excess can quickly turn toxic. Here are some signs that you may be experiencing emotional co-dependency.
The Magic of Therapy
When it comes to improving your mental health, personal relationships, or personal development, you have a lot of options. There are self-help books, medications, pod-casts, talking to a friend or family member, and more. Skills can be learned from self-help books or podcasts. Insight can be gained from talking to a friend or family member. Finally, medication has a good chance of impacting how you feel. With so many other, and potentially cheaper, options why do people continue to choose therapy?
Your Body is Worth More Than Just How it Looks: How You Can Begin Believing it.
Samantha Roundy, MSW Intern, writes about body neutrality.
5 Skills to Improve Communication with Your Child
Christina Da Costa, CSW, writes about Parent-Child Interaction Therapy and its benefits.
How to Help Your Child Become More Empathetic
Lesli Mortensen, AMFT, writes about how to teach kids empathy.