Telehealth...Online Therapy

With the New England winter approaching (hopefully not too soon), I wanted to talk about Telehealth. What is Telehealth?

Telehealth, also known as online therapy, is the application of therapeutic counseling via communication networks to include telephone, video or internet. It can be utilized from therapist to client local, nationally and internationally.

Telehealth is beneficial for a variety of reasons.

Online therapy can be of benefit for those that:

• Have busy class schedules and extracurricular activities
• Shifting work schedules
• Travel often
• Have small children and naptime is long enough for a session
• Are a caregiver who find it difficult to coordinate care for loved ones just to leave the house for a short time
• Have medical issues that can complicate getting out of the house
• Struggle with consistency in their appointments due to certain mental health issues
• Live out of the state or country and are looking for something specific in their session that they haven't found nearby
• Want to maintain commitment to the therapeutic process regardless of inclement weather or time constraints

Some of my clients use online therapy on occasion, others use it as a primary tool. I have clients around the world who choose to utilize online therapy as their tool for mental health care.

Within the United States, I currently hold licenses in Massachusetts and Iowa so residents in either of those states can make appointments with me.

Please contact me if you are interested in finding out if your health insurance covers Telehealth sessions. All self-pay clients (those that do not utilize health insurance for sessions) have access to Telehealth sessions which include phone and video. 

Telehealth sessions are accessed via a HIPAA-compliant platform and a release must be signed beforehand specifically for Telehealth.

Walk & Talk

Yes, it is exactly what it sounds like. We can have our session outside. Why outside? Well because there is no denying the body-mind connection. Studies have shown that exercise:

• Decreases anxiety & depressive symptoms
• Improves cognitive functioning
• Improves wellbeing and calmness
• Helps one stay attentive to the present

These are just some of the many benefits that are reported! 

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) was actually discovered by Dr. Shapiro when she noticed that her feelings and thoughts of being upset disappeared while walking.

If you are interested in Walk & Talk therapy, you must be an established client, be able to meet during daylight hours and have signed a waiver prior to session. All Walk & Talk sessions must be scheduled at least 48 hours ahead of time and are weather-permitting.

Let’s observe the change of the seasons in session!

Interested in creating a space for Social Justice Activists

Do you identify as a social justice activist? 

Do you sometimes feel like it is overwhelming? Where do I begin? Am I making a difference? 

I am interested in providing a support group for all the activists out there. Your passion, your drive, your compassion…I see you. This is exhausting work and it is always present.

Social Justice isn’t something you turn off but the work can make it hard to take a step back and care for yourself. Here are some things I hear from your fellow activists:

I feel so anxious because I am not sure I am doing enough.

Sometimes I don’t know where to begin.

I am pissed that I am taking care of problems caused by previous generations.

This feels like such a weight sometimes.

The work never stops, it feels overwhelming.

I question myself sometimes when others around me minimize the issue or act like it doesn’t really exist.

All these people have a passion and love for what they do, for some, this is their career and for others this is what they are doing when they are not working but they all are driven to stand up for what they believe in. Yet, it can feel heavy and like a sack you never get to put down. 

I am fortunate to work with activists across the state and in other countries. This group is not about the issues you are working on, though I understand how infused they are in your lives. It is a place to unpack all the feelings and thoughts behind your activism to get to you. A place where, regardless of the issue you are working on, you can connect with others to share your thoughts, concerns, anxieties in a therapeutic setting.

I would appreciate if you could answer this survey to give me some insight into what would be helpful for you.

Meditation Minis: Episode 76

So I didn't post any recommendations for the past two weeks because:
1- I was away 2 weeks ago for work and
2- I needed another week to recoup from being away!

I'm back now with my recommendations. I have decided to tweak these more because while I realize recommending a podcast can be helpful, recommending an episode can make it even more likely that you will check it out. 

With that in mind, here is my next recommendation: Meditation Minis with Chel Hamilton, Episode 76, Vacation in Every Day. Yes, a vacation in every day, sounds good to me! Chel Hamilton is a hypnotherapist so definitely am showing the love. The meditation is about 10 minutes (there are some ads beforehand) and a great way to break up a hectic day or wind down in the evening.

If you try this one out or any of her other ones, let me know what you think! 

#podcast #activatedbywellness #mentalhealth #wellness #podcasts #psychology #meditation #mindfulness #relaxation 

My Thought Coach

Well it is Tuesday and I had a jam-packed Monday so my podcast recommendation had to wait till today!

My Thought Coach is podcast I started listening to a long time ago and still use it often. These are short positive affirmations to listen to whenever you need a boost or make it part of your morning/evening routine. There are affirmations for coping with crisis, loving yourself more, gratitude and even dating confidence!

Who couldn't use some positive self-talk especially if we are struggling with an inner dialogue that may not be very supportive?

Check out this podcast and let me know what you think! 

Making Life Work

I thought I would introduce my podcast recommendations on Mondays. Midday through the first day of the week while hopefully enjoying your lunch, you can stumble upon a new listen! ⠀
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I listen to a lot of podcasts…on my way to and from work, when I am exercising and whenever I have a couple of moments to myself. ⠀
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As I listen to podcasts, I usually ask myself, “How can this be of benefit to the people I work with? Will they get something helpful out of this? Are there pieces that can be incorporated into our work together? Is there therapeutic value in this?”⠀
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Making Life Work is a podcast that is created by two women, Jenn Walker Wall and Jenn O’Neill. The “Jenns” bring their dynamic and unique lived experiences to their podcast. They are multi-passionate, ambitious people doing their best to balance work, life, and family obligations with their personal and creative goals. ⠀
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They are relatively new to the podcast world so there are not a bunch of podcasts..yet but they address topics like decluttering, getting unstuck and managing career transitions. Give them a try and let me know what you think!⠀
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Happy Monday!

Who Says Words with My Mouth? -Rumi

All day I think about it, then at night I say it.
Where did I come from, and what am I supposed to be doing?
I have no idea.
My soul is from elsewhere, I'm sure of that, and I intend to end up there.

This drunkenness began in some other tavern.
When I get back around to that place,
I'll be completely sober.  Meanwhile,
I'm like a bird from another continent, sitting in this aviary.
The day is coming when I fly off,
but who is it now in my ear who hears my voice?
Who says words with my mouth?

Who looks out with my eyes? What is the soul?
I cannot stop asking.
If I could taste one sip of an answer,
I could break out of this prison for drunks.
I didn't come here of my own accord, and I can't leave that way.
Whoever brought me here will have to take me home.

This poetry, I never know what I'm going to say.
I don't plan it.
When I'm outside the saying of it,
I get very quiet and rarely speak at all.

Wounded Healers

During my clinical hypnotherapy training, my teacher said something that has stuck with me. “You cannot take your clients where you won’t go”. It was very powerful to hear those words because I was in a training where I expected, like many trainings that I have attended, that I would be taught information and then do some “mock” exercises and go home and study. This was not that training. This was completely and wholly experiential and I was expected to participate in hypnotherapy and work on whatever came up for me or I was “stuck” with.

Her words reminded me that we are all dealing with challenges in our lives and I am no good for my clients if I cannot work on that which affects me. I don’t want to be numb or disconnected in some way when my clients bring up a subject that may have connection to me. I want to walk through their pain, anxiety, grief, etc with them so that they come through the other side in a better space than they were previously but I cannot do that if I am so affected by what they talk about that I shut out me. I continue to use hypnotherapy and other modalities for self-care and to ensure that I am present with integrity. It is a privilege to work with my clients and a responsibility that I do not take lightly.

When I work on my challenges then they are less likely to come up for me and therefore the session is really about the client and my ability  to hold space for them to make the choices they need in order to heal.

We are all wounded healers but like our clients, are wounds are ours alone and this uniqueness colors our practice. Honor what it adds to your humanness but care for it so that it and you may recover.