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D is not just the winter blues, it causes distress to the point that one’s energy, mood, and daily life is significantly disrupted. Symptoms usually seen in SAD include persistent low mood or sadness; loss of interest in ordinarily enjoyable activities, sleeping too much and still feeling fatigued; carbohydrate cravings; weight gain; and more trouble concentrating than usual. Keep reading if this sounds familiar.

As therapists, we are often the ones holding space for others, listening deeply, and helping clients process their most challenging emotions. It’s meaningful and rewarding work, but it can also be emotionally demanding. Many therapists pour so much into their clients that they leave little room to care for themselves. Over time, this can lead […]

Family gatherings can be a blend of heartwarming moments and emotional landmines. Whether you’re sharing a meal around the table or hopping on a video call with a patchy connection, family dynamics have a way of stirring up everything from joy and nostalgia to frustration and discomfort. The good news? You don’t have to let tricky interactions ruin your time. With a bit of preparation and a lot of empathy, you can navigate these moments with grace—and even come out stronger.

The holidays give families the opportunity to gather and practice their unique cultural traditions, eat delicious meals at the dinner table, and create lifelong memories. Many look forward to the beautiful moments with our families with hopes of connection and joy. On the other hand, this can also be a time when people find the holidays stressful because of conflicts and feuds within the family. Gatherings may bring up old wounds, misunderstandings, or unmet expectations lead

Think back to a moment when you felt scared, maybe you were walking outside and noticed a dog without a leash, or you were on the way to work when a car moved too close to yours. How did you react? How did your body respond? What were some thoughts coming up at that moment? Think back to that moment and notice what comes up for you. When we encounter a crisis or threatening events, our bodies and minds are adapted to automatically respond by either defending ourselves, runnin

Relationships can be tricky, even under the best of circumstances. But when we throw trauma into the mix, things can get really complicated. Have you ever found yourself in a relationship—whether it’s romantic, platonic, or familial—where you feel stuck, even though you know it’s harmful? Maybe you’ve tried to leave, but something pulls you back. If so, you might be dealing with a trauma bond. In pop culture, we often see relationships that reflect this pattern.

Codependency is when you’re so focused on someone else, like your romantic partner, your bestie, or even a family member, that you start putting their needs and wants above your own. I’m not referring to the cute “I’ll share my fries with you” kind of care. It is more like self-sacrifice that leaves you feeling like you don’t even know who you are without that person. If the thought of them not being in your life sends you into a panic or fear, you’re codependent [...]

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 18.5% of U.S. adults aged 18 and over have been diagnosed with depression. Despite its prevalence, depression is often misunderstood and mischaracterized by the media and popular culture, and the medical establishment has failed to counter these myths and misperceptions, leaving those diagnosed with the disorder to struggle on their own to find answers. They are often left to navigate how depression feels and how i

Ever wondered why couples who seem to have it all together sometimes end up parting ways? It’s not always about the big dramatic moments often, it’s the little things that pile up. As a Licensed Professional Counselor, I’ve seen how even the strongest relationships can hit rough patches. The good news? Many of these issues are completely fixable with some effort and understanding. While relationships are complex, the reasons behind breakups usually come from a few common fact

September is National Suicide Prevention Month, a designation made in 2008 to help raise awareness and acknowledge those who have been impacted by suicide and help honor those who have been lost. Since its inception, suicide rates in the United States have hovered between 10 and 14 per 100,000 residents, reaching 14.21 per 100,000 residents by 2022, the highest rate since World War II. That rate increased again in 2023. There are roughly twice as many suicides in America [

Think about the last time you were scrolling through social media and stumbled across a post labeling someone a “narcissist.” Or maybe during a conversation with a friend or family member, they casually dropped the term to describe an ex or their significant other. With the internet at our fingertips and words like “narcissist” going viral, it’s no wonder people feel they know what it means. But let’s be real: throwing around the term is easy; understanding it is where things

Is anger a mother’s mental health check engine light? Probably. But so is loneliness and exhaustion and overwhelm and insomnia and disconnection and social withdrawal and lack of mental stimulation. To skip over all of these experiences as somehow “typical” and land on anger as the sign of a problem diminishes the importance of all the other feelings and emotions that let women know we are not okay, and we might need help. It also makes anger distinct and distinctly negative

Have you ever felt like there’s a part of you that’s out of reach, a hidden depth of emotions that you can’t quite access? Brainspotting (BSP) might be the key to unlocking that inner healing. Unlike traditional talk therapy, BSP focuses on the remarkable connection between your eyes and your emotions. By identifying specific eye positions, or “brainspots,” linked to emotional or traumatic experiences, you can delve deep into your subconscious and begin the healing process.

Imagine you’re sitting in a movie theater, popcorn in hand, completely engaged in the latest blockbuster thriller. Suddenly, your heart starts pounding as if you’ve just run a marathon, it becomes hard to breath, and a sense of dread over comes you. You feel like you’re losing control or having a heart attack. This unexpected and intense experience is similar to what it feels like to have a panic attack. […]

At the height of the pandemic, I helped a friend move after he filed for a quarantine divorce. As we sat in the kitchen of his tiny rental house eating takeout, I asked how he felt. He became very quiet and replied, “I don’t even know anymore.” Ever the therapist, I pulled up the pdf of an emotions wheel that I keep on phone and handed it to him. After a few minutes of perusal, he settled on “relieved, hopeful, resistant, and vengeful [...]

Creating an environment of LGBTQ+ Affirmative Care in Mental Health has come to the forefront in recent years. Providers are learning a new distinct language and culture that should not be new. There are countless articles for LGBTQ+ Affirming Care that can educate the professional and community on terms and general. Behind the terms are people with lives, hurt, families, average relationships with problems, stressful careers, trauma, and every variety of mental health concer

When working with clients who have experienced trauma, one of the first questions I ask is whether they have been screened for PTSD. Most of the time, the answer will be a firm “no”, usually followed by a variation on, “I don’t have flashbacks”, or “I sleep just fine”. If clients decline assessment for PTSD, we move on and focus on the symptoms that brought them to therapy, which they often self-diagnose as anxiety or depression. Those symptoms include feelings of emotional d

Do you remember 2020? Of course you do, or maybe you are trying hard to forget. One of the main things I remember about 2020 is the obsession that society developed over “making the most of the downtime. If you weren’t finding a new hobby or starting a new business, it felt like you needed to be doing and becoming more. This idea, developed by society, was a dangerous road to go down. Even now, 4 years later, while we are no longer on a “break”, the same level of productivity

Hello, gents! Let’s dive into a topic that sometimes gets brushed under the rug but deserves a spotlight—your health! We all have had moments to we put ourselves on the back burner to care for others. Because this is what we have been taught to do from an early age. Sometimes, we don’t know exactly […]

Hello F&T family. Today, I wanted to get into a common undiagnosed disorder that affects several individuals in our society: Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). This disorder affects a major number of individuals of all ages, so trust me… It's not just you who is tripping if you feel the things we are going to talk about today. It’s especially noticeable in environments that demand high levels of attention and executive functioning. Let’s dive into understanding