Trauma is a buzz word these days. Many people state that they have been traumatized by specific situations in their lives. So what is traumatic stress? And how is it different than PTSD? What causes PTSD, and what are the symptoms? This month of June is National Post Traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) awareness month. In this article we will talk …
How Art Therapy Calms The Brain
I have been asked many times, “So your an art therapist how exactly does that work?” Art therapy works to change the brain and calm it because is that it accesses a both hemispheres of the brain, and the also lower hemispheres of the brain which can help access emotions that you are not aware of just using the left …
Why having healthy coping skills is helpful
Coping skills, what are those? Coping skills are about how you deal with what life throws at you, how you manage your stress, anxiety and internally how you respond to these challenges. So what is a good coping skill vs. a not so great one? Check out these 3 ways that you can gauge your coping skills. Life is not what …
How to use Grounding to Relieve Anxiety and Stress
Wondering what grounding is? What to know how it helps one be more present in ones life? In this brief post you will learn what grounding is, how it can help to reduce stress and anxiety, and be more in the moment instead of stuck inside your mind. Grounding is based in mindfulness and uses your five senses: sight, touch, taste, …
4-7-8 Breathing Excercise
This weeks video is number three of the three part series in learning how to manage stress and anxiety through your breath. This week we will be learning the 4-7-8 breathing technique. Last week we talked about the 4 square breathing technique which helps to reduce anxiety and bring us into the present moment by giving us a cognitive and somatic …
Four Square Breathing Technique
View PostThe importance of noticing your breath
So you might wondering: Why is she she writing about the breath? Why it is important in our everyday lives? If we can be become more connected to our breath this can help us to calm our nervous system and learn to not feel so stressed. Through the work with my clients, learning about stress management and the science of …
Using sensations to develop a language of emotions
Personally for me prior to my path of self discovery, I had a very difficult time knowing what my feelings were. I could tell when I had the basic emotions are anger, happiness, surprise, disgust, sadness, and fear. It wasn’t until I started learning how to notice the sensations in my body that I could effectively how to learn the secondary …
How Art Therapy helps Anxiety
Art therapy what is that? How can that help me? How does it help anxiety and stress? Art Therapy is a way of combining talk therapy with the creation of art making. Did you know that when we just talk about anxiety and stress, can lead to your body re-experiencing the situation? When you create art it uses a different …
How to use affirmations and have them be effective
Affirmations help us to affirm the way that we want to see our lives. When I was first introduced to affirmations I was not yet a therapist and I was very skeptical about them actually working for me. So lets explore the science behind positive psychology and the use of affirmations. The thought behind affirmations is that you are stating …
