Understanding Teen Suicide Why? That always seems to be the question that everyone asks when a loved one or friend has committed suicide. Unfortunately, there is not always a clear-cut answer to that question. The Center for Disease Control reports suicide is the third leading cause of death in 15-24 year olds. Who is at […]
3 Ways to Become Forgetful of Emotional Pain
Now, if you’re like me, you really don’t need help learning how to be forgetful. I can easily forget where I left my keys and just as easily forget my own kids names (you know how it goes…Joe, Dan, Steve, I mean, Randy! You name the whole tribe before you get to the one you […]
How to Tell if Therapy is Right for You
When it comes to your physical health, it’s pretty easy to know whether or not you need to see a doctor. If you catch a cold, there’s really no need to make an appointment; however, if you break your ankle, you need to immediately get to an emergency room. But when it comes to your […]
Rethink The “Gratitude” Challenge
A New Way To Be Thankful It’s common during this season of the year to see “gratitude challenges” on social media, or to create “gratitude jars” at home. I really do love these concepts, and gratitude is something that I help people actively focus on at my counseling practice, Legacy Counseling Service, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Today I […]
Are You A Consumption Addict?
As a therapist, I’ve talked to many clients in my practice in the Tulsa, Oklahoma area who have struggled with mental health problems as they try to manage anxiety, depression, or stress. Or, they have developed a chronic illness or had a physical injury that takes time to adjust to. They might come in for counseling […]
How One Question Can Set Your Priority and Change Your Life
At Legacy Counseling Service in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma helping clients clarify their values and make choices that are consistent with those values is a top priority for me. When we are living out of line with our values we open ourselves up to increased chance of anxiety symptoms, depression, insomnia, health and relationship problems. Back […]
The Problems with Disqualifying, Catastrophizing, Should, and Personalizing
In this series about how psychologists can help people with anxiety and depression, I’ve been talking about how a psychologist teaches people to do critical thinking about their own thoughts. At Legacy Counseling Service in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, teaching people to notice and challenge their thoughts is a big focus in counseling. So far we […]
Letting Your Emotions Rule? The problem with Emotional Reasoning, Labelling, & OverGeneralizing
In my earlier blog post about mental health and automatic thoughts, I talked about three ways in which we can get stuck in anxiety or depression from automatic thoughts that are “all-or-none thinking,” “mental filter,” and “jumping to conclusions.” As a psychologist at Legacy Counseling Service in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, I frequently help people look […]
How Does a Psychologist Help with Anxiety and Depression? Understanding Black/White Thinking, Mental Filter, and Jumping to Conclusions
Imagine that your mind is like a popcorn machine and your thoughts are like corn kernels. When situations heat up just enough thoughts about anxiety and depression automatically pop up and then settle into the mind (like a full movie theater popcorn machine). All the while more thoughts continue to pop up and fill up […]
How Writing Can Improve Mental Health
Recently I was unpacking boxes as I continue to settle in from moving from Florida back to the Tulsa, Oklahoma area to start my private practice, Legacy Counseling Service. If you’re wondering why in the world I moved from sunny Tampa to Tulsa, I will simply tell you that living out the legacy I want […]
What Finding Dory Reveals About Physical Disability, Worry, and Depression
Finding Dory is the newest box office hit in the theater this summer and it is sooo good! If you haven’t seen it yet, don’t worry, I’m not going to spoil the end. Here is a quick video of the trailer: Today I do want to talk about a theme in the movie that is important […]
What Are Depression Symptoms?
Depression: More common that you think Depression can happen to any person. It doesn’t care what you look like, what you do for a living, or how “immune” you think you are. About 6 out of 100 adults will experience an episode of depression this year. That may not seem like a lot, but imagine you […]
Struggling with Uncertainty? Your Not Alone
I don’t know about people in other parts of the world, but I think in the US we really struggle with uncertainty. So much is out of our control, we can’t predict or plan. What do we do with all that pent up anxiety from not being able to control our circumstances? Why are we […]
11 Cool Apps for Physical and Mental Health
I love some of these apps! Some of them come from the Department of Defense and I used them regularly with veterans to help them keep up with skills in between our sessions. Some I use for myself, and others friends have told me about. Check them out and let me know you top 3 […]
STOP SPINNING YOUR WHEELS AND TAKE A LESSON FROM “DOUBTING THOMAS”
Hi everyone! I’ve been MIA over the last few weeks as I settle into my new living quarters! Now that I’m less distracted I’m ready to get back into full swing again! I will be sharing about insomnia with you this month like I mentioned early, but today I wanted to share a perspective on […]