Anxiety & Depression Therapy - Orange County CA - Liz Birch, LMFT
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A Much Easier Way to Reach Your Goals

3/10/2018

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Many of us have great intentions of reaching our goals. We may tell ourselves;  "I'm going  to work out more, I'm going to increase my sales this month, I'm going to work on home improvements this week, or I'm going to begin drinking less alcohol". All of those are great goals, however, it's too easy to not reach any of those goals if we phrase them as I wrote them. 

In order to be more successful in your goals you must get much more specific than the examples I listed above.  A great system to use is the SMART goal setting system.  SMART goal setting brings structure and traceability into your goals and objectives. SMART goals create clear milestones and an estimation of the goal's attainability. 

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What does S.M.A.R.T. goal setting stand for?

S = Specific
  • What "exactly" do you want to achieve? (get specific)
M = Measurable
  • You need to be able to identify "exactly" what it is you will see, hear, and feel when you reach your goal. Eating healthier isn't a good goal. But, eating vegetables at least twice a day is an excellent goal. You can clearly see your progress. 
A = Attainable (this was originally named Assignable)
  • Be realistic in your goal setting. I'd love to be a millionaire but that's not very attainable for me right now and too broad of a goal. Setting smaller goals will help you see success earlier and be very motivating.  So a better goal might be:  "I want to increase my income by 15% within the next six months." For some that's a small goal, for others it's a big goal but it's most likely attainable.  It's a specific number in a specific time frame. Also you need to weigh the effort, time and other costs that it will take to work on your goal. 
R = Relevant
  • Is reaching your goal relevant to you? Is this what you really want?   Do you want to be famous, do you want to have four children, do you really want to work a busy job? Ask yourself why you want to reach your goal.  Be sure your goals are for you and not because someone else thinks you should reach for them. 
T = Timely
  • Everyone knows that deadlines are very motivating for most people.  So don't work on goals that have no timeline attached. It's too easy for us to say, "I'll work on that goal tomorrow".  Set goals with a realistic timeline.  "I will lose 5 lbs in one month"... not.. "I will lose weight".  Remember, be specific so you can see when you've reached or are reaching your goal.  Ground your goal(s) with a time frame, giving your goal a target date. 

Being a therapist, I use this SMART system with many of my clients. I help them get very specific on what they want to accomplish in therapy. This may take a few sessions to figure out but it's important to clarify the goal.  

To have someone say, "I want to feel better about myself" is good, but it will be too difficult to know when my client will be there. So I dig a little deeper and ask my client, "What does that look like to you?"  After some exploring my client may say, "Instead of crying 4 days a week, I want to work on only crying 2 days a week".  That's very specific and attainable.  We work on that goal and after a month or so we revisit the goal. Is the client crying less?  How many days a week are they crying now?" Once they've reached crying only 2 days a week we set our next goal. How about crying only 2 times a month? Again a specific goal. 

This system works well when working on communication issues in relationships.  A couple may argue every single day.  So our measurable goal may be that they argue only 4 days a week.  Of course, we don't want arguing at all, but is that realistic?  Attainable?  We set goals that we can be successful with.  Once that goal is reached of only arguing 4 days a week we set a new goal of only arguing two days a week, and so forth. 

During the sessions, while working on goals, the therapist is exploring with the client what got them in their predicament. What changes need to be made and how can some of their problems be resolved.  It's all a work in progress all striving for those specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely goals. 

Why don't you think about a goal or two you'd like to reach?  Then apply the SMART goal setting approach and see if that makes reaching your goals a bit more successful. I bet you'll be pleased with your results. 

If you are in my area and need help reaching your goals, please feel free to reach out to me and together we can work this system.  It may take just a few sessions to get you set up and going.  You can then check back a month or so later and we can explore how you are doing.  My hope is for everyone to be successful in their goals, no matter how small or large. 



I am a licensed Marriage & Family Therapist who can provide services with anyone who resides   in the State of California. I have also been trained in Clinical Hypnotherapy which is beneficial for more specific goals.
Liz Birch, LMFT, CHt 
~ 714-584-6047 ~ LizBirchMFT@gmail.com
​https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMART_criteria
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Apps for Mental Health Support . . . All Free!

2/16/2015

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Over the past few years I’ve become accustomed to utilizing phone apps to help my clients get through some tough times.  It’s not a replacement for me, their therapist, but they do help when my clients needs some "on the spot" aid.   

I thought I’d list a few that I use and ones that my clients have shared with me that they find helpful.  

If any of you have other apps that aid in calming, supporting, encouraging or do some crisis management until personal help is available I’d like to hear about them.  

Here are my top five that I’m able to access via my iphone. 


  1. CBT-i Coach  (free) This app is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.   It focuses on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy techniques for insomnia.   There are four sections which include: My Sleep, Tools, Learn and Reminders.   They include sleep logs (which is great for the therapist to see or for self evaluation).  A section is available that defines CBT-i, educates on the importance of sleep, reviews the stages of sleep and discusses the connection of PTSD and sleep. Having nightmares?  There’s a brief section on that topic.  There's also a great Reminders section with you can input your “sleep prescription”, take an assessment, stop caffeine, and worry time.   There’s a great section on “Quiet Your Mind” that includes topics of “schedule worry time”, “change your perspective”, “breathing tool”, “progressive relaxation”, “guided imagery”, “observe thoughts”, and “observe sensations”. While it’s put out by the VA it’s useful to anyone with sleep issues, anxiety and ptsd.  
  2. Operation Reach Out (free) Sponsored by The Guidance Group. Encourages people to reach out when they are having suicidal thoughts.  After you click through the disclaimer there’s a Resource section which includes: “MilitaryFamily.com”, “Lifeline Gallery”, “Suicide Prevention Hotline”, “DoD/VA Suicide Outreach”, “Stop a Suicide Today”, “Centers for Disease Control”.  You’ll find a “help center” which helps create a customized contact list to help the person reach out to others. Again this app is great and can be used by all not just veterans. 
  3. Healthy Lifestyles (free) This app is used more for people who are trying to monitor or stop drinking and/or smoking.  Great educational sections that monitor the persons use over 60 days and they can compare their drinking to others in the norm.  Has a decision making section which includes an area where the individual can list the benefits for changing their drinking and the cost of drinking.  Also includes some tips to help the person change their drinking habits. 
  4. Virtual Hope Box (free) Sponsored by the National Center for Telehealth & Technology.  Great app for use with those living with TBI and PTSD.  It contains four main sections: “Distract Me”, “Inspire Me”, “Relax Me”, “Coping Tools”.  Then each section has sub-sections.  The Distractions include puzzles, word search, solitaire. Inspire Me contains positive affirmations. Relax Me contains exercises for controlled breathing, muscle relaxation, guided meditation beach, forest and country road.  Coping Tools teaches the person to create their own coping cards and has an activity planner where one can invite others to participate. I shared this app with a teacher I’m working with who used the controlled breathing section to help calm her unruly students. She said it works great!. 
  5. Sleep Pillow (free)  I’ve used this one myself!   On those nights when someone can’t sleep this app provides wonderful relaxing sounds that can be set to a timer.  The free version includes nine relaxing sounds such as rain, rain/thunder, crackling fire, ocean, nature, whales, meditation, ticking clock, baby lullaby.  Therapists can also use these sounds as background if providing your own progressive relaxation with clients. 

Again none of the above mentioned apps are a replacement for in-person help but many of my clients have shared that they have been extremely helpful to them. 

Please list your favorite self help apps (and maybe some pros and cons) in the comment section below. It's great to learn what works, and doesn't, from others. 



I am a licensed Marriage & Family Therapist who can provide services with anyone who resides   in the State of California. I have also been trained in Clinical Hypnotherapy which is beneficial for more specific goals.
Liz Birch, LMFT, CHt 
~ 714-584-6047 ~ LizBirchMFT@gmail.com


*photo courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net




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    Liz Birch, LMFT, 
    CHt

    I'm a licensed Psychotherapist and certified Master Hypnotist who works with adults looking to reduce anxiety, depression and stress as a result of every day life and traumas. Work can also be done on breaking specific habits.   

    I hope I inspire you to take risks and step out of your comfort zone. You might be surprised what you discover.

    If you reside in California feel free to reach out to me. We can talk on an initial phone call to see if you feel I'm the right therapist for you. 


           ​

    714-584-6047

    LizBirchMFT@gmail.com

    ​

    ​The information provided through this website is for informational purposes only.
    ​This information is not intended to and does not create a therapist-client relationship.

    @2022 Liz Birch, LMFT, CHt   Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist   CA Lic.#40999   
    ​Orange County, CA


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