With autumn comes change . . . cooler mornings, leaves turning beautiful reds and oranges. . . and shorter days are a few of the most notable to mention. But while the seasons change with ease, most people struggle with change. Even though one might see the need and/or importance to change behaviors why do some struggle with it? Why is there resistance? Resistance is part of the human condition. One might see all the positives of what lies ahead. Many want to get to that end point. Most want to do the right thing but very few want to do the work it takes to get there. That’s the hard part. People say they want to feel better but struggle with the unsettling feelings that may occur on the way. We all like routine and a sure thing. Even though that "sure thing" may not be good, and in fact damaging, it’s comfortable. When a person begins in therapy they vow to make improvements. They describe the person they want to be, they share their story and open up their heart. I feel blessed to be with each of my clients and for them to allow me to hear their story. Together we discuss the past, the present and share insight. But insight alone won’t create change. The work begins when actions change and that’s the scary part. When I begin to focus on actions with a client that ugly resistance shows up. I explain that resistance is there to tell us to watch our step, this is something new. But at some point we need to move beyond that resistance and incorporate change. The more we practice the changed behavior the more comfortable it will feel. As the therapist, I know how scary change can be and I also know how comfortable the resistance is. My hope is my client will learn that I am there for them. I will help push them, encourage them and praise them for those difficult days of getting through change. When they begin to learn that they will be okay the resistance slowly subsides. To help keep that resistance at bay, they will build a support system outside of therapy that will follow through with the encouragement, praise and acceptance. Because, when someone feels loved and accepted by others they begin to see themselves as a kind and loving person. When a person begins to feel better about themselves that’s when the magic of change happens. And that resistance that always wanted to hang around continues to dissipate. For anyone reading this that has been struggling with change let me encourage you to follow through with your hopes and dreams. Don’t feel like you need to go it alone. Surround yourself with people who are supportive and encouraging. Seek out a therapist if you need help beginning. You’d be amazed what you have the power to do! 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
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Why is it that we can have our goals all in place, we know where we want to be and on our way to reaching it, we put an end to it? Why do we procrastinate on projects? How many of us have worked very hard on healthy eating, almost reaching our goal, then we decide at the last minute it’s not really important? Your relationship is going great then you say or do something very hurtful. Does any of this sound familiar? These types of behaviors and thoughts are driven by our inner critic, which we all have. Our inner critics aren’t nice. They create doubt, tell us we aren’t worthy, are far from positive, undermine our goals and desires and create suspicions of those we love the most. Where do these behaviors come from? What happens to create this inner critic? Some people have no problems. They had very supportive parents and their inner critics are minimal at best. Life goes on for them. But for some, if they look back at their early childhood they would probably see patterns from their parents or important caregivers, which lacked support. Without realizing, they tend to internalize attitudes, which were directed toward them by their parents or people important to them at the time. If their parents saw them as lazy and frequently shared that opinion of them, they may grow up feeling worthless. They then begin to tell themselves, “why try, I will never be successful at it.” This is self-sabotaging behavior. If we grew up with a self-hating parent, who often viewed themselves as weak or a failure, we may grow up with similar self-sabotaging attitudes toward ourselves. For instance, if our parent felt critical of their appearance, we may take on similar insecurities without realizing it. We may feel easily self-conscious and less sure of ourselves in social or public situations. As we go through life we begin to internalize these attitudes and remain stuck with our thinking that we aren’t capable of any type of success. We can’t change the past but once we review our past and realize what has damaged us we can consciously choose to act against them. We can prove our thoughts as wrong. But when we listen to our inner critic and remain there we will continue to cast doubt on ourselves and struggle with success. How to Stop Engaging in Self-Sabotaging Behavior Once we recognize our inner critic and see how it was created we can work on ignoring it and pushing against it. It will be an uncomfortable process because it’s been ingrained in us for a long time. But we must push through it. If we are uncomfortable in public, because in the past we’ve been told we don’t matter, we need to begin pushing ourselves to be more open to participate with others. In the book The Self under Siege: A Therapeutic Model for Differentiation, co-authored by Dr. Robert Firestone, Dr. Lisa Firestone and Joyce Catlett, four steps involved in separating (differentiation) is described. 1. Step one involves separating from the destructive attitudes (critical inner voices) we internalized based on painful early life experiences. 2. The second step requires us to separate from the negative traits in our parents or influential caretakers that we’ve taken on as our own. 3. The third step involves challenging the destructive defenses or adaptations we made to the pain we experienced growing up. These adaptations may have helped us in childhood but, very often, hurt us as adults. For instance, if we were used to being let down or rejected as children, we may have formed a defense that shuts us off from wanting or expecting much from others. Though this lowering our expectations may seemed to help cushion us from getting hurt as kids, this same defense can keep us from trusting or getting close to someone as adults. 4. The fourth and final step of differentiation asks us to develop our very own sense of our unique values, ideals and beliefs. Once we have separated from the negative overlays from our past, we can uncover who we really are. We can stop self-sabotaging behaviors and choose the person we want to be. Ending self-sabotaging behavior can be a difficult process. If you need assistance and are looking for support during this process you should work with a licensed therapist. 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 1. Try Progressive Relaxation All the way from fingers to toes - tense and then release each muscle group in the body (lower arm, upper arm, chest, back and abdominals, etc.). Once the body is relaxed, the mind will be soon to follow! 2. Breathe Deep Taking a deep breath has been shown to lower cortisol levels, which can help reduce stress and anxiety. Studies suggest deep breathing can also cause a temporary drop in blood pressure. 3. Spark Some Scents Studies suggest aromatherapy can be a good way to relieve stress. Give Lavender a try! Scientific evidence suggests that aromatherapy with lavender may slow the activity of the nervous system, improve sleep quality, promote relaxation, and lift mood in people suffering from sleep disorders. 4. Laugh It Off Laughter can reduce the physical effects of stress (like fatigue) on the body. Look for a laughter workshop in your area. They are out there! 5. Drink Tea One study found that drinking black tea leads to lower post-stress cortisol levels and greater feelings of relaxation. 6. Exercise That post-exercise endorphin rush is one way to sharply cut stress. Endorphins are often classified to be the happy hormones. Any form of physical activity leads to the release of these feel good neurotransmitters. The increase in endorphins in your body leads to a feeling of euphoria, modulation of appetite, the release of different sex hormones and an enhancement of immune response. This helps combat the negative effects of stress. 7. Listen To Music Research points to multiple ways in which music can help relieve stress, from triggering biochemical stress reducers to assisting in treating stress associated with medical procedures. According to a group of fancy Oxford University scientists, listening to the third movement of Beethoven's No. 9 might actually lower your blood pressure and help fight heart disease. In real life. Isn’t this surprising?? "Professor Sleight explained some composers, including Verdi, seemed to have managed to mirror the natural rise and fall of blood pressure in the human body. Verdi may well have been a physiologist,' he said, 'he hit on this ten-second rhythm in blood pressure and you can see it in his music.'" — Elizabeth Davis, Classic FM
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 When in a relationship it's important that you make it your top priority. Below are some tips to help make it last. However, if you find that you're stuck, things aren't flowing like you thought they would or you're looking for assistance keeping the love alive you may want to contact a therapist. They can help you get it back on track. In the meantime, enjoy the tips below - they aren't too hard to follow and some are even fun! 1. Talk about great times from the past. Focus on the fun times and show appreciation for what brought you together in the first place. Talk about the romantic dinners, walks on the beach, your first kiss. It’s a great reminder of your love and a wonderful ego boost for you both. Don’t focus on the fact you may not doing that much anymore but shift it to the positive memories and the fun, acceptance and love you felt. Having a positive conversation like this will bring those fun memories to the forefront and increase the likelihood you incorporate those good times again.
2. Touch often. The power of touch is extremely important! Those little touches are a very powerful way to stay connected. As you pass each other touch a shoulder, hold hands, touch a cheek when kissing. When sitting on the couch together watching tv, softly rub his/her arm or leg. Give each other hugs! As relationships age the touching tends to decline. When was the last time you touched your partner? It’s amazing how soothing, calming and closeness a touch can bring. And … touching releases a powerful sex hormone called oxytocin. Oxytocin causes a bonding feeling. It takes very little touching for the oxytocin to kick in… so please keep touching. 3. Be a good listener. Sometimes we just need to be heard. We don’t want a solution or a lot of talk in return. Venting is good! Let your partner vent, let them know you hear them, give them hugs or hold their hand when venting (there’s that touch). Your partner may not know if you want advice or just to be heard so communicate that. When we love someone we want to try to fix things. So communicate you just need to vent .. then .. your partner knows to be a good listener. 4. Communication! Talk to each other. Let each other know your wants. Ask your partner, “What do you need more of?” Then the key is, when they tell you, follow through on their answer. They might respond with “I need more alone time with you” or “I miss kissing you like we used to”. When you make your needs known resentment and anger doesn’t build because it's all out in the open. So talk, talk, talk. Get the conversation going. Once it’s been shared you can easily fulfill the request or talk about a compromise. 5. Accept that you each are going to have bad days. We all can’t be perfect every day. Your partner may snap at something you find ridiculous. Chances are it isn’t about that little thing that he/she’s snapping about but rather a bigger issue of something that occurred earlier. Like an argument with a friend or colleague. So before you jump back with a terse response, remain calm and listen (remember “be a good listener”). Try and understand your partner may just be having a bad day. Be a little sympathetic. When you practice this it will become more natural when it’s you having the bad day and your partner will see how nice it was that you remained calm. 6. Have fun! Every day life can be stressful. We are filled with bad news on the radio/tv, there’s financial problems, you hear of friends not getting along. All of this can pull a person down. Instead of focusing on the bad, take time to play! Grab a glass of wine and play a board game, play cards, plan a date of miniature golf. Get out the rut. Laugh! Giggle! Tickle! Be spontaneous! Remind each other how fun you both can be. 7. Be financially responsible. Money is one of the biggest relationship stressors, especially when times are tough. You both need to know the bills are getting paid which brings a feeling of security. Watch the unnecessary spending. What tends to work well is having a joint account for bills and necessities but also create a separate account for each of you. You don’t have to put a lot in the separate account if you don’t have much coming in, but, it creates a play account where you don’t have to ask permission to spend. Have a conversation on what amount will work for you both. It can be as little as $20/month. Trust me, it adds up over time. You each put the same amount in each of your accounts. Save it over time and then when you need a special item you can buy it. No hard feelings because it’s already been worked in the budget. 8. Give each other alone time with their friends. Sometimes events come up that might be just a guys or girls night out. Maybe the guys want to get together to watch a sporting event or the girls want to have lunch together. It’s okay! Don’t make each other feel guilty for wanting to spend time with their friends. Maintaining separate social lives and being supportive of each other boosts a relationship. 9. Fight Fairly. Don’t use words like “always” or “never” when arguing, such as, “You never let me do what I want!”. That distracts from the issue at hand. Remind each other that you need to stay focused on finding a solution. You each may say something that you don’t really mean but don’t realize it until the argument winds down. Know that it’s okay to say, “I’m sorry, I didn’t really mean that”. Accept the apology and refocus on the solution which may involve a compromise. 10. Drop old issues. We all have “stuff” from our past. Maybe with old friends, dating times and/or family. Don’t bring up old issues to use in a new argument. Avoid the hot topics if you’ve already discussed them. Hopefully these have all already been worked through. If either of you are having a hard time of letting go and the past keeps coming up you may need the help of a therapist. 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 via foter.com You had an amazing passionate relationship with your spouse. Sex was beautiful, often, and intense. It was a safe place. It was when you felt the most intimate and close that you can feel with anyone. You both had thoughtful, deep and ultimately the best conversations. You embraced the closeness you both felt in those moments after.… when you are coming down from the highest of highs. Those moments of laying together are etched in your memory. I hope each military couple out there still has the same intensity as when they first met, were dating, or after their marriage. Don’t we all wish that passion was still there? I’m guessing for most military couples who have endured multiple deployments that is not the case. The spouse who has been waiting and taking care of the home and children has been anticipating their veteran’s return. The void of sex is almost painful. But she/he knows when their partner finally arrives it will be filled with that passion and intimacy that they have longed for over the past several months. Unfortunately, in most cases that is not the reality. I work with many veterans and military families and I hear a lot of the same story. Sex is not the same. They want the passion. They want it all to be just as it was before and when it’s not the frustration begins, for both. Each time they try and that fulfillment isn’t there both partners feel a sense of loss. They both work so hard at getting it back. The incentive is there but the same feelings aren’t occurring. The returning veteran is feeling the effects of war - some of which are probably nightmares, startle responses, paranoia, fear, being on edge, depression and anger. Some veterans have physical effects such as burns, scars and loss of limbs. Each veteran has their own set of emotional and physical changes due to combat. Any one of those can have a profound affect of the sexual relationship. For the partner who’s been at home waiting for these passionate moments please try to understand what your veteran has been through and the symptoms of PTSD, TBI, and what just plain war creates. For the veteran, please try not to be disappointed in yourself. Let me assure you, you are not the only veteran experiencing this. You may not be sharing your sex life, or lack of it, with your buddies but I know the same frustrations are occurring in most. Let me offer some suggestions;
Combat takes a toll on all relationships. I hope the above guidelines and suggestions are helpful. Please try to understand you are not alone, either of you, in the struggle to rekindle your sexual relationship. It is not a sign of weakness to seek out help and support but rather a sign of strength in wanting to work on improving your relationship. I commend you for all you have given and wish you peace. 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 As a therapist I strive to provide the best support I can for my clients. What ever journey they are taking I feel blessed to be there with them. I sit with them as they experience all the emotions one can imagine - joy, anger, hurt, acceptance, excitement, rage, love, happiness, . . . it’s almost never ending. But of all of those emotions I wondered what would be the best one to experience. I thought about several positive ones such as joy, glee, happiness, and love. But I wasn’t convinced that it was one of those. I searched for one that would make the most impact. I wondered if there was an emotion that we can’t live without? As I thought of my various clients, I searched for a common emotion that helped them progress through their goals. Then I thought of it. It’s the emotion we all strive for. The one that we need to move forward. The one that tells us not to give up. The one that keeps my clients moving along a path, sometimes slowly, sometimes backwards, but they keep moving. It’s hope. Hope lets us know that for every rainbow we see there is a pot of gold if we just keep trying. That pot of gold can look different for each of us. Maybe it’s a healthy family, stable marriage, being employed, being pain free, not feeling depressed, scared or angry. Hope gives us the strength and drives us to move ahead. Hope is the optimism that things will get better. Hope gives us that snippet of who we can become. Next time you are with someone who may be struggling, feeling down, or needing guidance, help them find hope. Some ways you can do that is to remind them to dream big, look for the positive, strive for the future, accept help, join with others that are hopeful and to not give up. Liz Birch is a licensed Marriage & Family Therapist who provides home-based and online psychotherapy. Her areas of expertise are in communications, relationships, stress reduction, depression, trauma and provides support to the military population and their families. She can be reached via LizBirchTherapist.com and email at LizBirchMFT@gmail.com People are meant to be social beings. When we have someone else to care about we live better, healthier and longer lives. However, many of us don’t realize the importance of connecting with others. Connections can help our businesses grow and enhance our personal life. Connections can alleviate that sense of loneliness. Olds and Schwartz (Associate Clinical Professors of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School) argue in The Lonely American that loneliness is often mistaken for depression. Instead of connecting with others, we consume a pill. Being lonely is outside of our individualistic world view so we don’t even see it as a problem. So if I load myself up with tons of connections will I be happier and live longer? Not necessarily. It’s not the number of connections one has but the quality of connections. If you want to enhance your business look to connect with individuals who are career minded and successful. If you want to enhance your personal life you might want to look for individuals who are supportive, caring and willing to listen during tough times. And you may want to include others who are a combination of the two. In order to find those connections you need to, at first, work in numbers. Don’t just talk to one person and then decide that person isn’t right for you because you will then end up back to having no connections. So work at making lots of connections, initially, then you can choose who is right for you. So how do we connect with others?
As you go through your day, pay attention to others around you. You’ll be amazed at how many connections are out there for you to make. 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 When I first began my work as a therapist I was very excited and wanted to get on as many insurance panels as I could. My reason was so that people who needed the services of a therapist would be able to find me. My number of clients would increase and I would make a nice profit. So I began getting recommendations from my colleagues, as to who they used, what paperwork was required, how many sessions are allowed, how much they were reimbursed for each session and how long did it take to get paid for the therapy appointment. Oh wow! My “new therapist, wanting to help all that I could” bubble burst. I kept asking my colleagues questions such as, “You mean I have to accept ⅓ - ¾ of my regular rate for most insurance panels?” .. and ... “What? We don’t always get reimbursed for services we’ve provided, even though we thought we did all the paperwork correctly?” Now let me add there were some good insurance panels, so all aren’t bad. But those few that are easier to work with are far and few. And to get on those panels can be very difficult. At least it was for me. I began weighing my options - calculating rent, office expenses, malpractice insurance, and on and on adding up the expenses of running a private practice. I then tried to figure out how many insurance clients I would need to pay my expenses. I had to realize that even though my fee is, for example, $120/clinical hour I might only be getting paid $60/clinical hour. I realized I would have to take on “more than a healthy number” of clients just to make ends meet. I say more than a healthy number because as a therapist I have my own mental health limits on the number of clients I choose to see. I strive at providing the best quality of care possible for each of my clients. I can’t work like a machine seeing one client after another, with no breaks in between, and be sharp for each of them. Maybe some therapists can do that. But I know my limitations. I need time to gather my thoughts, do some research, confer with colleagues, make calls to physicians/psychiatrists, write appropriate clinical notes, etc. I need to focus on client care and to be sure I’m offering my clients the best support, education, and guidance that I can. Therefore, I chose to make my practice more client driven. I chose to provide the best care I can for my clients and not have an outside panel tell me what’s in the best interest of the client who they have never met. I chose not to work with any insurance panel. It may not be for every therapist out there but I chose to be an “out of network” therapist. Wow! Scarey! At first business was slow. My colleagues were getting twice as many clients as I was. My colleagues were also sharing with me their frustrations on all the billing paperwork, re-submissions and phone calls back and forth with insurance panels. I was okay with them having more clients than me. But the tides shifted and in a surprisingly short amount of time my practice was filling up. My practice had, and has, out of network clients. Marketing, Marketing, Marketing! I didn’t sit back and just wait for clients to come to me. I pushed marketing. I used experiences from past companies where I worked that weren’t even in the mental health industry. Marketing is marketing. I keep my name out there, I’m in the community, I’m on social media, I meet with physicians and nurses and so on. (Let’s see.. last week I met with a psychiatric nurse practitioner and tomorrow I’m meeting with a psychiatrist.) I’ve attended “Coffee With A Cop” meetings where I get to sit with local police over coffee and share what I do. Then everyone I meet with I send a postcard thanking them for the meeting. It’s a high quality postcard with my photo and practice information. My marketing pays off! When I do have my first meeting with a client I encourage him/her to contact their insurance company and find out what the reimbursement rate is for “out of network” therapy services. Many clients told me their insurance company would reimburse them for part of my fee. Yes, my services would have a higher reimbursement rate, for the client, if I were on the panel but my client would also have restrictions. Many clients found they preferred the openness of my care and getting some or even no reimbursement. I’ve been providing therapy services for nearly two decades. I have an appropriate amount of clients, I don’t feel like I’m working an assembly line, and I have a comfortable income. I feel my way of working with clients benefits them for a number of reasons:
Not all my clients are fee based. I do a certain number of sessions through Give An Hour. Anyone in the military can contact me and request donated sessions through Give An Hour. If I have slots open then that person gets my full attention. I don’t offer less time per session and I don’t limit the number of sessions. When I work with the military through Give An Hour they get exactly the same care, support and guidance as any client in my practice. It doesn’t cost them a dime and I inform my CPA the number of sessions I’ve donated. I understand working with insurance panels is a personal choice. This was about my own personal experience and how letting my client and I choose their care works.
2. On a positive note, depression rates fall. Researchers from Quebec, Canada say sleeping late increases REM sleep, and excessive REM sleep is linked to depression. They reviewed two studies on depression and sunrise time in cities, and found it was “significantly correlated” with depression rates — later sunrise (corresponding to earlier rising times) was associated with less depression. 3. A study in the Journal of Periodontology suggests that a chance to enjoy extra daylight can extend the life and health of our teeth and bones. That’s because our bodies get vitamin D through sun exposure. Vitamin D, along with calcium, is essential for preventing bone and teeth disorders. 4. Daylight saving time was first realized on a grand scale during World War I. It started in Germany, then caught on in a number of nations that wanted to reduce lighting demand and save coal for the war effort. During WWII, the U.S. observed year-round DST for the same reasons. 5. Research shows that given an extra hour of evening daylight, many Americans use the time to go out and do things rather than watch the television shows they'd normally view at that time. Nielsen ratings during the hours impacted by the change show large declines during the first week of DST—as much as 10 to 15 percent, even for popular shows. 6. Thieves tend to do their dirty work under the cover of darkness. So creating an extra hour of evening light helps people get home during daylight hours, which appears to drop crime rates dramatically. During the extra hour of evening daylight, robberies decreased by 40 percent, according to data from the National Incident-Based Reporting System. Murder and rape rates also went down, though it's hard to say how much because the exact time such crimes are committed is often unknown. 7. Farmers have long been labeled as big backers of daylight saving time, or even credited with getting the practice going. Whether this idea came from farmers' early rising habits or some other reason, it's a myth."From the very beginning, when DST was proposed in Britain's Parliament in 1908, until today, farmers have been the number one group against daylight saving time," said Prerau - author of the book Seize the Daylight: The Curious and Contentious Story of Daylight Saving Time. Traditionally, farmers have set their schedule by the sun, and that's mostly still the case. But when the rest of society shifts an hour of light out of the morning hours, farmers have less daylight to handle morning tasks like getting their wares to market. Those charged with handling livestock like dairy cows say it's difficult for the clock-averse animals to adjust. 8. Each U.S. state and territory is free to ignore daylight savings time, so residents of Arizona (except those on the Navajo Nation), Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and other territories won't move their clocks this weekend. If these exceptions seem confusing, the situation was far worse 50 years ago, according to Tufts University professor Michael Downing, author of Spring Forward: The Annual Madness of Daylight Saving Time. Before the U.S. Uniform Time Act of 1966, DST was often observed very locally—and chaos was the result."In 1965 there were 130 cities in the country with populations of 100,000 or more," Downing explained. "Fifty-nine did not observe daylight saving. "Of the 71 that did, there were at least 20 different adoption dates. In Minnesota, St. Paul was on one time, Minneapolis was on a different time, and Duluth was on Wisconsin time. In fact, somebody even found a Minneapolis office building in which the different floors of the building were observing different time zones because they were the offices of different counties." Let’s all enjoy our weekend while we change our clocks at the loss of one hour. May you all embrace the well lit evening and take deep cleansing breaths when you have to wake up in the darkness. 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 Collingwood, J. (2007). Daylight Savings Time and Mental Health. Psych Central. Retrieved on March 7, 2015, from http://psychcentral.com/lib/daylight-savings-time-and-mental-health/000921 Handwerk, B. (2014). Daylight Savings Time: 7 Surprising Things You May Not Know. National Geographic News Photo: freedigitalphotos 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.
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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