For those of us who are animal lovers, there is nothing better than coming home to a pet who is happy to see you no matter what your day was like. The warmth, affection, and love pets give to us can feel soothing, and draw out our own feelings of care and mutual connection. Emotional support animals (ESAs) are pets who provide these feelings in a way that improves mental health for their human companions who have a diagnosed mental health condition. Emotional support animals can impact our emotions by alleviating worry, providing comfort, and mitigating feelings of loneliness.

Athletes often experience temporary results from disordered behaviors like restrictive dieting and over-training/exercising. Although it can be difficult for an athlete to step away from their sport, pursuing treatment increases their likelihood of safely returning—and can be lifesaving. Coaches, parents, teammates, and providers have a critical role in ensuring athletes are prioritized over the sport. Understanding the risks athletes face is key to providing preventative support.

Do you feel anxious when your child or teen is anxious?  Can you feel your own anxiety rising as your child retells an anxious event from their day?  In all likelihood, the answer is yes.  This phenomenon is called second-hand anxiety.  Second-hand anxiety simply means feeling anxious because someone else is anxious.  This happens because our brains are equipped with mirror neurons.  These neurons’ purpose is to imitate other’s movements and feelings. They help us learn just by watching someone complete a task.  They also allow us to feel what other people are feeling.  Studies have shown that observing someone expressing anger increases cortisol in the blood by 26%. 

Tired is a word that can mean so many things. We use this word to mean in need of sleep, finished exercising, or even annoyed with a situation (i.e. “I’m tired of this”). You can be multiple kinds of tired at once, and they often overlap. We can be emotionally, spiritually, or physically tired.  When someone says that they are tired, the advice is usually to rest. However, rest can look different depending on what kind of tiredness you are experiencing. If you are resting for a kind of tiredness that you are not feeling, the feeling will not go away. Seems pretty straightforward!

If you are neurodivergent, you may have experienced or noticed repetitive behaviors known as "stimming." What is stimming, and why is it essential for neurodivergent individuals? Discover how it helps with self-regulation, emotional expression, and advocacy for autism & ADHD. Stimming—short for self-stimulatory behavior—refers to repetitive movements, sounds, or interactions with objects that stimulate the senses.

Most parents strive to be great at parenting. We want “the best” for our kids so they grow up to be successful. However, research has shown that successful kids don’t come from what has classically been doled out as parenting advice. Healthy eating habits, self-control, social skills, and compassion for others are trademarks of a “successful” child.

Many, if not every therapist and therapy client are currently facing some version of the question: “How can I stay informed without being constantly overwhelmed by the news cycle?” The answer to this question is specific to each individual, but there are a number of suggestions to help form your own answer to this question. Examining your relationship with news and media consumption is worth doing, especially if you’re finding it hard not to become overwhelmed, despairing, anxious, and angry when checking the news. The most recent American Psychological Association’s Stress in America™ poll shows that political and economic stressors are the highest sources of stress in adult Americans in 2024. The following 6 tips may help you fix your relationship with news consumption.

Body image isn’t just looking at yourself in the mirror to check on your outfit. It’s about the feelings you have about your body. These feelings can be about your height, shape, weight or how your body moves, as well as how your clothes feel on your body. The feelings can be about your body in the present – like when you’re looking in the mirror – or as you think about your body in the present, past or future. How we talk about our physical selves – our internal voice and monologue – is our body image. This blog will go into more detail about the different kinds of body image we have, as well as ways to better understand them.

Many people are currently or in the past experienced a wide range of financial stressors, from being between jobs, having debt (student loans, mortgages, car payments, credit cards), or simply struggling to keep up with the ever-increasing cost of living. Financial struggles are real, and have real impacts on mental health. Day-to-day life can feel like a nightmare when you’re unsure if you can pay the bills, afford groceries, or be prepared for life’s emergencies.

With it being February, there is a lot of focus on relationships and companionship. There is a primary focus on romantic relationships. However, I want to challenge you to tap into another very important relationship: the relationship you have with yourself. Whether you are single or in a relationship, it is important to maintain a healthy balance between focusing on yourself, growing as a person, and building strong relationships with friends, family, and your community. While some people may associate solo time with being lonely, the truth is that it is a time full of exciting opportunities. When you invest in yourself and your connections with others, life can feel rich and full of joy.