News headlines can be stressful in general. Having said that, the non-stop alerts about lay offs, fiscal cuts, human rights violations, and the next group of people being targeted with harmful legislative changes that we’ve been seeing lately are sure to create feelings of hopelessness, helplessness, and overwhelm.

Deconstruction has recently become a buzzword for ex-evangelicals who have decided the church as it stands today goes against the basic principles taught by Jesus, to love your neighbor as yourself and to love God. Deconstruction is simply the act of getting rid of the harmful practices and beliefs we hold as truth and intentionally selecting practices that promote growth and healing. Believe me, it’s a lot easier said than done.

If you’ve been looking into therapy intensives, you’ve probably noticed that they come with a higher price tag than traditional therapy. Understandably, that might leave you wondering—why do they cost so much? And more importantly, are they worth the investment?

Therapy intensives are becoming increasingly popular, and for good reason. They offer a deep, focused approach to therapeutic growth that allows people to work through big emotions, life transitions, and unresolved trauma in a shorter period of time. But with so many different therapy intensives available, how do you know which one is the right fit for you?

If you’ve been searching for therapy options in Maryland, you may have noticed something new.  More and more practices are offering therapy intensives. Whether it’s EMDR intensives, trauma-focused intensives, or Brainspotting intensives, these deep-dive therapy sessions are gaining traction fast. But why? What makes therapy intensives so popular, and more importantly, is a therapy intensive right for you?

When it comes to therapy, many people conclude that using insurance is the way to go or that all mental health providers accept health insurance. But did you know that many individuals–right here in Baltimore and across Maryland—choose to invest in private pay therapy instead? While insurance can be a helpful tool for accessing mental health care, it also comes with limitations that don’t work for everyone.

With the current anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric and legislation from our current administration, LGBTQ+ people are being faced with a slew of issues, such as barriers to obtaining gender-affirming IDs, free speech bans, healthcare restrictions, and the dismantling of Civil Rights Laws. This is why we build resilience: so we can bounce back from these challenges and stand stronger than before. Here are some ways to build up resilience and seek out hope in the face of despair.

A topic that has come up in my personal life with male friends and in my work life with male clients is that of stoicism. This is a topic of genuine interest for me as a man who is a mental health professional as the practice of stoicism is problematic. This blog will outline what stoicism is, the messages it sends to men, and healthier ways of being for others.

There are a number of different forms that anxiety can take. Maybe it's generalized anxiety, where you just have excessive worry. You're just constantly worrying throughout the day. And then more specific anxiety where it can result in a very specific fear, maybe something happened that has created a fear of driving. And then there's also panic disorder where you break out in a panic attack out of the blue.

At LifeSpring, we work with children and adolescents and adults at our office. And one of the things that we are going to be talking about is an issue that Caroline does see come up with children. And that is the issue of specific fears that come up for children and specific fears that bring them into therapy. One of the things that Caroline specializes in at our office is anxiety.

We’re talking with Sara Sacada-Lovio, LCPC, who is a mental health therapist at LifeSpring Counseling Services. She'll be talking with us about demystifying the therapy process, which can be a great topic for someone who's been considering therapy or someone who has strong beliefs about therapy, even if you've never tried it. So this will be an opportunity to check some of the information that you already have about therapy.

The biggest myth around if you're struggling with procrastination is that you're just lazy. You're just not trying hard enough. You just need to buckle down and make it happen. It must not be that important to you if you're not getting it done. But this isn't true. Procrastination is an active process. It's the brain telling you, current me is not willing to experience this discomfort right now, so I'm going to pass it off to future me. But the problem is that we usually don't identify with that future version of ourselves. So when that future time comes, we just kind of get stuck in the cycle of passing that obligation off to our future selves, and this actually exacerbates that feeling of discomfort because the thing is still there. It's still moving over you. It's still hanging around. It's just being put off.

When you call our office, Sarah is the first person that you're going to talk to. If you send us an email, she is the person who's going to answer you. We also want to say that Sarah is someone who gets tons of compliments! We hear a lot of feedback from clients who are just so impressed with how she takes care of them and how she makes them feel comfortable when they call our office.

I don’t know about you, but I am a sucker for reality TV, especially when it involves tangled up relationships and drama. 90 Day Fiance is my absolute favorite reality series, not only because of the twisted story lines but because of the lessons we learn from their relationships, both positive and negative. Although not every relationship is the same, there are common truths and situations that relate to everyone’s relationship. February is the season of love, so what better way to learn relationship advice from some of 90 Day’s most famous couples. 

The last past two weeks (or even months) for federal workers have been exhausting, fearful, confusing, and uncertain. With many executive orders filing in, there is a cloud of mystery and unknown with what is going to happen to all aspects of life in the coming days, weeks, and even years.

Moving to a new city? Have a recent break up? Have a new job? All of these life changes can have an impact on friendships as an adult. A common goal is making and keeping meaningful relationships. As children, teens, and even young adults, there can be a pool of possible friendships readily available! As an adult, however, it can feel harder to connect and find people with the same values, ideals, and even humor. Here are some ideas on how to connect with others in the Baltimore community. 

Distraction is a skill that can be used, NOT to solve our issues but, to give us time to calm ourselves. By allowing our intense emotions to lessen over time, we can have more control and power in our lives. DBT uses an A.C.C.E.P.T.S model. While my last post focused on the outdoors, this one highlights indoor activities in Baltimore where you can apply this model. 

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is a skills based model that teaches tools to help people with many struggles. These range from depression, anxiety, and anger. One central concept is self-soothing. While these techniques aren’t the solution to difficult feelings, they can help serve as tools in your tool box. I often tell my clients we want as many tools as we can! I describe self soothing and free ways to engage locally in the Baltimore area. 

With the inauguration last week, it’s important to check in with how we are feeling. It is often easier to ignore those feelings because facing them invites vulnerability, but when we take a moment to face the music, we realize the power we have in our voice. 

While some therapists see participating in therapy as a normal and necessary thing to do when working in this field, others may experience shame over needing to seek help themselves. That shame might come from a place of asking, “How am I going to help my clients if I can’t help myself? I should have it together!” However, one thing I have come to learn is EVERYONE needs to check in with their mental health, therapists included.