Educational Blogs from Our Mental Health Therapists

Learn about common challenges, including depression, anxiety, relationships,
trauma, and more, written by Maryland therapists!

Women's Issues Melissa Wesner Women's Issues Melissa Wesner

Summer Body Ready? Navigating Body Image During the Summer and How Every Body is Summer-Ready!

How many times have you been in line in a store or scrolling online and come across some magazine or post that looked something like this?

“Get Summer Body Ready with This Simple Diet and Exercise Plan!”

Now, how many of those times did you then look at the picture of the “beach body” attached and think about all of the ways your body did not look like the photo in the article? Again, if this has happened to you in one way or another, I wouldn’t blame you!

But, how can one body type be the only body for summer when we are all under the same, summer sun?

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Depression, Resources, Anxiety Melissa Wesner Depression, Resources, Anxiety Melissa Wesner

Therapists’ Top Tips for Managing Depression & Anxiety

Depression and anxiety often go hand in hand. They’re like two good friends who like to hang out!  Depression and anxiety show up so frequently, that our therapists are regularly providing support and coping strategies to people who are looking to manage their symptoms.  We’ve asked 4 of our therapists to share some of their favorite strategies for managing depression and anxiety.  See what they had to say.

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Depression, Highly-Sensitive Person Melissa Wesner Depression, Highly-Sensitive Person Melissa Wesner

Like an Onion: Peeling Back the Layers of Emotional Discomfort

How many times have you heard one of the following?

“Stop crying.”

“Stop thinking about it.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“Don’t get so mad.”

“Don’t let it get you down!”

If you related to any of those, chances are, you also felt some kind of internal response to them. Maybe it was a twinge of anger or a flash of a memory from your childhood. Or maybe it is frustrating at the constant message that emotion or thought can be switched on and off on command. 

Crying is normal. Having thoughts, worrying, anger, and sadness are normal! So, if that is the case, why are we so accustomed to telling one another to stop or not think or feel a certain way? 

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Mindfulness Melissa Wesner Mindfulness Melissa Wesner

What is Right With You? Exploring Personal Strengths in Therapy

If I were to ask you to name all of the things that were wrong with you, I would bet that you would have a fairly easy time rattling off an entire list of all of the negative thoughts you have about yourself.. But what if I asked you to name the things that are right with you? Would this list be just as easy to create? When we shift our focus to understanding and building upon our strengths and natural qualities, it can create a mindset of resiliency, positivity, and confidence that allows individuals to be the makers of their own change. It is for this reason that exploring your personal strengths in therapy may be the key to unlocking your full potential. 

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Business Owners, Mindfulness, Motivation Melissa Wesner Business Owners, Mindfulness, Motivation Melissa Wesner

Mastering Your Mindset for Mental Health and Business

Whether you’re talking to a coach or a counselor, both will agree that your mindset matters.  We may use different language to discuss this topic, but the way you think and talk to yourself will impact your business and your mental health and emotional well-being. If you’re an entrepreneur who knows that you get caught up in unhelpful ways of thinking, you’re in the right spot!

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The Internal Fight Against Anxiety and Depression: a CBT Based Coping Skill

This is a recommendation I provide all my clients experiencing anxiety and depression, to put up a “fight” with their negative thoughts. I do not want this internal dialogue to be in contempt, but rather provide your mind with the alternative perspective- one that a parent may provide a child. You are the parent. You are in charge. Your anxious thoughts are your inner child. Your job- and it takes practice- is to explain to the “child” why their concerns are not actuality or that should they become actualized that they- you- can handle it. This models the value of thought reframing and prevention of catastrophizing. So here are a few examples.

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Anxiety, Highly-Sensitive Person Melissa Wesner Anxiety, Highly-Sensitive Person Melissa Wesner

4 Strategies for Managing Negative or Self-Critical Thoughts

Sometimes the thoughts that pop into our heads are ones that make us worry about the future or feel bad about ourselves. And some of these thoughts can be particularly irritating in that they like to stick around or pop up frequently. When we’ve experienced certain thoughts repeatedly, there can be a point in which we actually start believing that they are true, even when they most definitely are not. If you’ve ever struggled with depression or anxiety, it’s likely that you’ve experienced lots of these annoying thoughts.  If you’re a human, it’s 100% likely that you’ve experienced some unhelpful, self-critical thoughts too. 

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Burnout, Resources Melissa Wesner Burnout, Resources Melissa Wesner

3 Potions to Help You Banish The Inner Critic and Live A More Authentic Life

How many times have you tripped over your thoughts — I say tripped as if to say they come rushing in one after the other and it can be paralyzing in the moment. The “I’m not good enough…” and the “Why did I say/do/behave that way…” thoughts. The common players.

The inner critic is universal. Every human being depends on other people physically, emotionally, and throughout a lifetime for acceptance and psychological well-being.

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Anxiety, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) Melissa Wesner Anxiety, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) Melissa Wesner

How to Recognize Negative Thoughts: An Introduction to Cognitive Distortions

If I had to pick one helpful piece of advice to print on a t-shirt, it would be “don’t believe everything your brain tells you!” The brain is a vital and fascinating organ that keeps us surviving, but it’s not perfect. In addition to all of the wonderful things the brain does, one of the brain’s jobs is to put out thoughts all day long, but not all of them are helpful, accurate, or true. These unhelpful thoughts and beliefs are called cognitive distortions.

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