By: Jennifer Worley, LPC In the beginning of the pandemic, there was a well publicized sentiment in social media that time on screens was getting a pass. This was due to the unprecedented shift and stressors of changed interactions via safer at home. The idea of life changing so dramatically for this period of time, wasn't fully known, thus coping through a few weeks or even a few months was a reasonable focus. Fast forward eight months and parents are expressing worries that screen time has gone too far for too long. Plus there is confusion on the quality of the tech time and knowing what sc ..read more

By Jenn Worley, LPC   The pandemic has upended well established routines and set into motion the creation of new ones. For many, isolation, boredom, stress and frustration came on the scene late March and continue to have a spot at the emotional table today.  Similar to others, I’ve been intentional about participating in activities that I hoped would insulate overall well-being during these months filled with the aforementioned isolation, boredom, stress and frustration.  Therefore, while visiting a bookstore, a display struck a chord with me as it included titles on exam ..read more

By Jenn Worley, LPC As Covid continues to alter everyday interactions, there’s an issue that is being shared more frequently. Parents are discussing the fear that their school aged children and / or  adolescents have for other people. Panic attacks after going to the store, jumping from play structures when another child approaches, difficulty sleeping, and refusing to be apart from a parent, are just a few examples of actions of kids who are fearful of others.  Parents are wondering what can be said or done to help move towards caution oriented thinking and decision making.  T ..read more

By Jenn Worley, LPC There’s a sensation that has taken shape but is a bit hard to nail down.  Sometimes it's described as a numbness about things that the person had previously experienced a high interest in.  Other times people are describing it as a sense of not being able to take in more  information in a way that is productive but rather they feel completely overwhelmed.   This  might be compounded by sadness, guilt or even possible embarrassment from the desire to disengage and not deep dive into life’s steady stream of stress, judgements and activities. In casua ..read more

By Jennifer Worley, LPC This blog is the second part of a summary of the free and open webinar by Dr Bessel van der Kolk, author of The Body Keeps the Score (If you haven't read Part 1 of this 2 part series, you can read that ,here).  It focuses on reviewing his identified practices to steer ourselves through new and developing traumas related to social distancing and Covid 19. Dr. van der Kolk discussed protective actions that can be taken now to help people deal directly with COVID-related stressors.  The webinar was structured by  six pre-traumatic conditions that are settin ..read more

By Jennifer Worley, LPC This week's blog summarizes a free and open webinar by Dr Bessel van der Kolk  (author of The Body Keeps the Score) on practices to steer ourselves through new and developing traumas related to social distancing and Covid 19. Dr. van der Kolk discussed protective actions that can be taken now to help people deal directly with COVID-related stressors.  The webinar was structured by  six pre-traumatic conditions that are setting up in the shadows of personal safety and economic concerns. I focus on the first three pre-trauma conditions below and the final ..read more

By Jennifer Worley, LPC As time marches on into the 4th week of people participating in complete home living, some new themes are emerging.  This blog entry focuses on the topic of motivation. Specifically, the decrease in motivation and how that impacts an individual's self concept and self worth.   As covered in a previous blog entry, for some this hard stop to all commitments or social activities outside of the home has been a relief and an unexpected off ramp leading to reduced anxiety.  For others, it has proven to be a challenge to how they experience their self conf ..read more

By Jennifer Worley, LPC In talking with adults in life's various stages on how they are experiencing social distancing and current events, there's been a variety of emotions expressed.  Some of the more prevalent feelings discussed include: Anxiety, loneliness, stress and frustration. Here we will touch on one that is also coming up yet isn't discussed as openly, relief. Typically, relief would not be an emotion that would elicit guilt, but in this landscape, most people who mention relief simultaneously discuss guilt with it. The relief is coming from a release of the fear of missi ..read more

By: Liza Hahn, MS, LPC-IT, Registered Yoga Instructor As a school counselor, the topic of respect comes up on almost a daily basis in regards to student behavior. Usually it's when a student is not being respectful to others, including teachers and/or peers. As a private therapist, the topic of respect still comes up, however, it's usually related to personal interactions and when exploring values. Whichever environment respect is discussed, it has become clear to me that this term means different things to different people. Hence, leading to some very confused kiddos. So, what is this respec ..read more

By: Katy Ainslie-Wallace, LPC, SAC Often times therapists teach their clients to use distraction when they are faced with a difficult emotion. (I'm talking about healthy distraction NOT avoiding or procrastination). The idea being that you do something different until the difficult emotion passes, and you are able to calm down enough to remain effective in your interactions with others and yourself. The science behind distraction is that you can only do one thing at a time. We often believe that we are fabulous multi-taskers, but the truth is that we are only giving our attention for short am ..read more