Here's a neat original post written by one of our colleagues, Joanna Townsend, at Bethesda Counseling Services.  Here's a link to the original post: https://www.bethesdacounselingservices.com/blog Self-care is surely a buzzword these days. We hear about it on the news, in social media, amongst friends, in advertising, apps, and most likely, in therapy, too. It’s encouraged as a way to relieve anxiety and stress, to make time for oneself, and to handle all of the daily challenges that life brings us. But what is it really? Or rather, what is it not? We typically think of self-care in terms of rest, relaxation, movement, massages, or taking time off. Maybe we even classify that online shopping splurge, booking that trip, or that extra glass of wine as #selfcare. But just because something feels good in the moment, does not necessarily mean it’s true self-care. There is a difference between numbing and restoring ...
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Ahhh, summer. The weather is warm, the sun is shining, the days are long, and the kids are out of school. The end of the school year was exhausting, and you are ready for a restful and relaxing break.  Although you’ve vowed to be more present this summer, the daily demands of life continue to get in the way of that promise.  Between camp carpool, work deadlines, and packing the family for the beach, your stress level (and your family’s) isn’t any different than it is during the school year.  If this sounds like your version of summer vacation, mindfulness can help! What is mindfulness? Sometimes when people hear mindfulness, their initial response is to picture a skilled yogi sitting cross-legged in a candlelit room chanting “ohhhmmm.”  Often, this preconceived notion gives mindfulness a bad rap.  Mindfulness is, in fact, the act of consciously focusing your mind in the present ...
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Calling upon and accessing cognitive resources when managing feelings of anxiety and depression is hard, to say the least. We often intellectually understand strategies for dealing with these feelings, but utilizing those tools when in a state of emotional strain can feel impossible.  When helping clients manage feelings of anxiety and/or depression, I often try to provide pneumonic devices or mental shortcuts in order to simplify the process in order to help remembering, and employ, their strategies.  One such shortcut is the mantra, “relax, distract, cope” ...
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When I was little, my favorite game to play with my dad was “Rumble Tumble.” My dad would lie on his back on the floor, and my siblings and I would stack ourselves on top, with the youngest always getting the comfortable top position. Then my dad would rock back and forth, chanting “rumble tumble, rumble tumble” until, one by one, we fell off giggling. This kind of silly fun, mixed with physical touch, is a great way to encourage closeness and attachment with children ...
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Cherry blossoms, day light savings time, the sweet smell of fresh flowers…the return of all these things after a long winter can only mean one thing: Spring has finally sprung! ...
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