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Understanding Anxiety: What Does It Feel Like?

June is Pride month, an opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate the lives and contributions of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, intersex, and asexual (LGBTQIA+) community. While the dancing and colorful festivities are a wonderful way to celebrate, it’s also an opportunity to shine a light on the unique challenges members of this community face, particularly when it comes to their mental health and well-being.

Empowering Your Child’s Journey: The Transformative Power of Therapy Outside of School

As parents, we want nothing more than to see our children thrive, both academically and emotionally. However, the challenges they face can sometimes be overwhelming, affecting their well-being and academic success. In such moments, therapy outside of the school setting emerges as a powerful ally, offering transformative support that can unlock your child’s full potential. Discover how Sunstone Counseling can empower your child’s journey and provide the essential tools for growth.

Shining a Light on LGBTQIA+ Mental Health

person celebrating lgbtq community in parade, holding a pride flag and a drawing

June is Pride month, an opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate the lives and contributions of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, intersex, and asexual (LGBTQIA+) community. While the dancing and colorful festivities are a wonderful way to celebrate, it’s also an opportunity to shine a light on the unique challenges members of this community face, particularly when it comes to their mental health and well-being.

Highlighting Mental Health Awareness Year-Round

While we talk about the importance of prioritizing mental health year-round, Sunstone Counseling celebrates the dedication of May as Mental Health Awareness Month. We envision a world where seeing a therapist is as commonplace as seeing a primary care doctor—where people grappling with emotional and relational challenges can easily access the professional services they need to not only survive, but thrive.

Embracing Change and Planting Seeds of Growth

It’s spring! The outdoors is a kaleidoscope of colors, as we witness transitions from dormant stages to vitality. Yet often we want to skip over or dismiss the process it took to get to this point. It was dedicated and difficult work to be “planted.” Much like the seeds and bulbs around us, we may be “in process.” We may have changes on the horizon – both chosen and unwelcome. Change and growth can be unnerving and exhausting. It can also be incredibly rewarding and life-changing.

What NOT to Say to Sexual Assault Victims

In the wake of the #metoo movement, the highly publicized cases of Brock Turner, Harvey Weinstein, and Brett Kavanaugh have evoked thousands of men and women to come forward and share their stories of sexual assault. Sharing about the incident with someone you trust can be helpful, but only if the response is one of belief, support, and non-judgment. It is important to know what to say — or what NOT to say — to someone who has shared a history of sexual assault.

Coping with Caregiver Stress: Self-care for Caregivers

Caring for an aging, disabled, or chronically ill loved one is a reality that many people face. Often, caregivers tend to live with chronically elevated stress levels and may neglect their own self-care – factors that raise the risk for negative impacts on both emotional and physical wellbeing. So it’s vitally important that caregivers take the time to also care for themselves. There are resources and strategies you can use to ensure you’re giving yourself the same care and attention you give your loved one. 

It’s Time to Normalize Couples Therapy

When it comes to the relationship with our partner, we can be happy with our partner AND still feel like we have some areas that need extra attention and support. If something is feeling off or uncomfortable in the relationship, it could be time for a tune-up to head off a major crisis down the road. We have counselors dedicated to supporting couples. It can be a gift to yourself and your partner to invest in regular support so you can have greater relationship satisfaction over time.

4 Reasons to Start Therapy in 2023

If you’re like most people, you might have rung in the new year with a list of resolutions. Whether that is through addressing eating habits, increasing physical activity, learning a new language, or decluttering your home office, resolutions are made to help us live our best lives. In all of these instances – and so much more – therapy can help. Mental health counseling can help you stick to your new year’s resolutions, explore hidden desires, build greater self-awareness, and even boost physical health.

A New Year Planning Guide For You

It’s natural this time of year to reflect on the past calendar year, take inventory of what we would like to change, and make bold declarations of what to improve upon. It can be an inspiring time to re-imagine, re-focus, and start fresh for some, but for others, it’s overwhelming and discouraging to examine so much change at once. If you’re not sure where to start in 2023, this New Year Planning Tool from YearCompass can be a helpful resource to reflect and focus. It provides prompts and space to examine your past accomplishments and successes, and to explore what’s possible.

Moving Beyond Gratitude to Self-Compassion

There has been much research on the positive effects of expressing gratitude – from keeping anxious and depressive thoughts at bay to helping us catch better z’s. It may even keep us happy as it blankets our brains in mood-boosting chemicals such as dopamine and serotonin. With all of these benefits, imagine what could happen if we kept those feelings of gratitude going past November 24 AND evolved them into self-compassion! We could better prepare ourselves for the stress of the holidays, help us prioritize what’s really important, and keep our mental health front and center.