Your Today
July 5, 2023 in Be Positive
“There is no such thing in anyone’s life as an unimportant day.”
-Alexander Wolcott
We would love to hear about your day in the comments!
by Moderator ★
by Moderator ★
Healthy Peer Relationships
July 3, 2023 in LINKS
Relationships with peers are an important part of life. There are many different kinds of relationships young people can have with their peers –including friendships, dating relationships. But as with all human relationships, issues can come up. We found a great resource page at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Adolescent Health to help with some serious issues connected to peer relationships including dating violence and bullying. This page also provides information for LGBT adolescents as well as ways to maintain healthy friendships. Check out the website, and let us know what you think.
Can you think of some other issues you’ve come across as part of your peer relationships? How did you work through the problem?
by Moderator ★
Social Media & Self Esteem
June 30, 2023 in Social Media Guide
The urge to maintain an online presence can be exhausting. Sure, social media isn’t always negative, but there are important things to keep in mind about using social media that can prevent it from being a bad experience. For example, monitoring your self-esteem as you use social media. It’s important to be self-aware about the way social media makes us feel. If you use a particular social media site and you come away feeling worse about yourself because of it, it might be time to reconsider the use of that platform. If I log onto Facebook and become frustrated and unhappy about my life because I compare it to others, it’s important that I consider changing the way I use the site. This might mean changing how long I use Facebook, or who I am interacting with, maybe even considering if it’s worthwhile to use the site at all.
Social media can have a lasting impact on our self-esteem. Bustle.com posted an article explaining the ways that social media affects our self-esteem. Their list includes items like:
1) Social media can lead us to disengage from our real experiences. When we’re too busy worried
about getting the perfect pic of the view, we can end up missing the view itself.
2) Social media can bring about false connections with others. Because online interactions are not grounded in real-life, this can mean they lack the power that face-to-face exchanges have. This lacking can affect the way we view ourselves. Bustle points out that this doesn’t mean we can’t make valuable connections online, it just means we’re at risk of building false connections when there’s no face-to-face contact.
3) Social media can bring on a battle for likes. It’s very hard to not compare the amount of likes across people and content. It’s also hard not to makes those likes into a reflection of self-worth. The more likes, the better we feel. But what kind of affect does it have on you when you don’t get the number of likes you wanted?
All of these points are important to keep in mind while using social media. Is the reward worth the cost? Social media is a complicated thing. It’s important to be mindful of the way it makes us feel, and to make changes to be sure social media isn’t taking a hit on self-esteem.
What do you do to avoid social media hurting your self-esteem?
by Moderator ★
“Like No One’s Watching You”
June 28, 2023 in Be Positive
This is a great song that captures the ups and downs in life and the importance of not giving up! Check it out!
What are your thoughts on the song?
by Moderator ★
I’m Not Clicking with My Therapist
June 26, 2023 in Educate Yourself
You’ve decided to get professional help for the depression and anxiety you’ve been dealing with these last couple of months. After a few appointments with your new therapist, you feel like things just aren’t going well- you don’t feel heard or understood, you don’t feel like you’re getting the help you need, or maybe you sense a disconnect between you and the helping professional. Where do you go from here?
It can take a lot of courage to commit to going to therapy. And when things aren’t seeming to click with your therapist, it can be really disheartening. The good news is this is common for so many people. Finding the right fit can be a process, but getting the help you need and deserve is absolutely worth it!
Some people connect with their therapist right away, but this is not the norm. Often, it is a trial-and-error process. While it’s good to give the helping process a chance for a few sessions, you’ve got to listen to your gut if you feel like things aren’t working after giving it some time. You-as the client- are in control of the sessions! When things aren’t going well, it might be good to start by expressing your concerns to the therapist. Let them know that you aren’t getting what you need out of the sessions and make suggestions for how things could change for the better. Another option is to begin to look for another therapist, especially one that specializes in the care you need (anxiety and/or depression, grief and loss). A great website that has a lot of information on therapists is https://therapists.psychologytoday.com/
Do you have a story about finding the right fit for you in therapy? We’d love to hear in the comments below!
by Moderator ★
What to Expect on Your First Day of Therapy
June 23, 2023 in Educate Yourself
Many people are reluctant about starting therapy or counseling. There are a number of unknowns and reasons that can create this hesitation. Therefore, we thought it would be good to address some common parts of a first therapy session such as the assessment.
Usually, therapists will do an assessment during the first session in an effort to help them get to know the client and to better understand the client’s goals for therapy. This assessment can be different among therapists because every therapist has their preferred way of handling the first session.
In a Huffington Post article titled “Going To Therapy For The First Time? Here’s What To Expect,” Jeannie Bertoli, Ph.D., a counselor, was asked about what to expect in the first session. She said, “Some therapists do a first session by getting an assessment of the current problem. Some will do background, so they’ll understand your childhood and any medical issues. Some will just listen and say ‘Uh huh’ a lot, and will be a more passive therapist, and some will really engage with you about what’s going on right now, and get to the depth of it.”
“Assessment” can also be an intimidating word because it sounds similar to taking an exam or test. However, in therapy, an assessment is a set of questions asked by the mental health professional. It’s a very important part of therapy because it helps the therapist get a well-rounded idea of what’s going on with you. Assessment questions aim to help with many aspects of counseling such as the following:
- Reasons why the individual is seeking therapy
- Client background or history, including information about the problem (e.g., when did it start)
- What goals the client has for the problem
To help address the aims of therapy, here are several common questions that will most likely be asked:
- What brings you in today?
- What would you say is your main concern?
- Have you ever tried therapy before, and if so, what was your experience?
- Have you had any recent changes in appetite, energy, or mood lately?
Before going into the first session (or any therapy session), it is important to remember that the client is actually the one in charge, not the mental health professional. In order to get the most out of each session, it is important to speak up and work together with your therapist. Many individuals seeking therapy for the first time do not realize how active their role is or how much talking they might do. Remember, a therapist or counselor is an objective, professional resource who is not there to judge you or force you to disclose anything that makes you uncomfortable. Bertoli points out in the Huffington Post article that, “You’re the co-creator of this relationship. If you go in saying , ‘Here are my goals, here are my expectations, my preferences for how to proceed, what matters to me the most,’ — if you go in prepared and not looking to take a backseat … you will have the most success.” If you’re feeling nervous before your first therapy session, it can be helpful to make a list of things you want to talk about or review any of the questions above.
Lastly, there is no required “criteria” to see a therapist and you do not have to be in crisis to get help. Therapists are there to help people of all ages live happier, healthier and more productive lives. You may have to “shop around” for the perfect fit between you and your therapist, but ideally you should find someone who makes you feel comfortable and safe to talk openly about wherever your mind takes you. You cannot fail at therapy and there is no right or wrong way to do it.
Have you ever attended therapy? What was your experience? Do you want to start therapy, but have similar hesitations? If you have any questions or comments about the subject of today’s post, please let us know in the comment section below!
by Moderator ★
The Real Questions and Answers About Therapy
June 21, 2023 in Educate Yourself
For this blog post, I interviewed a therapist to ask questions about how and why therapy could help people with depression and anxiety. His name is Gary Sadler, a Transition Care Coordinator at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh’s Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine. While he explained that his work covers more than just therapy, he does frequently counsel teens and young adults who are depressed or who have anxiety.
The first question I asked was basically, “Why does therapy work?”
Mr. Sadler explained that often people think that medication alone will help them to feel better. He said that while this sometimes is enough, research shows that the most effective method is the combination of medication and therapy. He says that talking to a third party about “whats going on in your life” helps to improve depressive symptoms. He explains, “I always stress to the patient that it is their therapy, it’s not my therapy. I’m here to listen, I’m here to interpret. You end up helping yourself by just talking about it.”
Next, I asked, “How do you help patients to feel comfortable?”
He said that he always begins by introducing himself and letting the patient tell him first a little bit about themselves. He will let them know, “I want to get to know you and know who you are as a person.” He also says that building trust and explaining confidentiality are key. He says, “Hopefully we can reach that level so that the person doesn’t feel that if I tell you something, you’re going to share that with someone else, because I’m not.”
I followed up by asking him to explain patient confidentiality.
He explained, “The general rule is that confidentiality is guaranteed to the patient when it comes to mental health. [In Pennsylvania] You can be as young as 14 years old and you can request mental health treatment and that treatment, and those notes and those conversations are protected. And for me to release that information would require approval from the patient, except if there was any type of subject matter or topic that came up or statement that was made [with intent to] hurt someone else, or if they’re going to hurt themselves, and then it would be that I may have to report it.”
I then asked, “How can you tell if your therapy sessions are going well or not?”
His answer was that if he is talking more than the patient, then they are not going well. “The patient should be doing a lot more talking.” He also said that at the end of every session, he does a “summary and check in,” by summarizing what has been discussed and seeing how the patient is feeling. He says he will ask, “How did you feel about today’s session? Is there anything that made you uncomfortable? Is there anything that we may have not discussed? That you maybe want to discuss the next time we meet? How did you feel?”
I finished by asking him if there was anything else that he thought was important for young adults or teens who are considering treatment to know.
He says, “I think the most important thing is to understand that it is okay to be depressed. It’s okay to have some form of anxiety. So if you have some sort of mental illness or if someone puts a label on it, it’s not something permanent. Not to really feel like you know I don’t want to go into treatment because everybody is going to find out. Because again, it’s a diagnosis, but the diagnosis is only there to support how we intervene. The diagnosis is not something that’s to be shared with everybody, and most people that go through any type of therapy for depression end up becoming better. I mean the statistics are, and the research is out there, that a lot of people recover. It really is that effective.”
So there you have it. What do you think? Let us know!
by Moderator ★
Seasonal Affective Disorder — In Summer?
June 19, 2023 in Educate Yourself
As the days get longer this time of year, some have trouble maintaining a positive mood. One type of depression is known as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). SAD typically sets in at the beginning of late fall and early winter and lasts through the beginning of spring and summer. However, some experience SAD during the summer due to the heat and humidity outside. Many often experience decreased mood. Because SAD is a category of depression, the symptoms are the same. The thing that makes SAD a specific type of depression is the way the disorder matches with the changing seasons.
Some great forms of treatment exist to help those with symptoms of SAD. These treatments are outlined by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).
Any thoughts to add about Seasonal Affective Disorder summer edition? Comment below!
References: National Institute of Mental health
by Moderator ★
Happiness in the Moment
June 16, 2023 in Be Positive
“Happy people know that regardless of what happened yesterday, last month, years ago—or what might happen later today, tomorrow, or next year—now is the only place where happiness can actually be found and experienced.”
-Dr. Richard Carlson
How do you find ways to be present and happy in the moment?
by Moderator ★
Tips for dealing with depression
June 14, 2023 in Educate Yourself, LINKS
Recently, we introduced Dr. Erika Forbes, a professor of Psychiatry, Pediatrics, and Psychology at the University of Pittsburgh. Now that you know a little bit more about her and the studies she conducts, we wanted to share some of the pointers she had for adolescents and young adults coping with depression.
Here are some tips to help deal with depression from Dr. Erika Forbes, Ph.D:
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