Tag: Emotional Responses

Taking Care Of Ourselves….

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Another week is upon us and there is much work for us to do with our clients.

To be honest, it seems as if the work is never-ending and more work is added before know it.

Last Monday we focused on “Giving The Client What They Need”, but what about us?

How do we take care of ourselves in a field where burnout, compassion fatigue, and/or vicarious trauma is imminent?

Self-Care is the BEST Care!!!!!

We have to remember to NOT own our clients issue…..

We MUST have a safe and confidential outlet to express our feelings…..

We MUST engage in extra-curricular and/or leisure activities outside of our work…..

Leisure activities can range from simple brisk walk in the park to writing in a journal to gardening to listening to our favorite music, amd even spending time with family and friends.

Whatever it is you choose to do, make sure you are FOCUSED on yourself and allowing yourself to really enjoy the moment.

Our clients can be real selfish at times, monopolizing all of our time (whether they realize it or not).

We have to know we to say ENOUGH is ENOUGH and its time for me to have my time.

True enough, you want to help them become better individuals, but that doesn’t mean you have to thinl about them every second of every day.

What good are you to them, if you are not taking care of yourself, FIRST?

I encourage each of you to identify at least one thing you could do weekly for yourself, that has nothing to do with your clients or work, and engage and enjoy it.

You owe it to yourself to have a MOMENT for Self.

Have an Amazing Week!!!!

EMERGE On!

Giving Our Clients What They Need.. .

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There are times that we as therapists lose sight of what our clients need most—a genuine, nonreactive, empathic presence, authentic relationship, supportive change-validation, skill-building, and goal-directed activity.

Too often, mental health workers escalate clients’ distress by asserting too rigid a modality and too rational a mindset for the therapy to be therapeutic. In fact, I find that this principle is true often in marriage, parenting, clinical supervision, and in many other relationships we encounter in our daily lives.

Carl Whitaker argued that therapy should be a complex emotional experience, not “intellectual nagging”(Napier, 1977). We are complex creatures, most effectively engaged at multiple levels of awareness and being. Moments of emotion have ignited wars. We are far from purely rational creatures. The world is not a purely rational place. Why should therapy be?

When our approach with clients is too rigid or too directive, it naturally provokes resistance.

Here are a few tips to decrease resistance and promote a healthy therapeutic relationships with our clients:

● Respect clients’ autonomy: Our clients shoud never feel that we are making a choice or decision for them. They should feel free to make the choices and decisions they feel are best for them. Encourage and promote independence.

● Validate pre-existing strengths, current readiness or motivation to change (even when it may be low), and positive steps already being taken toward therapeutic goals.

● Meet your clients where they are in the process. Encourage them to feel their difficult emotions in the face of unconditional acceptance in order to begin working through them rather than merely talking about them.

Wishing each of you a Productive week!

EMERGE On!

References:

Napier, A. Y. (1977). “Follow-up to divorce labyrinth.” In P. Papp (Ed.), Family therapy: Full-length case studies. New York: Gardner Press.

A Catalyst For Change…..

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It is that time that we prepare to embark upon another week of working with our clients to provide them with the most effective therapeutic services we can.

While I would love to focus on our clients this week, I feel that it is more important that I focus more on us as clinicians and how we are feeling.

These past weeks, as most of you are aware, was a very trying time for our Country.

I know you are wondering, how does what is happening all over the world relate to as well as impact each of us as clinicians.

We find ourselves, watching the news for each possible update, focusing on the rhetoric that is being stated by the media, political figures, and even our social media friends and/or family members. We find ourselves having to deal with everyone’s feelings and emotions and at times, placing our feelings and emotions on the back-burner.

The reality is, before we are Clinicians, we are HUMANS first.

On a Personal Level:

We have to remember that in order for us to be effective within the counseling setting, we have to make ourselves our 1st PRIORITY. Take the time to really cope with your feelings regarding the situations, in a healthy manner. Seek out peers to talk to, go for a walk, mediate, pray, and even TURN OFF the TV and take a timeout.

From a clinical standpoint:

While it is easy to form an opinion on what is taking place in the world, what have to be mindful to not allow such to distort our perceptions and hinder our ability to maintain a non-bias stance when working with our clients, regardless of their beliefs, behaviors, affiliations, etc. We never know who we will face as clients and that we are “CATALYST for CHANGE”.

I can only imagine how each of you may be feeling, as I too have my own feelings. Lets remember to take care of ourselves during such times in the world and empower others to do the same. Let’s be the example that others strive to become.

We are CATALYST for CHANGE!!!!!!!!!

EMERGE On!

We Must Act……

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Systematic racism and police violence have stolen lives of Black Americans from communities across the country.

As clinicians, it is our responsibility to recognize the plight faced by our African American clients and their allies and must fight to correct these injustices. We must invest and stay active in these efforts, especially when they aren’t the focus of the media. The events in recent days, weeks and month have provided another all-too-often reminder of this.

As we work to provide a wide array of services to our African American clients and their allies at the forefront of these issues, I implore you to make a few promises.

First, promise that you will continually uplift and call attention to these injustices. We should not only hear your voice on this issue when it is the focus of the media, but also hear your voice when it is not the focus of the media attention. Promise that you will address and fight for these issues proactively, not reactively.

Promise that you will hold space for African Americans to process their emotions and thoughts as well as empower them.

Promise that you will become familiar with and utilize both multicultural and social justice counseling advocacy interventions.

Lastly, promise that you will promote and collaborate with organizations focused on ending these injustices.

As a fellow clinician, I call on you to hold each other as well as yourself accountable to these promises and our African American clients, their families, and our/their communities.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month…..

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Do You Know Your Tools2Thrive?

While 1 in 5 people will experience a mental illness during their lifetime, everyone faces challenges in life that can impact their mental health. The good news is there are practical tools that everyone can use to improve their mental health and increase resiliency – and there are ways that everyone can be supportive of friends, family, and co-workers who are struggling with life’s challenges or their mental health.

This May is Mental Health Month we are highlighting #Tools2Thrive – what individuals can do daily to prioritize their mental health, build resiliency in the face of trauma and obstacles, support those who are struggling, and work towards a path of recovery.

One of the easiest tools anyone can use is taking a mental health screen at mhascreening.org when they need answers. It’s a quick, free, and private way for people to assess their mental health and recognize signs of mental health problems.

This May, we are also exploring topics that can help you build your own set of #Tools2Thrive – recognizing and owning your feelings; finding the positive after loss; connecting with others; eliminating toxic influences; creating healthy routines; and supporting others – all as ways to boost the mental health and general wellness of you and your loved ones.

When it comes to your feelings, it can be easy to get caught up in your emotions as you’re feeling them. Most people don’t think about what emotions they are dealing with but taking the time to really identify what you’re feeling can help you to better cope with challenging situations. It’s ok to give yourself permission to feel. We also know that life can throw us curveballs – and at some point in our lives we will all experience loss. It may be the end of a relationship, being let go from a job, losing a home, or the death of a loved one. It is natural to go through a grieving process. By looking for opportunity in adversity or finding ways to remember the good things about who or what we’ve lost, we can help ourselves to recover mentally and emotionally.

It also is true that connections and the people around us can help our overall mental health – or hurt it. It’s important to make connections with other people that help enrich our lives and get us through tough times, but it’s equally important to recognize when certain people and situations in life can trigger us to feel bad or engage in destructive behaviors. Identifying the toxic influences in our lives and taking steps to create a new life without them can improve mental and physical health over time. And we know that work, paying bills, cleaning, getting enough sleep, and taking care of children are just some of the things we do each day – and it is easy to be overwhelmed. By creating routines, we can organize our days in such a way that taking care of tasks and ourselves becomes a pattern that makes it easier to get things done without having to think hard about them.

For each of us, the tools we use to keep us mentally healthy will be unique. But we are wanting everyone to know that mental illnesses are real, and recovery is possible. Finding what work for you may not be easy but can be achieved by gradually making small changes and building on those successes. By developing your own #Tools2Thrive, it is possible to find balance between work and play, the ups and downs of life, and physical health and mental health – and set yourself on the path to recovery.

For more information, visit www.mhanational.org/may.

Living on High Alert: COVID-19, Fear, and the Brain Part One: Understanding the Emotional Response

During this unprecedented time of COVID-19 many are experiencing one of the oldest reactions, also known as an emotional response, known to humans, FEAR.

FEAR of going out in the public…

FEAR of being in close proximity of others…

FEAR of contracting and/or being diagnosed with COVID-19…

FEAR of the potential consequences of contracting and/or being diagnosed with COVID-19…

FEAR of potentially infecting others with the virus, unintentionally…

FEAR of being asymptomatic and not knowing one has the virus…

FEAR of family members, especially those who are elderly and/or have significant medical concerns, contracting COVID-19…

FEAR of losing loved ones, close friends, and/or co-workers due to complications from COVID-19…

FEAR of what will happen to the world and its people…

FEAR of not being able to pay one’s bills…

FEAR of losing one’s job…

FEAR of not having enough money to buy food and/or necessities…

FEAR of going to the store and there are no necessities left for one to purchase…

FEAR of just about any and every things that is associated with this bleak time in our country’s history…

So where does one’s emotional response, more specifically FEAR, to COVID-19 originates?

Fear, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is an unpleasant and often strong emotion caused by the anticipation of danger (Merriam-Webster, 2020). It often initiates in the brain and extends throughout one’s body making adjustments for what it considers to be the best way to defend oneself.

The most common defense is known as the flight or fight response. This response originates in the region of the brain called the amygdala. The amygdala is an almond shaped cluster of nuclei located in the temporal lobes of the brain has several functions.

One of those functions is the processing of and controlling one’s emotional responses. Therefore, the amygdala not only processes the fear one may experience but is also controls the fear being experienced, which has been associated with most emotional disorders.

Now I am sure you are trying to figure what all of that means and if I was you, I would too.

Ultimately, COVID-19 has triggered a fear response in the amygdala of many, activating several areas in their brains needed to prepare the flight or fight motor functions responses.

As a result of the amygdala experiencing a response to the fear associated with COVID-19, several bodily reactions can, have, and will take place.

Those reactions include the following: dilated pupils, increased breathing as the bronchi begins to dilate resulting in an elevated heart rate and the potential for one’s blood pressure to rise, sweating, inability to sleep and/or restlessness, goose bumps, digestive issues, and many more physical responses.

Fear, as an emotional response, can be very taxing on one’s. However, it is important to note the response is different among individuals.

While it may seem and even feel scary, fear is one of the most important emotions one can experience as it influences how one may respond to situations that could potentially cause harm to you.

How has the FEAR you are experiencing due to COVID-19 influenced your daily routine?

Be on the lookout of Part 2: Understanding One’s Cognitive Response as a Result of their Emotional Response in the coming weeks!

References:

Amen, D. G. (2000) Change Your Brain, Change Your Life: The Breakthrough Program for Conquering Anxiety, Depression, Obsessiveness, Anger, and Impulsiveness. New York: Times Books.

“Fear.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fear. Accessed 27 Apr. 2020.