Aspera blog
EMDR is a Wonderful Tool and Hard Work!
There has been a growing body of research over the last 3 decades affirming the effectiveness of EMDR therapy for a host of mental health struggles. The benefits of EMDR are incredible and growing in scope as we continue to study its efficacy.
Healing through Storytelling
When we experience a traumatic or overwhelming event, our brains are not able to integrate the experience the way it does in a state of calm. The memory may end up feeling foggy and fragmented, or certain aspects of the memory might feel really vivid, almost like you are relieving it while losing other parts of what happened.
Male Depression: Overt and Covert
As we mentioned last week, men account for 80% of suicides. But men are also much less likely to admit struggling with their mental health and to seek help for it.
Common Misconceptions about Meditation
There seems to be this idea that being good at meditation is being able to sit for long periods of time and fully clear your mind. This is not the case and often makes people give up on meditation before they even give themselves the opportunity to benefit from it. Meditation is more about shifting our awareness to a state of curiosity than it is about emptying our mind.
I Have Heard About Eye Movements but What Is EMDR Therapy?
I know that EMDR uses eye movements but I don’t really know anything else about it. Does this sound like you? If so, you are in the right place!
Overcoming Generational Trauma
Generational trauma includes physical, psychological and sexual abuse, effects of substance use and abuse, and effects of living with personality disorders and mental illness. It can happen through direct experience, witnessing violence, or living with a constant threat of violence.
Carrying Trauma That Is Not My Own
One of the common misconceptions about marriage and family therapists is that we only treat couples and families. While we do have training in working with couples and families and hundreds of clinical hours required to apply for licensure as LMFT’s, the title is really more about our conceptualization of cases than the number of people in the room.
Checking in on You: Did you survive the holidays?
So the holidays have come and gone- how are you doing? A lot of times the holidays can bring to light issues we have been dealing with for a long time but have pushed off getting help about.
Breaking Free from the Narcissistic Cycle
Being in a relationship with a narcissist can be extremely traumatic. Narcissistic abuse is an insidious and crazy-making cycle that keeps the relationship sick and seriously injures the victim’s sense of self-worth.
Understanding EMDR & the benefits
EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing) is an evidence-based form of psychotherapy that works to help release the negative beliefs, emotions, and uncomfortable sensations stuck in the body associated with traumatic memories.
It could have been worse- so why am I struggling so much?
A lot of times those who experience little t trauma feel like what happened in their life could have been much worse, leading them to think “why am I struggling so much, my childhood was good, I never had anything major happen to me?”
Understanding your inner child
Your inner child is the innocent, vulnerable, loving, expansive part of you that is damaged in one way or another by events in your childhood. Your inner child learns to adapt, protect and guard against future damage or negative events.