All posts by The Center for Connection

Blog

What Are Things You Can Do to Take Care of Your Mental Health?

Mental health refers to our emotional, psychological and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel or act in one way or the other. It also determines the way we handle stress, relate with others and make choices.

Mental health is important in all stages of our life and that’s why we should do everything humanly possible to make sure we take good care of our mental health.

6 Tips for Caring for Your Mental Health

You should do the following things if you want to take good care of your mental health:

Share Your Feelings

A problem shared is a problem halved, so goes an old saying. Sharing your problems with others is a proven way to beat stress. So, it makes more sense to tell others, especially family and friends, how you feel and see if they can help than trying to bottle up your emotions and die in silence.

Exercise

Exercising regularly keeps you active and boosts your self-esteem. It helps your brain and your mental health. Regular exercise will also help you concentrate, sleep well and feel better. Exercise isn’t just about doing sport or going to the gym. You can exercise by simply walking in the park, gardening or doing house chores.

Eat Well

The importance of food to your emotional, psychological and social well-being can’t be overemphasized. Good food helps the brain to stay healthy and function effectively. A healthy, balanced diet includes lots of fruits and vegetables, bread, wholegrain cereals, nuts and seeds, oily fish, dairy products and plenty of water.

Drink Responsibly

Sometimes, we drink alcohol to change our mood or deal with fear and loneliness but such effects are only temporary. We often realize ourselves when the drink wears off. Drinking is a bad way to manage difficult feelings and too much alcohol can damage our body.

Keep in Touch

Keeping in touch with family and friends is a good way to deal with the stresses of life. This is because some of them can know what you’re passing through even without being told. Sometimes, they encourage you to speak up so they can lend you a helping hand. Even if you can’t see face-to-face, you can communicate regularly with them thanks to the internet.

Ask for Help

You can always ask for professional help where all else fails. Seeking professional help like counseling will go a long way in maintaining your mental health. Counselors can understand and give you advice and guidance about your personal problems. They know where the shoe pinches you and how they can help.

As we celebrate this year’s Mental Health Awareness Month, it’s everyone’s duty to join hands “Together for Mental Health” in order to make the society a better place to live in. You can start it by going for a mental health therapy today.

 

The Center for Connection, Healing and Change provides mental health therapy for people of all ages. We offer a range of services focused on healing relationships, forging attachment, facilitating emotional closeness and exploring the mind-body connection, all aimed at restoring well-being for our clients. Our services facilitate connection, healing and change in all aspects of what it means to be human: emotional, mental, physical, relational and spiritual. Schedule a free consultation today, or visit our offices in Woodbridge or Fairfax if you’re in Virginia. For more information or enquiries, email us or call (703) 878-3290.

Blog

What Is Co-Parenting Therapy?

Co-parenting is the act of sharing parental duties. Oftentimes, parents are divorced or separated. While some of them can adapt to the situation more quickly, others find it difficult to do so and struggle with conflict, miscommunication or absence of communication.

Co-parenting therapy therefore equips them with the requisite tools and skills to help improve their communication, reduce conflict and plan for a better future.  

Benefits of Co-Parenting

A good co-parenting relationship has the following benefits:

  • Children live better lives.
  • They have higher self-esteem.
  • They learn good social skills.
  • They enjoy better relationships with their parents.
  • They learn organizational skills.
  • They do better in life because they are not bogged down by conflicts.
  • Co-parents have a smoother life and make more impact on their children’s lives.
  • The family remains safe and a place of comfort for everyone.

Advantages of Co-Parenting Therapy

Co-parenting therapy helps in three main ways, namely conflict resolution, healthy communication and parenting strategies.

Conflict Resolution

Conflict resolution is one of the main benefits of co-parenting therapy. More often than not, divorced or separated parents continue to grapple with the same issues they had while they were still married. This can take a toll on their mental health or that of their children and make it difficult if not nearly impossible to have anything to do in the future. A good co-parenting therapy therefore helps them understand each other better and equips them with the relevant conflict resolution skills to be able to resolve their differences amicably whenever the need arises.

Healthy Communication

Healthy communication is another benefit of a good co-parenting therapy. It teaches co-parents effective communication strategies and affords them the opportunity to communicate better and nip conflicts in the bud before they rear their ugly head. With healthy communication, co-parents can schedule time sharing and events focusing on their children, address issues without trading blames and exchange information without reliving the past.

Parenting Strategies

The other benefit of co-parenting counseling is parenting strategies. Co-parenting therapy helps co-parents know how to take better care of their children in the face of a messy divorce or separation. It helps them learn how to be consistent with both households, arrange workable time sharing, pick-ups or drop-offs, have supplies in both households and perform any other duties as may be required from time to time for the wellbeing of their kids.

Looking after a child is difficult but raising a child all alone is even more difficult and twice the workload. The Center for Connection, Healing and Change recognizes this fact, understands the issues that tear families apart and works with families to resolve these issues and find more satisfying ways to talk and connect while protecting parents and their children. 

 

Divorced or separated with kids? Get co-parenting therapy today and raise better kids together. Schedule a free consultation today, or visit CCHC offices in Woodbridge or Fairfax if you are in Virginia. For more information or inquiries, email CCHC or call (703) 878-3290.

 

Blog

What Are Some Signs You Have Anxiety?

Anxiety is an emotion characterized by feelings of tension, worried thoughts and physical changes like increased blood pressure, according to the American Psychological Association.

Anxiety is intense, excessive and persistent worry and fear about everyday situations. It can be normal when it occurs in stressful situations like interviews, public speaking or examinations. 

However, anxiety becomes a problem when you begin to have excessive feelings which might interfere with your daily life such as taking care of yourself, holding down a job, enjoying leisure time, trying new things, and forming or maintaining relationships.

Anxiety can impact your physical and mental health negatively, often having short- or long-term effects on your mind and body.

Types of Anxiety Disorders

There are several types of anxiety disorders. They include agoraphobia, anxiety disorder due to a medical condition, generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, selective mutism, separation anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, specific phobias and substance-induced anxiety disorder.

Signs of Anxiety

Common signs and symptoms of anxiety include a rapid heart rate, nervousness, fast breathing, restlessness, panic attacks, chest pain, shaking, sweating, dizziness, fatigue, weakness, nausea, sleep problems, difficulty concentrating, feeling too hot or cold and digestive issues.

Other signs and symptoms include headaches, grinding of teeth, changes in sex drive, low mood and depression, obsessive thoughts, compulsive behaviors, and periods of temporary relief which often follows the compulsive behaviors.

Causes of Anxiety

Anxiety may be caused by traumatic events, inherited traits, side effects of medications and underlying health issues like diabetes, heart disease, thyroid problems, respiratory disorders, alcohol withdrawal, chronic pain, tumors and drug misuse or withdrawal.

Risk Factors of Anxiety

There are some factors that may increase the risk of developing an anxiety disorder. They include trauma, stress due to an illness, personality, stress build-up and mental health disorders like depression.

Complications of Anxiety

Anxiety disorder can cause or worsen other mental and physical conditions like depression, insomnia, substance misuse, headaches, chronic pain, digestive or bowel problems, social isolation, suicide, inability to function at school or work and poor quality of life.

Prevention of Anxiety

You can reduce the impact of the symptoms of anxiety through the following ways:

Getting Help

Get help as early as possible if you feel like having an anxiety disorder. This will make it easier to treat.

Staying Active

Participate in activities you love and enjoy interactions and relationships that can lessen your worries.

Avoiding Alcohol or Drug Use

Drinking alcohol or using drugs can cause or worsen anxiety. For an addict, quitting can make you anxious. Seek help if you can’t quit on your own.

Treatment of Anxiety

While anxiety is common, its origins are unique to each person. Understanding the symptoms allows you to heal any unresolved issues and create space for a sense of internal peace, calm and firmness. The Center for Connection, Healing and Change offers a deeper dive into your relationship with anxiety and how it plays out in your life, utilizing evidence-based therapy models and offering a tried-and-tested approach to treating anxiety.

 

Need anxiety treatment? Schedule a free consultation today, or visit CCHC offices in Woodbridge or Fairfax if you are in Virginia. 

Blog

How Important is Self-Care to Your Health

The meaning of self-care is quite self-explanatory, which means, taking care of oneself. Anything that you do for the betterment of your health; physically or mentally or even in a spiritual capacity, can be regarded as self-care. Therapies, like anxiety treatment, depression treatment, or even adolescent counseling, are also considered self-care. Self-care is ignored, whenever you find yourself in difficult and challenging situations, whereas you should always keep it on top of your mind.

Why is self-care important?

In today’s world, you are expected to work for longer hours, denoting the idea that it means a person is working more productively. These types of conditions can take away the opportunity for self-care without even you noticing.

However, contrarily, you can increase your productivity in a much more efficient way; by engaging in different self-care routines. For example, marriage counseling or couple’s therapy kind of engagements deem to be very beneficial for everyone; married or in a relationship.

You may often hear the phrase “burning that candle at both ends” at workplaces, educational establishments, etc. However, having fewer sleeping hours on your schedule has significant consequences. Burnout, depression, and anxiety are a few amongst a whole lot of other bad implications.

Opting for anxiety therapy or depression counseling has clinically proved to be very beneficial for our mental as well as physical well-being. Anxiety counseling can reduce stress and in comparison boosts our concentration, happiness, and overall energy.

Consequences of neglecting self-care

Low energy, hopelessness, lower patience, headaches, sleep deprivation, unhealthy diet, lack of concentration, and reduced performance at work and overall – these are some of the common symptoms and consequences of neglecting self-care.

Ignoring self-care routines can suppress your immune system as well. The stress hormones will begin to increase passively as you will keep on disregarding the idea of self-care. Which, in turn, will lead to mental health diseases, like anxiety or depression. If you keep on ignoring the idea of opting for that anxiety therapy or depression therapy that your friends told you about, you may find yourself getting sick more often.

Lack of self-care can also lead to a significant decline in your productivity. The general belief regarding self-care routines is that if we are spending our time attending anxiety therapy or depression counseling – it means that we are not doing a lot of other things that need to be done.

More often than not, people who neglect self-care are over-stressed which can very negatively affect your health to a point that it could kill you. Having a higher stress rate can lead to a lot of health issues like high blood pressure and heart diseases, and cardiovascular diseases are the biggest reasons for deaths throughout the world.

Therapy can be helpful for self-care

Therapy can be very beneficial in realizing the cause of negative emotions and assists in getting rid of unhealthy mental conditions. It will help you be more productive and active towards your professional as well as personal life. By focusing on the root of each problem, therapy improves mental health – which in turn will positively influence your physical health as well.

You can opt for therapy at any age or stage of life; marriage/couples therapy, teen therapy, adolescent therapy, etc. Anxiety therapy or depression therapy will assist you and provide you with the tools to overcome your anxiety or depression and focus on your self-care.

 

It is very important to “put your oxygen mask on first” and “fill up your cup.” It’s so important to take care of yourself at least as much as you care for others. Please schedule a time to speak at our locations in Woodbridge, Virginia, Fairfax, Virginia or our telehealth options.

Blog

How Relationships Affect Your Happiness

Humans are inherently social “animals.” Throughout their lives, they form bonds with other humans in order to thrive in society. Positive relationships have more than just the obvious psychological effects, such as happiness and contentment in life, but also boost the long-term health of individuals and can even account for a longer life span with a happy, fulfilled life. On the other hand, negative relationships have adverse effects on a person, often becoming the cause of stress, reluctance to form new relationships, or worse, induce anxiety, depression, and long-term emotional trauma. 

 

Being Happy with Oneself is Important to Nurture Good Relationships with Others

We can never have happy relationships with others if we are not happy with our own lives, and it is very important to be happy with ourselves before we pursue a relationship. Often, people chase relationships as they are not content with their lives and end up in repetitive, toxic cycles that only sap their energy. So first, a person should learn to be able to handle themselves before deciding to handle the emotional weight of a relationship. Treatments such as counseling for depression, anxiety, EMDR, in addition to exercises like meditation, yoga, and mindfulness, often lead an individual to be able to be content with their own selves and lead to better relationships with others.

 

How Relationships Affect Teens and Adolescents

Love knows no age and no boundaries, and it is important to realize as we grow older, that teenage love is full of obstacles and challenges we overcome as we grow older. To this end, teen therapy, involving teenagers in counseling them so that they can understand their needs and learn to navigate the world. Teen therapy or adolescent therapy is often useful to ensure that they get the guidance they need. In addition to romantic relationships, familial relationships and friendships also contribute to the development of adolescents and teenagers. Often, due to absentee parents, military life, separated parents, divorce, toxic friendships, a child can go down a dark path. Treating a child, or a teenager, through the use of therapy, can overcome problems such as ADHD, trauma, and anger issues. 

 

How Outside Counsel Can Help Nurture Happier Relationships

It is extremely important in relationships to be able to understand when there is a need for professional guidance towards navigating their relationship is essential. To that end, couples therapy is beneficial, as it can help partners reconnect and be able to discuss their emotional needs and resolve any issues. Emotionally focused couples therapy is often used to forge a long-lasting sense of happiness in a relationship, to repair the fractures that have formed in between them, and to discuss their needs with each other.

Premarital counseling may help couples connect and understand each other better to work towards a long-term relationship. In marriages, counseling often makes a major difference, dealing with issues such as postpartum depression/anxiety, inability to satisfy your partner, unsaid complaints, and unresolved disputes. Sex therapy and counseling targeted towards bringing couples together is favorable. In case of any permanent, irreversible damage, divorce discernment, as well as co-parenting therapy assures that even if the relationship is beyond saving, neither do the spouses, nor the children carry over any emotional damage due to the severing of the bond. 

 

 

Hence, it is very important to understand that in order to have a positive life, forming positive relationships proves to be very fruitful, and seeking professional help can often help with the process, and give a new perspective towards life. If we can help with building, developing, or cultivating relationships, please schedule a time to speak at our locations in Woodbridge, Virginia, Fairfax, Virginia or our telehealth options.

Blog

The Case for Mental Health Awareness

Mental health difficulties can drastically limit a person’s capacity to live a full life. They can put a damper on relationships, family life, and jobs; as well as financial, social, and racial stability. Mental health issues are connected to family genetics, biological characteristics, and life events. It affects everyone and there is no single gender, race, or age group that is excluded. 

Today, there is a rising understanding of the necessity for mental health treatment. Counselors are needed in all areas as a result of concerns such as depression, anxiety, relationship problems, suicide, and drug abuse among students and the elderly. 

Therapies that tackle relationship problems such as Marriage counseling, Couples Therapy, Trauma treatment/therapy/counseling therapy, and divorce discernment. These are sought after because of their effect not only on the couple but on the people that surround them. 

These kinds of therapies are emotionally focused couples therapies that help couples to figure out what they really want and what they really need.

With the emergence of contemporary psychiatry, both medical professionals and the general public came to accept the concept of mental health and therapy. With increasing acknowledgment of mental institutions’ ineffectiveness, a mental hygiene movement led by doctors, social workers, psychologists, and former hospital patients has emerged. People that suffer from depression and anxiety are encouraged to seek help attend through anxiety treatment/therapy/counseling, depression treatment/therapy/counseling.  

Aside from that, children in their adolescent period are being encouraged to seek teen therapy and/or adolescent therapy to help them understand themselves and who they are as a person.

The Center for Connection, Healing, and Change was envisioned as a haven for a joyful connection to oneself and one’s loved ones. 

We are centered on the development of safe, intimate, and gratifying relationships. We believe that therapy should be a secure place where you may talk about how you’re feeling and thinking without fear of being criticized. We focus on resolving because we believe in the value of good, happy relationships for your mental, emotional, and physical well-being. Your relationships are healthy; they have the confidence and energy that you can face the obstacles that life throws.

To experience positive outcomes, we introduce you to a person that can help you understand the need for change and help you be prepared to follow the treatment plan as prescribed by the doctor. We will also introduce you to a therapist you can rely on. 

Each therapy session will be specifically tailored to your circumstances to help you recover more effectively. Therapy can be short-term or long-term, depending on your requirements. Additionally, you do not need to be diagnosed with a mental illness to benefit from mental health therapy. 

Many individuals also seek counseling for everyday issues such as work-related stress or mental worries. Others seek assistance through more painful and complicated occasions, such as death or divorce, postpartum depression or anxiety, sex therapy, and co-parenting therapy.

The Center for Connection, Healing, and Change was established as a gathering space for systemically-trained professionals to collaborate, support, and encourage one another on their path to clinical excellence to help their patients in resolving their attachment issues and achieve healthy minds and relationships through various therapies and approaches such as EMDR, meditation, and yoga.

Blog

What does a child therapist do?

Many children and teens have problems that affect how they feel, act, or learn. Therapy is a type of treatment for these problems. It is a way to get help for your child. 

Child therapy or child psychology refers to the treatment of a wide range of issues and disorders that affect children and their families. Psychologists who work primarily with children administer tests, conduct research, and engage in therapy sessions with individuals, families, and groups. Child psychologists work in private practices, schools, hospitals, and government agencies. They have the ultimate goal of coordinating the care and recovery of children with these disorders.

What Does A Child Therapist Do?

Child therapists use language and play to observe, assess, help, and treat children and young people who are experiencing behavioral, emotional, social, and psychological difficulties.

Child therapists work with children and young people who are affected by mental health problems such as depression, aggression, phobias, anxiety, physical/psychosomatic disorders, learning difficulties, and behavioral problems. They support and coordinate their work with others involved with the child or adolescent. Through various techniques and approaches (eg. encouraging and/or engaging in play, drawing, talking, and writing), the child psychotherapist works to help the young person understand and verbalize their feelings – and, hopefully, to overcome or alleviate their psychological problems.

Services a child therapist provides

Child therapists or child counselors may provide service to children and adolescents in these ways:

  • Work to get young clients to an emotionally and mentally stable frame of mind
  • Provide specialized help in areas such as ADHD, abuse, or depression
  • Treat a wide range of mental and emotional illnesses or disorders
  • Use play therapy with games and toys to reveal the feelings and emotions of children
  • Offer individual counseling that encourages talk therapy to explore how children are coping with past issues and work through current distressful challenges
  • Facilitate family counseling with parents or guardians of a child client and communicate ways the caregivers or other significant relatives can better help with the child’s recovery process

What Happens in Therapy?

At first, the therapist will meet with you and your child to talk. They will ask questions and listen. This helps them learn more about your child and about the problem. The therapist will tell you how they can help.

After that, your child will go to more therapy visits. At these visits, your child might:

Talk: 

Talking is a healthy way to express feelings. When kids put feelings into words instead of actions, they can act their best. When someone listens and knows how they feel, kids are more ready to learn.

Do activities. 

Therapists use activities to teach about feelings and coping skills. They may have kids draw or play as a way to learn. They may teach mindfulness and calm breathing as a way to lower stress.

Practice new skills. 

Therapists help kids practice what they learn. They might play games where kids need to wait their turn, use self-control, be patient, follow directions, listen, share, try again, or deal with losing.

Solve problems. 

With older kids and teens, therapists ask how problems affect them at home, at school. They talk about how to solve these problems.

Conclusion

As adults, when we have emotional issues or mental health problems, we are often able to recognize that something is out of sorts; sometimes, we are even able to share our emotions with others. But with children – particularly those who are very young – this may not be possible.  It is then more effective to use play, a medium that comes very naturally to the child, to explore their issues.

A child therapist who has had special training in child therapy/ child psychology can conduct a therapy session with the kid to help them overcome their situation. If you’d like to find a professional for child’s therapy, you can get in touch with  The Center for Connection. 

Infant Family Support Services

What is child play therapy?

Play is the natural language of children and is a metaphor, or symbolic expression, of what is going on in their lives.  Play is to children what verbalization is to adults. Play therapy is a type of therapy that, as the name suggests, involves playing. It has been around for a long time, even in an academic context. 

Recently, play therapy has been refined and targeted to a variety of different disorders, from autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Play therapy has also been used in normal functioning children and adults to great effect.

Play therapy is a well-researched and effective therapeutic approach. Play therapy enables children to communicate their feelings, experiences, and ideas through play, their natural medium of expression. 

What Is Play Therapy?

Play therapy is one form of psychotherapy with children. This is a method in which professional psychotherapists, who may be psychologists or clinical social workers, help children overcome emotional and behavioral difficulties through different forms of ‘play’ or activities. Play therapy allows children to express and process feelings, thoughts, and experiences through their natural desire to play. Therapeutic play empowers the child to overcome challenges without demanding words, explanations, or adult reasoning. Play therapy can be used to help children deal with traumas, family issues, emotions, and developmental challenges.

The child play therapist will often work with the child’s parents and siblings to increase insight and communication skills with their child. As understanding increases and communication approaches shift, there is often a reduction in the child’s concerning behaviors. This may lead to a marked increase in household happiness and overall resiliency gains for all family members.

What kind of problems is play therapy effective for?

Play therapy can be used to treat children with several kinds of problems. It is particularly effective for children who have:

  • Experienced physical or emotional trauma
  • Experienced physical, emotional or sexual abuse
  • Witnessed conflict or have been bullied
  • Been severely punished by teachers or authority figures
  • Witnessed armed conflicts or natural calamities
  • Been displaying behavior or conduct issues
  • Experienced significant life changes (loss of parents, parents’ divorce, or separation from family)
  • Had trouble reaching developmental milestones
  • Issues with anxiety or sadness
  • Trouble coping with their immediate environment

Sometimes play therapy may also be used to assess how effective pharmacological or therapy has been with a particular child. The therapist will be able to pick up indicators from play sessions before and after treatment and compare them to understand how much the child has benefited.

What happens during a play therapy session?

Each play therapy session lasts anywhere between 45 minutes to an hour.

During a play therapy session, the child is taken to the playroom and asked to explore some toys that are age-appropriate. When the child is allowed spontaneous expression through play, they may pick up toys that indicate their emotional states, or draw something to share their challenges. Children from families which have conflict may draw the picture of a happy family; children who have conduct problems may pick up a gun to shoot a doll or mimic other acts of violence using the toys provided.

The therapist observes the child play with the toys and writes down their interpretations. Sometimes, the therapist may choose to do a group therapy session based on the child’s needs. Group therapy could involve the child playing with other children of a similar age, or with their own family.

Why It’s Used

Children lack the cognitive and verbal skills to talk about some issues. Grief, for example, can be very complex and a child may have trouble putting their thoughts and feelings into words.

Play therapy gives the child catharsis and gives them insight into their own issues. By allowing the child the freedom to express what they’re going through, play therapy can help the child to:

  • Learn basic or advanced motor skills
  • Learn decision-making and problem-solving skills
  • Learn social skills
  • Release excess energy
  • Understand their emotions and their problems
  • Gain more confidence through self-expression
  • Enhance their imagination and creativity

 

End Words

As adults, when we have emotional issues or mental health problems, we are often able to recognize that something is out of sorts; sometimes, we are even able to share our emotions with others. But with children – particularly those who are very young – this may not be possible.  It is then more effective to use play, a medium that comes very naturally to the child, to explore their issues.

Any mental health professional (psychiatrist, psychologist, or psychiatric social worker) who has had special training in play therapy can conduct a play therapy session. If you’d like to find a professional for child’s play therapy, you can get in touch with  The Center for Connection.