Politically Stressed

It isn’t so easy when the bizarre place you find yourself in is home and the only one you have ever known!

It is even more difficult when you realize that what you are seeing on the news, reading in the headlines, and overhearing while on your commute is not fictitious.

In fact, it is real. So very real.

Many of us anticipated some level of post-election turmoil, but not to this degree.  As a woman of color living within the covert and institutionalized systems that have oppressed many, I am no longer surprised by the horrific activities that populate our news feeds with alarming regularity.

Yes, even as a native New Yorker, I am keenly aware of the indirect racism cues that thrive even in my own backyard. I also believe that building and maintaining self-awareness is extremely essential more so now.  I can understand the level of shock one can experience, but if you study and observe the events as a sequence with identifiable causes and effects (although unthinkable in some cases), it will help you to be mentally prepared.

Instead of fueling anger, I chose to empower you with an Anti-Stress Movement Checklist for challenging times. If you can do, at least, half these activities, and be consistent, you will be better equipped to cope and not lose yourself to despair which, I believe, is the goal of the haters. ADD your e-mail below to download the checklist now!

If you find your political stress is too overwhelming, book a free consultation. I have opened more slots, and I am here to listen. Trust me, I get it.

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ANTI-STRESS MOVEMENT CHECKLIST REQUEST FORM

The Power of Seeking Help Through Therapy

Too many of us die too soon because we did not speak.

Last month's news of the suicide of Linkin Park’s lead singer, Chester Bennington, left fans
and followers reeling in surprise and shock. But should we still be surprised when it has
become so common that those whose lives seem so perfect — take their lives?

5 years. 5 years is, statistically, the average time those who recognize that they need
help wait to actually see a therapist. Note that I said 5 years from when they recognize
they need help, not 5 years from when they began struggling with whatever personal
demons, anxiety, or addictions. That timeframe could be years, if not decades longer!

As a licensed Social Worker and Wellness Advisor, I often sit in silence after seeing
clients with particularly troubling cases and wonder who they would be if they had
started therapy sooner. Who they would be, even, if they waited longer? Last month, I
wondered about Chester Bennington who, although public about his pain, may not have
ever acquired — or been offered — the tools to manage and overcome it.

Repeat after me: there is value in seeking help through therapy.

Therapy is self-care; therapy displays a sense of self-worth; therapy is an investment just
like opening a savings account or furthering your education; therapy is a way for you to
help yourself and others!

I am keenly aware that, for many of us, stigma is one of the greatest hindrances to
seeking therapy. Men are trained to maintain impenetrable force fields of detachment.
Women groomed to be silent and long-suffering. And those truly troubled — wary of
seeking help — as they were raised in a culture that considers mental health a non-issue
or some temporary lapse or laziness that can be buried, beaten or prayed away.

I am here to tell you that the POWER lies in seeking the help that you need! We feel no
shame in spending thousands on taking care of the rest of our bodies: making more
than the required visits to the dentist, physician, gym, nutritionist, and beautician. So
why not take just as much care of the organ that keeps all the other organs alive? This
could easily be an acceptable and essential part of your self-care regimen!

So, there is no shame in seeking help from a therapist or mental wellness coach.

As a therapist AND wellness advisor, I share some of the benefits of therapy:

• Life-Long Management and Problem-Solving Skills: Licensed psychologists,
  psychotherapists and social workers are trained to offer “talk therapy.” Through
  comfortable sessions of conversation, you will work to comprehend your thoughts, moods, triggers, motivations, and behaviors in an effort to balance and
  manage them in a healthy manner — in the present and long term.

• Peace of Mind: Even before you grasp or learn these tools, you will benefit from
  the significant therapeutic effect that simply verbalizing your feelings has on the
  brain!

• Motivation and Support: Life coaches and therapists work to motivate you and
  build your confidence, so that you may achieve the goals that you are often
  fearful of pursuing.

DO NOT wait. DO NOT struggle in silence. We are here to assist you in creating step-by-
step plans to generate significant positive transformation in your life or in developing
approaches to overcome a current or previously life-long difficulty.

Everyone can use a little extra support in dealing with life’s frequent challenges.
Partnering with a professional strengthens you for the journey ahead and makes you
an equipped advocate for another needing the same help.

Are you working through something? Are you willing to take the leap into getting the
help you need? Share this post or interact with us in the comments below!

At Counseling Space, P.C. and CEO Motions, we work tirelessly to empower and give our
clients the support, guidance, and tools needed to take - and keep - control of their
lives. Follow this link to book a FREE Mental Wellness Consultation today to shape your
better tomorrow!

Happy Holidays From Counseling Space

As we near the close of the year, it is a great time to access the previous year and look ahead to the next. For Counseling Space it has been a year of progress and growth. We have been working diligently to make online counseling an option for some of our clients, discussed the stigma of seeking
mental health in a nationally syndicated article, and expanded our clinical staff with the hiring of our newest therapist. All of these successes and a little research is leading us into a year that we hope will be one that allows us to further serve our clients.

We previously discussed the various benefits of online counseling. Flexible scheduling, lack of geographic boundaries, and the added consistency of therapy make it a desirable for both therapist and client. We are working diligently to acquire the licensing and technology necessary to make it an option for our qualifying clients and look forward to announcing the launch of this service.

Earlier this year we co-wrote a Huffington Post article entitled “Pride and Mental Health, Don’t Let the Stigma Kill You.”  It was our hope that the article would shed some light on the cultural stigmas associated with pursuing mental health, especially for people of color;  We hoped that the article would empower those in need of therapy to move beyond any embarrassment or fear to get the help that they need.

We heard our clients and potential clients express the value of our culturally competent therapy options and as a result, hired Minaa B. Minna’s experience and background are a perfect fit when it comes to empowering our clients with strategies for self-care have already proven invaluable.

As we look forward to next year it is the goal of Counseling Space to expand on and implement new programs and strategies to provide relevant and effective care to our clients. To that end, we recently conducted a survey of entrepreneurial women of color to gain better insight on how to address
their unique mental and emotional needs. We hope to make the insights from this survey public and to use that information to provide new services in the coming year.

We at Counseling Space wish you a happy holiday as well as a happy new year. We understand that for some, the holidays can be a difficult time. If you find the need to talk to someone please call 800-542-HELP (3638), 800-LIFENET (543-3638), or if you would like to discuss counseling reach out to Counseling Space directly at  347-494-5870 info@counselingpc.com.

Meet our new team member, Minaa B.

We at Counseling Space work hard to listen to and attend to our client's needs. Especially when it comes to the quality and effectiveness of your mental wellness programs. With that in mind, we are aware that many of our clients struggled in their search for a therapist who is bicultural or bilingual and understands how to be culturally competent when treating clients. The most common feedback we hear is the importance of talking to someone who understands their language and culture. As a result, we have added therapist and author Minaa B. to the Counseling Space staff.

Minaa is a Queens native with a degree in business administration and a master’s in social work. Minaa is the author of the book Rivers Are Coming as well as a frequent contributor to The Huffington Post and Conscious Magazine. Minaa also works as a mental health consultant for Head Start programs, where she develops interventions to support the socio-emotional development of infants and toddlers, and provides counseling to individuals, families, and caregivers.

Minaa’s passion lies in teaching her clients strategies for self-care and self-advocacy as she works to teach those around her how to think and act in ways that empower.  Minaa's goal is to offer hope to those whose stories have been erased and their voices made silent.

To schedule a consultation with Minaa, or to discuss your counseling needs call or email us today at 929-273-0167 or info@counselingpc.com.

Is Online Counseling For You?

For a variety of reasons including the number of available mental health professionals, along with geographic and economic constraints, the demand for quality therapy is at an all time high. Thankfully, with great leaps in technology, including high-speed internet and mobile devices the concept of telehealth stands to greatly expand the availability of mental health services for many. Telehealth, or online counseling, as it has come to be known, is very much what you likely imagine it to be. It is the use of distance beyond your provider’s office. It is a concept that, while not new, has proliferated with the technological of the last thirty years. There are a number of apps that are available that can supplement therapy as a way to use tools to enhance their treatment. More than apps however, counseling via online video portals has gained in popularity.

While most picture it as your average Skype session, there is the important additional layer of privacy. Privacy laws require portals more secure than Skype. The added online security required helps make a session a safer and more productive space. Surprisingly video based counseling sessions are not new at all. Tele-medicine first originated in the field of psychiatry and has been greatly utilized in this field for years, with the initial use at the Nebraska Psychiatric Institute in 1959 using closed circuit televisions.

How it works

The sessions themselves function like any other counseling session would. With the exception that the client gets to have their session in a comfortable and secure space of their choosing. It is a requirement that both parties be in a private room with no disruptions.  Many states require some type of training on telehealth and that the provider is licensed in the state that the client resides in.  There are many virtual options that easily accessible in which you can sign in and start your session)

Benefits of online counseling

Online Counseling presents a wide array of benefits for both clients and mental health professionals. According to the HRSA the benefits of telehealth are wide reaching. For professionals, the ability to be more available to their clients is a huge upside.

For clients the benefits are numerous:

No more geographic constraints       

Universally speaking, one of the greatest things about modern technology is how it has brought us greater access to the world around us. There are many who would benefit greatly from counseling but are cut off from qualified professionals because they live in remote and rural areas. It has also proven to be a helpful tool for deployed military personnel as well as professionals who travel frequently allowing them to have more flexible hours, and not limited to an office.

Flexible scheduling means less time constraint

For those with more rigid schedules like 9-5ers and parents, one of the biggest frustrations with finding help are traditional office hours. For a mother who works until five and has to pick up her son at six it is almost impossible to get an appointment that fits into an already dense schedule. If you are in a high demanding career an entrepreneur, or travel frequently.

It's a lifeline for clients who can't travel

Whether it's due to a physical ailment or a mental condition, online counseling means not having to take extraordinary means to travel to a therapy session. This also goes a long way towards improving the quality of sessions by avoiding the mental and physical stress some associate with traveling even short distances.

It provides a means to keep your current therapist

Whether you are relocating for a new job or heading back to college maintaining continuity with your therapy sessions could be the difference between a stressful change or a smooth transition. 

It can help those dealing with the stigma of therapy

As we discussed before here need not be any stigma when it comes to seeking mental health services. Despite this, for many, the potential for others to find out about your therapy can be a major roadblock to getting the help you need. Whether it's simply a matter of getting your feet wet or a permanent solution, online therapy is a great way to find help while maintaining an added level of privacy and in turn avoid some of the fear and stigma sometimes associated with counseling. 

What about insurance?

Many insurance companies already see the value in online counseling and pay for all or most of the sessions. In addition, more and more insurance companies are following suit which makes accessing online therapy easier for everyone.

While online counseling is an effective tool for many clients it may not be for everyone. Clients with severe mental illness, uncomfortable with technology or in areas with particularly poor internet service may not be great candidates for online counseling. Additionally, clients in crisis aren't should seek face to face counseling. It is a good idea for anyone seeking therapy to get a mental health assessment in order to determine the best course of action for an individual's overall mental health.  

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