Relationships & Communication, Sophia's Posts
Becky White George
Validation in Romantic Relationships

The importance of validation is something I emphasize with couples as it creates a dynamic based on understanding rather than score-keeping or proving right and wrong. In an emotionally charged conversation, it's common for individuals to focus primarily on their own emotional experience instead of their partner’s. Rather than listening to what the other person is saying, we may be thinking about our own response.

Validation in Romantic Relationships
Atalie's Posts, Relationships & Communication
Becky White George
Flexibility In Friendships

A common struggle for many of my clients in their 20s is navigating friendships. This includes friendship conflicts, growing apart, reassessing the closeness of the friendship, and defining what types of friendships feel fulfilling in which ones feel draining. In these conversations, we explore the importance of flexibility in friendships and why it becomes so much more pertinent during this life stage.

Flexibility In Friendships
Jessica's Posts, Trauma and Mental Health
Becky White George
Intellectualizing Feelings

I have thought through every situation from every possible angle my brain can come up with and analyzed so much of my life and experience that it often feels exhausting. This “self-awareness” can start to feel incredibly frustrating when I have some understanding, yet I still find myself in familiar patterns or generally not feeling better. If this description sounds familiar to you, you might be intellectualizing your feelings vs. actually feeling them.

Intellectualizing Feelings
Kalie's posts, Self Care & Mindfulness
Becky White George
The Animal Within

I recently stumbled upon the concept of animal chronotypes, which can be used to describe our personality traits based on our natural tendencies in social interactions and behavior. While these archetypes are often linked to sleep habits, they’re also super helpful for understanding how we connect with others. Each chronotype has its own unique traits and ways of navigating relationships.

The Animal Within
Jessica's Posts, Therapy: Getting Started
Becky White George
What I Wish Clients Knew

We were discussing a painful experience, and I was once again struck and inspired by their resilience. In this situation, I found a way to express this sentiment in the moment. However, there are many instances where sharing in the moment might not be the most therapeutic response. Even when I don’t vocalize it, I want my clients to know I carry these feelings and this care with me. Reflecting on this, I began to consider all the things I wish my clients knew about me, about the therapeutic relationship, and the process.

What I Wish Clients Knew

Becky's Posts

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Starting a Morning Routine

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Starting a Morning Routine

…..At least, this is how mornings felt for me for a long time. The harshness of your morning can set you up for the rest of your day to be difficult. Waking up on the wrong side of the bed gets you started in a place of stress, and you are bound to feel irritable, tense and unfocused as you move through your day.

So what's the antidote to entering your day in battle mode? When I started learning more about the concept of a morning routine, my relationship to mornings changed. Mornings became a time for moving slowly, self-reflection, centering, and getting grounded. When you take a few minutes to set yourself up for a morning routine, it can influence the entire rest of your day in a positive way. When you enter your day feeling spacious, grounded, and in touch with yourself, you can move through the day with a whole new energy of patience, compassion, focus, and creativity.

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Therapy: What to Expect

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Therapy: What to Expect

Are you considering starting therapy but you feel intimidated or unclear on what actually happens in the first session? Do you wonder if there is some way to prepare? Starting therapy can be daunting and lots of people aren’t totally sure what even happens in therapy. In this post we will give you the inside scoop on what your first therapy session will be like.

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How to Find a Therapist

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How to Find a Therapist

Finding the right therapist can feel daunting and overwhelming, but it is an important step in starting therapy. Therapy is a powerful tool for gaining awareness into why we are the way we are, and why we do the things we do. Through gaining insight, we are then able to change certain behaviors or thinking patterns that do not serve us, as well as learn to accept the things that we cannot change. In order to do this work, we need to be willing to step into more vulnerable spaces and get in touch with emotions that might feel uncomfortable. So finding someone that you feel comfortable with is of the utmost importance-you need to feel safe to explore more vulnerable or triggering topics.

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11 Tips for Online Dating

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11 Tips for Online Dating

From no-shows to no sparks, off-putting behaviors, ghosting and heartbreak, online dating can be a fraught experience. But you can use the tips below to make some thoughtful tweaks, and it can become a wonderful way to meet new people, and maybe even “The One!” As a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, I have witnessed hundreds of clients explore online dating who have had experiences ranging from “this was the worst date of my life” all the way to “I’ve finally met my person.”

Not only am I privy to these tales of woe and love as a therapist, I also did quite a bit of online dating myself before I met my husband.

Over many years as a therapist, I have learned some excellent strategies for making dating online a safe, fun, and fruitful experience. Make sure to read through to the end for my most important tip of all!

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Trouble Sleeping? Read This

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Trouble Sleeping? Read This

Trouble Sleeping? Try this now.

My ultimate tip for insomnia and sleep trouble:

Along my insomniac journey, I have discovered one single intervention that always does help me get to sleep. This is one that you may not expect. There are many approaches to treating insomnia out there but my discovery is about as simple as it gets. I have used this tool countless times, both in my pre-bedtime routine as well as during my middle of the night wake-ups, and it's the only one that consistently gets the job done. The best part about it is that it has no side effects, no lingering fatigue in the morning, no brain fog, and it's completely free!


The tool I’m talking about is called the Bedtime Braindump.

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Surviving the COVID Holidays

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Surviving the COVID Holidays

The trauma and grief of this time is real and it has and will continue to have myriad affects on all of us. I know that our collective mental health is suffering. I feel for you and I am right there with you. My heart goes out to you. I am doing what I can to help my clients work with their suffering, to accept themselves and their heartbreak and to have their own pain be a seed of compassion for others in pain. I am also doing what I can to take care of myself, to slow down, get quiet, and feel my feelings. My heart goes out to anyone who is unable to see their families during this time, for any variety of reasons.

Some good news is that there are plenty of resources out there to help you get through this difficult time. Our Associate Therapist, Jessica Leader, wrote a blog post about Coping Skills and Self-Care Tips For Getting Through This Holiday Season. Here are some key tips that she recommends for coping during this painful time. Read on and get the full scoop on Jessica’s tips for getting through this COVID holiday season

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Getting Unstuck + News!

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Getting Unstuck + News!

Root to Rise Therapy has a new therapist offering weekend and evening appointments as well as sliding scale and reduced rates. We also changed our business name. Plus some tips for getting “unstuck” and dealing with burnout!

I ran some reports recently and learned that I had 97 client sessions this month—about 24 therapy sessions a week. Why am I sharing that with you? It means that I have the privilege of understanding close-up and in real-time how people are surviving, what common threads are coming up, what has been helpful and what hasn't been.

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COVID-19 Sucks + Resources

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COVID-19 Sucks + Resources

Read on for more insights and resources about what people are going through right now, insights from the edge, and more resources to get through the suck.

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COVID-19 Therapy

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COVID-19 Therapy

Read on for tips on making Virtual Therapy work, additional resources, and whats coming up in therapy right now.

I am so privileged to have a window into the lives of my clients during the pandemic, to get firsthand accounts of how people are affected by COVID-19, how they are coping, what’s been helpful for them, and see the world through their eyes, with new perspectives.

 

Start With You. Today.