Trauma and Mental Health, Helene's Posts
Becky White George
Identifying Trauma

When we talk about “trauma,” we’re talking about an emotional or psychological response to a distressing event or experience. It’s not necessarily the event itself that’s traumatic but rather the way it impacts a person’s sense of safety, stability, or identity. Trauma often leaves people feeling overwhelmed, helpless, or disconnected from themselves or others.

Identifying Trauma
Relationships & Communication, Kalie's posts
Becky White George
Nurturing Friendships

I often use Gottman’s Sound Marital House as a framework to help couples build strong, healthy relationships. This theory breaks down into several key components that can enhance connection and resilience. One skill that stands out to me is Shared Fondness and Admiration, which involves openly expressing appreciation and respect for your partner (or friend).

Nurturing Friendships
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
,

Surviving the COVID Holidays

,
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

,

Getting Unstuck + News!

,
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.

,

COVID-19 Sucks + Resources

,
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.

,

COVID-19 Therapy

,
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.

,

Virtual Therapy + Resources

,
Virtual Therapy + Resources

Virtual Therapy + Flexible Schedule + Resources That Are Helping Me Right Now

I am committed to supporting you and continuing to provide access to mental health services, which I believe are essential at this critical and scary time. I am offering virtual therapy—both video and phone sessions— so that I can continue to provide mental health care to individuals and couples seeking to release painful patterns from their past.

,

Opiate-Free Pain Management

,
Opiate-Free Pain Management

Are you dealing with chronic pain and seeking out ways to manage it without opiates and other pain meds? A recent study came out confirming that Opiod medication is not useful for chronic back or joint pain. In my years as a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist, I have encountered many clients dealing with chronic pain issues. Read more to learn about opiate-free methods of treating chronic pain.

,

"Listen to me!"

,
"Listen to me!"

How to get your honey to listen—and actually understand—what you are saying.

How many times have you had the feeling that even though your honey was listening to you, they weren’t actually hearing you? How would you like to learn the secret to effective communication so that you can feel both heard AND understood?

,

Women & Money

,
Women & Money

Join us on Thursday November 29th from 7-9 PM in Playa Vista, CA, in our Women & Money workshop to learn about how women can empower themselves with money, take control of their finances, and protect themselves from the common trap of letting someone else handle the money. This is the first in a series of workshops about money and the only one that is exclusively for women. We don’t know if we will be holding this workshop again, so don’t wait for the next one.

,

"Wild Geese" by Mary Oliver

,
"Wild Geese" by Mary Oliver

During times of despair, this poem has provided me comfort, and I hope it will give you some comfort too. Sending love to all my friends who have lost their homes in the Woolesly Fire.

 

Start With You. Today.