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Managing Your Own Anxiety & Fear: A Guide for Parents of Trans Teenagers
It's natural to experience a range of emotions about your teen's identity. This is especially true if it feels unfamiliar or triggers anxiety. Ignoring or suppressing your emotions may hinder your ability to provide the support your teen needs. But it's also important that you process your feelings away from your child. Here’s what our teen therapists recommend.
Therapist Support for Gender Confirmation Procedures: What Everyone Should Know
For people who are considering gender confirmation surgery, the role of different professionals in the process can get confusing fast. We'd like to clarify the role of therapists in this process. Therapy during this journey not only supports you emotionally but also fulfills a role in the medical process itself. Letters from therapists are often required by medical providers and insurance companies. Here's what you should know.
Cozy San Francisco Bookstores That Celebrate Queer Literature
San Francisco has long been a hub of LGBT culture. As therapists who love to read, queer bookshops are a bit of weakness for us. These cozy corners offer a trove of queer literature and serve as hubs for connection, celebration, and belonging. The following bookstores invite readers to explore LGBT narratives.
Teen Identity: Is My Child Trans or Just Going Through a Phase?
Adolescence is a trying time time when your child is figuring out who they are and where they fit in. In recent years, gender has become a more common theme. You may wonder whether your teenager is experiencing a genuine exploration of identity or just going through a phase. Specifically, you may wonder, "Is my child trans, or is it just a phase?" Our teen therapists explain the research, the reality, and how you should proceed if your child is exploring their gender.
Internalized Homophobia in Lesbian Couples: Overcoming Through LGBT Couples Therapy
Life is a shared journey when you're part of a couple. Like any journey, it has its share of challenges. One significant challenge that can impact a lesbian relationship's health is internalized homophobia. Its effects can be simple but profound: feelings of shame, guilt, or self-rejection that stem from prejudices against non-straight people.
Celebrating Bisexual Identity And Mental Health
Bisexuality often doesn't get the attention it deserves. While much is said about being gay or straight or trans, being bisexual comes with its own unique experiences and challenges that aren't talked about. That's why we're going to look at what it means to be bisexual, the beauty and the challenges, and how celebrating this part of who you are can make your life better.
Places to Make Lesbian Friends in Los Angeles: A Guide For Queer Women
In a city as big and busy as Los Angeles, it can be hard to find places to make other queer friends. But if you know where to look, there are opportunities to meet and connect with other queer women. Whether you're new to the area or looking to expand your social circle, here are places to meet other lesbians and make new friends.
15 Meaningful Ways To Celebrate Pride As An LGBT Couple
Celebrating pride as an LGBT couple is about more than just waving rainbow flags. It's also about more than the music festivals most major cities have turned their Pride festival into. Pride is both a private and community experience. It's about affirming your identity, relationship and honoring the journey of an entire community.
Do These 3 Quick Daily Tasks For Lifelong Holistic Mental Wellness
If you've worked with one of our therapists or been on our blog long enough, know that we would never recommend the same approach for everyone when it comes to their mental health. However, there are three things that we recommend people do every single day to truly feel their best. We are confident that small, consistent efforts over time will have profound effects. If you'd like to see big changes in your life without putting in huge effort, read on.
What's The Difference Between Trauma and Anxiety?
Anxiety and trauma are two of the biggest disruptors to our peace of mind. But what exactly distinguishes one from the other? How do we know when something is anxiety we should address with calming strategies versus trauma we should treat with trauma therapy? Let's unravel the layers of anxiety and trauma, discerning their characteristics and how they manifest in our lives.
Proven Kinds Of Therapy: What They Are And When They’re Helpful
Evidence-based practices are essential foundations in therapy. They're supported by research and clinical experience. Not all therapists use them, and some of these methods may not work for everyone. Here's a brief explanation of different types of therapy and alternatives to consider if these practices don't work for you.
Why You Don't Want to Get Rid of Your Anxiety
Anxiety can feel like an intruder in our lives that we desperately want to get rid of. But there are reasons why you might not want to eliminate your anxiety entirely. Let's explore both sides of the coin: why people are hesitant to treat their anxiety, while also recognizing the potential downsides to getting rid of anxiety completely.
How Much Detail Do You Need to Share in EMDR Therapy?
When it comes to trauma therapy, trauma survivors have plenty of reservations. No one likes revisiting bad memories. No one wants to intentionally get triggered. People worry that revisiting the memory will overwhelm them. They worry they'll lose progress toward feeling normal. They worry trauma therapy will make things worse. And all that is totally valid. But without treatment, trauma can cause a lot of damage. Our goal is to help as many people get relief from their trauma as possible. So let's answer the question once and for all: Do you need to go into a lot of detail in EMDR therapy? Let's explore why, in EMDR therapy, less may indeed be more.
What Not To Say To Someone Who Has Sexual Trauma
There are many things you shouldn't say to someone who has been the victim of a sexual crime. After experiencing the ultimate loss of power and autonomy, too many people are accused of lying or exaggerating. Here are things you should never say to a survivor of sexual assault and what to say instead.
Adjunct EMDR Therapy: Can It Complement Your Current Therapy?
Many people wonder if they can do EMDR therapy without leaving their current therapist who doesn't offer EMDR. You're not alone in wondering about this. The short answer is YES, EMDR can absolutely be used alongside other types of therapy. But there are some important things to know and consider.
Too Busy For Therapy? Think Again
Finding time for therapy might seem like a luxury you can't afford. But the truth is your mental health and happiness should be a top priority. An hour of therapy a week is 0.5% of your time. Research has proven over and over that for almost every issue, teletherapy is just as effective as in person. Yet people still have reservations. Let's explore them and determine if teletherapy is right for you.
What Everyone Gets Wrong About High-Functioning Anxiety
Do you feel like most people don't understand how hard it is for you to get through a typical day? Do you feel like you're always waiting for something bad to happen? Or that if people knew you better they would be disappointed? Do you get stuck on details and feel you have to be perfect? If you said yes to any of these questions, you might be struggling with "high functioning anxiety."
The Biggest Red Flags When Picking A Therapist
Choosing a therapist is one of the biggest decisions in your mental health journey. Let's explore why a personalized approach is so important, and how the therapist-client relationship is the key to successful therapy.
Do You Really Need a Diagnosis in Therapy?
The question of whether a diagnosis is necessary can spark lively debates. Some argue it's essential for tailored treatment, while others advocate for a more holistic approach. For some it's an important validation of experience, while others feel pathologized. Let's dive into this topic so you can decide for yourself how important a diagnosis is to you.
Don’t Say This: What Trauma Therapists Want You To Stop Saying
As trauma therapists, we have a pretty high capacity for things that are uncomfortable. But there's one particular phrase that we would appreciate never hearing again.
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Our Holistic Therapy Services In California & Florida
We offer individualized teletherapy for a wide range of mental health and relational issues. Our San Francisco & Los Angeles therapists can help with anxiety, trauma therapy, EMDR therapy, LGBT gay and lesbian therapy issues, holistic therapy, enneagram therapy, therapy for lawyers, couples therapy, therapy for burnout, and therapy for teenagers. We serve many people in San Francisco, Santa Cruz, and Los Angeles, as well as throughout California and Florida. Our team is anti-racist, body positive, LGBT and trans affirming and sex positive. You deserve to feel good!