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Breaking Down the Most Important Elements of a Healthy Sex Life
When it comes to sex and intimacy, we all have different needs. Regardless of what works for us on an individual level, however, there are some universal truths that are essential to maintaining any kind of sexual relationship—and pleasure is just the tip of the iceberg (pun intended). A...
It's Time to Stop Playing Mind Games While Dating
So many of us are guilty of playing little mind games while dating, but most of us also don't realize just how problematic they are. Think back to your early days of dating: It's the day after a great first date and you're rehashing the details with your friends. After getting their collective approval you pick up your phone to text your new crush but one of your friends interrupts you, "Wait, don't text them right away, let them sweat a little!" Another friend chimes in, "Yes! Give it a day or two so you don't seem too eager, just play it cool".
Therapy Wasn’t Providing Strategies to Manage My Mental Health, So I Tried the Real App
After trying online therapy off and on for the past year, I have started to feel like it might not be the most effective way to support my mental health. I’m a very impatient person who knows what specific issues I want help with. I’ve found it usually takes me at least three sessions before I feel like my therapist has become familiar enough with me and my concerns to offer helpful insights. But that meant spending a couple of weeks and hundreds of dollars to get to that point. I realized I was looking more for on-the-spot tools that would not set me back so much financially.
I’m a Therapist Who Tried Two Chairs Therapy—It Wasn’t Without Its Issues
As a therapist, I get many requests from therapy seekers looking for care that is covered by Kaiser Permanente, a popular insurance company, since it can be tricky to get mental health care benefits. So I was eager to try out Two Chairs, a therapy service that’s in network with Kaiser, in hopes of having it be a company I can refer folks to.
My Husband and I Tried Modern Intimacy to Ensure Our Second Marriage Is Our Last
My husband and I have both been married before, gotten divorced, and are now well into a second marriage. The stakes for “making it work” seem higher for us since second marriages fail at a higher rate than first ones. Combining bank accounts, debts, and children from two separate lives (not to mention the presence of former spouses) tends to pile on top of regular life stress and bubble over if not attended to diligently. We both learned lessons in our previous marriages that made us extra cautious in this one—for example, don’t wait to go to therapy until separation is inevitable.
Could Thriveworks Help My Husband and Me Address Our Communication Issues?
When I approached my partner about couples counseling, I was a bit nervous—would he worry that I thought there was something wrong with our relationship? Would he even want to talk to a stranger about our communication woes, or the same fight we’ve had for 10 years? It seemed like walking into sensitive territory at best, and I hoped for a trusted therapist on the other end who would both understand this and proceed with care and compassion.
My Son Needed a Therapist, So We Tried Little Otter—Here's What Happened
When I was seeking therapy for my 5-year-old son, I was having trouble finding in-person options in my area. My personal experience led me to believe that my son didn’t simply need therapy for himself, but that his parents also needed to learn coping mechanisms and tools to help him cope with his anxiety. That led me to Little Otter, an online therapy company designed specifically for children and their families. I liked Little Otter’s message of “mental health support for the whole family.” It was founded by Helen Egger, MD, a renowned child psychiatrist, and her daughter Rebecca, and offers therapy for children from birth to age 14; parent training and support; couples therapy; and psychiatric services, including medication management.
My Daughter Tried Thriveworks Online Therapy for a Month–And Loved It
The world is changing quickly, and for teenagers in the throes of physiological and environmental transformations, it can all become too overwhelming to manage. As the mother of a teen daughter on the cusp of her senior year, I know well the challenges she faces. An eye-opening report released by the CDC only served to raise my concerns for her mental and physical well-being. It found that U.S. teen mental health has continued to decline since the COVID-19 pandemic, with more teenagers frequenting emergency rooms for treatment related to substance use, suicidal ideation/attempts, and specific mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety. With college around the corner, the pressure my teen has been under is worsening. While I am always happy to be a sounding board, I am at a loss as to how I can best help manage her stress.
Why it May Be Worth Dating Someone Who Isn't Your "Type"
There's no denying we all have a romantic "type" in some way or another. There are all sorts of physical traits, values, or behaviors that might make someone more or less attractive to us. We might love broad shoulders, a low-pitched laugh, quick wit, a strong waist-to-hip ratio, a person who texts good morning daily, a leftist political stance...the list goes on.
I Tried Family Therapy at LifeStance Health—Here's How It Went
For several months now, my husband and I have been thinking of talking to a therapist about our six-year-old’s picky eating habits. We wanted to find out what was “typical” or not when it came to kids’ eating-related behaviors, as well as how to foster a healthy relationship with food. But as a working mom with a busy schedule, it can be difficult to find the time for everyone to visit a healthcare provider at once in person. Online therapy is more our speed, allowing us to work a session into our daily routine rather than dealing with the stress of a commute to a physical office.
I Struggle To Stay Motivated So I Tried 7 Cups For Text Therapy And Peer Support
I work from home during the summer and, while the flexibility is wonderful, there are times when I struggle to feel motivated. I should also mention that I have ADHD, so focusing on my daily ‘To-do’ list has always been a challenge. Because of that, I was eager to test out 7 Cups, a mental health platform that offers online text-based therapy and community-based peer support.
I Never Thought I Could Meditate—Until I Tried Calm
For as long as I can remember, I’ve struggled with anxiety—especially in the past three years. Over the years, I’ve tried several things to help me cope with it: therapy, journaling, and, in moments of serious distress, Xanax. But one thing I’ve never tried is meditation.
I’m a Therapist Who Journaled With the Worry Watch App to Conquer My Anxiety
I have a full-time clinical practice as a licensed psychologist; I also struggle with anxiety. Although I am not a purist in my therapeutic approach (I pull from a variety of approaches rather than one exclusively), I use many tips and tools from cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). CBT is an approach to treatment that involves learning to identify the interactions between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors and adjust harmful or inaccurate thought patterns to improve mental health. Extensive research over the past few decades has consistently shown that CBT can help reduce symptoms of clinical anxiety.
Growing Self Was My First Experience With Online Therapy—and It Was a Good One
As a regular participant in in-person therapy, I’ve long been hesitant to try virtual therapy. Virtual therapy platforms have taken off recently, gaining popularity during the pandemic and becoming a central part of the behavioral health network. For many people facing barriers to in-person therapy, such as lack of transportation, the ability to talk to a therapist from a smartphone or laptop can make mental health treatment more accessible. Plus, studies have shown virtual therapy can be just as effective as meeting with a therapist in person in an office.
I Couldn’t Get My Mind to Stop Racing at Night, So I Tried the Breethe App
I’ve never been a great sleeper. Sometimes I’ll experience occasional bouts of insomnia that keep me up most of the night. None of this is helped by the fact that I also sleep with my spouse, who has her own sleep schedule, and—don’t tell her I told you—sometimes snores. What’s more, all too frequently, our toddler and his older brother end up in our bed at night, kicking, coughing, and asking for water.
My Husband and I Tried Growing Self’s Couples Therapy—and It Did Not Disappoint
My husband and I have been together for over seven years and married for five. We have a loving, stable relationship—but we’re also very different people with very different personalities. This often means a lot of fun learning about each other, but it also sometimes means disagreements—and I’ll admit, sometimes we need help sorting those out. That’s where Growing Self Counseling and Coaching came in.
Are You a Meditation Beginner Like Me? Then Try Out The Mindfulness App
You can’t scroll too far on most social media apps without stumbling upon wellness content in one form or another. Whether it’s an influencer in athleisure talking about finding their calm or a celebrity sharing the importance of looking inward, you’ll likely see the word “mindfulness” somewhere in their caption. Exactly what “mindfulness” is and looks like in everyday life, though, can be a bit murky and can vary from person to person. I’ve often wondered how other overworked and overtired moms like me could incorporate mindfulness into our lives without it feeling like just another thing we're not checking off our to-do list.
I Needed a Therapist to Help With Anxiety, So I Tried the GoodTherapy Directory
I’ve been living with anxiety for a while—but lately, I realized I have just started accepting that anxiety as part of my everyday life, which … isn’t great. For example, I would check in with my physical body and feel tension throughout the day, a clenching of my jaw, or an inability to relax my brain at night, with thoughts swirling about my dad’s declining health or money I was owed or my kids’ life choices. I began thinking “That’s just life.” But instead, I wanted to explore ways to take control of my thoughts so that they wouldn’t impact my physical body and sleep so much.
I Was Struggling With My Dad’s Declining Health, So I Tried the MoodTools App
My dad, who I am very close to, is not in good health. He can’t get out of bed and doctors speculate that he will not live for much longer. I find myself spending the precious time I do have with him distracted by how sad and mad I am and the fact that we can’t do many of the things we used to enjoy doing together. I’d read about cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and thought it might help me modify my thought process to better take advantage of the time we do still have together and stay focused on the good I have with him, not what I feel I am lacking.
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