Louisville Health and Healing News Archives - Page 3 of 4

Therapy to Treat Alcohol Use

May 14, 2024/in Addiction Treatment, Louisville Health and Healing News/by Louisville Health & Healing

Therapy is a crucial component of treating alcohol use disorder, as it can help individuals address underlying issues, develop coping strategies, and maintain sobriety. Here are some ways in which therapy can be used effectively in the treatment of alcohol use disorder:

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT): CBT is a common therapeutic approach used in the treatment of alcohol use disorder. It helps individuals identify and change negative thought patterns and behaviors that contribute to their drinking. By addressing triggers and developing healthier coping mechanisms, individuals can learn to manage cravings and prevent relapse.
Motivational Enhancement Therapy (MET): MET is a goal-oriented form of therapy that helps individuals explore and resolve ambivalence about their drinking behavior. By increasing motivation to change and setting achievable goals, MET can empower individuals to make positive changes in their alcohol use.
Individual Therapy: One-on-one counseling with a therapist can provide a safe space for individuals to explore their relationship with alcohol, address underlying issues contributing to their drinking, and work towards personal growth and recovery.
Family Therapy: Involving family members in therapy can be beneficial, as it can help improve communication, address family dynamics that may contribute to the alcohol use disorder, and provide a supportive environment for the individual in recovery.
Group Therapy: Group therapy sessions, such as those offered by support groups like Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) or other group therapy programs, can provide a sense of community, shared experiences, and peer support for individuals working towards sobriety.
Relapse Prevention: Therapy can also focus on developing relapse prevention strategies to help individuals anticipate and cope with high-risk situations, recognize warning signs of relapse, and implement effective coping skills to maintain sobriety.

Therapy tailored to the individual’s needs and goals can be instrumental in the treatment of alcohol use disorder. By addressing psychological, emotional, and behavioral aspects of the condition, therapy can support individuals in their journey towards recovery and long-term sobriety. If you or someone you know is struggling with alcohol use, seeking therapy from a qualified mental health professional or addiction specialist can be a valuable step towards healing and positive change.

How to Treat Alcohol Use

May 7, 2024/in Addiction Treatment, Louisville Health and Healing News/by Louisville Health & Healing

Alcohol use disorder is a complex condition that can have severe physical, psychological, and social consequences. Treatment for alcohol use disorder typically involves a combination of approaches tailored to the individual’s needs. Here are some key components of effective treatment:

Detoxification: The first step in treating alcohol use disorder is often detoxification to safely manage withdrawal symptoms. This should be done under medical supervision to ensure the individual’s safety.
Therapy: Various forms of therapy, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), motivational enhancement therapy (MET), and family therapy, can help individuals address underlying issues and develop coping mechanisms to prevent relapse.
Medication: In some cases, medications like naltrexone, acamprosate, or disulfiram may be prescribed to help manage cravings or discourage alcohol consumption.
Support groups: Support groups like Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) can provide a sense of community and ongoing support for individuals in recovery.
Lifestyle changes: Encouraging healthy lifestyle changes, such as exercise, stress management techniques, and adopting healthier habits, can also support long-term recovery.
Dual diagnosis treatment: For individuals with co-occurring mental health disorders, integrated treatment that addresses both conditions simultaneously is crucial for successful recovery.

It’s important for individuals with alcohol use disorder to seek professional help and support to effectively manage their condition and work towards a healthier, sober lifestyle. If you or someone you know is struggling with alcohol use, reaching out to a healthcare provider or addiction specialist is a crucial first step towards recovery.

Let’s Talk Codependency

October 19, 2022/0 Comments/in Addiction Treatment, Anxiety, Depression, Louisville Health and Healing News, Mental Health, Recovery, Relationship Advice/by Louisville Health & Healing

Codependency is a term that refers to a type of imbalanced relationship, specifically when one or more people in a relationship over-rely on each other’s thoughts and feelings to define their own thoughts and feelings.

To understand why codependency occurs, we have to first start by looking at self-regulation. Self-regulation skills are various strategies we have learned to understand and manage our behaviors and reactions to feelings and things happening around us – essentially, how you emotionally regulate your own nervous system.

When we struggle to self-regulate, understandably, our body and mind seeks out something to help manage our emotions. Some people can become overly reliant on others in their efforts to manage their emotions, leading to codependency in their relationships.

So, how can we help each other in a healthy way, in times of distress?

Co-regulation is when a person is able to emotionally self-regulate enough to be able to help another person emotionally regulate – how your nervous system can affect another person’s nervous system. This is often characterized by warm and responsive interactions that provide support to another person.

Co-regulation is highly effective and can look many different ways, but it requires that each person involved knows how to self-regulate. Otherwise, the partnership is imbalanced. The good news is that self-regulation skills can continually be learned and bettered!

If you notice that you often over-rely on others and you would like to improve your self-regulation skills, speak to your therapist! That is a space where your therapist can help you learn new skills and explore what works best for you or what might be inhibiting your ability to use certain self-regulation skills. We are here to support you!

What Can We Learn From a Dandelion?

October 1, 2022/0 Comments/in Creativity, Louisville Health and Healing News, Mental Health, Spirituality/by Louisville Health & Healing

“Dandelions don’t know whether they are a weed or a brilliance. But each seed can create a field of dandelions…We are invited to be that prolific.” – Adrienne Maree Brown

The plants that we often refer to as weeds are also known as pioneer plants. They are the hardy plants that pave the way towards healing in an area of earth that has been traumatized and wounded. We often see these in our yards and in the cracks of our sidewalks, because in all reality, that is not the way that the earth wants to function.

Weeds, though we may see them as annoying, serve as a reminder that what we like (our pretty landscaped yards, paved driveways, and sidewalks) may not be what is really healthy and healing for the bigger “us” – the earth and world we rest on.

Why does this matter and how does it relate to mental health?

Well, in many ways.

Much like a dandelion, we hold more potential, strength, and capability in our bodies than we may acknowledge or believe. Just as the dandelion blooms and grows and changes into its new puff-ball self, and then waits patiently for a breeze to help it take its next steps – our process of healing and growing may not be straightforward. It might look brilliant and easy for a while, then become difficult, and then perhaps seem to stagnate and annoyingly refuse to budge. Perhaps, the whole time, the ups and downs and all, we were growing towards something – even in the waiting times.

Or maybe like the resilient weed we are a pioneer – paving the way for change and healing in our own lives and in our communities. When met with opposition or hardships, we have the heart and strength to continue forward.

And maybe, like the misunderstood weed, our body and emotions tell us important things about what we need as we are healing and growing. Those things might not always feel good, be easy, or make sense in the moment – but when we attend to them and listen to them, we might be able to heal in new and incredible ways over time.

Or perhaps like the annoying but incredible weeds – we can be more than one thing. Maybe we can be nervous but also sure of our strengths. We can be unkind but also incredibly loving. We can struggle but also survive. Two things can exist at once within us – we can know this and be reassured.

The dandelion weed reminds us that we are invited to be prolific, to be a pioneer, to be resilient, to break down paths and form new ones. You can be many things at once and that’s beautiful.

The Power of Storytelling: How it changes our brains and hearts

October 1, 2022/0 Comments/in Creativity, Louisville Health and Healing News, Mental Health, Spirituality/by Louisville Health & Healing

Throughout time, storytelling has held significant power and cultural importance. Written and oral storytelling is the means through which generations of wisdom, traditions, practical information, and values have been passed down and preserved over time.

Stories hold incredible power in our lives.

“As far as the brain is concerned, there is an impressive body of evidence to demonstrate how it has evolved over time as essentially a storied organ.”
– Jeffrey A. Kottler

In humans and in primate species, there exists something called mirror neurons. These brain cells are related to empathy, social behavior, and the ability to imitate – they function as a core part of human learning and connection. These neurons allow our brain to imagine physically and emotionally what another person’s experience is like.

Giacomo Rizzolatti, the neurophysiologist that discovered these neurons explains, “We are social beings. Our survival depends on our understanding the actions, intentions, and emotions of others. Mirror neurons allow us to understand other people’s mind, not only through conceptual reasoning but through imitation. Feeling, not thinking.”

We learn through vicarious and empathetic means – through watching others or imagining others’ experiences.

We watch a person enjoy an ice cream on a hot summer day and anticipate that we might enjoy that icy treat too. We imagine and empathize with a friend’s pain when they tell us about the recent loss of their loved one. We read the story of a person that overcame a struggle that we relate to, and feel hope imagining ourselves doing the same.

Stories are so intertwined into the fabric of our daily living, that we don’t often think about the many ways they influence our fears, motivations, interests, goals, relationships, and choices.

Why not purposefully connect with the way that storytelling can be an agent of change in your life and the lives of others? Listen actively to those you love and value – what can you learn from their story, their perspective? In what ways would your story being shared help someone else?

What’s amazing is that not only can we gather power from shared stories, but we can also give ourselves power by taking command of the way we tell our story. You are your own storyteller and protagonist. Reframing, deconstructing, and reconstructing your story can be incredibly empowering.

If you would like to better understand the ways that stories impact you, consider some of these questions:
1. What is a story that you often tell people you are getting to know, when you want them to get to know you better?
2. What is a story or a character that you have or do relate to strongly? This could be a storybook, a movie, a folktale, something you recall from a song, a play, or a story shared by a friend. How do you relate to this story and how has it impacted your life or your perspective?
3. What is an important or meaningful experience in your life that you haven’t been able to form into words or a story, yet?

As you explore your story and storytelling, we are here to support you!

How Your Nervous System Impacts Your Experiences

October 1, 2022/0 Comments/in Anxiety, Depression, Louisville Health and Healing News, Mental Health/by Louisville Health & Healing

Your nervous system is constantly seeking to assess and understand the world around you. It prioritizes keeping you protected.

According to Polyvagal Theory, the nervous system has three pathways – or three states – that each serve different functions to protect us:
1. The Ventral Vagal
2. The Sympathetic
3. The Dorsal Vagal

We move between these three nervous system states throughout our day-to-day life, but getting stuck in any one state can hinder us and result in difficulties. Finding yourself stuck in the sympathetic or dorsal vagal states (the defensive states) can leave us feeling especially disconnected from our goals and the things we enjoy in life.

Let’s take a look at each state and what they do:

The Ventral Vagal State is also known as the Social Engagement system. In this state, we are able to engage socially and coregulate with one another. We are able to operate out of this state when we feel safe, stable, and secure. When we are in this state, we read others’ facial expressions more positively, we hear other human voices better, and we can react – switching between action and calm – more quickly, allowing us to function from a place of flexibility and even creativity!
● When we are in our ventral vagal state, we often feel grounded, curious, calm, connected, and safe.

The Sympathetic State kicks on when the body starts to feel unsafe. This state is a defensive state that mobilizes the body in response to a perceived threat. This mobilization might look like the fight-or-flight response, or an attack/cry-for-help response. Once in this state, it can take our bodies 10-20 minutes to return to balance or our pre-sympathetic state.
● When we are in this state (especially if we find ourselves stuck in this state), we might feel fear, panic, irritation, sensitivity, anger, or rage.

The Dorsal Vagal State is also a defensive state, but unlike the sympathetic state, it seeks to protect the body from a threat through immobilization. This might seem counter-productive. Why stop moving when there’s a threat? This state is utilized to conserve energy and is often the body’s last resort when extreme danger is perceived. This response comes from an old part of the human brain – the dorsal vagus is shared by most animals. We see this state in action when animals “feign death” when attacked or pursued by predators.
● When in this state, we often feel numb, frozen, lethargic, ashamed, and/or dissociative.

It’s important to note that when a person carries a history of trauma, their body has likely learned to operate from its defensive systems, rather than its social engagement system as a means of protecting itself and surviving.

This means someone who has experienced trauma might struggle to connect with others in the ways they would like, might struggle to be curious, engaged, grounded, or calm. They might find themselves hypervigilant and always expecting a threat. Or quickly moving into a complete shut-down, or extreme anic or rage when triggered.

Learning to recognize these different states and responses in yourself and your loved ones can be helpful and healing. Your therapist can help you as you work on identifying what these states look like in your life, when they are triggered, and what strategies are helpful to calm and ground you.

Make use of a classic body hack – your breathing! Through your breath, you can change the activation of your nervous system. Slow deep breathing communicates to our brain that we are safe, which in turn, tells our nervous system to begin to switch to our ventral vagal state.

Try box breathing! Imagine a square…

Breathe in for 4 counts, hold for 4 counts, breathe out for 4 counts, and hold for 4 counts. Then repeat as needed.

Traveling Life’s Journey

August 2, 2022/0 Comments/in Addiction Treatment, Anxiety, Depression, Louisville Health and Healing News, Mental Health, Relationship Advice, Spirituality/by Louisville Health & Healing

We are excited to host a weekend long retreat that targets trauma. Our retreat, Traveling Life’s Journey – Overcoming Traumatic Experiences – From Surviving to Thriving, is a 48 hour educational and experiential retreat led by licensed and certified clinicians and healers. Many of us have experienced traumatic events to varying degrees and traditional approaches can hinder progress. We have curated a culmination of rapid and effective processes to target trauma to get relief.

After experiencing one or more traumatic events, it is normal to feel a wide range of emotions and have trouble processing those feelings. Traumatized individuals can isolate and withdraw, experience emotional outbursts disproportionate to the situation, and have flashbacks of their traumatic experience(s). In addition to the psychological impact, physical symptoms are also common. These include sleep problems like insomnia and nightmares, digestive issues, chronic headaches, and a state of hyperarousal, or being unable to relax, as well as many others. Regardless of the cause, trauma can be treated most effectively through a holistic approach to recovery.

The retreat will consist of two overnight stays at Valaterra Retreat Center in Prospect, Kentucky. All food and lodging are covered through payment for retreat. Participants will experience education about trauma and learn skills to regulate emotions and promote internal safety while creating a Target Sequence Plan. Each participant will can experience 3-5 hours of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) with a trained clinician. Art Therapy, Meditation, breathwork, trauma-informed yoga, and nature walks will also be incorporated throughout the retreat. Participants will have time to socialize with others and time to reflect and journal about their experience.

Before the retreat, participants will have a 45-minute phone call or in-person consultation with a licensed clinician. During this call, we will discuss limitations, risk factors and potential goals to be achieved. Additionally, after the retreat, participants will have a 1-hour group follow up to discuss life after the retreat. If participants are in therapy, have concerned family members, or have supportive employers, then those people can be notified as support with appropriate consents.
We are excited to host this retreat to the greater community. If you are interested please reach out to Jenifer Jimison, [email protected].

Being Consciously Grateful

May 10, 2022/0 Comments/in Anxiety, Creativity, Louisville Health and Healing News, Mental Health, Recovery, Spirituality/by Louisville Health & Healing

None of us like to think of ourselves as an ungrateful person. You probably often feel
thankfulness and appreciation for rain after many hot summer days, for help from your
friend when you needed a ride, or even towards yourself and the skills or insight you
used in a specific situation. Feeling thankfulness or gratitude indicates that we
acknowledge the positive impact of something or someone – but the important step we
often forget is actually taking a conscious moment to acknowledge and express that
gratitude.

Many of us feel thankfulness, but let that feeling pass quickly without doing much of
anything with it. To those in our life, and even to our own subconscious self, this can
begin to convey that we do not acknowledge or appreciate the things that have been
done to help us. The good news is it’s an easy fix! This easy fix has two parts:

1. Take an internal moment to pause and truly recognize the appreciation or
thankfulness you are feeling.
2. Take a moment to actively express that thankfulness.

Taking an internal moment to recognize your feelings of gratitude is an exercise in
mindfulness. You may have worked previously on increasing your awareness of internal
negative thoughts or feelings you have, to help change your behaviors or challenge
your negative self-talk – but the awareness can’t stop there. It’s just as important to
acknowledge the positive thoughts and feelings we have too!

Taking a moment to actively express your thankfulness may look different depending on
who you feel grateful towards or what you are grateful for – but that’s a beautiful space
to flex your creativity and love!

Maybe you feel grateful towards yourself for staying patient and calm in a situation you
would have previously blown-up during. You could say to yourself, “I’m really proud of
myself for acting this way and grateful that I chose to be patient in this situation”. Taking
a moment to note our self-gratitude is easy to forget, but also easy to start doing. Doing
so can help build positive self-talk and encourage our own strengths. Doing something
similar out loud for those in your life that you feel grateful towards can similarly build
them up. Our loved ones need to hear we are thankful for their specific strengths,
actions, and ideas, too!

Some people find it uncomfortable to express their feelings out loud to others, especially
gracious and loving feelings. But remember – it’s not uncommon that the things that are
hardest for us to do, show us the spaces we have for growth in our life. It’s also
important to remind yourself that something uncomfortable may only be uncomfortable
because it is unfamiliar – practice makes us comfortable!

Try making a goal for yourself this week to actively and specifically express your
gratitude at least one time a day! Even if it’s about something small. You may find that it
not only makes those in your life feel more valued and genuinely seen, but that you may
also start to see the love and growth in your life more clearly – and who wouldn’t want
that.

What is art therapy?

April 19, 2022/0 Comments/in Addiction Treatment, Adolescence, Anxiety, Art Therapy, Depression, Louisville Health and Healing News, Mental Health, Recovery, Spirituality/by Louisville Health & Healing

Art therapy is a true gift to the service of healing and does not require any artistic skill whatsoever; art therapy focuses on the process, not the product. The quality of a client’s art is not the focus, as the experiences and insight gained through the exercise is what informs progress.

Art therapy has been proven to be an extremely effective modality for individuals of all ages, with varying presenting issues. Some issues that art therapy works to treat include, but are not limited to, those actively processing trauma, behavioral/emotional issues, anger/aggression, addiction, grief/loss, depression, anxiety, and ADHD. A major benefit to this expressive modality is that it will often elicit responses that have been challenging to obtain independently or through other therapeutic techniques. An art therapy session can look many different ways. Whether it be painting, wood-working, drawing, sculpting, or any other media used, the creative process offers new perspectives and catharsis that can be paramount to an individual’s treatment.

We have a licensed art therapist that works with children, teens and adults. If your tired of traditional talk therapy, then give art therapy a try! Reach out today. 502.208.9927; [email protected] .

The Very Big Question of “Who am I and who do I want to be?”

April 3, 2022/0 Comments/in Anxiety, Creativity, Depression, Louisville Health and Healing News, Mental Health, Spirituality/by Louisville Health & Healing

By calling attention to this question, by no means do I want to encourage any feelings of “I’m not
good enough”. The fact that any of us has space to grow is not a bad thing in and of itself. If
anything, identifying space for change can be a great thing. Being aware of who you are, how
you act, and how you want to change can be helpful in giving new thoughtfulness and purpose
to your days. Awareness is key to change and change can be good, but change can also be
slow and tiring at times – and that’s okay.

I have been thinking a lot about this idea of how my self, my self perception, and who I want
to be align or maybe don’t align – trying to find room for growth and space to understand myself
better. I recently saw a post on social media where someone said “Be the person you needed
when you were younger”. Wow – what an interesting thing to consider.

Thinking about what our child self or younger self needed from others but didn’t receive, can be
a difficult or even painful thing to recall and think about. But maybe it’s something you’ve never
really thought about in a concrete way before or allowed yourself to consider. I know I hadn’t.
Thinking about this, I have found that the answer has not come to me easily and may take time
for me to truly understand – but I feel like it’s worth it. My child self / younger self deserves that
consideration. And yours does too!

So what about you? What did younger you need? What kind of person would have made a
difference for them? Maybe start by listing words, or thinking about feelings that come up for
you. Once you start to have an image of this “person”, start to consider what needs to change
for you to reflect that “person” better in your life. Maybe the change necessary requires some
healing on your part, first. Maybe it requires some playfulness that you feel out of touch with.
Maybe it requires a community or some structure. Whatever space for change and growth you
see, know that making that change happen is a process and give yourself compassion. Being
patient and encouraging with ourselves can be hard. But we have the ability to grow within us!
All of these things may be easier to consider and work on with some extra support.

Whether that’s from family, friends, a bigger community – or your therapist! Make sure to let your therapist know what your goals are – we are here to support you through your healing and growth!