How To React When Someone Comes Out
Coming out – the process of revealing your sexual or gender identity to others around you – can be terrifying. Yet in an effort to live authentically, congruently, and freely, it is necessary to divulge certain very personal pieces of information with loved ones. We unfortunately live in a “heteronormative” society, which means that others […]
Talking To Teenagers
Parents often feel that they’ve entered a new planet, or at least a foreign country, when their sweet innocent children become teenagers. Adolescence is a developmental period where identity, responsibility, maturity, and hormones can bring about changes, heightened emotions, and a whole new set of tools for parents to master. Teenagers get a bad reputation, […]
Treatment Guidelines for Transgender Individuals
Historically, the mental health and medical communities have not always had the best understanding of transgender and gender diverse health care and mental health needs – nor the best intentions in caring for those who are not cis-gender. Thankfully, research, understanding, and humanity have evolved into a growing de-stigmatization of gender diversity. Internationally, movement is […]
Parenting A Child With A Disability
Parenting is hard, bringing risks and rewards, struggles and highlights. This is no different for a parent who has a child with a disability. Yet parents of special needs children also experience increased isolation and loneliness, additional roles of warrior and advocate, and increased fears about the future, and ones’ own mortality. The experiences of […]
How To Make, And Keep, New Years Resolutions
Research has shown that while over half of Americans make New Years resolutions at the start of a new year, only 8% of Americans keep or fulfill their goal. Problems identified in why they can’t keep their goals include goals that are too vague, too hard to attain, or take too long to see results. […]
Dr. Oppenheimer’s Favorite Reads in 2018
Our founder, and one of our psychologists, Dr. Rachel Oppenheimer, loves to read. She wanted to share some of her favorite reads from the past year: Braving The Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone by Brene Brown: “It is very hard to identify a favorite Brene Brown book. Her writing is […]
Upside Therapy Spring Groups
Upside Therapy is pleased to announce our next round of group therapy opportunities! With all of our groups, Upside Therapy offers complimentary intake sessions to determine if the fit is appropriate, or to provide referrals if our group is not the best fit. Our Teen Social Skills Group, facilitated by Lauren Roth, LPC-Intern, supervised by […]
Strengths Along the Spectrum
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has disorder in the very name. Otherwise known as a developmental disability, or a social/emotional handicap, many times the communication about ASD includes conversations about deficits, inabilities, and weaknesses. Yet along with difficulties, individuals on the spectrum present with many diverse strengths. Focusing on the abilities, as opposed to the disability, […]
Group Dynamics
Group dynamics refers to the interactions and behaviors or people within a social collective. As our world continues to change, grow, and evolve, we find ourselves very naturally forming groups. Groups can be formally created, such as in work or school groups, or informal collectives, such as hobbyists, groups with common values, or social groups. […]
Belonging: The Barriers, and the Benefits
To know that we are not alone, that we are indeed a part of something larger, is a psychological need that occurs as early as childhood. Studies have shown that to be a part of a group or to have social connections are as critical to human survival as food, water, and shelter. In fact, […]