Ways to Cope with Depression After Pregnancy Loss

For many women, pregnancy can be a really uncertain time - excitement, fear, anxiety, hope all come into play. Many pregnancies do lead to healthy babies, but unfortunately, that’s not the reality for everyone. Although it’s still considered culturally taboo to discuss pregnancy loss, the truth is that not all pregnancies end with a healthy infant. It’s hard to imagine an unsuccessful pregnancy, but roughly 10-20% of pregnancies end in miscarriage. 

Pregnancy loss can mean a couple of different things. Most commonly, it means a pregnancy that ended in miscarriage or stillbirth instead of a healthy, living infant. The difference between a miscarriage and a stillbirth is based on the number of weeks into the pregnancy. A miscarriage is defined as a pregnancy loss before 20 weeks of gestation. Stillbirth is defined as fetal death after 20 weeks of pregnancy. 

The reasons for pregnancy loss aren’t always understood, which can make the experience even more devastating. Some of the factors thought to be involved are genetic defects, viral or bacterial infections, hormone imbalances, and autoimmune disorders. However, much of the time there isn’t an easy answer as to why the pregnancy was lost. Losing a pregnancy is often a life-changing event for a person, and makes sense that after such a serious loss, depression may develop. 

In our culture, talking about pregnancy loss is seen as a no-no, which can make the experience even more lonely. The idea seems to be that since the pregnancy did not come to term, that there is not as much to be sad about, which is of course not true. Some common responses to hearing about a pregnancy loss are, ”It was meant to be,” “You can always try again,” “It’s better that it happened early,”. Most people who say these things don’t intend to be cruel, but these statements can minimize the grief and sorrow that the person is feeling. 

Because this type of loss is often minimized, many folks are left to get through it alone or only with their partner to lean on. People expect folks to bounce back after this type of loss faster than other types for some reason, and it can put a lot of pressure on the grieving parties. 

If you or someone you know has experienced pregnancy loss, here are some symptoms of depression to look out for: 

• Feeling hopeless all the time

• Sleep problems (sleeping too much or not enough)

• Changes in appetite

• Sudden irritability or outbursts of anger

• Constant anxiety

• Panic attacks 

• Feelings of guilt 

• Feelings of worthlessness

• Difficulty with making decisions

• Problems remembering things

• Suicidal thoughts

Women are not the only ones to feel depression after pregnancy loss. Research says that men also experience depression as a result of pregnancy loss, but on average, men recover from this depression more quickly than women. 

While there is no tried and true recipe for moving through grief, there are some ways to support yourself or a loved one after a pregnancy loss. 

Medication

Depression is a serious condition, and sometimes it can only be treated with medication. There is nothing shameful about taking medicine for your mental health, just as there is nothing shameful about taking allergy medicine when you have allergies. Medication can be an extra leg of support for you as you work through this loss. 

Therapy

Therapy is an opportunity to work through your feelings about this loss. If you want, you can search for a therapist you can see with your partner. If you’re not up for seeing someone in person yet, there are many opportunities for online therapy so you can get the help you need where you are. 

Be gentle with your body

You might feel out of touch with your body after this experience, and that’s okay. Do your best to look after your body with kindness during this time.  Nourish it with foods that appeal to you and make you feel good. Move your body if that feels good to you. Try to establish a sleep routine to make sure you get enough rest. 

Find a Community

Community can be invaluable after a loss. Knowing that others have gone through what you are experiencing can help you feel less lonely. You won't have to justify your feelings or your pain to anyone there, and you can lean on each other when you need to. 

If you or someone close to you is struggling with suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. For more support in recovering from pregnancy loss, the counselors at Hope+Wellness can help. Contact us today to get started. 

therapist in falls church, mclean, tysons corner, merrifield, arlington and vienna, va

Hope+Wellness is a psychotherapy practice serving the Falls Church, McLean, Great Falls, Vienna, Arlington, Alexandria, and the greater Washington DC region. We provide individual therapy to children, teens, and adults with stress, anxiety, and depression. Our practice is in-network with BCBS and provides Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), mindfulness and acceptance based therapies, and other top, premier evidence-based treatments. Call, email, or schedule an appointment with us online today. We’re happy to help!

Is Perfectionism Holding You Back?

What is perfectionism?

“Perfectionism is a trait that makes life an endless report card on accomplishments or looks.” That is how Psychology Today makes short work of defining perfectionism. While simple, this succinct definition of perfection hits the nail on the head. 

While achieving perfection sounds positive, the trait of perfectionism is actually more toxic than beneficial to our overall health and wellness–because, as most of us know, perfection isn’t actually possible to achieve. Instead, perfectionism is a trait that acts as a harsh, critical voice inside our heads, making us too afraid of failure or criticism to try new things, expand our world, or let ourselves be vulnerable in any way. 

In essence, if you are a perfectionist, the thought of doing something incorrectly can hinder you from trying it at all. There is a constant fear of judgement, criticism, or ridicule in the back of your mind. You also likely attribute your value, your worthiness, your purpose, etc. to things that you can achieve. Due to this, the idea that you might not be successful at something new isn’t just a learning experience for you; it’s an experience that makes you question your value entirely. 

Signs you might be a perfectionist: 

• You would rather not do something at all, than do it incorrectly

• You’re specific about your process: things have to be done in a certain way or else they are wrong

• You’re overly critical of yourself

• You pay more attention to criticism than praise

• Your standards (in work, regarding personal goals, etc.) are extremely high

• You’re prone to procrastination

• You invest too much time in something, often “correcting” mistakes that others don’t see

•  Success is never enough: no matter what you accomplish, you feel you can still achieve more.

Where does it come from?

As we touched on above, perfectionism is rooted in fear, which can essentially be boiled down to one general fear: that you won’t be enough. 

Whether that comes in the form of not being smart enough to do something well, or not being creative enough to tackle a new project, or not being skilled enough to be an expert at everything, there’s is an underlying fear at the root of all perfectionism. 

In the mind of a perfectionist, criticism isn’t just a tool that can be used to learn, grow, and get better. It’s a judgement on their worthiness, their quality, all of the core parts of their identity. 

How does it impact our lives?

Obviously, this trait can have a huge impact on our lives. 

Whether your perfectionism comes in the form of obsessively hiding your imperfections from others, or in trying to achieve perfection in all things, it can take a huge toll on the self. 

If you are constantly worrying about perceived imperfections, you will be more concerned with how you’re appearing to others than actually taking care of yourself. Rather than making decisions based on what it is you need and want, you’ll make decisions based on how those choices will appear to an outside observer. 

And if you are constantly trying to achieve (or at least project) perfection in all things, failure–or not being able to achieve absolute perfection–will feel devastating. In fact, it will feel so horrible that you likely will stop trying new things, stop allowing yourself to be vulnerable, and stick only with what you know you can do. 

In either of these cases, it’s clear that perfectionism is a one way track to stopping our growth and self betterment. 

How can we resist the pressure of perfectionism?

Learning to resist the compulsion for perfectionism is hard, and can feel very scary. But it is also an amazing step on your journey toward self care! While healing from perfectionism can be a long and arduous journey, there are a few things you can do for yourself to get you started:

1). Give yourself concrete reasons for change

This may seem silly at first, but make a pro + con list when you see your perfectionism rearing its head. How are you benefitting from the need for perfection? How is it holding you back? Maybe there’s a big project you need to be working on, but you know that you aren’t ready to do it perfectly, so you’re putting it off. The “pro” here is that you’re giving yourself a sense of reassurance that there will be a later time when you’re more prepared to handle this task, and you are saving yourself from immediate criticism. But how else is it impacting your life? In the “con” side you might out things like: putting this project off is making it harder to manage my time, I’m constantly stressed because I know I will have to deal with it later, I’m giving myself a shorter amount of time to produce something of quality, etc. 

Be kind to yourself when doing this exercise. Remind yourself that your perfectionism serves a purpose–it likely exists to offer you some sort of protection. However, at this point in your life, the protection it offers is outweighed by the burden it puts on you. Giving yourself a physical list to show this can be a powerful reminder & motivator when trying to overcome your perfectionism. 

2). Celebrate what you’ve done well

A big problem in perfectionism is that when a perfectionist is not 100% successful at something, they don’t just see it as an instance in which they failed. Rather, they see it as the turning point when they became a failure. Reminding yourself of things you have accomplished, jobs done well, even small victories, can help you to remember that even if you don’t succeed at one thing, you aren’t a failure. 

3). Only compare yourself to you 

If you’re trying something new, and you compare yourself to an expert, you’re obviously going to feel like you’re coming up short. Instead, use yourself as the yardstick to measure accomplishment. If you want to learn to play the piano, don’t compare your first day at a piano to Elton John now. Instead, think about how yesterday, you didn’t have the courage to even sit down at a piano, and now you’re actively learning! In a month, or a year, you’ll be able to look back and see what progress you’ve made. 

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therapist in falls church, mclean, tysons corner, merrifield, arlington and vienna, va

Hope+Wellness is a psychotherapy practice serving the Falls Church, McLean, Great Falls, Vienna, Arlington, Alexandria, and the greater Washington DC region. We provide individual therapy to children, teens, and adults with stress, anxiety, and depression. Our practice is in-network with BCBS and provides Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), mindfulness and acceptance based therapies, and other top, premier evidence-based treatments. Call, email, or schedule an appointment with us online today. We’re happy to help!

5 Ways Chronic Illness can Affect Your Mental Health

Many of us take our physical health for granted until we are forced to do otherwise. For the six out of every ten adults in the US who live with a chronic illness, however, the fantasy of living in perfect health is one that’s hard to reach. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), chronic illness is defined as “conditions that last 1 year or more and require ongoing medical attention or limit activities of daily living or both.”

Keep in mind: you cannot measure someone’s physical or mental health by looking at them. It’s also important to note that just no one owes anyone a certain level of health - people with chronic illness are just as much people as anyone else, and they deserve dignity and respect.  

The idea of living in perfect physical and mental health throughout your entire life is not realistic. At some point, you will probably have to deal with some sort of serious illness or condition, either for yourself or for someone you care about. Just because you don’t have to worry about chronic illness right now doesn’t mean that will always be the case. 

Physical health and mental health are linked

There is a connection between your physical health and your mental state. You might have experienced swings in mood or energy when you’re not feeling well, and that can be exponentially more intense in the case of chronic illness. In fact, people with chronic illnesses are two times more likely to experience anxiety and depression than people who don’t have a chronic illness. 

Living with a chronic illness is the reality for many folks in the United States (and all over the world, too). The way that physical health can take a toll on mental health is well documented. Looking at the whole picture, physical and mental, can help folks find better treatment options that will support them in all aspects of life. Here are 5 ways that chronic illness can affect mental health: 

Brain Chemicals

The chemicals in your brain play a large role in mental health, and some physical conditions can impact those chemicals. Changing levels of hormones and neurotransmitters in your system can lead to mental health side effects (like anxiety, depression, etc.). Inflammation in the brain may also play a role in mental health. In fact, it has even been suggested that depression is associated with inflammation in the brain, so increased inflammation in the body due to physical illness may directly play a role in depression.  

Chronic illness can be traumatic

Chronic illness can also lead to PTSD. Living in a body that is chronically ill can be incredibly stressful and scary. Trauma can come in many different forms, and chronic illness is one. In fact, there is a specific type of PTSD called Illness Induced Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, though it isn’t well understood by medical professionals. There does seem to be a distinction between this type of PTSD and traditional PTSD - chronic illnesses can last for an undetermined amount of time, which can prolong the trauma. 

Stress

Experiencing long term illness can lead to a major increase in stress - stress about your condition, about finances, about accessibility, about insurance, about anything, really. This extra stress can lead to mental health problems. Long term stress has long been known to be detrimental to mental health. That’s why self-care is so important right now - people are finally realizing that the best way to care for others is to care for yourself first.  Because chronic conditions by definition last a long time, folks who live with them often end up living with a lot of stress and uncertainty. 

Medications 

The medications folks take to manage their chronic conditions may also play a role in mental health. Medications can have complex side effects and interactions with each other, and sometimes that leads to a change in mental health. Depending on the condition, you may be able to try different medications to manage things to see if that makes a difference. It’s important for anyone involved in the care of chronically ill folks are aware of the way medication can influence mental health. 

Shame + Hopelessness

Shame is an aspect of chronic illness that many people don’t talk about (especially people who don’t live with a chronic condition). In the United States, there is a very high value placed on physical health. Because of this, anyone who falls short of perfect physical health is seen as failing (even though this couldn’t be further from the truth!). Some people will blame themselves for their condition, or be too embarrassed to talk about it with anyone but their medical team. Some people feel like they have to prove that they’re ‘sick enough’ to be considered chronically ill. This kind of ableism can be draining, especially over a long period of time.  

Suffering from a chronic condition without improvement can lead to feeling hopeless. You might feel that you’ll never be your old self again, or that you’ll never have another good day. You may need to grieve for the life you had before your diagnosis. Chronic illness can majorly change up your plans in life, and it’s perfectly normal to have a lot of complicated feelings about that. 

The majority of people in the United States will experience chronic illness at some point in their lives. Since chronic illness is so common, it’s important to understand the ways that physical illness and mental illness intersect and influence one another. Treating the whole person is an important way to improve a person’s quality of life overall. It’s critical to take into account mental health when discussing physical health and vice versa. If you are living with a chronic illness and you’re looking for support, we can help. 

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therapist in falls church, mclean, tysons corner, merrifield, arlington and vienna, va

Hope+Wellness is a psychotherapy practice serving the Falls Church, McLean, Great Falls, Vienna, Arlington, Alexandria, and the greater Washington DC region. We provide individual therapy to children, teens, and adults with stress, anxiety, and depression. Our practice is in-network with BCBS and provides Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), mindfulness and acceptance based therapies, and other top, premier evidence-based treatments. Call, email, or schedule an appointment with us online today. We’re happy to help!

How to stop social media from making you feel bad about yourself

When you think of self care practices, do you ever consider your social media? 

While social media is great for so many things (keeping up to date with friends who live far away, finding new music or movies or other cultural events, staying on top of local events, just to name a few) it’s not something we should use mindlessly. 

And for every positive aspect of social media, there’s an equal and opposite negative action. Yes you’re able to keep up with friends, but do you remember that their lives aren’t as perfectly curated or posed as they seem on social media? Do you forget to check in with loved ones because seeing a facebook update makes you feel like you’ve already caught up? Do you get stressed from the information overload that can come with mindless social media scrolling? 

Just as with all other social interactions, social media requires a bit of intentional effort. We have to find out what works for us and what doesn’t, and we have to learn to take a step back when things aren’t working. But because social media is so ingrained in our culture, it’s easy to forget that this effort needs to be put in. 

If you’re finding yourself feeling bad more often than you’re feeling good when you use social media, it might be time for some major social media self care. Below are our top 4 tips for how to practice self care with your social media:  

1. Curate Your Feed

Who are you following on twitter or instagram? When you scroll through your feeds do you feel at ease, or anxious? Because we are able to take in so much information and content in a short time with social media, it’s important to make sure we’re being careful with exactly what kind of content we’re consuming. If you find yourself constantly frustrated or upset at a certain account's posts, remind yourself there is no social obligation making you follow them. 

Have you heard of the tidying method from Marie Kondo? The basic idea is that you decide what sparks joy for you from your possessions, and get rid of those that don’t. You can do the same thing with your social media feeds! While you scroll through, think to yourself, is this account bringing joy? Is it adding something positive to my life? Unfollow or mute accounts that aren’t. It will help keep your social media as a positive space, and leave you less anxious or tense after scrolling. 

2. Be Intentional with Your Social Media Presence

There is this idea that if we stay plugged into social media all day long, we’ll be better informed. But really, all this does is feed into our own anxiety and create a compulsion to keep checking and checking and checking our feeds. And when we’re too busy checking our feeds, we’re not actually engaging with the life, culture & experiences around us! Social media, after all, is meant to be a platform where you share parts of your life, not the main way you live your life.

So, like curating your feeds, taking time to decide which platforms spark joy can be hugely beneficial. You don’t actually have to be on every social media platform. Decide which ones actually add joy to your life. Do you like instagram because you can keep up with local events, or see how friends far away are doing? Or does it stress you out to see pictures of what everyone else is doing because it makes you get caught up in the comparison game? Leave the platforms that leave you upset after visiting them. 

3. Use it After Leaving Social Events

There is often a compulsion to keep everyone updated with everything you’re doing as you’re doing it. And there is nothing wrong with wanting to share a picture of you and your friends! But try to keep your social media time to the times when you aren’t otherwise socially engaged. Do your best to be present when at a party or event, and wait until you’re back home to share a post about it. That way you’ll be able to focus on actually having a good time wherever you are instead of just making it look like you had a good time on facebook. 

4. Take a Break

Sometimes, what you need is a good old fashioned social media vacation. You don’t have to delete your accounts, but try deleting the apps off of your phone. See if you can stay off them for a week. When we’re so used to being “on” all of the time, it can be hard to imagine a total break like that, but it might be just what you need. It will help to remind you that the satisfaction you get from scrolling through your social media feeds isn’t the only way you get social satisfaction in your life. And when you do get back on the apps, you’ll be able to keep it in perspective and moderate your time a bit more than before. 

therapist in falls church, mclean, tysons corner, merrifield, arlington and vienna, va

Hope+Wellness is a psychotherapy practice serving the Falls Church, McLean, Great Falls, Vienna, Arlington, Alexandria, and the greater Washington DC region. We provide individual therapy to children, teens, and adults with stress, anxiety, and depression. Our practice is in-network with BCBS and provides Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), mindfulness and acceptance based therapies, and other top, premier evidence-based treatments. Call, email, or schedule an appointment with us online today. We’re happy to help!

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How to Tap Into and Listen to Your Intuition

What is Intuition?

Intuition sounds like a complex, magical thing. When we think about intuitive people there’s an air of fortune-telling or mysticism that comes along with the word, but all intuition really is is your feelings. Intuition is your gut instinct in any situation. 

You know that saying “you know more than you think you do”? That’s where intuition comes in. We have so much knowledge stored in our brains that we don’t access on a daily basis, so sometimes we forget it’s there. Your gut feelings, your intuition, is that knowledge coming back up. 

Past experiences are all stored in our brains, and while we may not be actively thinking about them, our brain can access them when it needs to. It uses those past experiences and cues from our environment and our sense of self and all comes together to give us those gut feelings we call intuition. 

Your body and your brain can interpret your environment faster than you can, so when you get a “bad feeling” it doesn’t mean you’re overreacting or being “crazy”–it means that there is something there, some element of your environment that triggered that knowledge in the back recesses of your brain before you could piece it together yourself. 

Our intuition doesn’t yell at us. It’s like a whisper in the back of our minds. Sometimes we can’t even explain what it’s trying to say–it’s just a feeling that something is off, that something needs closer attention, something drawing us in a particular direction. This is also why our intuition is so often ignored. If you aren’t intentional about listening to your intuition it can seem like a silly feeling, something you just need to shake off. 

Signs You Aren’t Listening to Your Intuition:

1. There’s constant discomfort in your stomach

   Yes! Turns out your gut feelings can actually have a physical effect on your actual gut. The mind-body connection is extremely powerful; our bodies know when something in our mind has been left unattended. And when we have ignored our feelings or anxieties, our body tries to force us to address them. These feelings manifest in physical symptoms, which in this case is most commonly stomach ache or distress. 

2. You feel like you’re lying

   When someone asks you how you are and you respond “Great!” because you can’t point to anything technically wrong in your life, does it actually feel great? If you’re looking for reasons why that “great” might be a lie, chances are you have missed something your intuition has been trying to tell you. Even if things are going well, there is a gut feeling there that you need to make a change, and when you ignore that feeling, what should feel great starts to feel off. 

3. You feel out of place socially

   Our intuition can play a huge role in our social lives if we let it. When we listen to our intuition socially, we’re able to find our place better, find the people we can really bond with. But often, we’re looking for the people who are right for us on paper, rather than in our guts. Maybe you spend time with your coworkers because you want to fit in at work, maybe you feel like you’re constantly adjusting yourself to fit into your social group, etc. Instead of making changes within yourself that aren’t true to who you are, listen to what your intuition is telling you about your social situation. Tap into that gut feeling when meeting new people. Do you click? Does it feel right? Or do you feel out of place?

How You Can Tap Into Your Intuition:

Learning to listen to our intuition can be an incredible turning point. It might be a big adjustment (especially if you’re a person who likes to make pro/con lists before making every decision) but tapping into the powerful knowledge we already have about ourselves can do wonders for our mental health. It helps us: 

• Feel more confident in our decisions

• Feel more confident in ourselves

• Feel more at ease in our social circles

• Feel more at peace in our day to day lives

• Improve health & sleep overall

So how can you start to tap into your intuition?

1. Practice Mindfulness

   when you make mindfulness a regular part of your routine, your intuition (and your ability to hear and heed your intuition) grows stronger. Find a few moments each day to commit to mindfulness. Whether it’s on your drive to work, while you’re brushing your teeth, just before you go to bed, etc. Whatever it is you decide to do mindfully, commit to that one activity entirely. Think about what you’re doing, what you’re feeling, the environment around you. When you actively practice noticing the present moment, it is easier to recognize your intuition when it tries to speak with you. 

2. Make low-risk gut decisions

   Not sure how reliable your intuition is? Test it out a bit while you grow comfortable with it. When low-pressure decisions come up (where are you going to eat, what should you wear, what book should you start next) make the decision based purely on whatever gut feeling you get. This can help you start to trust your own intuition, and allow you to rely on it when bigger decisions come along. 

3. Keep a dream journal

   Our dreams are often huge methods of communication for our intuition. Do you ever wake from a dream and feel like it was important? What were the feelings you got from the dream, what were the big things that stood out? Keep a paper journal or use the voice memo app to record what it was that stood out about those dreams. Then take some time to reflect on what these dreams could be trying to tell you. Not every dream is a secret message, but learning to pay attention to what our mind is trying to tell us as it processes the day’s events can help us hone our intuition! 

4. Pay attention to your energy

   When does your energy feel depleted? When does it feel recharged? Do you feel anxious in specific situations? Do certain people have the same effect on your energy every time you see them? This can be your intuitions way of telling you what is good for you to keep in your life and what needs to be reevaluated. 

Do you need some extra support in learning how to tap into and trust your intuition? We can help. Contact us today!

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therapist in falls church, mclean, tysons corner, merrifield, arlington and vienna, va

Hope+Wellness is a psychotherapy practice serving the Falls Church, McLean, Great Falls, Vienna, Arlington, Alexandria, and the greater Washington DC region. We provide individual therapy to children, teens, and adults with stress, anxiety, and depression. Our practice is in-network with BCBS and provides Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), mindfulness and acceptance based therapies, and other top, premier evidence-based treatments. Call, email, or schedule an appointment with us online today. We’re happy to help!

7 Ways to Communicate More Effectively in Your Relationship

One of the hardest parts of being in a relationship with someone else is figuring out how to talk to them about serious stuff. Relationships can be complicated for many reasons, but sometimes a barrier between partners is that they don’t know how to effectively communicate with each other. Many of us didn’t grow up with positive models of relationships to look up to, so you may feel like you have no chance to catch up at this point. Luckily, that isn’t true! You can figure out ways to communicate with your partner that work in your relationship, even if healthy communication is completely new to you. 

Communication is an essential part of any relationship. It is intimidating to try to talk about vulnerable things with anyone, especially with someone you have strong feelings for. It might feel odd to try a different communication style with your partner, but keep an open mind, and remember you can always switch it up if it isn’t working for you both. 

Try these tips to communicate more effectively with your partner: 

Learn how you both prefer to communicate

The idea of love languages was developed by Dr. Gary Chapman to explain the differences in how people show love. There are five main love languages (words of affirmation, physical touch, receiving gifts, quality time, acts of service) in Dr. Chapman’s model, and the idea behind it is that everyone has a different way they prefer to show and receive love. If you and your partner have a difficult time showing each other love, it might just be that you have different approaches to how you like to be loved. Similarly, you can look at personality tests like the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) test, or the Enneagram to pick up on some themes in how you relate to other people. If you dig in and do a little research on the ways you communicate and behave differently, you can then focus on how to communicate together. 

Practice listening

Listening sounds like a fairly easy concept, right? However, the way you listen actually matters when talking to your partner. When you’re communicating with someone, it can be easy to get caught up in what you’re going to say next, or to respond to what they’re saying before they’re finished. This is called listening to respond. However, instead of listening to respond, try to listen to understand instead. Put aside any thoughts of how you will respond, or things you want to say, and focus on what your partner is actually saying. 

Don’t Interrupt

One way to shut down a conversation is to jump in and cut off your partner while they’re talking. Instead of listening to understand, interrupting shows that you aren’t interested in what they’re saying and that what you have to say is more important, which is probably not the impression you want to give. 

Stay Present

One way to shut down communication is to hide behind a screen instead of paying attention to your partner. If you’re having a face to face conversation, put your devices to the side and stay present in the discussion. This shows your partner that talking to them is important to you. In addition to screens and other kinds of tech, clear your area of any other distractions. Turn off the TV, take out your headphones, put aside your book, pause the music. 

Talk about positive things too

Make sure you talk to your partner about positive things along with the negative! Make sure to ask your partner about positive things from their day. Keep a list of things you love about your partner, and try to work them into your conversations naturally. Find ways to show you see them and care for them. 

Use “I” Statements

Instead of framing your discussion as something about them, focus on using “I” statements. Don’t start a statement with “You”, start with “I”, and then describe how you feel. For example, instead of saying “You never make time for me anymore,” say “I feel like we aren’t spending as much time together as we used to.” Framing the conversation this way can help your partner feel less defensive and more open to hearing what you actually say, instead of trying to stick up for themselves. 

Think about your body language

When you talk to your partner, what is your posture like? Are your arms crossed? Are you facing each other, or looking away? Do they seem tense in any way? Nonverbal cues, like body language, are a valuable part of communication. You can sense your partner’s mood through the way they are holding themselves. When you want to have an open discussion with your partner, make sure your body language is open. 

If you need some extra support in learning how to communicate with your partner, we can help. Contact us today!

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therapist in falls church, mclean, tysons corner, merrifield, arlington and vienna, va

Hope+Wellness is a psychotherapy practice serving the Falls Church, McLean, Great Falls, Vienna, Arlington, Alexandria, and the greater Washington DC region. We provide individual therapy to children, teens, and adults with stress, anxiety, and depression. Our practice is in-network with BCBS and provides Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), mindfulness and acceptance based therapies, and other top, premier evidence-based treatments. Call, email, or schedule an appointment with us online today. We’re happy to help!

What parents of anxious children should know about anxiety

What is anxiety?

Feeling anxious is a completely normal part of life. When big events or school projects or new social experiences are coming up, it’s natural for your child to feel some degree of anxiety. However, just as in adult, anxiety in children can also become overwhelming. When this anxiety tips over from being a manageable emotion to being a major obstacle in their everyday life, that’s when your child may be struggling to manage an anxiety disorder. 

In general, there are three types of anxiety that are the most common in children. These are: 

1. Generalized Anxiety: when the child experiences pervasive anxiety or distress at everyday occurrences, most often regarding school or sports in children. Typically categorized by “undue distress about a variety of everyday things beyond the scope of more specific anxieties and phobias” (Child Mind Institute)

2. Separation Anxiety: when the child is anxious at the prospect of being separated from someone of significance. (A parent, a sibling, a close friend, a pet, etc.) This type of anxiety is very common in toddlers, but can also appear in school age & adolescent children. 

3. Social Anxiety: when the child is anxious, worried, nervous, etc. in any sort of social situation. This can include playdates, school activities, sports, clubs, etc. There is often an underlying self-consciousness, a fear of being judged, disliked, or embarrassed. 

4. Specific, Severe Phobias: this is when the child has a severe fear of something irrational. They might be afraid of thunder, which could cause them to work themselves into nervousness or an anxiety attack if the sky turns dark or it starts to rain. 

How does it show up in kids?

If you believe your child is struggling with anxiety, there are some key physical, emotional & behavioral symptoms to look out for. Physical symptoms include: 

• Frequent  physical aches: if your child is often getting headaches or stomach aches, it may be a physical manifestation of anxiety. Pay attention to any patterns you can identify when your child starts to complain of these aches. 

• Trouble eating: does your child feel sick or nauseated when it comes time to eat somewhere unfamiliar? Being uncomfortable eating anywhere other than the home is a sign of anxiety that can often spiral into physical sickness when the time to eat at school (or a friend’s house, or a club, etc.) comes along. 

•  Trouble using the bathroom: as with eating, if your child has difficulty using the bathroom anywhere new or outside of your home, that may be a symptom of anxiety. 

• Difficulty sleeping: just as in adults, anxiety can impair a child’s ability to fall asleep, sleep restfully, or stay asleep. 

Emotional & Behavioral symptoms of anxiety in children include: 

• Intense, heightened emotional reactivity: Anxiety is a difficult feeling to process and understand, especially as a child. Instead, they may be more inclined to react with other extreme emotions. If your child seems as though they are crying more than usual, is extremely sensitive, becomes irritable easily, etc. it is likely an emotional manifestation of their anxiety. 

• Continued worry over everyday activities: does your child seem worried or panicked about things you or they do all the time? Are they worried about being dropped off at school? Do they fret about getting out of the car in the right spot, finding the right door to walk through, etc.? These fixated worries are probably a sign of anxiety. 

• Isolation: does your child remove themselves from social situations, even ones you think they may enjoy? Do they participate in class or sports or clubs? Do they try anything to get out of going to school? Do they dread birthday parties, etc.?

• Need for approval: while there is an inherent desire for approval in almost all of us, anxious kids struggle much more with this need. They find themselves looking for approval or permission for everything they do.

• Look out for: the phrase “will you do it for me?” When kids are overwhelmed by anxiety, they can often want their parents to take over. Even if it something you know they are capable of doing on their own, if they are experiencing anxiety, this phrase is likely to crop up. 

What challenges will this create for them?

The ways in which anxiety manifests in children makes it difficult for them socially, academically & developmentally. At this age, learning to form new relationships is crucial, and the foundations of learning and personal development are taking place. 

When children are too anxious to take part in social or school activities, they miss out on critical experiences like: making friends, learning social rules, developing problem solving skills, etc.  

How can you help?

Hope isn’t lost though! There is plenty that can be done to help your child manage their anxiety and thrive, with healthy coping skills. Here are five ways you can help your child learn about & manage their anxiety: 

1. Give it a name: when your child is feeling anxious, have them draw a picture of what that anxiety feels like. Have them give it a face, a body, a name. This can help you teach them that their anxiety is a separate thing from their own identity. Talk about their anxiety monster as if it is it’s own being. When they have anxious thoughts, ask them, “What is Bob (or whatever name they choose) saying to you?” Remind them that there is no judgment, no wrong answer. Be there to help them separate fact from fiction in what their anxiety is telling them. 

2. Give them a chance to slow down: if you can, encourage your child to focus on their breathing. Show them how to breathe in and out slowly, counting breaths, until they are able to slow down. If they are in the midst of an emotional reaction (crying, a tantrum, etc.) give them a glass of water and have them drink the whole thing. In order to drink it, they will have to slow down and focus on breathing while they drink it, which can help calm them down. 

3. Have regular “worry time”: Make space in your schedule to sit with them and discuss what they are worried about. This will help them feel listened to and validated, and allow you to brainstorm solutions to whatever is worrying them. When it’s worry time, sit down with them and tell them “Okay, it’s Worry Time, tell me what you’re worried about.” Let them say anything they need to without cutting them off. Don’t tell them their worries are silly, instead offer a solution. For example: if your child get anxious about speaking in front of others, but knows they have a school project coming up, they will probably feel anxious about it. Teach them to manage their problems in small chunks. First, they can write down what they want to say. Then they can practice it in front of you. Then add a sibling or a friend, but have them turn around and face the other way. Then have them say it while facing you, etc. 

4. Help them find accommodations: if your child is frequently anxious in new social situations, try to expose them to new places + people in small, controlled doses. If there is a birthday party coming up, call the parents of the child and see if your children can get together at their house before the party, so it will be a more familiar environment. If your child is going to summer camp, see if you can visit and meet teachers or counselors or coaches beforehand. 

5. Teach them that worry has a purpose: It isn’t wrong to be worried–in fact that feeling of worry often lets us know that something isn’t right. The problem comes when that worry takes control of their whole life. Remind them that they can always come to you with their worries, and you will help them find a solution. 

If you're looking for support for your anxious child, or if you're not sure where to begin, contact us today for help! 

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therapist in falls church, mclean, tysons corner, merrifield, arlington and vienna, va

Hope+Wellness is a psychotherapy practice serving the Falls Church, McLean, Great Falls, Vienna, Arlington, Alexandria, and the greater Washington DC region. We provide individual therapy to children, teens, and adults with stress, anxiety, and depression. Our practice is in-network with BCBS and provides Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), mindfulness and acceptance based therapies, and other top, premier evidence-based treatments. Call, email, or schedule an appointment with us online today. We’re happy to help!

5 Signs CBT is Right for You

The decision to start therapy can be the beginning of a meaningful journey that leads to transformation and growth. However, searching for a therapist can be tricky sometimes, for a number of reasons (including insurance, finances, scheduling, and stigma, to name a few). It can also be the start of a confusing search to figure out what type of therapy is the best fit for you. Is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy the right choice or should you choose something else, like Gestalt Therapy or Acceptance and Commitment Therapy? There are many valuable different therapy frameworks today, and it can be a little overwhelming to narrow down your choices while you search for a therapist.

One of the benefits of our increased understanding of the brain and of human behavior in the last hundred or so years is that there are a lot of different approaches to therapy. Even though there are many different frameworks that therapists use, in general, the goal remains the same: to help the person in therapy. The gold-standard of treatment is an evidence-based method of treatment, which means that the approaches to therapy are backed up by research and data.

Evidence-based therapy has been tested, using the scientific method, and shown to be effective. Some examples of evidence-based treatments include therapies like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Psychoanalytic/Psychodynamic Therapy, Person-Centered Therapy, Gestalt Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and Emotion-Focused Therapy. These are just a few examples of the frameworks out there for you to choose from.

At Hope + Wellness, we use a variety of approaches, including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. The main idea of CBT is that anxiety, depression, and problems with mood are related to unhelpful behaviors and thought patterns. Therefore, CBT teaches us to learn new, healthy ways of thinking and coping to effectively relieve symptoms and improve our lives. The skills are taught in CBT include learning how to face fears, problem-solving difficult situations, recognizing unhelpful thought and behavior patterns, and ways to calm the mind and body. Since it is focused on teaching you specific coping skills, CBT tends to wrap up in a time-limited number of sessions, instead of lasting indefinitely.

So, how do you decide if CBT is right for you? Read on for some signs that Cognitive Behavioral Therapy can help you:

1. Your problems are related to your thoughts and behavior

Remember, CBT is focused on the way unhelpful thoughts and behaviors impact our lives. Since the main focus of treatment is reframing the way we think and behave, if your problems aren’t related to your thoughts and behaviors, CBT probably won’t be the modality for you. If your problems are more existential or relational in nature, or if you’re looking for a long term relationship with a therapist, a different modality might be a better fit for you.

2. You tend to expect the worst

One of the most important takeaways from CBT is that our patterns of thoughts and behaviors impact our mental health. CBT teaches us that while we can’t change what happens around us, we can change the way we react to it. If you tend to be the kind of person who expects the worst from every situation, then CBT might be a good match for you. As you learn the skills taught in CBT, you will see that changing your thoughts and beliefs to help you cope can also lead to better outcomes overall. Once you get used to the idea that the rug isn’t going to be pulled out from under you, you can start to manage your expectations in a more realistic light.

3. You are willing to commit to the process of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

CBT can’t be taught in one session. This type of treatment is a process, and you have to be willing to put in the work to see the results. If you’re looking for a therapist to make your problems disappear without having to change the way you act or think, CBT probably won’t be helpful for you. If, however, you’re ready to commit to the work (and time commitment) of CBT, you can expect to see better results.

4. You learn in a number of different ways

CBT is one of the most frequently used therapy modalities, and that means that there are a ton of different ways to digest the information. If you decide to move forward with CBT, you can ask your therapist for recommendations for books, videos, podcasts, apps, groups, and worksheets to help you master the concepts. You can soak up the information from all of these sources and more, or you can just stick with the ones that complement the way you learn best.

5. You want the skills to help work through a relapse

CBT therapy does tend to be shorter term than traditional talk therapies because it is focused on teaching you practical coping skills to deal with your problems now and any that might come up in the future. Instead of lasting indefinitely, CBT tends to wrap up in a time-limited number of sessions. That means that you leave CBT therapy with the skills you need to manage a relapse, instead of having to learn further skills after a relapse. You can continually call on the CBT skills you learn in therapy to help you move throughout life, whatever it throws at you.

If this list has you feeling intimidated, don’t worry! You don’t have to have all of the answers. You can do your own research if you want, but you can also seek expert help. If you are able, talk to a trusted healthcare provider who knows you for a referral they think is appropriate.

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therapist in falls church, mclean, tysons corner, merrifield, arlington and vienna, va

Hope+Wellness is a psychotherapy practice serving the Falls Church, McLean, Great Falls, Vienna, Arlington, Alexandria, and the greater Washington DC region. We provide individual therapy to children, teens, and adults with stress, anxiety, and depression. Our practice provides Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), mindfulness and acceptance based therapies, and other top, premier evidence-based treatments. Call, email, or schedule an appointment with us online today. We’re happy to help!

Mindfulness for Stress Relief

What is Mindfulness? 

What does it mean to cultivate a mindfulness practice? Is mindfulness the same as meditation? There is a lot of uncertainty surrounding the idea of mindfulness–but it’s actually quite straightforward. Being mindful is the simple act of being aware of the moment you are in, while you are in it. 

When you’re mindful, you take notice of things like: 

• What sounds are you hearing?

• What smells are around you? Where are they coming from?

• What is it that you’re doing? Is your attention focused on that act, or is your mind wandering?

Most of us are so used to being stretched in a hundred different directions, that we rarely take time to be fully present. Practicing mindfulness helps you refocus on where you are, how you’re feeling, and the elements of the environment around you. Instead of trying to multitask to get many things done in a short period of time, a mindfulness practice asks that you center yourself in one experience at a time. By doing this, you are able to commit stronger energy and mental focus to what you’re doing, accomplish it to the best of your ability, and not feel so worn out that you can’t accomplish something else. 

The good news is: we all have the ability to cultivate a mindfulness practice. The multitasking, and stretching your mental energy across too many things is a practice we learn as we grow up, and just as we learned it, we can unlearn it! With focus and intention, mindfulness can become part of our routine, and help us increase our productivity, improve our quality of work, and reduce our stress!

How does mindfulness aid with stress relief?

There are four core components to mindfulness. These work as the pillars holding up your mindfulness practice, allowing it to function. They are: 

• Awareness: simply, what is happening around you? Call your attention to your senses: what do you see, feel, hear, smell, taste? A core part of mindfulness is being aware of the immediate world around you.

• Focus: if you are doing something, such as a project or activity, where is your focus? Is it split between two, three, or more things? In order for mindfulness to be truly effective, keeping your focus on the thing you are doing at the time, dismissing wandering thoughts as they come, is necessary. 

• Acceptance: this one can be tricky for many of us, but part of mindfulness is accepting the way you are feeling, or the thoughts you are thinking without passing judgment on them. Remember: feelings are not facts. They give us valuable information about ourselves, but they do not necessarily reflect reality. Accept your thoughts & feelings without judging them, and remind yourself that there is nothing wrong with your natural reactions. 

• Observation: when you do feel these negative or unpleasant thoughts and feelings, don’t try to block them or push them aside. Observe what you’re feeling, and explore why you’re feeling it. Learn what you can, and then allow yourself to let them go, and observe what comes next. 

So, what does this mean for stress relief? 

Mindfulness helps you to switch gears from your “doing” mode to your “being” mode, which in turn helps you to reduce your stress responses.  With a strong mindfulness practice, you are able to observe a situation without immediately reacting to it. You give yourself a moment to gather your thoughts and find the best solution. And when you are more aware of yourself, your body, and your environment, you are more aware of your needs. This awareness helps you to spot problems early on before they get so bad that you’re burned out or unable to function as usual. 

And, one of the key “selling points” of cultivating a mindfulness practice, is that your sleep & focus improve. This means that your energy is much better restored each day, and when you are working, you are able to commit yourself to whatever it is you’re working on without a million tiny distractions that take up your attention and contribute to your stress. 

Practicing mindfulness for stress relief:

So how can you get started? 

1. Start with guided meditations: When you’re new to mindfulness, it can feel daunting to just jump in on your own. So don’t! There are apps that will curate a feed of guided meditations for you. If you don’t want to commit to an app, search YouTube for guided stress relief mindfulness videos! As you practice with guided meditations and find what works for you, you may be able to create your own, unique practice. 

2. Do a body scan: do you feel yourself fidgeting throughout the day? Are you distracted by the tension you hold in your body? When your mind starts to wander and it gets hard to focus don’t just try to power through. Instead, take a few minutes to figure out what it is you need. Start with your toes and work your way up; are there aches in any part of your body? Do you need to stretch? Does your head hurt? Are you thirsty? Paying attention to the physical symptoms that your stress may present in your body will help you to stay on top of them, and reduce their effects. 

3. Try deep breathing: When you are feeling stressed or overwhelmed, give yourself a few minutes to focus on your breathing. Close your eyes and feel your body expand as you breathe in. Hold your breath for a moment before letting go, and then imagine yourself as a deflating balloon as you release your breath. How do you feel as you breathe deeply? This sort of exercise can help not only to calm you down in the movement, but bring yourself back to the present, refocus, and carry on without intrusive distractions.

If you're looking for support as you develop a mindfulness practice, or if you're not sure where to begin, contact us today for help!

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therapist in falls church, mclean, tysons corner, merrifield, arlington and vienna, va

Hope+Wellness is a psychotherapy practice serving the Falls Church, McLean, Great Falls, Vienna, Arlington, Alexandria, and the greater Washington DC region. We provide individual therapy to children, teens, and adults with stress, anxiety, and depression. Our practice provides Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), mindfulness and acceptance based therapies, and other top, premier evidence-based treatments. Call, email, or schedule an appointment with us online today. We’re happy to help!

10 Mindfulness Apps to Improve Your Life Right Now

When was the last time you felt fully immersed in the present moment? If you are having trouble pinpointing a time, you’re not alone. Mindfulness can be a transformative practice that helps you learn to sit with your thoughts and focus fully on the here and now. Mindfulness has become such a popular practice that there are even dozens of mindfulness apps available to help you get started. But what is mindfulness, anyway? 

According to the Mayo Clinic, “Mindfulness is the act of being intensely aware of what you're sensing and feeling at every moment — without interpretation or judgment.”

Mindfulness is a practice, not a one-off event, so it’s important to actually put in the time to practice this skill. However, you don’t have to practice mindfulness for a long time before you can see the effects. In one recent study, people who had practiced mindfulness for just 100 minutes reported feeling more positive emotions and less troubled by the responsibilities of their lives. Even a little bit at a time can help you feel more present and grounded. 

If you’re a mindfulness novice, jumping in without a little guidance may seem way above your head. After all, it’s not easy to go from interpreting and judging our thoughts to simply noticing them and letting them pass by. But there’s no need to give up completely! No matter what level you’re at there are mindfulness apps & tools that can help you on your journey to become more mindful.

It might seem counter intuitive to suggest seeking mindfulness through your phone, a device that is typically labeled a distraction. However, let’s be real: your phone is probably with you the majority of the time. Mindfulness support can be literally in your pocket at all times! 

Not all mindfulness apps were created equal. The boom in the wellness industry in the last few years has given rise to practices like meditation, mindfulness, self-care becoming mainstream. This means that there are tons of apps to sift through, even if you don’t know what you’re looking for or what will be helpful to you. 

Here are 10 mindfulness apps to try in your wellness practice: 

Insight Timer

Insight Timer is a free mindfulness app that’s available on both iOS and Android. It bills itself as the world’s largest free library of guided meditations, and there are over 28,000 options for you to choose from. They have meditations for everything under the sun, as well as music tracks and ambient sounds that can be used for focus or help with sleep. There’s a timer so you can customize a mindfulness session that fits in your schedule. Insight Timer also offers a free course for beginners to teach you how to meditate in just 7 days. You can track your progress with charts in the app, and the meditations are available in over 30 languages. Another feature of Insight Timer is the community - there are discussion groups and you can see how many people in the world are using the app with you. 

Calm

The Calm mindfulness app seeks to live up to its name right from when you open it up! You’ll be greeted with nature sounds to help get you in the mindset of mindfulness. They offer a variety of guided meditations, breathing exercises, and sleep stories, which you can listen to as you fall asleep. They even have a section specifically dedicated to teaching kids mindfulness. You can access some of the content with the free plan, but for newly added content, there is a subscription fee of $60 per year. They do have the option for a lifetime membership at $400. You can download Calm on iOS or Android. 

Headspace

Headspace is another popular mindfulness app that is available on iOS and Android. They compare their app to a gym membership, but for your mind. With just a few minutes a day on their app, you can learn how to meditate. They offer meditations of various lengths to fit whatever time frame you have available, and they have what they call “SOS” meditations to help during a crisis. Plus, the animation style of the app is very cute! This app is not free, but they do have a 7 day free trial period if you want to try it out first. After 7 days, it costs $12.99 a month or you can pay for the full year for $95.88. 

Buddhify

Buddhify is the app for meditation on the go. In their catalog they have over 200 guided meditations to choose from that vary in their focus! Whether you’re trying to manage anxiety, stress, improve your sleep, deal with pain or difficult emotions, Buddify has a guided meditation for you. And because they’re all about working mindfulness into your unique life, you can find exercises for whatever situation you’re in–whether you’re at work, traveling, browsing online, eating lunch, etc. And no need to stick with just one guide! Buddhify offers a variety of experienced teachers so you can choose the one that’s right for you. The basic app costs $4.99, and there is an option to enroll in a membership to deepen your practice. Buddhify is available for iOS as well as Android.

Aura

Available on iOS and Android, Aura has a ton of wellness content. They offer meditations in varying lengths (including a lot of 3 minute ‘micro-meditations’ for people who don’t like sitting still!), nature sounds you can play as white noise, recorded short stories, life coaching, music, and a gratitude journal. You can advance to different levels as you meditate more, which gives the app a game-like quality. There is also a premium version with more features available. 

Ten Percent Happier

The aim of the Ten Percent Happier mindfulness app is to help you learn to meditate, sleep better, and build a mindfulness practice bit by bit. It has a library of 500+ guided meditations for you to choose from that vary in topic from anxiety, to parenting, to improving your focus. Plusm they release new content weekly so you don’t have to build your habit off of recycling the same old materials. In order to get access to the library of 500+ meditations, you do need to purchase a yearly subscription ($99/year)–but they do have a free version with a more limited selection you can try out to see if you like it! This app is available for both iOS and Android.

Mindfulness Daily

The creators of Mindfulness Daily developed their mindfulness app and continue to provide new content by working directly with scientists, physicians, and trainers. They offer a Mindful Daily Routine option which offers 3 meditation breaks a day to keep you on track. This app is especially helpful to those looking to reduce stress or improve their sleep. While this app is only available in iOS for now, they do have an Android beta testing program in the works. 

Smiling Mind

The Smiling Mind mindfulness app is broken down into categories based on age. They have specific mindfulness programs for adults, children, classrooms, and workspaces, and they offer their programs in multiple languages. The app was developed by psychologists and educators to help teach mindfulness techniques in just 10 minutes a day. This app is completely free to use for iOS and Android. 

Stop, Breathe, and Think

Stop, Breathe and Think is all about using meditation and mindfulness to boost your confidence and increase your emotional strength. It’s all in their name really–they want you to STOP: stop what you’re doing and check in with your surroundings + feelings; BREATHE: establish a mindful breathing practice to help you create space between your thoughts or emotions and your reactions; and THINK: broaden your perspective. Their library of guided meditations will walk you through this process no matter what topic you choose to focus on. The app is available for free for iOS and Android. 

Simple Habit

Simple Habit has an enormous library of meditations: 2,000+!! Their goal is to get you to work 5 minutes of mindfulness into your daily routine. So they have expert teachers who guide you through 5 minute mindfulness sessions, and a Mindful Minutes tracker that can help you keep a log of your progress. The basic app is free, but there is a premium subscription plans you can opt into if you want to level up your practice, which is purchased through either a yearly ($95.99) or monthly ($11.99) payment. It’s available for iOS and Android. 

Everyone has their own preferences, and luckily, there are dozens of mindfulness apps available for smartphones, so chances are you can find something that works for you. If you try an app that doesn’t make you want to practice mindfulness, there’s no harm in moving on to the next one! Eventually, you will find one that fits your lifestyle. 

If you're looking for support as you develop a mindfulness practice, or if you're not sure where to begin, contact us today for help!

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therapist in falls church, mclean, tysons corner, merrifield, arlington and vienna, va

Hope+Wellness is a psychotherapy practice serving the Falls Church, McLean, Great Falls, Vienna, Arlington, Alexandria, and the greater Washington DC region. We provide individual therapy to children, teens, and adults with stress, anxiety, and depression. Our practice provides Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), mindfulness and acceptance based therapies, and other top, premier evidence-based treatments. Call, email, or schedule an appointment with us online today. We’re happy to help!

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