Struggling with chronic pain? Discover effective strategies for managing chronic pain, including holistic approaches, physical activity, and mindfulness. Learn how Houston pain counseling can provide emotional support, develop coping skills, and improve communication. Explore practical advice and real-life examples to help you navigate your pain and enhance your quality of life. Call 713-565-0922 to talk to a trauma pain therapist today.
Discover how EMDR therapy can effectively reduce chronic pain by addressing both the physical and emotional aspects of pain. This comprehensive guide explores how EMDR works, who it benefits, potential outcomes, and how it compares to traditional therapy. Ideal for those in Houston seeking a holistic approach to pain management. Call our Texas chronic pain therapists today at 713-565-0922.
Binge eating can feel overwhelming, leaving you caught in a cycle of overindulgence and guilt. Whether it's occasional or persistent, you're not alone. At Wilson Counseling in Texas, we specialize in helping individuals regain control over their eating habits. Our experienced therapists provide personalized support to break the cycle and develop healthier coping mechanisms. Learn how to overcome binge eating and start your journey to a balanced, fulfilling relationship with food. Contact Wilson Counseling Texas therapists today at 713-565-0922.
Emotional eating is a common response to stress and emotional challenges, leading many to reach for comfort foods that provide only temporary relief. At Wilson Counseling, our eating disorder therapists recognize the complexities of emotional eating and how it impacts your well-being. Our approach helps you understand these habits and develop healthier coping strategies for lasting change. Call today to talk to a therapist and make the changes you want at 713-565-0922.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder more commonly known as PTSD is a term that gets tossed around quite a bit. What’s lesser known is how to treat PTSD, or if PTSD is even treatable. The good news is that PTSD is treatable! Trauma therapists typically treat PTSD in 3 phases. I share a little bit about those phases in this post so that you know what to expect when you come in for PTSD treatment with a PTSD therapist in Houston, TX.
Self-harm can be an unhealthy way of coping. When you are in emotional pain, sometimes making yourself feel pain on the outside can feel like a catharsis. This post helps you find healthier alternatives when you are upset. If you are struggling, one of our Houston Anxiety counselors can help. Call today at 713-565-0922.
I don’t have to tell you how stressful life can be. It’s hard to keep the anxiety at bay sometimes. Living with regular anxiety can make you feel disconnected from the here and now. You may find your mind wandering or having trouble controlling racing thoughts. All of this stress can also take a toll on you physically. One of those tools for dealing with anxiety is a grounding technique. Our Houston Anxiety therapy can help you feel calmer. Call today at 713-565-0922.
We all deal with a lot of negative feelings we’d rather get rid of - stress & anxiety, fear, anger, irritation, etc. What if I told you there was a way you could contain upsetting feelings till you are ready to work through them? In this container exercise, I walk you through the steps for noticing distress in your body and containing it.
The idea behind this exercise is not to change the actual circumstances of your life. It won’t change how you feel forever. Ultimately, it is impossible to take out all of the stressors, trauma, and difficult circumstances life throws at you. But there are things you can do when you just don’t want to deal with problems at the moment. We all need moments of reprieve to feel safe, calm, and at peace even amid hard times. The container exercise is perfect for that. It will help you feel lighter.
This technique is often used in trauma therapy. It involves doing a visualization where you notice where you are storing hard feelings in your body and then imagine putting your distressing feelings away in a container that is safe and secure but away from you. That way, you can still come back to the feelings and work through them when the time is right, but you don’t feel flooded by distressing feelings when the time isn’t right. It gives you a little bit more control — something I think we all crave.
I recorded a video to walk you through the steps of using a container to feel better. I hope it’s useful to you!
We hope you find these resources helpful! If you are struggling with loneliness, conflict, or anxiety, speaking to a professional counselor in Houston can help.
Contact us at Wilson Counseling to find out more about our services or to schedule an appointment. You can find out more about Edmr counseling here. You don't have to go through this alone. We are in this together.
The advice in this blog is not a substitute for professional counseling.
In addition to Anxiety Treatment, Family Therapy, and Parenting Counseling, we have other mental health services that we offer at our Houston, TX counseling office. Our services are available for adults, children, and teens. For individuals we offer Eating Disorder Counseling, School and College Counseling, Autism Therapy, Perinatal and Postpartum Treatment, and Infertility Counseling. As well as Couples Therapy and Marriage Counseling, Trauma Therapy, PTSD Treatment, EMDR Therapy, and LGBTQ+ Counseling. Our caring therapists also offer Career Counseling and LPC Supervision. All of these services are also available through Online Counseling throughout Texas.
If you’re ready to get started, please contact Wilson Counseling today. Reach out for compassionate support today.
Last year our country witnessed a murder that could compare to ancient roman battles in its brutality. Watching a grown black man being murdered (with a police officer’s knee on his neck) beg for breath while crying out to his mother was gut-wrenching. The murder of George Floyd sparked numerous movements in the continued fight for racial equality in America. It was a wake-up call for so many people.
After a hard year of fighting in the courts, a verdict on the murder case was revealed. Thankfully, there was accountability in this one case, but keeping up with the trial was full of emotional labor and anxiety-provoking for some. For others, it might have even triggered some symptoms of depression, hopelessness, or trauma from their own experiences with racism or assault.
With all the stress that comes with living in a racially charged world, it’s important that you are taking the necessary time for self-care. But how do we do that with all of the guilt that comes from taking time to rest and enjoy life? It may take some practice, but being able to separate yourself from the consistent trauma of racism - whether it’s racism you experience personally or even that we experience vicariously through the media.
This is a hard one for most. Social media and media alike have become incredible tools for many who care about social justice - making them go-to hubs for information and staying up-to-date. So, it makes sense that taking a break from the latest news would cause some anxiety and even feelings of guilt for some.
However, taking a break from the news and social media can give you space to ground yourself and debrief what you have seen or heard. Family or friends who can help you process the violence and injustice. Think of yourself as a car or truck; tough, reliable, durable, but without gas, incapable of movement.
It is my personal belief that everyone deserves a space that feels 100% authentic to them. In the past, it was much more difficult for people to find a community that supports them. Now, however, with social media at our fingertips, we are much more able to choose what we would like to see and which communities we want to seek comfort from.
The news may be overwhelming on one of your social media accounts, but creating another account dedicated solely to things that bring you out of that stressed headspace and into your happy place, can give you much-needed mental rest during these stressful times.
In these uncertain times, it can feel like everyone is either on one side or the other, but fortunately, our world isn’t only black-and-white. We can post, retweet, share, and follow, at the speed of light, so it is easy to think that you know what “side” friends or family are on by what they might share on social media. Sometimes this can close our minds to even the possibility of having a discussion with others and make us feel alienated. Taking some time to have these discussions with the ones you love will give you better insight into their lives, and can even open your mind to new ways of thinking and feeling. It helps to know we often have more in common than what separates us.
Although technology now allows us to have a phone, computer, camera, and mp3 player all in the palm of our hands, it is not your responsibility to stay up-to-date with everything all of the time. Scheduling time to engage with social media throughout your week can keep you present-minded while still engaging in meaningful change and staying up to date. When you limit your online time, you are creating healthy boundaries for yourself so that you are able to make meaningful changes towards the kind of world you want to see and live in.
It is important for people to work towards their values, but sometimes we also need a break. Balance is key to keeping up your momentum and stamina. If you have experienced your own racial discrimination, racial trauma, or even secondary racial trauma from viewing racial violence, you may find yourself needing help to cope. We have therapists who can meet with you and help you start to feel better.
Contact Wilson Counseling to schedule a free 15-minute phone intake to see who is a good fit for you.
In addition to Anxiety Treatment, Family Therapy, and Parenting Counseling, we have other mental health services that we offer at our Houston, TX counseling office. Our services are available for adults, children, and teens. For individuals we offer Eating Disorder Counseling, School and College Counseling, Autism Therapy, Perinatal and Postpartum Treatment, and Infertility Counseling. As well as Couples Therapy and Marriage Counseling, Trauma Therapy, PTSD Treatment, EMDR Therapy, and LGBTQ+ Counseling. Our caring therapists also offer Career Counseling and LPC Supervision. All of these services are also available through Online Counseling throughout Texas.
If you’re ready to get started, please contact Wilson Counseling today. Reach out for compassionate support today.
The terror people experience in nightmares often seem real to them. Especially for very vivid, disturbing nightmares, it can feel to your body and mind as if you are actually going through the nightmare scenario. Even when you do wake up, the sense of disturbance, fear, and anxiety can linger. It’s a terrible feeling to feel that out of control and terrorized at a time when you are basically helpless, during your sleep.
Grounding is a coping skill that helps you stay more in the present moment. It is really helpful for decreasing anxiety, panic, PTSD, and feelings of disconnection, or flashbacks.
When people are highly anxious or feel numbed out, spaced out, or like you are in a dream state, becoming mindful through a grounding technique will help. It can help you be more in the here and now so you feel safe, comforted and calm. Give this technique a try and let us know how you like it.
If you have been struggling with anxiety and need to talk to a counselor and begin the process of healing, please contact us at Wilson Counseling. We have Texas-based therapists who can meet with you virtually or in person.
In addition to EMDR and Trauma Therapy, we have other mental health services that we offer at our Houston, TX counseling office. Our services are available for adults, children, and teens. For individuals we offer Anxiety Therapy, Eating Disorder Counseling, School and College Counseling, Autism Therapy, Perinatal and Postpartum Treatment, and Infertility Counseling. As well as Couples Therapy and Marriage Counseling, Parenting Counseling, Family Therapy, PTSD Treatment and LGBTQ+ Counseling. Our caring therapists also offer Career Counseling and LPC Supervision. All of these services are also available through Online Counseling throughout Texas.
If you’re ready to get started, please contact Wilson Counseling today. Reach out for compassionate support today.
We hope you find these resources helpful! If you are struggling with loneliness, conflict, or anxiety, speaking to a professional counselor in Houston can help.
Andrew was just 11 years old when it happened. His mom had to work nights, so him and his twin brother Jack were being watched by a close family friend, Florence. She was kind of an Aunt figure to the boys. She woke the boys sometime in the dark of night, and said one horrifying word he can not forget, "Fuck." She forced him and then his brother to repeatedly perform cunnilingus and then have intercourse with her. Each time saying "again, and again, and again."
Andrew remembers her musty smell, the chill in the air and the glow from the moon in the hall. He remembers desperately hoping that someone would hear them through the opening in the door and rescue them, but a rescuer never showed.
Trauma can work in strange ways. There are some parts of the traumatic event that can imprint in your brain as clear as if you are watching them on TV right in front of you. Other memories get buried and can be hard to access.
After Andrew and his twin brother were molested by Florence, they never mentioned a word to anyone. Andrew was scared and ashamed. He felt as if he had done something wrong to make this happen. Him and his brother never spoke of it to each other, either. It became a secret he held onto closely and shaped how he felt about himself. To this day, he has never told his mom what happened that night, and he can't bear for her to know because it will be painful for her to hear.
As a teenager, Andrew became hyper sexual. He was a fit, handsome boy and a star athlete, and it was never hard to find sexual partners. Later in adulthood, he lost all interest in sex. He never felt he was good enough in bed. And it was difficult for him to become aroused if his partner was not dominating him. Sex was always a dirty thing to Andrew after his own abuse.
There are things from that night that Andrew can never forget. The image of Florence making him go down on her and then fuck her saying repeatedly, "again and again" is burned into his brain. His young mind read those words as a kind of condemnation of him. As if she was saying, you're not good enough, so you better do it again and again until you get it right. He felt like a failure. And he has felt like a failure ever since.
When we worked on the abuse in therapy, Andrew talked about the sense of hopelessness, anger and confusion he still feels now as a middle aged man when he thinks of his abuse. He says, "I feel like I died that day, 31 years ago."
As a human being, and as a parent, it breaks my heart to hear these stories. As a therapist, I am grateful there are tools that can help people like Andrew start to heal from his trauma. Healing from sexual abuse takes work. Andrew was not freed from the burden of his abuse overnight, but he committed himself to healing. It has been wonderful to see him start to be able to recover his life.
One of the tools I used with Andrew is a type of psychotherapy often used with trauma victims called EMDR. EMDR can help people heal by removing blocks that prevent emotional healing. Through therapy, Andrew went from saying "I feel like I died that night" to "I am living," "My words are the words of a survivalist," "I am not to blame," and "I'm free."
We are in the era of the #MeToo movement. It is a time when people are sometimes more open about the abuse they have experienced. There is an expression in the addiction world, "You are only as sick as your secrets." With secrets comes the idea that you or your actions are shameful and should be hidden from everyone. But it can be freeing to open up about our secrets.
I worry that the downside of all of the revelations of abuse is that it is also triggering for survivors. I worry too about the backlash against victims who speak up. It can be a secondary trauma to be abused and then when you dare to speak up after years of living with the trauma, to be questioned, ridiculed, shamed, or harassed.
To all the victims of abuse who are reading this, please know that we hear you, we believe you, and that there is hope for healing. If you are a victim, please consider contacting a therapist and maybe telling a trusted friend.
In addition to EMDR and Trauma Therapy, we have other mental health services that we offer at our Houston, TX counseling office. Our services are available for adults, children, and teens. For individuals we offer Anxiety Therapy, Eating Disorder Counseling, School and College Counseling, Autism Therapy, Perinatal and Postpartum Treatment, and Infertility Counseling. As well as Couples Therapy and Marriage Counseling, Parenting Counseling, Family Therapy, PTSD Treatment and LGBTQ+ Counseling. Our caring therapists also offer Career Counseling and LPC Supervision. All of these services are also available through Online Counseling throughout Texas.
Contact us at Wilson Counseling to find out more about our services or to schedule an appointment. You can find out more about EMDR/Trauma Therapy here. You don't have to go through this alone. We are in this together.
We hope you find these resources helpful! If you are struggling with loneliness, conflict, or anxiety, speaking to a professional counselor in Houston can help.
