Therapy
Insecure attachment makes so much sense.
It’s easy to understand how insecure attachment gets a bad rap. There’s loads of research studies talking about the early negative and often lifelong impact of these relational styles. It impacts our social relationships, academic performance, rates of mental illness, and, to add salt to the wound, success rates in therapy. (Let’s appreciate the unfortunate irony of that last one for a moment.) So I’m not surprised that when you type ‘insecure attachment’ into google, the most commonly seen autocomplete threads say something like ‘do I have it’ and then ‘treatment’ … I get it. It’s a long list of consequences to something that gets...
Read MoreStop Shaming People Pleasers: People Pleasing as a Relational Strategy
Hi, y’all– here’s my first installment in video series I’m putting together on mental health. I’m kicking things off with a discussion about “What is people-pleasing?” — take a look! If you’d like to stay in touch for future videos, you can subscribe to my Youtube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-GGFzmtZvR9j1noAp1AbaA What is people pleasing? Transcript: Hi, there. My name is Ann Stoneson. I’m a therapist in private practice in Austin Texas and I specialize in working with people pleasers. And if you’ve followed my work at all, you know this is a topic I am really passionate about. I...
Read MoreHow do I find a therapist near me?
Are you looking for therapy in Austin? Yes? In that case, the answer to your question is fairly simple. Pick up a stone, throw it in any direction. Chances are good it may hit a therapist. Why? (Unnecessary sidebar: please don’t actually throw stones at people.) Well, Austin is a pretty great place to live, honestly. Not that I’m biased or anything, of course. But seriously—last I checked, there were more therapists per capita here than in many other major metropolitan cities in Texas. And the Austin therapeutic community is incredibly diverse. For trauma recovery, we have EMDRIA – that’s the EMDR International Association—based in Austin. EMDR...
Read More10 Survival Tips for Survivors of Sexual Trauma When News Coverage is Triggering
I wish I could say I was surprised by this latest news cycle and the backlash that followed. But, when you’re a trauma therapist, you become a repository for some of the deepest secrets and pain humankind can offer. You don’t get to have the luxury of denial. And you get to see fierce, quiet displays of courage in your clients every week as they heal. It is sacred work I feel lucky to do each and every day. But, the point of this article isn’t to talk about the privileges and hazards of my profession. I’m writing this for all the survivors of sexual trauma out there. I know there are a lot of us. You’ve probably already seen plenty of posts about how to...
Read MoreCodependency Therapy in Austin: Where to Get Help
If you’re reading this article, you probably don’t need to read this one. You already know about the signs and symptoms of codependency. You may already realize you’re in a codependent relationship. Perhaps you’ve already made up your mind to seek codependency therapy. If you’re looking for codependency therapy in Austin, you’re in the right spot. I’m a therapist that specializes in codependency therapy in Austin, and I’ve been doing this work for over a decade. Even so, I’m going to spend some time talking about other ways to get help for codependency in Austin. And, I’ll give you an idea about what therapy for codependency looks like from the...
Read MoreThe separation of immigrant children from their families is unethical and illegal
I must speak up about what is happening at the US/Mexico border right now. Thousands of children have been forcibly taken from their families and detained as part of a new policy enacted by the Trump administration. I am a therapist in private practice, and I specialize in trauma recovery. Before I became a therapist, I spent a lot of time in school. Years and years. And I got to participate in a bit of research and write about what I had learned. Here are a few relevant points: Childhood trauma has a lifelong impact that shapes physical, emotional, and relational health. Sudden or prolonged separation from a caregiver is a form of childhood trauma. One of the key...
Read More20 signs of postpartum depression– baby blues or something more?
If you are a new parent, you might be wondering if what you’re feeling might be signs of postpartum depression or if you’re going through some of the typical emotional growing pains that new parents face. I say–“When in doubt, check it out!“ As with most things, there’s a range of how people feel and cope after having a baby. Having a child is a life altering event, and the emotional aftermath can be intense. Signs of postpartum depression are quite varied, and some are even a little surprising to some people (see #12). As you look over the list below, pay attention to how many items fit your experience. Consider, too, how intense each one...
Read MoreFinding Hope When You Feel Hopeless: Recovery from Childhood Trauma, Abuse, and Neglect
Today’s post is by Kristen Henshaw, a counseling intern working at our sister practice, Counseling South Austin. Kristen agreed to write a post for me about one of her areas of specialty: trauma. Learn more about Kristen and how to schedule a free consultation with her at the bottom of this post. I’ll return next week to write more about mental health for mamas– stay tuned! The Impact of Childhood Trauma and Abuse Children who experience relational trauma in the forms of physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, neglect, or witnessing family violence, often grow into adults with persistent, and at times, debilitating challenges. They are...
Read MoreA New Specialty: Counseling for New Moms in Austin
In a way, my private practice is set up selfishly. Yeah, I know it seems like a contradiction in terms—I’m a therapist, and I’m passionate about helping others. And given that I’ve struggled with being a people-pleaser most of my life, other people’s needs have almost always figured front and center for me. (That’s a big part of what people-pleasing is all about—getting crowded out of your own life by the needs and feelings of others.) So how does being selfish figure in? Being a selfish therapist Being in private practice lets me choose who I work with. And because I get to choose, I often work with people whose struggles and stories somehow mirror my...
Read MoreNow Accepting FSA and HSA Plans!
Hooray! I’m finally catching up with the rest of the world. Last year, Labyrinth Healing started to accept credit cards for payment, using PayPal Here. Now you can use your HSA and FSA cards to pay for your counseling sessions as well. No more requesting paper statements to prove to your plan that you’re seeing a counselor! …Well, unless your plan doesn’t issue you a card to charge expenses, in which case I’m happy to keep offering those statements to you. Just let me know. HSA plans are a nice way to budget for therapy—you pull money from your paycheck before taxes get pulled and can pay for therapy with those pre-tax funds. Some companies...
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