For those of you in Webster, check out this week’s edition of the Webster Herald! You can find it at Wegmans or other local stores. There’s a great article on Perspectives and the other businesses (Goshorn Acupuncture and Body Balance Massage Therapy) that have recently opened up at 721 Ridge Road.
August’s Mindfulness Exercise
Mindfulness is something that everyone can incorporate into daily life. Mindfulness involves observing and accepting the things around and within us, without judgment. In therapy, Johanna may involve mindfulness skills to build awareness of various issues and to develop coping strategies. Johanna also runs a mindfulness group – call the office if you’d like to sign up! The exercise below is not individualized to your needs as it may be in therapy, but is rather intended as a general exercise that you may find useful.
August’s Mindfulness Exercise:
Set a timer or an alarm for three minutes. Start by taking three deep breaths, noticing how it feels to breathe in and out. Next, bring your attention to your thoughts. Just as you might notice clouds in the sky drifting past, I want you to notice your thoughts as they drift past. Some might hang out up there, some might threaten with an impending storm, and others may drift quickly by. What thoughts come up for you? Without judging them as good or bad, just notice what thoughts are there. If you find yourself drifting away WITH the thoughts, come back to your breath. Do this until your alarm sounds and then expand your awareness to your surroundings.
NOTE: This is not intended to replace therapy. Please contact Johanna at (585)406-3012 if you are interested in individual or group therapy.
Upcoming Mindfulness Workshops
You may have goals for your health and wellness – mindfulness can be a strong building block to start making positive changes in your life! Mindfulness is the nonjudgmental awareness of the present moment. Come to learn more about how you can use mindful skills and practice mindfulness exercises with Johanna Bond, LMHC, NCC of Perspectives Mental Health Counseling.
Thursday, September 17th, 5:30 pm – 7:00 pm
OR
Saturday, September 26th, 10:30 am – 12:00 pm
To sign up, call Johanna Bond, LMHC, NCC, at (585)406-3012 or add your name to the list at 721 Ridge Road or Goshorn Wellness!
Cost: $10
Location: 721 Ridge Road, Webster NY 14580
Anxiety and Health-Restricted Diets
When you have a medical condition that restricts your diet, it’s important to find ways to manage the anxiety that may accompany social eating situations (like summer barbeques!). Here are some tips, from my latest Huffington Post blog, on how to do just that:
Perspectives Monthly Journal Exercise – July
Journaling can be a therapeutic exercise. In therapy, Johanna may encourage you to journal or keep a diary in a specific way, to raise awareness of specific activities, thoughts, or feelings. This monthly journal exercise is in no way individually prescribed, but meant to offer food for thought that may be useful for anyone.
July’s journal exercise:
For five minutes, try to write without stopping. Only stop if your hand hurts, or if you find yourself becoming emotionally overwhelmed. Write about where you draw your energy from in day to day life and where you draw your energy from when facing stress and adversity. This is not meant to be a polished piece of writing but rather a stream of consciousness from continuous writing.
July’s Mindfulness Exercise
Mindfulness is something that everyone can incorporate into daily life. Mindfulness involves observing and accepting the things around and within us, without judgment. In therapy, Johanna may involve mindfulness skills to build awareness of various issues and to develop coping strategies. In August, she will be starting up a 6-week Mindfulness Group. This exercise is not individualized to your needs as it may be in therapy, but is rather intended as a general exercise that you may find useful.
July’s Mindfulness Exercise:
We will start with an easy one. Put one hand on your chest and one hand on your belly. Take a deep breath in and out, and notice which hand goes up and down. Try breathing more into your upper chest, and then try taking a breath into your belly. Notice how you feel with each breath.
NOTE: This is not intended to replace therapy. Please contact Johanna at (585)406-3012 if you are interested in individual or group therapy.
Upcoming Groups!
In August, the Mindfulness Group will begin (starting on Thursday 8/13). This group will run for 6 weeks on Thursday evenings and will involve increasing mindful awareness in daily life to improve various issues and stressors you may face. Building mindfulness skills may help you to create healthy perspective in your life. In September and October, groups for grief and for cognitive-behavioral therapy will begin. See the “Groups” page under “About Perspectives” for more information, or call Johanna at (585)406-3012 to sign up!
Perspectives Monthly Journal Exercise
Journaling can be a therapeutic exercise. In therapy, Johanna may encourage you to journal or keep a diary in a specific way, to raise awareness of specific activities, thoughts, or feelings. This monthly journal exercise is in no way individually prescribed, but meant to offer food for thought that may be useful for anyone.
June’s monthly journal exercise:
For a week, write down one thing every day for which you are grateful. Pick a time of day – maybe even set an alarm to remind yourself – and jot down either a sentence or just a word to describe your gratitude. This can be something big (ie. my family) or something very small (ie. the smell of a new flower in bloom). Try to get in the habit of doing this every day for a week, and take a moment at the end of the week to notice how you feel when you do this exercise.
Open House 6/25/15
Upcoming: Open House at Goshorn!
Where: 721 Ridge Road, Webster NY 14580
When: Thursday, 6/25/15, at 7pm
Goshorn Wellness is hosting an Open House to highlight the new services. Come stop by Perspectives Mental Health Counseling to learn about services offered by Johanna Bond, LMHC, NCC. Allison Goshorn of Goshorn Acupuncture, also newly opened, and Melissa Bice of Body Balance Massage, will also be available to discuss the services they offer in the same building. Next door you will find Barb Goshorn, the Nurse Nutritionist, and chiropractors Dr. Charles Goshorn and Dr. Andrew Lazzaro. We look forward to seeing you there!
Perspectives and Re-framing: Sunrise or sunset?
Is the sun rising or setting in this picture?
The way we think about things shapes the way we see them and the perspective we take. In this picture, the sun is setting. However, you might not automatically know that from the picture. The ways in which we perceive interactions with friends and family, daily events in our lives, and the world around us is influenced by our perspective.
In counseling, you have the opportunity to work on seeing things from different angles; increasing insight about your own perspective, your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors; and making change to gain a healthy point of view using your personal strengths. Changing the way you think about a situation is called a cognitive re-frame, one of many tools you will encounter in a cognitive-behavioral based approach to counseling.
Johanna Bond, LMHC 