Johanna is now offering premarital counseling as a service at Perspectives! If you or someone you know is seeking premarital counseling, please call Johanna at (585)406-3012.
This service includes 4-6 sessions exploring different relationship topics designed to optimize the health of the relationship and prevent future difficulties in marriage.
We all face stress on a daily basis! Take a look at the ways you cope with stress (and even think about stress) to improve your overall wellness. Johanna will present information about the ways we view stress and how that can impact our experiences of wellness. (Hint: it’s not always what you’d expect!). She will also facilitate exploration of self-talk and strategies for turning off the “to-do” list. Start building a wellness plan that will last this autumn!
Saturday, October 1st, 10:30am-12:00pm
To sign up, call Johanna Bond, LMHC, NCC, at (585)406-3012, email jbondperspectives@gmail.com, or sign up in the office! Spots are limited.
Cost: $25
Location: 721 Ridge Road, Webster NY 14580
Mindfulness involves observing and accepting the things around and within us in the present moment, without judgment. In therapy, Johanna may involve mindfulness skills to build awareness of various issues and to develop coping strategies. 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:
Mindfulness is the nonjudgmental awareness of the present moment. This month, we are going to observe our self-talk without judgment. Take 5 minutes to spend in a quiet space by yourself. Begin by breathing and start to notice your thoughts. What are you telling yourself? How do you talk to yourself? Without judging your thoughts as good or bad, simply allow yourself to notice them. If you’d like, you can also write them down. How do you feel emotionally as you do this exercise? How do you feel physically? If you can, take this awareness into your day and pay attention to the way you talk to yourself, even after your 5 minutes are up.
NOTE: This is not intended to replace therapy. Please contact Johanna at (585)406-3012 if you are interested in individual or group therapy.
Johanna loves to share good books with her clients. Periodically, she will post here about a book that can be helpful as a part of the therapeutic process or just as good food for thought. If you’d like to join in “reading for perspective,” feel free to learn more about Johanna’s new favorite book below!
Brene Brown’s “Daring Greatly” shares some of her fantastic research and personal thoughts about what it means to dare greatly. Brene Brown is a researcher and clinician who has spoken on TED talks and written books about shame and vulnerability. In “Daring Greatly,” Brene writes about the idea of being wholehearted, which she describes as a way to use vulnerability as a catalyst for engaging in courage, compassion, and connection. She writes about how vulnerability is NOT weakness, and how engaging in vulnerability allows us to develop genuine relationships. She also writes about shame, and how we can build our shame resilience by recognizing it, checking in with whether it is accurate or not, and giving voice to the shame to keep from internalizing it or disengaging from those around us. She shares the idea that daring greatly is not about success or failure, but more about having the courage to engage with the world in a vulnerable and genuine manner.
One idea that she touches on that can come up a lot in therapy is the idea that “you are enough.” Our society often teaches us that we must make a certain amount of money or achieve a certain goal in order to be happy or respected as “enough,” but Brene Brown writes that we are enough, just the way we are.
Brown, B. (2012). Daring Greatly: How the courage to be vulnerable transforms the way we live, love, parent, and lead. New York, NY: Gotham Books.
NOTE: As always, if you find that you could use an outside perspective or are struggling emotionally, please call to set up an appointment at (585)406-3012. This book review is not intended to replace therapy.
Mindfulness involves observing and accepting the things around and within us in the present moment, without judgment. In therapy, Johanna may involve mindfulness skills to build awareness of various issues and to develop coping strategies. 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.
July’s mindfulness exercise:
Mindfulness is the nonjudgmental awareness of the present moment. Today we will focus on metaphors. Every day, we use metaphors to expand our understanding of the world, describe our experience, and connect with others. Today, pay attention to how you use metaphors. Write one or two down throughout the day, and pay attention to the thoughts and feelings you have about this metaphor. If you’d like, write down what this metaphor means in your life. It could be a journey, or something as simple as “the elephant in the room.” Try to observe your thoughts and feelings without judging them as good or bad.
NOTE: This is not intended to replace therapy. Please contact Johanna at (585)406-3012 if you are interested in individual or group therapy.
Mindfulness involves observing and accepting the things around and within us in the present moment, without judgment. In therapy, Johanna may involve mindfulness skills to build awareness of various issues and to develop coping strategies. 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.
June’s mindfulness exercise:
As last month’s exercise showed us, mindfulness is not always a quiet, passive observation. Mindfulness can occur in conversation, and it can also occur in movement. Today, turn on some music (the radio, a CD, Pandora, or however you get your tunes) and allow yourself to move to the music. You may start by keeping the beat with your foot, and then if you like, allow the rest of your body to join in the dancing. (If anything causes pain, return to just tapping the beat). Notice what you’re doing physically, what thoughts you have, and how you feel emotionally. Try to observe without judging as good or bad. Try to dance for at least one song!
NOTE: This is not intended to replace therapy. Please contact Johanna at (585)406-3012 if you are interested in individual or group therapy.
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.
May’s monthly journal exercise:
Write a letter to your future self. What do you hope your future self will be doing? What strengths do you have right now that will help your future self? What do you want your future self to keep in mind that you find important right now? Write down these thoughts. It does not need to be a polished piece of writing, but rather a brief exercise to get yourself writing and thinking about yourself in a new way.
Johanna attended the New York Mental Health Counselors Association conference this past weekend in Albany, and is excited to share new techniques and approaches with you in your counseling sessions! Feel free to ask her about treating issues using aspects of narrative therapy and metaphor, breathing techniques taken from yoga practice, resources for transgender individuals, spirituality and mental health, use of therapeutic letter-writing, and the use of biofeedback tools she will be adding to her practice.
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 six-week mindfulness group. If you are interested in the next group cycle for mindfulness, please call the office. 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.
November’s mindfulness exercise:
At your next meal, start by taking one mindful bite. Pick up the bite of food and first observe it visually. What does the texture look like? What colors do you see? What is the overall shape? Notice how it looks. Next, smell the bite of food. What flavors do you notice when you inhale? As you bring it close to your nose, notice if it seems hot, cold or neutral. Next, consider how this food came to be on your plate. Did it start off as a plant or an animal? Who cooked it? What went into the preparation? Finally, place the bite of food in your mouth. Notice the temperature and the flavors. Pause a moment to notice this before you chew. Notice the texture as well, and how chewy it is. Finally, after you finish eating this bite of food, take a moment to notice the residual taste of the bite and consider this bite of food traveling to your stomach.
NOTE: This is not intended to replace therapy. Please contact Johanna at (585)406-3012 if you are interested in individual or group therapy.
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 is also running a six-week mindfulness group. If you are interested in the next group cycle for mindfulness, please call the office. 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.
September’s Mindfulness Exercise:
Today, when you are going through your daily routine (either at the start or end of your day, or while engaging in a mundane chore such as washing dishes) I want you to bring your full attention to the task at hand. Oftentimes we act on “autopilot” and wander away in our minds from the activities we are doing. Today while doing a chore, try to notice every aspect of the chore. What are you doing, how are you doing it, how do you feel physically and emotionally, what thoughts are going through your mind, and what is happening around you? You may be surprised how many things you can notice while brushing your teeth. Try to notice without judging as good or bad.
NOTE: This is not intended to replace therapy. Please contact Johanna at (585)406-3012 if you are interested in individual or group therapy.
Johanna Bond, LMHC 