Blossom Team, Author at Blossom Counseling

Stay Chill with These 5 Relaxation Tips for Teens

Being a teenager comes with various responsibilities and stressors. And does it ever seem like parents and other adults don’t remember how stressful the teenage years can be? Trying to balance school, sports, jobs, clubs, friendships, relationships, family, and your physical and mental health is NOT easy! And depending on your age, you may also […]

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Anxiety, College/Students, Depression, How To, Stress, Teens

What to Do When You Feel Ready to Move On From a Friendship

Breaking up with a friend can be difficult and emotionally challenging. However, sometimes friendships can become toxic and it may be necessary to end the relationship. Let’s walk through the steps you can take to break up with a friend in a respectful and considerate manner. Recognize the Signs Before you can break up with

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College/Students, How To, Teens, Wellness

Test Anxiety? Here’s How to Fix it

Whether it is the SATs or a test in math class, test anxiety plagues many high schoolers. Students experience a lot of pressure, both external and internal, to do well on exams, but the anxiety often has a counterproductive effect. Of course a little stress can be helpful. If there is no stress at all,

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Anxiety, College/Students, How To, OCD, Stress, Teens

11 Unexpected Thinking Patterns that Effect Your Day

Just as people have patterns or habits of doing things throughout their day without really thinking about it – putting your keys on a hook when you come inside, avoiding a pothole for so long that even after it’s been filled you still drive around the spot – we have patterns or habits for the

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Anxiety, Depression, OCD, Stress, Wellness

How Gratitude Could Save Your Mental Health

Just because it is not Thanksgiving does not mean we can’t still be grateful! In fact, practicing gratitude has been shown to have many positive effects on overall well-being. Studies have shown that for romantic partners, expressing gratitude to each other leads to higher relationship satisfaction and quality. On an individual level, studies have shown

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Anxiety, Children, Couples, Depression, Journals, Stress, Teens, Wellness

8 Tips for Managing a Picky Eater

Picky eating can be frustrating for many parents, and can cause tension between the parent and child that ultimately doesn’t help the problem. Rather than everyone being frustrated and dreading meal time, there are things to try to make the experience better overall. If you are concerned that a child doesn’t seem to be growing

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Children, Family, Parenting

8 Ways Your Furry Friend Boosts Your Mental Health

The role that our furry friends play in our daily lives is significant. As a mental health clinician, I find myself speaking about my clients pets quite often. When I reflect on the frequency of conversations regarding our pets and the positive effect on one’s mental health in my practice, it makes complete sense to

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Animal-Assisted, Anxiety, Children, College/Students, Depression, Grief, OCD, Stress, Teens, Therapy, Treatments, Wellness

How ACT Can Inspire You to Find Comfort in Acceptance

Acceptance and commitment therapy is a therapeutic technique that falls under the CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) umbrella. CBT therapy targets a person’s cognitions (or thoughts), behaviors, and feelings. A cognitive behavioral therapist may use a variety of techniques such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to enhance their practice. ACT practitioners use a CBT lens to

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Anxiety, Depression, OCD, Stress, Teens, Therapy, Treatments

Welcoming Anger

Anger. When we have it, we know what it looks like, feels like, and sounds like. And it certainly has a bad reputation. Anger is a strong emotion that shakes up the nervous system and does a number on the body. Of all the emotions out there, this one may be the most misunderstood. You’ve

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How To, Stress

10 Books to Support Children with Anxiety

Wilma Jean the Worry Machine by Julia Cook Anxiety continues to be a common ailment in children, especially given the current climate today. In this colorful, fun, book, children can relate to Wilma as she struggles to understand and manage her anxiety. It also provides tips and strategies to help parents and children become more

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Anxiety, Children, Family, OCD, Parenting, Stress, Wellness

How to Turn Galaxy Jars into Your Favorite Coping Tool

We hear a lot about mindfulness and meditation as ways to achieve “calm” and lessen anxiety. Mindfulness and meditation are great tools that can be achieved by almost anyone if various options are explored. The Galaxy Jar is a fun DIY idea to children and adults! Creating the jar and watching the swirls flow around,

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Anxiety, Art Therapy, Children, Depression, How To, OCD, Stress, Teens, Therapy, Treatments

Supporting Each Other When Your Child Has a Mental Illness

Your child has been diagnosed with a serious mental illness. After months and years of trying to understand why traditional parenting methods have not been successful, you are beginning to understand why. Remember, mental illnesses often have a biological component. They are not the result of bad parenting, and they probably couldn’t have been prevented

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Anxiety, Children, Couples, Depression, Family, Grief, How To, OCD, Parenting, Stress, Teens

Tips on Choosing a College Major

Congratulations! You’ve put in the work to choose a college, apply and now you’ve been accepted! The next step of choosing a major can be hard, but there are ways to help you make a decision. Once you have chosen your college, it is helpful to have a list of all the majors offered. Chances

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Anxiety, College/Students, Family

5 Tips from the Pros for Managing ADHD at Work

I often refer to ADHD as a double-edged sword. Parents of children (and the children themselves) haven’t typically been privy to both ends of the sword yet. They are seeking my therapeutic services and my ADHD professional speciality because the behaviors have become unmanageable. The hyperfocus is presenting as a child who shows aggression when

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How To, Professional/Work

Prepping for College: Your Emotional and Mental Health Needs

Preparing for the new chapter of a teenager’s life of entering college is an exciting yet nerve-wracking time! There are so many things to do to prepare- such as shopping, finding a roommate, academic schedules, etc. The one area that many new college students forget to prepare for is addressing emotional and mental health needs

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Anxiety, College/Students, Family