This time of year is a roller-coaster of excitement and anxiety for families. A new school year brings new opportunities, more structure, and so much learning and growth; and often, new stressors, social and academic challenges, and growing pains. As parents, it can be deeply rewarding to watch our kids launch and experience successes and new connections; it can also ...READ MORE »
Therapists are professional listeners, but also active co-authors and story-tellers as clients make meaning from their experiences and internal worlds. Therapy is many things, but at its’ core it is a process of creating a narrative that speaks our truth and acknowledges the pain or suffering in our lives, and at the same time manages to integrate compassion and focuses ...READ MORE »
The “Window of Tolerance” is a concept that describes our experience of being in a stable, internally connected, socially engaged state. In polyvagal theory this is the “ventral vagal” state. It is grounded in a sense of security – feeling emotional safety, and holding a general belief in our self-efficacy and worthiness. That means that even if we face a ...READ MORE »
In order to understand how to manage your stress and reduce feelings of distress, dysfunction, and dysregulation, it is important to understand a core concept related to increasing resiliency: the “Window of Tolerance.” When we encounter challenges, we all experience the feeling of stress in some way, shape, or form. Stress is not inherently good or bad – it is just ...READ MORE »
A couple years ago I wrote a blog that I’ve shared over and over again with friends and family, with information about how to find a therapist and what to expect as you start the process (https://thesibleygroupdc.com/new-to-therapy-heres-how-to-navigate-the-process/). I am writing this as a follow-up to that blog, because I still find myself talking with people fairly often who are unsure ...READ MORE »
Trauma symptoms arise when a stressor exceeds our ability to cope in that moment; it is when we move from manageable discomfort that we can respond to, into overwhelming or intolerable pain. In a stressful situation, our nervous system responds by energizing us into fight or flight mode; we confront the challenge, or seek safety. An adaptive response from our ...READ MORE »
So often, children come into our office for treatment of symptoms, and we later discover that parents are struggling with issues of their own. This might seem obvious–especially since COVID, what parent doesn’t have some level of stress, overwhelm, or some trauma from the past few years?! I have had so many parents express their fears to me: what if ...READ MORE »
In the Internal Family Systems model of therapy, the main concept is that we have a core “Self,” in addition to many parts that develop to protect and manage our internal worlds. These parts are your various inner voices or “sides” of you that come out in different situations. We can recognize that symptoms come from parts of us that ...READ MORE »
With the holidays right around the corner, many of us will be spending time catching up with friends and family members. In addition to the time we spend together, our communication within these relationships is our path to closeness and connection. Combining families, planning travel logistics, navigating political conversations, dealing with kids’ behaviors and inevitable sicknesses that are going around ...READ MORE »
I see as you’re struggling, and I have so much compassion for you. For the nights you lie awake worrying about your kids, the moments of guilt after you scream because you’ve reached your wit’s end, the painful goodbye as you leave your crying child at school or cry as you leave your child, the anxiety-filled silence as you wait ...READ MORE »
TSG is aware of the high level of need for mental health support and treatment for the families in our community and beyond, and an increasingly short supply of available therapists. We are excited to offer new services with immediate daytime availability: Mental Health Consultations. These appointments are a one-time or brief preventive and/or supportive service for individuals and families who are not engaged in therapy at TSG, yet could benefit from consulting with a mental health expert in a variety of ways. Email intake@thesibleygroupdc.com for more information or to schedule a consultation.
Click here for more information on on our new mental health consultation service.
