What most people need to achieve wellness outside of sessions is genuine human connection. Connection can look like: reaching out to a close friend to catch up, striking up a conversation with a neighbor who you bump into outside, sharing an experiential activity like a pottery class with strangers, attending a local book club, gathering with a group of like-minded people to support a cause close to your heart. We need each other to survive and thrive in this world; even though reaching out for connection sometimes feels daunting, it often renews our sense of hope, joy, or peace to know that we aren't in this world alone.
One resource I highly recommend as a psychotherapist for maintaining mental wellness outside of sessions is developing a body awareness practice. Stress can really take a toll on us every day, and tuning into your body can be a game-changer. For instance, you might notice your shoulders tensing up when work gets overwhelming, or your stomach feeling uneasy with family demands. Simple techniques like mindful movement, body scans, or gentle stretching help clients tune into these physical signals and recognize as well as manage stress, such as by setting boundaries before it builds up. Additionally, incorporating these practices can enhance overall well-being by fostering a deeper connection between mind and body. By regularly checking in with their bodies, clients can stay more balanced, responsive, and resilient to everyday stressors. Please link to my website at www.alexandraintegrativetherapy.com for attribution.
Any resource that helps with connection, that could be Class Pass that gets you involved in classes, Bumble BFF to meet new friends. We are in a loneliness epidemic and it is really hurting people's mental health. So I would suggest anything that would encourage to socialize and connect in a way that you feel comfortable with.
One resource I often recommend to my clients for maintaining mental wellness outside of sessions is journaling, specifically using a guided journal. Guided journals offer structured prompts that encourage self-reflection, emotional processing, and goal-setting. I find that this can be especially helpful for clients who may feel overwhelmed by the blank page or unsure of how to start exploring their thoughts and feelings. Journaling serves as a therapeutic outlet between sessions, helping clients to track patterns in their emotions, identify triggers, and reflect on their progress. It also promotes mindfulness and allows individuals to externalize their internal experiences in a safe, private way. By using a guided journal, clients can deepen their self-awareness and take an active role in their healing process, reinforcing the work we do together in therapy. It's a simple yet powerful tool that helps maintain mental wellness and encourages growth beyond our sessions.
As a therapist who often works with parents on their mental wellness in order to support their families more effectively, the main resource I like to recommend is self-compassion activities. This can be through apps such as Calm or Headspace, where the focus is on mindfulness but self-compassion is incorporated, or it can be through Dr. Kristin Neff's website where she offers free self-compassion audio recordings. This is one recommendation that I find invaluable, and my clients do too!
Having been in the mental health field for over a decade, one of the lowest hanging fruits I've seen for overall mental and physical wellness is making sure to get adequate sleep. Sleep is the way your body and brain recovers, heals and cements learning. Not getting enough sleep makes you more vulnerable to illness, as well as engaging in behaviors that can be helpful in the short-term, but cause problems in the long-term, such as overly using substances/alcohol to deal with stress. Sleep is not always easy for many. In fact, I have personally struggled for years until I started to change up my sleep habits, which is often referred to as "sleep hygiene." By making small, but meaningful changes to both your bedtime routine (or creating one if you don't currently have one) as well as your sleeping environment, people often experience huge payoffs in relation to their sleep quality and duration. For example, light in the morning, especially natural light, is great to help calibrate your circadian rhythm (your wake/sleep cycle). However, light at night, especially in your bedroom, can be disruptive to your sleep and make it harder to fall asleep. Adding/changing simple things can make a big difference in your mood, so don't be afraid to start experimenting until you figure out what helps or doesn't!
My all-time favorite resource for helping clients maintain mental wellness between sessions is an activity scheduling exercise. It involves planning one daily activity that is either social, physical, or pleasant, then rating its satisfaction level on a scale of 0-10. This exercise is valuable because it encourages daily self-care in a world where we can get easily consumed by our responsibilities, it helps clients identify which activities are most fulfilling, and it increases follow-through by planning these activities in advance and reducing decision fatigue. This is an evidence-based technique that has been shown to reduce anxiety and depression, and clients have experienced great success with it!
I regularly recommend that clients get early morning sunlight directly on their skin and in even their eyes as a quick and easy way to boost mood and improve sleep. There are numerous studies have have proven that getting direct early morning sunlight will kickstart your circadian rhythm (sleep cycle) and boost serotonin (mood) for the day. Viewing early morning sun, even through cloud cover, will create a spike in cortisol, which positively influences your immune system, metabolism, and ability to focus during the day. The way this works is that the SCN (or suprachiasmatic nucleus), the area of the brain in charge of the sleep-wake cycle, triggers the release of cortisol once your eyes sense sunlight. Getting sunlight in the morning helps regulate the circadian rhythm since it's triggering your brain and body to know it's time to start the day. When it gets dark at night, the SCN triggers the release of melatonin, which helps you feel sleepy. If you've been exposed to artificial light consistently throughout the day without natural light to trigger your SCN, your brain won't know what time you're meant to be awake or asleep. Tips for making sure you get daylight in your eyes and on your skin in the morning: - Go outside within the first hour of waking up since your body is most sensitive to light at this time. Try to get at least 5-10 minutes on a sunny day and 15-20 minutes on a cloudy one. - Open your curtains and blinds when you wake up. Allow as much natural light into your home as possible. Even getting light on your skin and in your eyes through a window makes a difference! - Do outdoor activities in the morning. Go for a morning walk, do stretches on the patio, or drink your coffee and eat breakfast outside. - If you live in a region that's especially overcast or you have limited access to natural light, consider investing in a light therapy lamp, which is a device that mimics natural sunlight.
Keep a growth mindset while understanding a variety of ways towards better self care awareness. Use journaling prompts, adopt a better sleep hygiene, have a regular digital detox, practice a more mindfulness routine, distance yourself from unhealthy relationships, spend time in nature, practice altruism, identify your boundaries, stop taking things so personally and develop a regular exercise routine to name a few. Having a growth mindset enhances your personal development, gives you clarity to energy givers verses takers and can cultivate efforts.
Mindfulness and meditation apps, like Headspace, serve as valuable resources for clients to support their mental wellness outside therapy. These platforms provide structured guidance, enabling users to foster calm and emotional clarity conveniently, whether at home or on the go. This accessibility encourages continual practice and reinforces skills learned in therapy. Headspace, in particular, has effectively partnered with organizations to improve employee mental health engagement.
I recommend mindfulness and meditation apps like Headspace or Calm to clients for maintaining mental wellness between therapy sessions. These apps are accessible and allow users to integrate mindfulness practices into their busy lives, providing structured support and coping strategies that foster continuous engagement in their mental health journeys.
"When advocating for a client’s mental health, effective communication with other professionals—be they medical, educational, or familial—is crucial. I always make it a priority to ensure that my client's voice is heard in any such conversation. In cases where a client’s mental health affects their physical health, I’ve reached out to their primary care doctor (with the client’s permission) to provide additional context about how anxiety or other mental health issues may be contributing to physical symptoms. This often leads to a more informed treatment plan, which helps the client feel understood and supported. Advocacy also extends to helping clients secure necessary accommodations in school or work environments, especially when anxiety, depression, or trauma impacts their performance. By working with clients to create individualized plans, we ensure their mental health needs are seen as equally important as their physical health, helping them thrive in all areas of life."