Solstice is excited to announce the addition of Justin Martel to the clinical team! Christopher is joining Solstice Counseling and Wellness in August of 2023 as a clinical intern in his final year of training for a Doctor of Psychology degree in Clinical Psychology at Divine Mercy University in Sterling, VA. Christopher has 4 years of clinical experience working in various clinical settings in Virginia and Washington, D.C., including private practice, community mental health, and schools, providing therapy and psychological assessment. His current dissertation research is studying the treatment and interfacing of shame and trauma in the body. [...]

Who hasn’t dreamed of spending a lazy summer at the beach or by a pool, relaxing and escaping the routine of our daily lives? Or daydreamed about spending an entire summer traveling or simply enjoying unstructured days? Yet, research shows that Americans tend to work the longest hours of any Western nation, have limited vacation time compared to other countries, and often don’t use those hours or work even when they aren’t at the office. For many of us, the dream of enjoying the “lazy, hazy days of summer” has been replaced by the refrain “summertime and the [...]

Nearly 9 in 10 melatonin gummy brands were mislabeled, a laboratory analysis showed. Of 25 gummy products analyzed, 22 (88%) were inaccurately labeled, with only three products containing an amount of melatonin within 10% of the quantity declared on the label, according to Dr. Pieter Cohen, of Cambridge Health Alliance, in Somerville, Massachusetts, and co-authors. One product did not contain any detectable level of melatonin but did contain 31.3 mg of CBD, Cohen and colleagues reported in a JAMA research letter. The analysis was prompted by a recent report showing that the number of calls about pediatric melatonin ingestions to U.S. [...]

From Helping Survivors of Sexual Abuse & Assault Child sexual abuse and molestation come with serious long-term effects. Child abuse is known to cause serious harm to a victim’s lifelong mental and emotional health. These consequences can create a domino effect, rippling outward to affect a victim’s relationships, physical health, educational success, earning ability, and quality of life. The CDC estimates that 91% of childhood sexual abuse is perpetrated by someone the child knows. Children often do not report sexual abuse. Sometimes, this is out of fear or shame. However, not all child sexual abuse happens in the same way. [...]

Once burnout sets in, it can be difficult to see the light at the end of the tunnel. You may feel emotionally exhausted and full of dread; you may feel hopeless, with no motivation or energy to keep going, says Cassandra Aasmundsen-Fry, PsyD, a clinical psychologist with Mindwell Modern Psychology and Therapy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Though official definitions of burnout specify that burnout is the result of work-related stress, many experts think that definition is too limited. “I have absolutely seen burnout apply to other areas,” says Holly Schiff, PsyD, a clinical psychologist with Jewish Family Services of Greenwich [...]

Every New Year brings with it a host of resolutions that we plan to implement to make ourselves better people. But we all know how hard it is to keep up with these resolutions. Many of us give up on them within a few weeks. Why? It often has to do with misplaced energy. While we may have the right idea about what we want to improve, it is the “how are we going to achieve it” piece that is lacking. Fortunately, science can teach us how to achieve lasting behavioral changes – and it starts by tapping [...]

Dr. Shawn Miller, inspired by his lifelong love of skiing, has created an individualized and integrative holistic process which combines elements of western psychology and applies it in a natural setting played out on the ski slopes of Utah. Participants will engage in a 3-part personal growth process: Assess and Plan (Materials will be emailed to you) 1-hour Individual Session (in person or Telehealth) 3-hour on Snow Experience (at a pre-determined location in the Northern Wasatch Range) By engaging in this process, participants will expand their conscious level of awareness to assist them in improving their general wellness [...]

Are you grieving a loss this holiday season? These 5 tips might help Taking each day minute by minute, and being gentle with yourself are important. The holidays are about coming together, spending time with family and tradition. Or at least, that’s the message we hear as the days grow darker and the most wonderful (stressful) time of the year rolls around. “Holidays tend to revolve around a lot of cheer and a lot of happiness,” said Laura Bradbury, a project coordinator for Caring Connections, a program to support people in grief, and managed by the University of Utah [...]

These five tips can help us learn to communicate better with anxious kids. KEY POINTS Adults can help children address their anxiety by validating their worries and helping them face their fears directly. Learning to sit with anxiety and manage those feelings can help children cope. Developing an imaginative conceptualization of their anxiety can help children name and tame their worries. Have you ever wondered if your child has anxiety? Or noticed their anxiety increasing since the COVID-19 pandemic? If so, then you’re noticing what the data already bears out. But while a licensed mental health professional will be able [...]

A new study investigates how a walk outdoors has positive effects on the brain. Life in a large city can be incredibly stressful. Psychological research has shown that people who live in cities may have an increased risk for depression, anxiety, and schizophrenia compared to people living in more rural areas. In contrast, many people perceive hiking and spending time in nature as stress-relieving and calming. What has been largely unclear so far, however, is the question of how specifically spending time in nature affects our brain function to reduce stress. The positive effects of nature on mental well-being A new [...]