Healing Happens Therapy

you can heal, we can help.

Relationship & Intimacy Expert, reconnecting couples through counseling so you can rebuild and get on with the best parts of being in a relationship!

Certified Nutritional Advisor and Professional Life Coach, helping motivated people take back their health, reach their goals and integrate a sense of balance in their lives.

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What is Telemental Health Care? The Benefits of Online Therapy

January 3, 2018 by kellymontgomerymft

What is Telemental Health Care? The Benefits of Online Therapy

What a time to be alive! That line may be the stuff of silly memes, but it has a very serious side, too. Rapid changes in how we communicate have significantly changed the field of mental health for the better. Scheduling difficulties, time restraints, and even geographical distance no longer automatically prevent you from working with the therapist of your choice. Thanks to telemental healthcare, the playing field has shifted.

What is Telemental Healthcare?

Sure, therapists have been doing phone sessions in a pinch for years. Today, however, teletherapy is a featured service and this means using a face-to-face video platform. Your device may be:

  • Desktop computer
  • Laptop
  • Tablet
  • Smartphone

What matters is that you’re comfortable with the technology and are able to arrange for a private time. From there, it’s just like any other session with your therapist—without the commute, rush, or barriers created by a disability. The video platform allows important elements like voice inflections and facial gestures to be factored in.

What You Need to Know About Telemental Healthcare

1. Ask your therapist about their experience

Not all counselors are skilled or comfortable using telemental healthcare. Ask questions about their experience. Perhaps try one session first before committing to this format.

2. Talk to your therapist about the video platform being used

Of course, privacy is paramount. Licenced therapist use HIPPA compliant platforms. To keep your information private, make certain the platform is the most secure choice available.

3. Learn about state laws

State licensure and regulations vary from state to state. This could impact your ability to work with your preferred therapist. Clarify all such details with your counselor before beginning.

4. Is it right for you?

If you can easily get to a physical appointment, are you the kind of person for whom this is optimal? Sometimes, to have a specific go-to venue for counseling is part of the benefit. The goal and purpose of telemental healthcare is not merely a convenience. As with all modalities, it’s about recovery and results.

The Benefits of Online Therapy

1. Making the impossible possible

The most obvious benefit is a drastic reduction in scheduling obstacles. For example, if your job takes you temporarily from Oakland to Los Angeles, or you work a different schedule like a fireman, it no longer means you will go without therapy during that time. Of course, telemental healthcare is especially important for those with a disability that makes traveling a challenge.

2. Countering the stigma

We’ve come a long way, but the stigma of therapy can still exist for some. Even today, individuals can face family or work pressure surrounding their choice to seek therapy. Scheduling a location other than a therapist’s office may provide privacy and peace of mind.

3. It may coincide with your specific needs

You may, for example, be seeking therapy due to depression or severe social anxiety. These circumstances quite possibly could make it daunting for you to commit to a regular appointment outside your home. “Teletherapy,” in such cases, is an ideal entry point for moving towards recovery.

How to Connect with an Online Therapist

Telemental healthcare is a relatively new approach. As touched on above, it has unique requirements. Therefore, those seeking to try this method must choose carefully. Equally so, tele-therapists must wisely discern which patients are best able to adapt to the video platform. To learn more, and perhaps get started in the realm of telemental healthcare, contact Healing Happens Therapy for a free consultation.

Filed Under: balance, calm, communication, couples counseling, depression, divorce, family, goals, health, healthy relationship, infidelity, men's couseling, new years resolutions, parenting, purpose, reframe, self care, self help, self love, stress, therapy, Uncategorized Tagged With: communication, couples counseling, couples therapy, empowerment, life coaching, mental health, self care, self love, support, telemental

How Sugar Can Affect Your Mood

March 2, 2016 by kellymontgomerymft

How Sugar Can Affect Your Mood // healinghappenstherapy.com

Whether we know it or not, the types of food we eat not only affects our bodies but also our mental health, which in turn can alter our mood and how we are feeling at any given moment.

We know that if we continue to eat foods that are processed and high in fat and sugar, it could lead to obesity, diabetes, heart disease and other illnesses. But these foods can also impact our brains, chemically and physiologically.  In my practice as licensed therapist as well as a Certified Nutritional Advisor, I can help educate, and recommend ways to begin feeling better.

There is a link between eating and how we feel. When people eat to feel better, this is called emotional eating, which can lead to eating disorders and overeating.

Foods that can negatively impact your mood (and mental health) are:

  • Processed foods
  • High fat foods
  • Refined Sugar
  • Caffeine
  • Alcohol

In 2014, there was a study done in New Zealand among over 4,200 students that showed eating a diet in high-quality, healthy foods resulted in better mental health and emotional well-being, whereas those students who ate an unhealthy diet did not improve mentally and showed signs of emotional distress. We know that what we eat matters in our mental well-being!

How Food Affects Your Mood

There are several ways food can affect your mood:

Depression

Studies have shown that people who consume copious amounts of sugar are more likely to be depressed or show signs of mood disorders as their blood sugar rises and falls. It can feel like an emotional roller coaster when you eat that donut and feel a spike in energy, but then a few hours later, feel the sugar crash and come down from those high energy levels.

Sugar also suppresses a critical growth hormone in our brains called BDNF, which accounts for the health, maintenance and reproduction of neurons in the brain. BDNF also helps with our memory function by connecting these neurons and improving our thinking. Low levels of BDNF caused by sugar consumption can trigger depression.

Sugar is also at the helm of chronic inflammation in our bodies when it’s consumed and starts a series of chemical reactions. Normally, a little inflammation is a good thing, like when you need to heal from a small infection. It’ll increase your immune activity and blood flood. However, chronic inflammation, caused by processed sugar, can weaken the immune system and cause damage to the brain.

People who suffer from depression should try cutting out refined sugar from their diet to see if there is any improvement in their mood, mental clarity, and energy levels.

Anxiety

High fatty and sugary foods may not cause anxiety but for those people who suffer from anxiety issues, it could worsen their symptoms and weaken their ability to cope with stress. Sugar creates changes in the body and people who are hypersensitive to these sensations will notice these changes. (A sugar rush and crash can also leave someone feeling shaky, jittery or nervous.)

In doing so, it can trigger anxiety or panic attacks as the person worries or fears what is going on in their body after consuming large amounts of unhealthy fats and sugars. When glucose is released under levels of stress (and the release of insulin to counter glucose), the person may experience blurry vision, feelings of fatigue, or are not able to think clearly.

Addiction

It can be hard to stop from eating a whole box of cookies once you’ve had a few. That’s because when we eat sweet or fatty foods, it releases dopamine (aka the feel good drug) in our bodies and we feel a sense of pleasure and contentment. The way drug addicts are addicted to drugs, we can become addicted to sugar and foods high in fat.

This study concluded that “‘Food addiction’ seems plausible because brain pathways that evolved to respond to natural rewards are also activated by addictive drugs. Sugar is noteworthy as a substance that releases opioids and dopamine and thus might be expected to have addictive potential.”

Learning and Memory

When you consume large amounts of sugar, you will notice a surge in energy because it’s your brain’s preferred source of fuel. When you eat or drink anything sugary, you may notice an increase in mental clarity, memory, and thinking. But it doesn’t last very long and then you will feel the effects of the “sugar crash.” Consuming too much sugar will impair your cognitive functions and damage your memory.

Stress

When we stress, our bodies release certain hormones, specifically cortisol, that trigger our fight-or-flight response. This response prepares us for any danger that may be lurking around the corner. But remember, the brain cannot tell the difference between real danger and imagined danger that we concoct in our minds. So our blood sugar levels spike preparing us to either defend ourselves or flee the situation.

When we feel overwhelmed or are under a lot of stress, our bodies crave energy because we are depleting it so fast as we worry, increasing our glucose levels or blood sugar. That is why some people will grab sugary or fatty snacks when under extreme amounts of stress. They need that pick-me-up to keep their energy levels up, but that will only run their bodies ragged in the end.

15 Best Foods That Will Improve Your Mood

Certain foods can either help you or hurt you. Here are 15 foods that will improve your mood (you can read more about their health benefits here and here):

  • Mussels and oysters
  • Fish and fish oil
  • Swiss chard and other leafy greens
  • Broccoli
  • Asparagus
  • Cherry tomatoes
  • Lentils, chickpeas, and beans
  • Pumpkin seeds
  • Walnuts, almonds, and hazelnuts
  • Pastured eggs
  • Dark chocolate or raw cacao nibs or powder
  • Greek Yogurt
  • Berries
  • Turmeric
  • Honey

Due to the negative side effects that refined sugar (and other unhealthy foods) have on our bodies and mental state, it would be wise for people to start minimizing or cutting out these types of foods from their diets.

Every client at Healing Happens Therapy receives an overall health assessment, and as a Certified Nutritional Advisor and Licensed therapist, I can help recommend what foods and supplements that can support you in feeling better. Visit my office today in Oakland by calling 510 507-1763 or visit me at www.healinghappenstherapy.com.

Filed Under: health, therapy Tagged With: emotional eating, mental health, mood, nutritional therapy, sugar

Life coaching: Looking for balance in your life? Here’s a bit about what I know

April 10, 2015 by kellymontgomerymft

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My perfect “health day.” Find below the ins and outs of my day from diet & exercise to mental  & spiritual.  I’m nothing but thorough, but I’m not perfect either.  Try your best, and look to make your own day to day life more healthy, and keep some balance.

Morning:
~Meditate 10 min (Yes, even with an 18 month old, I bought ear plugs and Husband takes over. Its 10 minutes people, you can do it!)
~Face “meds” and sunscreen (I used to struggle with horrible acne until I after gave birth, but I still use a lighter version of it and aging products too)
~Stretch (baby loves to do this with, me it hilarious.)
~Vega One chocolate shake with vitamins (Shake ingredients: 1/4 cup of water, one banana, 1/4 cup of frozen berries, one scoop of Vega.) This shake gives me all my veggies I need for the day- yes I said veggies. It’s also packed with protein and all the other wonderful stuff you need.
The vitamins that I take in general are: Multivitamin (Womans ultra mega), probiotic, omega 3, chewable baby asprin (good maintenance for the heart) and a folic acid (good for second baby prep!) Taking them with the shake helps me remember and its easier with a thick drink rather than water.
~Next breakfast a few hours later: Egg with sprouted protein bread, (its quick, easy, and healthy)
Afternoon:
~Baby’s nap time: Elliptical time, and catch up on my recorded shows simultaneously. If nap is super long, I’ll throw in some Marketing work for my business then too.
~Get sunshine. (Great mental/ emotional booster, deep breaths and warm sun. Most of the time I’m out and about with the baby at Oakland or Berkeley parks anyways but I make sure I leave the house each day, even is it a walk around the block and I’m feeling like I don’t want to leave the house.)
~ Water 100 oz (Through the day I bring my 50 oz water bottle. Fill it up twice and then I know I’m done. Great for skin, and just health in general).
~Lunch: Salad with protein for lunch OR something completely different. HAHA! (This changes. I usually like a fresh light chicken salad but sometimes its french fry day. I just swap out a heavy meal for a light one at dinner.)
~If baby naps twice, I nap too! REST.
Evening:
~Baby to bed. Shower. (I do dry body brushing right before shower too. Towards the heart, great for the lymphatic system and skin.)
~Cook dinner. (We have a chef send us weekly menus and once a week we shop for all the ingredients together. They are all healthy and a huge variety. Its fun and then I know I have everything I need for the whole week already in the house. It’s great!)
~Marketing for Private Practice (Once a day for about 30 min to an hour, either now or at a long baby nap time)
~Roll my hair (Yes this is important! – for me at least. I don’t have time to look great, with hair and make up. When I can roll my hair at night and have it curly in the morning the way I like it, it’s done and I feel more beautiful and more put together- who doesn’t want that?)
~Bed by 10 pm, or earlier if hubby and I want to “snuggle!” (I love my sleep. I get about 9 to 10 hours each night.)

If you are looking for some help in getting your life together, call me for a free 15 minute consultation. 510-507-1763 or email me at kellymontgomerymft@gmail.com.  Visit my website for more tips!

Filed Under: balance, Berkeley, health, life coaching, Oakland, Uncategorized, vitamins Tagged With: balance, Berkeley, diet, exercise, health, life coaching, mental health, oakland, sex, spirituality

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Healing Happens Therapy
Kelly Montgomery, LMFT #82418
6333 Telegraph Ave, #200
Oakland CA, 94609

kelly@kellyjmontgomery.com
888-831-5221

* Kelly Montgomery now practices virtually only (online and phone). New clients may use the toll free number above and existing or returning clients may contact her local number via phone by downloading the “Whatsapp” application on your device.

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