Meet Your Therapist: Alyx Aiello
I had the pleasure of talking with one of Star Meadow’s newest therapists, Alyx Aiello, who focuses her work on the impact of trauma, especially the intersection between religious trauma and marginalized groups. Alyx was born and raised in Portland and received her...
Seasonal Depression and The PNW Rainy Season
What is SAD? Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), often called seasonal depression, is estimated to affect roughly 5% of the population at any given time. Although it can occur with any seasonal change, the predominant timeframe is depressive symptoms starting with a...
Teen Mental Health: Post-Pandemic Edition
It’s no secret that the pandemic has had profound effects on the mental and emotional well-being of our society. Rates of mental health struggles have skyrocketed in response to experiences of isolation, grief and loss, economic hardship, safety fears, and increasing...
The Young Adult’s Guide To Navigating Family Boundaries
Healthy boundaries are the building blocks of healthy, successful relationships, but they can be a challenge to navigate, especially as relationship dynamics change and evolve. In many families, children grow up with a clear sense of the family hierarchy and an...
Contamination Fears In a Contaminated World: What’s Appropriate And What’s Compulsive?
Covid, Measles outbreaks, Mokeypox- it can feel overwhelming to manage the constant barrage of new threats. For most people, a significant behavioral change is needed to ensure safety, but for people with OCD or health anxiety, where do you draw the line? What are...
Things You Might Feel Shame For, That Are Actually Very Common!
As therapists, we hear from people in all walks of life. Every client is different and comes to therapy with varied experiences, but one thing remains true; most people hold shame for things they don’t need to. When we feel shame, our brains will often make us think...
4 ADHD Skills That Actually Work
If you have ADHD, you know that finding the right set of tools and techniques that work for you can be a process of trial and error. What works for you might be the opposite of helpful for someone else. Below you’ll find a few techniques to try that go beyond the...
A Guide For Talking to Children About Remote Violence
Children today are confronted with a baseline awareness of violence higher than most adults can imagine. “Remote violence” refers to exposure to highly violent images and stories, without experiencing the violence first-hand. In essence, this is the increasing...
Life Hacks For When Everything Feels Hard
Mental health challenges like depression, anxiety, and ADHD can make for difficult days. Ideally, with the right combination of therapy, coping skills, or medication, there won’t be so many hard days. But sometimes we hit a rough patch or experience a stressor or...
Pride Month: How to Support Someone Coming Out
June is Pride Month, so let’s take this opportunity to go over some ways you can support the LGBTQ+ folks in your life if they choose to share their experience with you. Your response should vary based on your relationship dynamic, but in general, these are some rules...