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Experiencing trauma can affect people in different ways and PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, caused by the prolonged symptoms of emotional or psychological trauma) is typically not a cut and dry diagnosis and will sometimes go undiagnosed. A traumatic event can include experiencing a natural disaster, being a victim of sexual assault, or something less violent — even living in a situation with constant stress, like dealing with a chronic illness. Events that happen unexpectedly, repeatedly, in childhood or a situation where you feel powerless or when someone is intentionally cruel can lead to emotional and psychological trauma. Symptoms can range from anger and irritability, guilt, confusion and difficulty concentrating to insomnia or nightmares or muscle tension and fatigue. They don’t have to point to the trauma, but can affect everyday life. If you have experienced trauma or know someone who has and are having a difficult time functioning at home or work or keeping relationships, therapy can help. Psychologists have been able to help those who have experienced trauma and need to work through the emotions that accompany a traumatic event. If you have experienced a traumatic event and have not been able to work through the emotional nature of the event, you may want to seek psychological help. The Metis Center for Psychological Services in Lafayette, Broomfield, and Durango, CO can help by offering therapy that focuses on your needs that are specific to your situation. Find a way out of the symptoms you experience and begin to live your life to the full

The American Psychological Association (APA) recently released its Stress in America report detailing that, as you may guess, school is one of the most common sources of stress for American teens. As a matter of fact, some 83% of kids report school as a major source of stress in their life. While stress from school can definitely have a negative impact on the entire family, it can also have a negative impact on the teen’s mental health. Here at The Metis Center For Psychological Services, we strive to create a safe place free of judgement for anyone looking for a psychologist in Colorado.  We work with teens and their parents to find ways to combat this stress as we know how much of an impact it can have in so many different ways. Unfortunately, almost half of the teens who report having stress from school do nothing to cope with said stress. This is a significant concern for us because of the impact this stress can have. One great way of combatting stress from school is to participate in physical activities. Parents also play a great part in helping their children manage stress by modeling healthy lifestyles and choices, promoting physical activity by encouraging their kids to join sports teams, engaging in activities as a family such as dancing or hiking, or finding ways to exercise that don’t cost money liking riding bikes or going to the park. If you’re a teenage who is looking for help in managing your stress levels, or if you’re a parent looking to help your

Most of us experience trauma at some point in our lives and they can be a devastating thing to work through, especially alone. Traumas experienced can be mild, moderate or severe. Even if a trauma is considered mild by some, it may be experienced as moderate to others. When we can walk away from a traumatic situation and move on with our lives relatively in the same way as we did prior to the event, we don’t tend to carry the trauma with us. For many reasons, some traumas, are difficult to let go of and can create a barrier to us living life fully. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is the persistence of that trauma in one’s life. PTSD can present with symptoms like flashbacks or reliving the trauma over and over; bad dreams; scary thoughts; strong feelings of guilt, depression or worry; loss of interest in activities that were enjoyable; emotionally numb; difficulty sleeping or feeling tense or on-edge; and other related symptoms that may cause difficulty in doing regular daily tasks. Getting diagnosed is just the beginning of treatment. There are a range of therapeutic techniques available to help those with PTSD deal with the symptoms and be able to progress past the recurring trauma. You can find the best coping strategies for your life with the help of a trained therapist. Therapy can help you find solutions.  Start on the road to recovery and contact our offices in Boulder, Lafayette, and Durango, CO for more information at (720) 387-8458 or book your

Dr. Friedman TeBockhorst has a new research article published.  Click the link to check out her article on one way that people sometimes respond to trauma — by freezing up. http://psycnet.apa.org/psycinfo/2014-41512-001/

If you or someone you know may need counseling in Boulder, CO, we’re here to help. Here at the Metis Center, we create a comfortable environment where you should never feel ashamed for seeking counseling. We see and help all different people from all kinds of backgrounds and situations, including those who may be questioning their sexuality or spirituality. Depression is serious and real. It’s also something that most of us will experience at least once in our lives. While it may be hard to accept and talk about depression because it makes you feel “weak,” it’s absolutely necessary if you want to feel better. Victims of depression need a steady support group of friends and loved ones to help them get through the lowest lows. If you’re a friend of someone who is suffering from depression, we have some help for you. If your friend hasn’t specifically already told you that they’re feeling down or depressed, it’s time to acknowledge it. Tell your friend you’ve noticed that they seem down or depressed. Let them know that you want to help them and try to show them how they’re needed and appreciated. Talk to them when you’re upset or when you want to vent, tell them about things you wouldn’t trust with just anyone. Never pretend like their depression doesn’t exist or that it’s not a serious condition. Try to find out why your friend is depressed, too. Did they just go through a break up? Are their parents getting divorced? Showing that you care will help them.

Here at the Metis Center For Psychological Services, a place for therapy in Boulder, CO, we’re serious about providing a safe, welcoming place for people of all backgrounds and situations. We’re a nonjudgemental environment and a LGBTQA safe space. By now, you likely have a go-to coping mechanism for stress and problems. While we hope it’s on the healthy side of the spectrum, some coping methods aren’t. No matter how you deal, though, everyone can use a little extra support and one of the best sources of this is talking with a professional therapist. Today we’ve got a few ways that everyone can benefit from therapy. Therapy can help you handle and deal with your emotions from stress and problems in your life, even if this stress or problem isn’t life changing. Therapy itself is well-known for its problem-solving techniques and tools for managing and overcoming anxiety, depression, and even professional challenges. These techniques and tools are also invaluable for establishing a better emotional wellness in your daily life. Therapy can hold you accountable for reaching your goals. No matter what struggle you’re going through in life, whether it’s losing weight or finding forgiveness within yourself, we can help you get past the those mental blocks that you can encounter with any challenge. You don’t have to face anything alone. Talking with someone can help you find purpose. When you speak to a professional therapist, you’re opening yourself up to what you’re struggling with and acknowledging where you’d like to go from there. This allows you

We offer testing and assessments to help our clients better know and understand themselves. The Ancient Greek aphorism “Know Thyself” has persisted over the centuries in many cultures. Chinese philosopher, Lao Tzu wrote, “He who knows others is wise; he who knows himself is enlightened.” For the average person, motivation in life is to do well and be successful. For some, not knowing who they are and under what circumstances they operate  best actually holds them back from reaching their goals. At other times, it may be the goals that are not well suited to the person; the expectations don’t fit reality. It’s difficult to discern when this is the case for the person who doesn’t know their own strengths and weaknesses. Having used those terms, strengths and weaknesses don’t go hand in hand with good and bad. Rather, they show where a person can work to improve or where they excel, while providing opportunity for optimizing work and productivity through creating boundaries or finding people to come around and provide skills in areas of weakness. All this can be learned through the different assessments we offer. The cognitive assessment can help to identify attention, memory, problem-solving, language skills and intellectual functioning. The learning assessment helps to pinpoint if there are any learning disabilities so we can help you find strategies in learning in the way you need. The personality assessments will help to confirm what you may already know about yourself, but the evaluation will help to identify key things that have the potential to

Here at The Metis Center For Psychological Services, Dr. Sunda Friedman offers safe and comfortable counseling and services right here in Boulder CO for people of all ages and backgrounds. We see quite a few young people come through our doors at the Metis Center and we, as we were once also teenagers, know how hard it is to get through the teenage years. Now it’s easy for us, as those who have survived being teenagers, to see how perfectly normal it is to be sad sometimes and need to speak to someone about it. However, sometimes we feel more than just sadness and those feelings are real and they need to be addressed. Teenage depression is real. When you feel depressed, it can feel like no one understands you. However, depression is far more common in teens than many people realize. You are not alone and your depression is not a hopeless case. While you may feel like you cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel, it is there and can be found even faster through proper treatment and healthy choices. It’s oftentimes hard to put into words what depression feels like and different people experience it in different ways. However, there are some more common issues and symptoms that may help you decide if you or someone you know closely is battling teenage depression. Feeling irritable, sad, and angry Nothing seems fun anymore and you just don’t see the point anymore Feeling worthless or guilty Too much or not enough sleep Frequent unexplained

September 10 and 17: Training doctoral interns at the University of Northern Colorado on trauma psychology and effective clinical practice September 15: College Success for Students Who Learn Differently at the Broomfield Library October 15:  Webinar: Dealing with Depression: Warning Signs, Treatment, and Suicide Prevention October 16:  Live on Channel 22: Diagnosing and Treating Mood Disorders from 12:30 to 1:00 October 21:  Feeling Down?  Helping Adults Manage Depression at the Louisville Library  

What to make of those letters after a mental health clinician’s name? Before you contact a therapist, here’s what you need to know about what he or she knows. http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/alphabet-soup-decoding-mental-health-credentials-0916145