http://midtownpsychotherapy.org/, http://amysmithbarnes.com/, http://megmcleroy.com/

Midtown Psychotherapy Associates, 199 Armour Drive NE, Atlanta, GA (2025)

12/01/2025

If you have noticed significant changes in your mood or behavior when the seasons change, it is possible that you are experiencing Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).

SAD is a type of depression characterized by a recurrent seasonal pattern, with symptoms lasting about 4−5 months out of the year. Though the effects of SAD are temporary, they can be serious. There are treatments that can help, however.

Light therapy and vitamin D are treatments for winter-pattern SAD, whereas psychotherapy and antidepressants are used to treat depression in general, including winter- and summer-pattern SAD. There are no treatments specific to summer-pattern SAD.

To talk to a health care provider about the potential benefits and risks of different treatment options and which treatment is best for you, we encourage you to reach out to us at

MidtownPsychotherapy.org

or by phone at 404-685-1600

11/28/2025

To conclude our series on Native American leaders in the field of mental health, we are honoring Dr. Carolyn Attneave today.
Dr. Attneave was the first Native American woman to earn a Ph.D in psychology. After getting her doctorate at Stanford, Attneave went on to become one of the most prolific scholars in the field of psychology. As a descendant of the Delaware Indian tribe, Attneave founded what is now the Society of Indian Psychologists. The Society continues to "advocate for the mental well-being of Native peoples by increasing the knowledge and awareness of issues impacting Native mental health."
Dr. Attneave's work was foundational to the field of culturally competent mental health care. After she passed away in 1992, the American Psychological Association created an award in Attneave’s honor that recognizes the promotion of diversity in family psychology or special contributions to the lives of diverse families. In 2019, the Clayman Institute for Gender Research at Stanford University renamed its primary building after Carolyn Lewis Attneave, in acknowledgement of her impactful life and career.
If you are interested in embarking on a therapy journey with a provider who will respect the unique circumstances of your situation, we hope you will reach out to us at MidtownPsychotherapy.org

11/26/2025

While most people see Thanksgiving as a time to celebrate and connect with their loved ones, the holiday can be difficult to navigate for those of us who struggle with eating disorders or disordered eating. But with a little planning and support, the holidays don’t have to be so daunting. Here are some tips from eating disorder professionals to help you have an enjoyable and healthy holiday.
Treat Thanksgiving as any other meal. For many people, there is an urge to “save up” or restrict eating before the big Thanksgiving meal, but that approach can disrupt both your physical and emotional balance. Sticking to your regular meal plan before, during, and after the holiday is the best way to maintain stability and care for yourself. The holiday may feel special, but the dinner is usually the same dishes year after year. This allows you to plan ahead of time what you will or will not eat.
Identify a Support Person - Ask someone who will be at the meal with you (or easily accessible by phone) ahead of time to be your backup. Your support person could help distract you from a triggering moment with relatives or help change the subject during an awkward dinner conversation about food or weight. Make sure you discuss with them ahead of time exactly what would be helpful to you in specific situations. Perhaps decide on a code word you can use to let your support person know that you need them to step in.
Identify coping strategies to use before, during, and after the meal. Come prepared to the gathering with your “toolbox” full of coping skills that you and your therapist have identified as helpful for soothing your anxiety.
Plan for time-outs. Give yourself mini-breaks throughout the day. This can be going for a short walk, or even just stepping outside and taking a few deep breaths.
Visualize the Thanksgiving You Want – Before you reach your Thanksgiving destination, or before your own guests arrive, spend some time positively visualizing the day and picturing yourself handling the stress and the meals in calm, healthy ways. It is much easier to get through the real situation if you’ve already “seen” yourself succeed at it before!
Focus on Gratitude – Stay focused on the meaning of the holiday. Create a gratitude list, listing all the things and people you are truly grateful for. Bring this list to the Thanksgiving meal to use as a reminder when you find yourself struggling.
Set a Goal (that has nothing to do with your eating disorder!)- Anxiety about holiday meals can be all-consuming. To make sure that Thanksgiving doesn’t pass you by while your thoughts are on your meal plan or on blocking symptoms, try setting a goal for yourself that has nothing to do with food. Perhaps you want to make it a point to ask your grandmother about her favorite Thanksgiving memory or offer to read a bedtime story and tuck your nieces and nephews into bed. Working to meet your positive goal for the day will help to distract you from the anxiety, and it can also create a positive memory you can associate with Thanksgiving for years to come.

11/21/2025

This Native American Heritage Month, MPA is celebrating the contributions of Native American leaders to the field of mental health. Today, we are highlighting Iva GreyWolf, PhD.
Dr. Iva GreyWolf is a licensed clinical psychologist with more than 40 years’ experience in the field of behavioral health. A member of the Fort Peck Assiniboine tribe of Montana, Dr. GreyWolf worked to bring mental health services to underserved Native American communities, as one of the few psychologists who identify as American Indians or Alaska Natives (AIAN).
GreyWolf has long been an advocate for victims of complex trauma, which she says is a too-common component of the AIAN experience. Indigenous people's rates of murder, r**e, and violent crime are all far higher than the national averages. She advises psychologists who don’t identify as American Indians or Alaska Natives to learn and understand the weight of the history that informs the lives of Indigenous people, and to be aware of the many and various ways in which AIAN individuals have been traumatized again and again over the generations.
GreyWolf strives to “create a safe space” for her patients, “finding out what is important to that person and helping them find their path.”
You can read more about Dr. GreyWolf's work and accomplishments in this interview she gave to the APA: https://www.apa.org/members/content/indigenous-patients-therapists
You can get connected with a mental health provider that will create a "safe space" for you by reaching out to us at MidtownPsychotherapy.org

11/19/2025

New Blog Post! Donielle Fagan, PhD, reflects on the impact a diagnosis of ADHD can have on high-achieving adult patients. Dr. Fagan's personal experience with these clients, informed by the medical research, suggests that a diagnosis can be a relief rather than an impairment.

Read now at: https://www.midtownpsychotherapy.org/blog

11/17/2025

This Native American Heritage Month, MPA is celebrating the contributions of Native American leaders to the field of mental health. Today, we are highlighting Glorinda Segay.
Dr. Segay serves as the Director of the Division of Behavioral Health (DBH) at the Indian Health Service. There, she works to ensure Native communities receive needed mental health care. An enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, Dr. Segay works at the national, local and tribal levels to secure optimal mental health services.

“We try to think about our people, what can we do, how can we help them, those who are victims and survivors. We talk to our partners at the tribal level. We use our behavioral health consultants at the local level. There are boots on the ground; they come to us and let us know [what’s happening],” Segay said in an interview with the NIH Record.
To learn more about Dr. Glorinda Segay's efforts, as well as the other resources available through the Indian Health Services, visit: https://www.ihs.gov/aboutihs/

To explore mental health support that is personalized to your unique background, situation, and preferences, please consider visiting MidtownPsychotherapy.org

11/14/2025

This Native American Heritage Month, MPA is celebrating the contributions of Native American leaders to the field of mental health. Today, we are highlighting Joseph P. Gone, Phd.

Dr. Gone is Professor in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (Anthropology) and in the Faculty of Medicine (Global Health and Social Medicine) at Harvard University, where he also serves as the Director of the Harvard University Native American Program (HUNAP). In his interdisciplinary scholarship, Gone examines the intersection of culture, coloniality, and well-being in Indigenous communities. A prolific scholar, Dr. Gone has published over 120 scientifc research papers, many exploring cross-cultural comparisons of ther**eutic interventions, such as psychotherapy, and traditional healing.
An enrolled member of the Aniiah-Gros Venture tribe of Montana, the main thrust of Dr. Gone's broader work in community psychology explores the causes of depression, trauma, suicidal thoughts and addiction within Native American communities.
Per Gone, these issues are complicated by the alienation that comes from a lack of identity, purpose and belonging that many Native American people experiencing emotional distress often feel as a result of their colonial status. Because the roots of these problems do not lie in modern definitions and diagnoses, neither do the solutions necessarily lie in mainstream psychological theories of mind and therapy, according to Gone. With his work, he strives to encourage mental health professionals treating Native Americans to see the value in approaching healing in those communities using what he calls "Indigenous healing" methods along with traditional ther**eutic interventions.
To learn more about Dr. Joseph P. Gone, visit his website at: GoneToWar.com
To connect with a therapist who will strive to approach clients from a position of cultural humility, visit us at: MidtownPsychotherapy.org

11/12/2025

OUT NOW: Jordan Watson, LMSW, shares some things he hopes will help you find a therapist who will assist you on your therapy journey.
Read at: MidtownPsychotherapy.org/Blog

11/10/2025

Midtown Psychotherapy Associates recently hosted an empowering and fun event for EDIN and IAEDP. Crush the Scale was a day dedicated to moving past eating disorders and disordered eating, to a place where self-worth and happiness aren't measured by a number.

Watch MPA's Elizabeth Coe, LMSW, and Mari Kate Picow, LPC, demolish scales and with them, the expectation that only certain body types are worthy of respect, joy, and love.

11/07/2025

This Native American Heritage Month, MPA is celebrating the contributions of Native American leaders to the field of mental health.

Today, we are highlighting Maria Yellow Horse Brave Heart, Phd. A Hunkpapa and Oglala Lakota social worker, researcher, and community healer, Dr. Brave Heart has devoted her life to understanding how the pain of the past continues to shape Indigenous wellbeing today.

She is the first person to develop the theory of historical unresolved grief, and she describes historical trauma as “the cumulative emotional and psychological wounding over one’s lifetime and from generation to generation following the loss of lives, land, and vital aspects of culture."

Through her scholarly work, and as the founder of Native nonprofit the Takini Institute in 1992, Dr. Brave Heart has shown that healing is not only personal but also intergenerational, cultural, and communal.

To read more about the work Dr. Brave Heart and her model of historical trauma, see this presentation she delivered for the Smith-College School of Social Work: https://youtube/RZtCS1362UI?si=OVKc_FmU4yj1Au7A

If you are interested in exploring therapy to unpack the effects of trauma on your own life, we would be honored for you to visit us at MidtownPsychotherapy.org

11/05/2025

The Healing Power of RO-DBT. Shaina Gordon, LCSW, shares how Radically Open Dialectical Behavior Therapy has helped many people, including herself, become more open and connected in an increasingly isolated world.

Read now at: MidtownPsychotherapy.org/Blog

11/03/2025

Join us in welcoming the newest member of MPA, Brittany Matthews, Phd!

Dr. Matthews comes to us from the Atlanta VA Healthcare System, where she interned following her graduation from New York University. She specializes in clients suffering from sleep disturbances and insomnia, anxiety and depression, as well as parents navigating behavioural changes with their children. She is especially passionate about serving the BIPOC and LGBTQIA communities, veterans, and clients who exist at the intersection of multiple cultural identities. She is trained to administer culturally-integrative comprehensive psychological assessments.

In Dr. Matthews' own words: "I strive to create a space where clients feel safe, understood, and empowered to explore the ways identity, culture, and lived experience shape their well-being."

To learn more about Dr. Brittany Matthews, and all our other talented clinicians, visit: MidtownPsychotherapy.org

Midtown Psychotherapy Associates

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