Healing Minds Therapy LLC

04/17/2024

I am now a Licensed Supervisor for counseling interns. If you need supervision or want to join my practice, message me.

12/12/2023

As a Cognitive Behavioral Therapist, I often discuss the cycle that begins with core beliefs. These deeply held convictions about ourselves, others, and the world shape our automatic thoughts - the immediate and often subconscious interpretations we make about events. These thoughts then influence our behaviors, the actions we take based on our perceptions and feelings. The outcomes of these behaviors often have real-world consequences that can either challenge or reaffirm our core beliefs. For instance, a core belief like "I am incompetent" leads to self-doubt in challenging situations, possibly resulting in avoidance behaviors. The failure to engage then reinforces the belief in one's incompetence, perpetuating the cycle. Breaking this cycle involves identifying and challenging these core beliefs and automatic thoughts, thereby altering behaviors and, ultimately, changing the reinforcing outcomes.

11/10/2023

The Cycle: Core Belief → Automatic Thought → Behavior → Consequence → Reaffirming Core Belief

Core Belief: Core beliefs are our deeply held convictions about ourselves, others, and the world. They're often formed in childhood and can be positive or negative. For example, a core belief might be "I'm not good enough."

Automatic Thought: These are the thoughts that spring up automatically in response to triggers, often influenced by our core beliefs. If your core belief is "I'm not good enough," an automatic thought might be "I'll never be able to do this job."

Behavior: This is the action you take based on your automatic thought. If you think you can't do the job, you might procrastinate, avoid tasks, or not apply for a promotion.

Consequence: The result of your behavior can often reinforce your core belief. If you don't apply for the promotion, you don't get it, which then seems to confirm your belief that you're not good enough.

Reaffirming Core Belief: The consequence typically leads to reaffirming the original core belief, and the cycle continues. Not getting the promotion reinforces the idea that you're not good enough, which will influence future automatic thoughts and behaviors.

Intervening in the Cycle

To shift a negative core belief, we can intervene at the level of automatic thoughts or behaviors:

Intervening on the Thought Level: This involves challenging and changing automatic thoughts. Whenever you notice an automatic thought, you can ask yourself, "Is this thought based on facts or my interpretation?" "What evidence do I have for and against this thought?" "How might someone else view this situation?" This is called cognitive restructuring.

Intervening on the Behavior Level: This involves changing your behavior to test the validity of your core beliefs. This could mean acting 'as if' the positive opposite of your core belief is true. For example, even if you feel like you're not good enough, you would still apply for the promotion to challenge the belief through your actions. If you decide to work with a therapist like me, we could develop some behavioral experiments designed to shift your negative core beliefs.

Journaling-

Journaling for the next week. Whenever you notice an automatic thought:

Write down the situation.
Record the automatic thought.
Note the emotion and rate its intensity.
Write down the behavior that followed.
Reflect on the consequence.

Then, challenge the automatic thought with questions like those mentioned earlier. If you engaged in a behavior based on the automatic thought, consider what different action you could take next time.

Therapeutic work with me would entail reviewing your journal together. We'll look for patterns in your thoughts and behaviors, and we'll discuss how the consequences of your actions relate to your core beliefs. This will help us understand how to effectively challenge and modify these beliefs to create a more positive cycle.

Remember, the goal is not to eliminate automatic thoughts but to respond to them in a way that doesn't reinforce negative core beliefs. This process takes time and practice, but it can lead to profound changes in how you feel and act in the long term.

11/05/2023

Office space for rent within my private practice. Convenient Clearwater location. Only $600/month for full time usage. Or $200/month for each day per week needed. If you want an office for 1 day a week- $200, 2 days per week- $400. Allows you to grow your practice😃. Included: office waiting room with full fridge (water, soda, juice), coffe and tea, snacks. Printer and Wi-Fi. Cleaning service. Waiting room music. And good vibes✨I can be contacted at; counselormollyt@gmail.com

09/20/2023

Office Space - Clearwater, FL Mental health office space right off US 19, between 580 and Sunset. Renting office spaces with in my private practice. $150-$200/month for 1 day/week. You can add days as you grow. Also have option to move in for $450 or $600/month to have unlimited access (furnished or unfurnished) Lots of options😃

It’s a welcoming space. Includes drinks (soda, juice, water, sparkling waters,
hot tea, hot chocolate and coffee), WiFi, printer, cleaning service, waiting room music, and beautifully decorated counseling office.

Text either number for inquiries:
727-614-3979 Molly
727-480-0107 Karmivis

09/15/2023

Exercise: Cultivating Self-Love and Empowerment

Step 1: Self-Reflection
Take some time to reflect on your journey, acknowledging your strengths, accomplishments, and the challenges you've overcome. Recognize that you are a work in progress, and every step you've taken has brought you closer to the woman you are today.

Step 2: Affirmations
Create a list of empowering affirmations that resonate with you. Repeat these affirmations daily, either in front of a mirror or in a journal. Examples include:

I am deserving of love, respect, and happiness.
I embrace my uniqueness and celebrate my individuality.
I am confident in my abilities and trust in my intuition.
I am resilient and capable of handling life's challenges.
I am worthy of all the good things that come my way.
I am enough, just as I am.

Step 3: Letting Go of Self-Criticism
Become aware of any negative self-talk or self-criticism. Challenge these thoughts and replace them with more compassionate and understanding ones. Treat yourself with the same kindness and empathy you would offer a dear friend.

Step 4: Nurturing Self-Care
Engage in regular self-care practices that make you feel cherished and rejuvenated. This can include activities like taking long baths, spending time in nature, practicing yoga or meditation, reading uplifting books, or pursuing hobbies you love. While doing so, embrace yourself, the self that actively shows love to oneself. Examples of self-talk here would be, 'I am a yogi.' 'I am a nature enthusiast' 'I am a seeker of knowledge, or I am a reader'.

Step 5: Celebrate Progress, Not Perfection
Acknowledge and celebrate the progress you make on your journey of self-love and growth. Embrace the imperfections as opportunities for learning and development.

Step 6: Surround Yourself with Positivity
Surround yourself with people who support and uplift you. Create a positive environment that fosters self-love and empowerment—becoming aware of all the data that comes into your world.

Step 7: Visualize Your Ideal Self
Visualize the person you aspire to become. Envision her/him with confidence, love, and inner strength. Use this visualization to guide your actions and choices.

Step 8: Gratitude Practice
Practice gratitude daily, focusing on the positive aspects of your life and acknowledging the things you appreciate about yourself. Gratitude helps cultivate a sense of contentment and happiness.

Step 9: Smile, push that smile out into your world.

Step 10: Look for and accept the gifts the world gives to you. Compliments, the sun shining through the leaves, the smell of coffee, the warm hugs, the smiles from others, the working legs and muscles.

02/05/2023

Imagine yourself as a flame. That flame needs rich oxygenated air surrounding it, it needs others that celebrate it when it is burning bright, that will protect it when it is barely lit.

Choose those you let in carefully. Do they add oygen to your air, or take it? Do they enhance your flame, or dampen it? Do they enjoy its brightness, or want to mute it?

You can protect the space around your flame. And the better that you get in that role, the brighter will be your flame. You deserve it, and the world needs your flame 🔥

Warmly,
Molly

01/20/2023

Your Mind

I invite you today, to delve into your mind. For the next two minutes, (you can even set a timer), type out everything that goes through it.

Now imagine that you had more control over where the focus of the mind is. Through a few categories to pick from. 1) Your five senses, what you can see, hear, smell, taste and feel. 2) sensation of your inner world; your bodily sensations, and what your organs, muscles, and cells feel like. 3)There are mental activities, such as feelings, thoughts, and memories. 4)Connections felt with others and with nature or our relational sense.

Now, take one of the four categories, and hold your focus there, for another two minutes. Shift through each category, holding your focus for two minutes each.

I welcome you to embark on this journey, practicing intentional focus, every day. For a total of 8 minutes. A deliberate exercise, to strengthen the most important muscle of your body, your mind.

Through your journey here, you are seeking to strengthen your mind. To have clarity, awareness, and focus. Enhancing your well-being in your body, mind, and relationships. To be able to bring in and enjoy what you value as well as exclude what will only bring about suffering. Can you think of what brings about suffering for you? Now imagine, that through strengthening your mind, the suffering decreases and the harmony in life increases.

A mindfulness skill, that can be used at any point there is distress. As well as the practicing of the skill itself, being able to bring about a healthier mind, capable of working for you.

12/16/2022

At The 35th Annual Evolution of Psychotherapy conference. Love psychology!!!! Has me fired up💜. Met Dan Siegel and got a few of his books, he’s amazing!! Jeff Zeig and Erving Polster (would you believe he’s 100, and still sharp as a tack and still contributing to the field!), Diane Ackerman, Scott Miller and more. Feeling connected and rejuvenated🙏 Need to keep saying yes and living life✨

12/04/2022

Practice tuning in & letting go…

The mind has a sneaky way of tricking you into overthinking. A constant chatter of solving problems in a loop. The problem is that anxiety will actually create these problems. Typically through what if’s and worse case scenarios. Along with other distortions of thought.

For today, practice awareness. Know when anxiety is bringing you out of your moment and into an alternate worse case reality. Identify the thought as anxiety. Knowing that thoughts are not reality. Try to gain a bit of space and perspective. Try to contemplate on the best case scenario. Or ask yourself, can I do anything about this now? If there was an action step, what would it be?

The most important thing you can do for yourself and others is the practice of awareness. The practice of self compassion, acceptance and letting go. Take time to nurture the mind. Tune in. Make it a habit, you deserve it!!

Do you want a therapist who listens, cares and treats you as their only client? Meets you right where you are at and meets your needs? Look no further, you have found where you belong.

12/04/2022

988 is a new phone number that recently went live to help people get help in a mental health crisis.
May I please get help spreading word, copy and re-post?
I am trying to demonstrate that someone is always listening.
call 988
Just two. Any two.
Say Done.