Real Talk Therapy New Orleans

07/19/2022

I got to feel like Tony Robbins and Brené Brown this weekend, presenting in a gorgeous ballroom to a room full of Perinatal Providers at the 2022 Postpartum Support International Conference.

I am so proud of the work we shared, and hopeful that it achieves our goal of increasing access to providers that are willing and able to provide treatment to those who have experienced perinatal loss.

05/08/2021

To all the grieving parents, postpartum parents, depressed parents, anxious parents, overwhelmed parents, hopeful-to-become parents, unexpected parents, birth parents, foster parents, non-binary parents, single parents, not-sure-if-they-want-to-be parents, please know that you are seen. You are heard. You and your experiences matter.

And to all those that have lost their mother or mother-figure, or who have strained or complicated relationships with their mothers, please know that you are not alone.

Mother's Day is challenging and painful for many. It is often a day of sorrow and grief. Send love to those you know who may be struggling this Mother's Day.
🌷🌷🌷🌷

04/23/2021

Thank you for having me back to do my Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorder lecture for your wonderful OBGYN residents. It's through collaborative work like this that we can provide the best possible care to pregnant and postpartum women.

More information about educational offerings can be found on my website realtalknola.com ❤️❤️❤️

10/17/2020

07/27/2020

The sofa 🛋️. The heart of a therapy office.

This comfy gray sofa is wide enough to comfortably fit a couple that may want a little space, but filled with enough pillows and throw blankets to keep it cozy. Throw pillows with tassels and blankets of different textures help keep anxious hands busy and can be used in grounding exercises.

It is low enough that feet can be planted firmly on the floor (again helpful for grounding) and is firm enough to support spines that are tense from anxiety and hyper-vigilance.

Tissues are always close and accessible, and clocks are visible to myself and the client.

SO much thought went into something as simple as what sofa I chose for this space. I am such an over-thinker, which generally I try to work against, but this time I think all that over analyzing was really helpful.

Happy to have found something that both looks nice and meets all the functional criteria needed for the most optimal therapeutic environment.

07/27/2020

Welcome in.

First impressions matter, especially when developing a therapeutic relationship. That moment when I first open the door to the waiting room for a new client is critical, and generally nerve wracking for both of us!

I always take a moment to center myself - close my eyes, take a deep breath, maybe even shake it out, before I open that door and say hello.

I use an oil diffuser in my treatment room so part of the first impression is pleasant and calming scents (although I try to be weary of strong smells for my TTC/perinatal/postpartum Mama's, and try to blend oils to prevent trauma flashbacks from recognizable scents that may be linked to trauma memories).

07/27/2020

Bright, clean, modern, and peaceful, with a touch of pink 🌸🌸. Creating this little oasis in a fabulously 70's large office building on Veteran's Blvd has been quite the undertaking, but here it is!

The waiting room features peaceful mood lighting, coloring books, complimentary bottled water, newly added lavender scented hand sanitizer, and of course recent issues of Psychology Today, because is it even a therapists office if there are no issues of 😂??

07/27/2020

I've been waiting to share more photos of my new office until I'm actually back in it (instead of doing telehealth from home), but unfortunately it's looking like that date is still very far away.

I moved into my very own office space back in mid-February. This was a huge and exciting milestone. It was incredible to be at a place in my practice where I was able to commit to my own lease that I didn't need to share with other providers.

While I love the social and professional opportunities office sharing provides, it can be hectic when the therapist/s you share with have similar work schedules.

I was so excited and grateful to be in the position to go out on my own and create my own space with more scheduling flexibility.

Unfortunately, that only lasted 4 weeks before the shutdown.

Of course, now I'm experiencing the downsides of being the sole renter of a space (paying monthly rent solo), and now without being able to use it for more than 4.5 months and counting.

I spent many of the first weeks of quarantine beautifying the space in eager anticipation of my return. There's still quite a bit that I'd like to do, but I realize now there's likely no need to rush.

Very much looking forward to the day I get to share this special space with others, but until then here is my office tour! Starting with the view upon entering the waiting room.

07/02/2020

Missing my office so much these days. There's something so special about meeting in person, in a space set up specifically to be calming, peaceful and safe.

No distractions, just therapy.

I know my clients love the convenience of telehealth but I can't wait for the day we get to meet in person again.

There are so many distractions that happen in telehealth sessions that can disrupt the mood in an important moment, delaying healing and making it challenging to try to return to a place of vulnerability.

From texts to emails, to kids running/crying/creeping in the background, to trying to multi task by eating your lunch during your telehealth session. It's all so distracting and disrupting, but many of those things are unavoidable in this challenging time we are in.

Looking forward to the day we can get back to being mentally, emotionally, and physically present.

05/18/2020

Missing this little corner of my waiting room today. Coloring books, crystals, and candles, oh my!

I moved into my new office about a month before the shut down and barely had any time to really enjoy and appreciate it before we had to close.

It's been quite a bummer to have to pay rent for an office I'm not using (and especially one that I don't share with anyone else), but I am grateful for the time it's given me to slowly and mindfully fill the space.

I know the end result will be more in tune with my most ideal atmosphere/vibe/style than it would have been had I rushed to get it finished.

Practicing what I preach and applying a gratitude practice wherever I can, and especially in relation to the more challenging parts of life.

Looking forward to sharing this special space in person in the future, and virtually for now.

05/10/2020

❤️❤️❤️
🎨

05/09/2020

This is an actual screenshot of a message I wrote to my doctor the day after discharge (on my 5th day post emergency c section).

At the time, I was well aware of the fact that I experience shaking and chills when I have severe anxiety. I had experienced panic attacks many times in my life, almost always accompanied by shaking (and often vomiting). This is not extremely rare, but also not the most common physical symptoms of anxiety, but I KNEW it to be my experience of anxiety.

However, when I started shaking in the hospital on day one of life I was told that it was a reaction to anesthesia. Similarly, when I vomited 19 hours after my c section, I was told that again it must be from the anesthesia, even when I continuously said "I am having a panic attack, I know what it feels like, and that is what is happening. Please believe me, I am a therapist and I know what is going on."

I asked for medication to treat anxiety (which at the time I had never utilized before), and was instead offered Zofran, which treats nausea, not anxiety.

Truth be told, I was terrified and horrified and definitely experienced wishful denial and clinging to the hope that the nurses and residents were right about the anesthesia causing these symptoms. But reality kept slapping me in the face with a gut feeling that SOMETHING WAS WRONG.

You can see the denial and downplaying in the wording I use in the message to my doctor. I literally ask what he thinks might be causing the symptoms in the same paragraph that I mention having anxiety during these episodes (i.e. physical panic attacks). I also say at the end that it's not unbearable, clearly it also was not very bearable!

I wish I could say that my anxiety stopped that day and I got the help I needed, but that's not how my story went.

Thankfully I did get help a few weeks later, in the form of a therapist I felt comfortable with, a support group for new parents, that I subsequently now facilitate (hey Snuggles and Struggles!!), a psychiatrist that specializes in reproductive mental health (like I now do), and an amazing P*P that helped me remember that my needs are of equal importance to everyone else's, including my baby's.