Michigan Psychological Care

12/29/2025

🩺 Mental Health Monday: Navigating Health Anxiety
The shift in seasons often brings common colds and seasonal illnesses. For those struggling with Health Anxiety (or illness anxiety), this time of year can feel overwhelming, turning normal bodily sensations into sources of distress.

Health anxiety is not about faking symptoms; it's a genuine, excessive preoccupation with the fear of having a serious medical condition.

🧘 Three Ways to Ground Yourself When Anxiety Spikes:
Practice "Fact Checking": When an anxious thought surfaces ("This headache is something serious"), ask yourself: What is the objective evidence? Have multiple doctors reassured me? Is this a common, mild symptom? Anchor yourself in facts, not fears.

Engage the 5-4-3-2-1 Method: This grounding technique pulls you away from internal worry and into the present moment using your five senses:

5 things you can see.

4 things you can feel (the chair, your clothes).

3 things you can hear.

2 things you can smell.

1 thing you can taste.

Establish "Worry Time": Instead of letting health fears dominate your day, set aside a specific 15-minute window (e.g., 6:00 PM) to worry. If a worry pops up earlier, gently remind yourself, "I will think about this later," and redirect your focus.

If health anxiety is significantly impacting your daily life, please know that help is available. Therapy can provide tools to manage and reduce these fears.

What is one thing you can do to be gentle with your mind today?

12/26/2025

🌍 Celebrating Kwanzaa: A Time for Community and Culture
Today marks the beginning of Kwanzaa, a cultural celebration observed by millions of people in the African diaspora around the world. Running from December 26th to January 1st, Kwanzaa is a time to honor African heritage and community.

Kwanzaa is not a religious holiday, but rather a time for affirming and reinforcing family, community, and culture.

🕯️ The Seven Principles (Nguzo Saba)
Each of the seven days of Kwanzaa is dedicated to celebrating one of the Nguzo Saba (seven principles), which serve as guiding concepts for collective progress and unity:

Umoja (Unity)

Kujichagulia (Self-Determination)

Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility)

Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics)

Nia (Purpose)

Kuumba (Creativity)

Imani (Faith)

The Kwanzaa Symbols
The celebration involves several important symbols, displayed on a mat (Mkeka), including:

The Kinara (candle holder), which holds seven candles (three red, three green, and one black).

The Mishumaa Saba (seven candles), lit each night to represent the seven principles.

The Kikombe cha Umoja (unity cup), used during the communal ceremony.

We wish everyone observing a meaningful and empowering Kwanzaa celebration!

Habari Gani! (What's the news? — A traditional Kwanzaa greeting)

12/25/2025

🎄 Wishing You a Joyous Christmas!
As December progresses, we extend our warmest wishes to everyone celebrating Christmas.

This holiday is a wonderful time of year centered on key values that resonate with people around the world: generosity, hope, and coming together with loved ones.

✨ The Spirit of Christmas
Whether you celebrate for religious reasons or simply embrace the cultural traditions, Christmas is a time for finding light and joy during the winter season.

It’s often defined by beautiful traditions, including:

Sharing Light: From twinkling outdoor lights to candles on a mantel, light plays a significant role in bringing warmth to the longest nights of the year.

Giving: The tradition of gift-giving reflects the spirit of generosity and thoughtfulness toward family, friends, and community.

Gathering: It is a time for slowing down, reflecting, and enjoying festive meals and quality time with those we cherish most.

We hope your holiday season is filled with peace, laughter, and all the best that the season has to offer.

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas from our team to yours!

12/22/2025

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CHRIS!

Chris Stevens, LPC

Chris received his Bachelor's of Science in Psychology and Family Studies from Central Michigan University. He continued his education at Central Michigan and received his Master of Arts degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. Chris works from a strength-based, holistic approach to counseling, utilizing an array of techniques such as CBT, Existential, and many more to best meet client's needs. He aims to create a comfortable, non-judgmental, and supportive environment to allow for personal growth and self-exploration. His special interest is anxiety and related topics. Outside of work, Chris spends his time playing table top and online games, camping, traveling, and spending time with friends and family.

12/22/2025

🎄 Mental Health Monday: Navigating Holiday Expectations

With Christmas days away, many of us feel pressure for the holidays to look exactly like a movie or a memory.

However, the season can often bring unexpected challenges, including grief, loneliness, or disappointment when reality doesn't match our high expectations.

💖 Focus on What You Can Control
This week, let's practice compassionate realism by adjusting our focus:

Acknowledge the Gap: It’s okay if this year feels different, whether due to loss, change, or distance. Name the feeling (e.g., "I feel sad that [tradition] is missing") rather than fighting it. Acknowledgment helps you move forward.

Create One New Tradition: Instead of trying to recreate a past that no longer exists, invest energy into one new, small tradition. This shifts your focus from loss to creation and gives you a new memory for the future.

Choose Your People: The holiday season doesn't require you to spend time with people who deplete your energy. Intentionally choose to connect with those who bring you genuine joy and calm, even if it's just one person or a brief video call.

Permission Slip: You have permission to enjoy the holidays in a way that feels authentic and manageable for you, not just everyone else.

How will you honor your real feelings while creating a peaceful holiday this week?

12/20/2025

Happy birthday to our sunshine of a clinician, Katlyn!
Katlyn Moonan, LLMSW

Katlyn graduated from Saginaw Valley State University with her Bachelor's degree and knew right away she wanted to obtain her Master's degree, which she pursued at Saginaw Valley as well. Her experience started out as a domestic violence and sexual assault crisis safe house advocate for women and children, then moved to juvenile probation where she learned working with children and young adults changed her outlook on life. From there, she had two years of experience in the private practice therapy setting where she worked with children as young as three up to young adults. Most recently, Katlyn worked as a behavioral health manager with the geriatric population for a physician's services company. While Katlyn has a wide range of experiences, outpatient therapy is her favorite as she can utilIze a variety of different approaches like motivational interviewing, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, music, arts and crafts, and much more that best suits and helps each of her clients and their needs. The most important thing she wants her clients to know is that she is here to adapt to them as we are all unique and take to different approaches in a therapy setting. It is not a one size fits all. Outside of work, Katlyn can be found running, hiking, traveling, shopping, and volunteering her time to local and international agencies, as well as spending time with those she loves most.

12/19/2025

Screaming Happy Birthday to our day 1 therapist, Nina Whitehill, LPC.

Nina has been with MPC since the start of the company and we are so grateful for her and all that she does.

Nina graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education from Western Michigan University – majoring in history and minoring in psychology. Nina then received her Master of Arts degree in Counseling and has been trained in experiential education along with issues relating to mental health and children. Prior to joining the Michigan Psychological Care team, Nina spent one year with Child and Family Services and 22 years as a school counselor. Nina enjoys working as a counselor and finds helping people understand themselves and make positive changes in their lives to be extremely rewarding. When Nina is not in the office, you can find her working in the yard, ballroom dancing, visiting with her family – especially her granddaughter, Janie – and spending time at the cottage in the summertime.

12/16/2025

Tip Tuesday today is a fun one!

Today is national ugly sweater day! Go ahead and put on the ugliest sweater you can find and rock it!

12/15/2025

💚 Mental Health Monday: Your Mid-Day Check-In
Happy Monday! Let's pause and check in with the most important person in your life: you.

Remember that mental health isn't just about managing crises; it's about building small, healthy habits every day.

Three Quick Tips for a Better Week:
Hydrate & Move: Step away from your desk. Grab some water and take a quick 5-minute stretch or walk. Simple movement can dramatically shift your mood.

Define Your 3: Identify the three most important tasks for your day. Focusing on a few priorities reduces overwhelm and boosts feelings of accomplishment.

End Your Day: When your workday ends, set a clear boundary. Close the laptop, put the phone down, and transition fully into your personal time.

Prioritizing your well-being isn't selfish—it's essential for sustained success.

What's one thing you are doing today to protect your energy?

12/14/2025

🕎 Happy Hanukkah! The Festival of Lights Begins
As the sun sets tonight, the Jewish community around the world begins the eight-day celebration of Hanukkah, also known as the Festival of Lights.

This holiday is a time for recognizing the themes of dedication, resilience, and the triumph of light over darkness.

✨ What is Hanukkah?
Hanukkah commemorates a historical event: the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, following a victory over those who sought to suppress religious freedom. The most enduring symbol of the holiday comes from the story of the Temple's menorah (candelabra).

The oil found was only enough to burn for one day, but miraculously, it lasted for eight days, allowing new, ritually pure oil to be prepared.

🕯️ How is it Celebrated?
Lighting the Menorah: Each night, an additional candle is lit on the Hanukkiah (a nine-branched menorah). The ninth candle, called the shamash (attendant), is used to light the others.

Foods: Celebratory meals often include foods fried in oil to remember the miracle of the oil, such as latkes (potato pancakes) and sufganiyot (jelly donuts).

Games: It's traditional to play the dreidel (a four-sided spinning top).

We wish all those celebrating a joyful holiday filled with light, warmth, and hope.

Chag Urim Sameach (Happy Festival of Lights)!

12/11/2025

12/09/2025

💡 Tip Tuesday: Embrace the Two-Minute Rule
If a new task takes less than two minutes to complete (like responding to a quick email or putting away a dish), do it immediately rather than writing it down. This simple practice prevents minor tasks from piling up and frees up your mental energy consumed by decision fatigue. By acting immediately, you create momentum and clear your headspace for bigger projects. Small, immediate actions are the secret to maintaining a consistently tidy life and workflow.