
When Emotions Run High While Parenting Teens: Communicating Through the Storm
By Megan Bayles Bartley, LMFT We've all been there—standing in the kitchen, completely blindsided by our teenager's emotional response to what seemed like a simple question. "How was your day?" somehow escalated into slammed doors and tears, leaving you wondering, "What just happened?" Parents often come to me feeling like ...

Parenting Adolescents: Understanding Your Teen’s Changing Brain
By Megan Bayles Bartley, LMFT Parenting adolescents is like navigating uncharted waters in a boat that keeps changing shape. Just when you think you've found your balance, everything shifts again. Not too dissimilar to the toddler years. I see it daily in my therapy practice at The Mindfulness Center—parents who ...

How Negative Capability can make us Better Humans
by Ashley Vaden, LMFT It was one of those Sundays when the weight of an endless to-do list—each task not insurmountable in itself—still managed to overwhelm me. Rather than spiral into endless doom scrolling, I reached for “The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can’t Stand Positive Thinking” by Oliver Burkeman, ...

3 Less Obvious Reasons to Start Therapy
by Ashley Vaden, LMFT Therapy sharpens your critical thinking. Many people assume therapy is just about processing emotions or revisiting the past, but it’s actually a tool for refining how you think. A therapist acts as an objective thought partner, helping you challenge assumptions, recognize blind spots, and weigh pros ...

The Gifts of Depression
by Ashley Vaden, LMFT “You desire to know the art of living, my friend? It is contained in one phrase: make use of suffering.” These words, attributed to Henri-Frederic Amiel, hold a quiet truth that many of us resist. Depression, in all its weight and misery, feels like the enemy—something ...

The Gift of Nothing
One of the ways I practice self-care is regular float therapy appointments—90 minutes effortlessly floating in a dark and silent tank filled with 1000+ pounds of Epsom salt—it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but I come away from my floats with relaxed muscles and a quieted mind. Before my most ...

Hypnosis for Anxiety
Hypnosis for Anxiety A Group Class for PTSD, Panic Attacks, Anxiety, Phobias, Pain, & All Around Deep Relaxation! Are you ready to move beyond the limiting experiences of PTSD, panic attacks, anxiety, phobias, or pain? If you answered an enthusiastic "HECK YES!" then this could be a wonderful healing opportunity ...

Care for the Caregivers
Care for the Caregivers by Britt Riddle If you’re part of the Sandwich Generation, you’re probably all too familiar with the balancing act—you’re “sandwiched” between trying to raise and support your kids (maybe adult ones) while also caring for aging parents, managing a career and family responsibilities, and keeping your ...

So, what is professional burnout?
So, what is professional burnout? by Britt Riddle I remember the moment I received a letter from my retirement benefits company that forecasted the year of my anticipated retirement. In what seemed like slow motion, I put the letter on the table next to where I was standing and said ...