Audra Owens Therapy Corner

11/07/2024

New practice and new page! Please follow me on over:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61564501012255&mibextid=ZbWKwL

08/25/2024

https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2024/08/24/nx-s1-5028551/insurance-therapy-therapist-mental-health-coverage

Getting mental health care covered by insurance can be really tough. Reporters spoke to hundreds of therapists who left their insurance networks to find out why.

08/23/2024

Never underestimate the healing power of emotional and physical connection

08/14/2024

08/10/2024

As a 4th generation Arizona desert rat spending some time on the southeast coast of Georgia, I don't know if I will ever not appreciate the gorgeous green views of the Marshes of Glynn County. Im looking forward to spending even more time outdoors as the weather cools down. Nature is a natural reducer of the stress hormone Cortisol, and triggers the release of feel good chemicals such as Seratonin, Oxytocin and Endorphins. If you are feeling the blues, get outside!

07/22/2024

07/11/2024

Louder!!! It takes practice but we can learn to avoid this. When our spouse brings something to us, we want to train our brain to look for ways to validate what they are bringing to us. Great phrases are:
"I can see how you got there"
"It makes sense that bothered you"
"When I try to put myself in your shoes I can understand why that hurt"
"I bet that stung"
"I wish I could have been there for you in that moment so you wouldn't be alone"
"I can tell this really hurt/bothers you"

Validate sufficiently to help your partner (or child, or friend!) to help them feel heard and understood. It doesn't matter if we meant to make them feel a certain way or not. Their truth is that they felt it. At that point after feeling validated, they will be much more willing to hear your angle or your experience/explanation.

We have to get away from needing to decide who is right or wrong, and get used to experiencing together and validating each other to get to a point of "wow that was hard for both of us."

05/12/2024

I am so grateful to be a mother. My kids are a crowning blessing in my life.

Happy Mother's Day

05/11/2024

11 years ago I left the most amazing job to stay home with my growing family. I had spent a total of 5 years working in adoption, specializing in supporting birthmothers. I cherish the friendships formed with those amazing women. Being with them in their pain felt like a sacred experience. I will forever hold these brave women in high regard. They are so often misunderstood and judged for their decisions, but I never saw anything but love and concern for the baby they were bringing into the world, even if it meant breaking their own heart to ensure what they believed would be a better life for their child.

Happy Birth Mother's Day

04/19/2024

So much truth here

03/22/2024

Men please listen. You don't need to carry it alone. Prioritize friendship and vulnerability with other men. You've been told for too long that you can't cry, that asking for help is weakness. It's time to change that narrative. Men are 50% of the population and 80% of the suicides. Another version of this song with Darius Rucker is also beautiful, check it out too!

Like, Comment, Share, and let's make an IMPACT with music made FOR THE PEOPLE, spread BY THE PEOPLE...can't wait to read what you all think about this ensemb...

03/13/2024

Love Sense, by Dr. Sue Johnson, is such a fantastic book for couples. I highly recommend!

01/22/2024

As a parent it is so hard not to internalize the actions of our children. This is an important perspective shared here by Dr. Barkley, because our parental guilt doesn't help our children or us! Just "shepherd" and love those kids, at all stages of their lives.

Russell Barkley

01/18/2024

Do you know that hypervigilence (think always scanning for danger everywhere you go) resulting from trauma is often mis-identified as attention disorders in children?
"Ritalin does not treat s*xual assault"
"The inability to focus can be caused by too many stress hormones"
"Children who had experienced four or more types of trauma, were 32.6 times more likely to have been diagnosed with attention or behavior problems than children who had not experienced any trauma"
"Childhood trauma tripled the development of ADHD symptoms"
"If there is a financial crisis in the family, a child's chance of being diagnosed with attention problems go up 50%"
"A serious illness in the family it goes up to75%"
"If a parent has to make a court appearance, it goes up nearly 200%"
"If a child is having horrific behavior, most of the time it is the child's really great way of alerting the system that something is not right...when children can't pay attention, that's often a signal that they are under terrible distress...If you medicate a child in that situation, you are colluding with them remaining in a violent or unacceptable situation"

This information is not new in the world of study around trauma and the influence on children's attention. This is backed up by just about every other trauma based literature I have read. It's a safer move to intervene with love, encouragement, and curiosity when you think you may be working with a child in a state of hypervigilence.

01/08/2024

Yes! The damaging effects of p**n usage are not just "because of shame based religious beliefs" like proponents would claim.

"There are compelling reasons to shut down the computer, turn back to your partner, and invest or reinvest in real eroticism – with your partner! P**nHub is not harmless entertainment; it is addictive and poisonous. This assertion is supported by research, brilliant authors such as Gail Dines, the recent empirical review of research by Rothman, and my clinical work with thousands of couples over the last 30 years, along with the wisdom of attachment science – the new science of love and bonding.

To state a few reasons to shut down p**n: it is linked to increases in depression and anxiety, destroys intimate relationships, and offers a deliberately mesmerizing lesson in how NOT to have a healthy s*xual relationship with someone you want to be in a relationship with. Moreover, it distorts one’s self-perception as a healthy s*xual being. Much of p**n is violent and abusive, linking s*x to domination and the misuse of power. The detrimental effects could go on. Habitual p**n consumption often leads young men to share with therapists that they struggle to achieve an er****on with their girlfriend. This outcome is unsurprising, given that their brains have been conditioned to respond to the distorted s*xual cues offered by platforms like P**nHub.

Young women, influenced by the techniques portrayed in p**n, may agree to acts that frighten and disturb them because they and their partners have seen these moves on screen repeatedly, assuming they are “supposed to like it” – mimicking the behavior of p**n performers. A recent interview with singer Billie Eilish by Howard Stern delves into this issue, revealing her struggle to assert boundaries in s*xual encounters, leading to nightmares about s*xuality. Furthermore, an increasing number of young university students report to health practitioners that practices like choking have become the new “normal” in the dating scene. These alarming trends highlight the need for awareness and dialogue surrounding the impact of p**n on s*xual norms and well-being."

https://drsuejohnson.com/unwrapping-the-real-gift-moving-beyond-the-empty-box-of-p**n-to-discover-synchrony-s*x/?utm_source=social+media&utm_medium=blog+post&utm_campaign=Discover+Synchrony+Sex&fbclid=IwAR3LlE1fpxIL1RRGIhC00xcUxQ1XYmmfxbPpsWT8d_ayUI4xyujwnpkd3JU

As the festive season approaches, consider giving yourself a unique Christmas present – the gift of letting go of p**n and rediscovering true intimacy with your partner. In a world where online adult content is easily accessible, it's crucial to recognize its addictive and harmful nature. Discover...

01/06/2024

"Love is a constant process of tuning in, connecting, missing and misreading cues, disconnecting, repairing, and finding deeper connection. It is a dance of meeting and parting and finding each other again." - Sue Johnson

12/08/2023

Midweek reminder to be kind to yourself 🌸



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