http://elmwoodmentalhealth.com/

Elmwood Mental Health Partners, 3600 Nicholas Street Suite 200, Easton, PA (2025)

11/14/2025

Good evening - Welcome to our series of educational posts about mental health! Each Thursday you will find little tidbits of information about various mental health disorders and how therapy can help.

Tonight we will begin to discuss Trauma and Stressor Related disorders, starting with Post-traumatic Stress Disorder:

Often, many of us believe that PTSD is only developed by people who witness some type of violence, like veterans or police officers. This isn’t true - Anyone can develop PTSD after a particularly stressful experience, for example like getting into or even witnessing a car accident. Understanding this can help others find and seek treatment when necessary.

PTSD is developed after witnessing or experiencing a terrifying or life-threatening event. Symptoms include avoidance of reminders of the event, feelings of unreality, depression, feelings of panic and nightmares. Powerful and overwhelming emotions like regret and guilt are often associated with PTSD. The combination of avoidance, mood disturbances, intrusive thoughts/memories and dissociation can be disorienting and difficult to manage on our own.

Psychotherapy can help those with PTSD in a variety of ways. Through the use of EMDR, an individual can reprocess memories through eye movements in conjunction with therapy. CPT and TF-CBT can be useful in processing thoughts and emotions related to the memory of the event.

If you or a loved one are experiencing any of these symptoms, feel free to reach out to our group for support!

11/07/2025

Good evening - Welcome to our series of educational posts about mental health! Each Thursday you will find little tidbits of information about various mental health disorders and how therapy can help.

Tonight we continue our look at psychotic disorders by examining schizophreniform disorder:

Schizophreniform disorder is similar to schizophrenia, however the episode will last less than six months. Individuals with this condition will experience hallucinations, delusions, and disorganized speech or behavior, but may recover fully after the episode.

As with other conditions under this category, education, medication management, CBT and family therapy can help reduce or eliminate symptoms.

While some of these symptoms can be frightening or overwhelming, remember that recovery or maintenance of symptoms is always possible for you or a loved one. Help is always available nearby - there are many helpful mental health providers in the Lehigh Valley (and beyond) that are ready to support you, your family member, your friend, your colleague, your fellow worshiper, your bandmate, your running partner, and so on. Don't hesitate to reach out, even if it's just to ask questions.

10/31/2025

Meet Rachel Heckler, LPC! Rachel specializes in supporting teens, adults and couples by creating a non-judgmental and open environment for her clients to explore their goals within. She can help you navigate through a difficult season in life, seek accountability in your life or build new coping strategies. She will walk alongside you through every step of the therapeutic process.

She greatly enjoys supporting those affected by ADHD, trauma and couples needs. Her approach will meet you where you are and support you by truly listening to what you want out of your work with her.

10/30/2025

Good evening - Welcome to our series of educational posts about mental health! Each Thursday you will find little tidbits of information about various mental health disorders and how therapy can help.

Tonight we continue our look at psychotic disorders by examining delusional disorder:

Delusional Disorder is a condition in which a person believes thoughts, ideas that are clearly untrue, but otherwise is able to function in daily life. The delusions may focus on themes of being persecuted, thinking they have special powers or believing someone is in love with them.

Psychotherapy can help in this case by building trust, exploring the impact of these ideas, engaging in reality testing (looking for evidence for beliefs) and exploring these ideas from many different perspectives.

While some of these symptoms can be frightening or overwhelming, remember that recovery or maintenance of symptoms is always possible for you or a loved one. Help is always available nearby - there are many helpful mental health providers in the Lehigh Valley (and beyond) that are ready to support you, your family member, your friend, your colleague, your fellow worshiper, your bandmate, your running partner, and so on. Don't hesitate to reach out, even if it's just to ask questions.

10/23/2025

Good evening - Welcome to our series of educational posts about mental health! Each Thursday you will find little tidbits of information about various mental health disorders and how therapy can help.

Tonight we continue our look at psychotic disorders by examining brief psychotic disorder:

Brief psychotic disorder is a sudden, short-lived episode of psychosis that lasts less than one month. This is usually triggered by a stressful event. Symptoms can include confused thoughts, hallucinations and delusions. Individuals usually return to normal quickly once the episode passes.

Psychotherapy is useful here to help the individual process the stressful or traumatic event by helping them to learn how to deal with the effects of the event and plan for safety. Learning coping strategies and identifying the trigger event can help prevent future episodes.

While some of these symptoms can be frightening or overwhelming, remember that recovery or maintenance of symptoms is always possible for you or a loved one. Help is always available nearby - there are many helpful mental health providers in the Lehigh Valley (and beyond) that are ready to support you, your family member, your friend, your colleague, your fellow worshiper, your bandmate, your running partner, and so on. Don't hesitate to reach out, even if it's just to ask questions.

10/16/2025

Good evening - Welcome to our series of educational posts about mental health! Each Thursday you will find little tidbits of information about various mental health disorders and how therapy can help.

Tonight we continue our look at psychotic disorders by examining schizoaffective disorder:

Schizoaffective disorder is a combination of schizophrenia symptoms (like hallucinations and delusions, as discussed last week) as well as mood symptoms (like depression or mania, as discussed in previous section). An important difference between depression with psychosis (hallucinations, delusions, etc) and schizoaffective disorder is that psychotic symptoms must be present for at least two weeks without mood symptoms.

Psychotherapy can help individuals with this condition by addressing both the unusual thoughts and mood problems. As with schizophrenia, medication management, education and family involvement are often helpful here.

While some of these symptoms can be frightening or overwhelming, remember that recovery or maintenance of symptoms is always possible for you or a loved one. Help is always available nearby - there are many helpful mental health providers in the Lehigh Valley (and beyond) that are ready to support you, your family member, your friend, your colleague, your fellow worshiper, your bandmate, your running partner, and so on. Don't hesitate to reach out, even if it's just to ask questions.

10/10/2025

Today is world mental health day! World mental health day, which began in the 90's, is a day for education, advocacy and awareness. Each year a theme is chosen, and this year's theme is understanding how humanitarian emergencies affect our mental health. Natural disasters, conflicts, and public health emergencies cause emotional distress for 1 in 5 individuals that can cause long-term distress. Intervention for these individuals is important - but not just THAT they get help, but when and how.

Most evidence supports the idea that early intervention for traumatized individuals can help minimize symptom severity while preventing chronic conditions. Targeted interventions appear to be more consistently beneficial for those who are exposed to crises. These types of interventions include Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, Cognitive Processing Therapy and Narrative Therapy.

By working together, we can put forth a powerful effort to ensure that the most vulnerable of our population receive care in a timely manner, when they need it the most. We can do this by investing in evidence based practice and community focused interventions within these communities. We ask you to consider this idea as a lens to view your local and wider community through.

10/09/2025

Good evening - Welcome to our series of educational posts about mental health! Each Thursday you will find little tidbits of information about various mental health disorders and how therapy can help.

Tonight begins our first step into the world of psychotic disorders. We will start by looking at Schizophrenia:

Schizophrenia is a condition in which a person may hear, see or feel things that aren’t there and/or hold strong beliefs that are untrue. Sometimes they may experience disorganized speech or behavior. This can make functioning in daily life difficult. Lack of motivation and reduced emotional expression are also often present.

Psychotherapy can be helpful to manage symptoms, usually in conjunction with medication management. CBT is often applied to help recognize and challenge unusual or unhelpful thoughts and manage hallucinations. Reality testing is often employed to help make sense of the world. If possible, family involvement can help amplify the work done in therapy.

While some of these symptoms can be frightening or overwhelming, remember that recovery or maintenance of symptoms is always possible for you or a loved one. Help is always available nearby - there are many helpful mental health providers in the Lehigh Valley (and beyond) that are ready to support you, your family member, your friend, your colleague, your fellow worshiper, your bandmate, your running partner, and so on. Don't hesitate to reach out, even if it's just to ask questions.

10/02/2025

Good evening - Welcome to our series of educational posts about mental health! Each Thursday you will find little tidbits of information about various mental health disorders and how therapy can help.

Tonight we will be looking at Cyclothymic Disorder:

Cyclothymic disorder is a milder, chronic form of bipolar disorder. This condition includes frequent mood swings, varying between mild highs and mild lows without reaching the heights of mania or depths of depression.

Psychotherapy can be useful for those with this condition by helping them identify patterns within their mood, encourage daily routines to ground them, teach them coping skills to manage the milder ups and downs that they will experience over the course of their condition.

If you or a loved one are experiencing any of these symptoms, feel free to reach out to our group for support!

09/25/2025

Good evening - Welcome to our series of educational posts about mental health! Each Thursday you will find little tidbits of information about various mental health disorders and how therapy can help.

Tonight we will be looking at Bipolar II Disorder:

Bipolar I and II disorders are generally defined by mood swings and “episodes” that last longer than 4 days.

Bipolar II disorder is similar to Bipolar I, however the manic episodes (the “high episodes) are less extreme. These episodes include elevated, expansive or irritable mood. Generally, with a Bipolar 2 manic episode, an individual’s mania will not include hallucinations and delusions. This condition still involves a cycle of depression and elevated mood.

As with Bipolar I disorder, psychotherapy can be helpful here by assisting an individual with identifying these mood patterns, taking time to recognize their cycle and beginning to challenge negative thinking along with engaging in reality testing (help with understanding what is real vs not). Building a healthy, supportive relationship in therapy can help sustain an individual during difficult episodes. Medication management is also useful as directed by a doctor or psychiatrist.

If you or a loved one are experiencing any of these symptoms, feel free to reach out to our group for support!

09/18/2025

Good evening - Welcome to our series of educational posts about mental health! Each Thursday you will find little tidbits of information about various mental health disorders and how therapy can help.
Tonight we will be looking at Bipolar I Disorder:

Bipolar I and II disorders are generally defined by mood swings and “episodes” that last longer than 4 days.

Bipolar I disorder causes extreme mood swings, experienced as manic episodes and depressive episodes. A manic episode generally involves very high energy, goal-directed activity, risky behaviors (excessive spending, gambling, sexual activity), racing thoughts, irritability/anger, high rates of speech. Sometimes, when a manic episode is extreme, this disorder can be associated with delusions and hallucinations. A depressive episode is similar to major depression.

Psychotherapy can be helpful here by assisting an individual with identifying these mood patterns, taking time to recognize their cycle and beginning to challenge negative thinking along with engaging in reality testing (help with understanding what is real vs not). Building a healthy, supportive relationship in therapy can help sustain an individual during difficult episodes. Medication management is also useful as directed by a doctor or psychiatrist.

If you or a loved one are experiencing any of these symptoms, feel free to reach out to our group for support!

09/11/2025

Good evening - Welcome to our series of educational posts about mental health!
Each Thursday you will find little tidbits of information about various mental health disorders and how therapy can help.

We will continue with our focus to mood disorders, tonight looking at Persistent Depressive Disorder:

Persistent Depressive Disorder is a type of low-level depression that is long-lasting. This with this condition will feel “down” for most of the time during at least a two year time span. It leaves us with a drained feeling, cloudy thinking and can be difficult to feel hopeful.

Psychotherapy can help by challenging negative thinking patterns, building healthier habits, addressing relationship issues and generally allowing an individual to sit in a supportive environment with someone they trust.

If you or a loved one are experiencing any of these symptoms, feel free to reach out to our group for support!

Elmwood Mental Health Partners

11/14/2025

11/07/2025

10/31/2025

10/30/2025

10/23/2025

10/16/2025

10/10/2025

10/09/2025

10/02/2025

09/25/2025

09/18/2025

09/11/2025

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