Mountain West Behavioral Health

04/10/2026

When life feels chaotic, your nervous system can start living in survival mode. That can look like anxiety, irritability, shutdown, trouble focusing, or feeling like everything is just a little too much.

These tools are simple on purpose. They are not about doing them perfectly. They are about giving your body small, steady signals of safety.

Whether you’re in therapy, waiting for therapy, or just doing your best to get through a hard season, regulation is something you can practice a little at a time.

Save this for the days you need a reset.

04/08/2026

Our Shoshone Street location parking lot is going through a major transformation right now.😅
But inside these walls things are still calm and ready for you. A little parking lot construction won’t stop the work that matters most!
While telehealth has been the choice for some, if you’re coming to our office between now and April 18, we encourage you to park in one of the free parking lots down the street.
As always, if you have questions, please call our office at 208-370-8288.
🚧💛

04/06/2026

04/03/2026

Occasional anxiety is an expected part of life, but anxiety disorders—like Social Anxiety Disorder (Social Phobia)—involve more than temporary worry or fear. Learn about the signs & symptoms of social phobia & find help for yourself or loved ones: http://samhsa.gov/mental-health/anxiety-disorders

04/01/2026

03/31/2026

Yes, the sun is out… and yes, we’re going to enjoy it ☀️

And—we’re still keeping our therapy appointments.
We’re still taking our meds.
We’re still doing the things that support us on the cloudy days, too.

Feeling better doesn’t mean we stop what’s helping us feel better.

So go soak up the sunshine.
Drink a little more water.
Text a friend and take a walk.
Let it be a boost—not a replacement—for your routine.

Consistency is what carries you through every season 🤍

03/30/2026

Meet Melissa Larsen, LCSW.

A trauma-informed counselor trained in EMDR and IFS, Melissa works with adults and adolescents navigating complex trauma, substance use, grief, eating disorders, and high-stress roles like first responders and veterans.

One of the most common questions she gets about EMDR:
“Isn’t that basically hypnosis?”

Not quite.

EMDR is a collaborative process where you stay fully aware and in control. It helps your brain process experiences that may feel “stuck,” so they no longer carry the same weight.

Therapy with Melissa is whole-person, collaborative, and grounded—with just enough humor to make room for your real, authentic self.

Curiosity is always welcome here.

Save this for later if you’ve been wondering what EMDR is really like.

03/27/2026

“Doing well” isn’t the same for everyone nor does it always look the way people expect it to.
Sometimes it’s taking your meds. Sometimes it’s showing up to therapy. Other times it’s choosing rest instead of pushing through. It can be quiet and it also can include hard days.
Progress isn’t about feeling good all the time, it’s about continuing to care for yourself through the good and the hard. And that counts more than you think! ❤️

03/27/2026

When we experience trauma, our nervous system is shocked and overwhelmed. Whether it’s a single traumatic event like a car crash or repeated events such as prolonged childhood abuse, we often feel helpless. The trauma happens too much, too soon, and too fast, preventing us from integrating and processing these memories. This leads to changes in our worldview, making us feel like the world is dangerous and we are unsafe, causing us to live in perpetual fear.
Trauma causes our brain to get stuck in danger mode, leading to significant changes in brain structures:
🧠 Amygdala: The fear center misfires constantly, blasting our body with stress hormones that harm us. This can alter the size and function of the amygdala and hippocampus.
🧠Hippocampus: Normally responsible for storing memories, the hippocampus struggles under trauma, leaving the memory “live” in our brain as if it’s still happening. It goes offline, unable to tell if we are safe or in danger, which keeps the fear alarm active.
🧠 Prefrontal Cortex: In charge of rational thinking and decision-making, the amygdala overrides the Prefrontal Cortex during trauma. When it’s offline, we struggle to manage emotions and think clearly.
🧠 The Vagus nerve, which plays a crucial role in regulating our parasympathetic nervous system, is the part of the nervous system that helps us calm down after stress. When trauma occurs, the vagus nerve can become dysregulated, making it difficult for our body to return to a state of calm, leaving us in a constant state of hypervigilance and anxiety.

ART can help calm the overactive amygdala, soothing the fear response through bilateral eye movements and vagal nerve stimulation. The goal of this process is to change how traumatic memories are experienced, which can be associated with improved engagement of brain areas involved in regulation and perspective-taking. Through this process, ART helps reframe perceptions and “positize” experiences, supporting a greater sense of safety and healing.

Find an ART-trained therapist near you. Visit www.AcceleratedResolutionTherapy.com

03/27/2026

07/07/2023