Category: Psychotherapy

Unplugging Helps Me Refocus

In Finding Community, Resilience, Self Care, Support Groups, This is Life, Uncategorized

Back from a very long road trip (just about 5,000 miles), I returned feeling refreshed. The drive itself was eventful — my first experience in a major dust storm (me & hundreds of others hunkered down on a major highway for 4 hours), plus a day’s driving carefully through mountainous terrain surrounded by thick smoke from wildfires. My dog (who is a champion traveler!) and I were thrilled to see family after 8 months of quarantining, tested out many a motel bed, and enjoyed chatting with strangers all along the route in rest stops and convenience stores. Masked all the way.

The weeks away from my home/office brought into sharper focus one of my deepest values: time.

It helps that I am a person who enjoys my own company and that I have a faithful canine companion who offers affection and fun. Also, working remotely has given me and many others the ability to continue offering therapy services while looking out of different windows at varied landscapes. I know that I am lucky, and my gratitude is huge.

I like to bring lessons from my time-off back to “regular” life. This go’round, the lesson is about Time itself. So, I’m adjusting my hours of availability to reflect the positive impact of having more open time in my life. Starting in October, I will be offering hours as late as 6:30pm only on Mondays and Wednesdays. If you find scheduling a session challenging, just get in touch with me or my assistant Darbi, and we’ll work together to figure it out.

I encourage you to continually explore what it is you value most in living, and then take steps to bring those values to life with your choices.

On a slightly related note: I want to let everyone know about a new community support group that is forming. It’s for anyone who experiences Dissociative moments and would like to feel free to speak openly with others who “get it.” The group — which is virtual — will be peer-led by a dear colleague, Karrie Hardin, MT-BC, NMT, who is both a mental health professional and a person who experiences dissociation. If you would like to find out more, please see this flyer with contact info and other details. The Dissociation Association – flyer

My, How Quickly Things Change. Again.

In Finding Community, Madness, Psychotherapy, Resilience, Self Care, This is Life

Because I am moving to another state, I am unable to take new clients until July 2021. After the move, I will still be licensed in the state of Texas and, therefore, able to continue to seeing any clients who understand and agree to see me by video or phone only.

For the time being, I will only be seeing clients remotely — that is, by video or phone (your choice). My hours remain the same, and you can still schedule our conversations in the usual ways: by texting/emailing/calling me or my assistant, Darbi, or through the online scheduling calendar.

During our sessions, this is where I’ll usually be:

Of special interest to some of you: My colleagues at Affordable Counseling Collaborative Associates are also available for your lower-cost counseling needs. You’ll find them through the link to their site.

Stay safe and healthy, and flex your emotional management muscles!

New Windows to Gaze Through

In Finding Community, Psychotherapy, This is Life, Uncategorized

Have you noticed that I get bored easily? That’s not really accurate — truth is, I want to experience more than I think any one place can offer. But it sure might seem like I “just can’t stay put”! I hope you’ll reap the benefits of my ongoing search for experiences.

New Houston Office

Some of my Houston clients have had the opportunity to visit in more than one of my office rooms at The Spectrum. Now, as of February, I’ll be in the same room each day — but at a different address: My new Houston office will be located at 3707 Graustark #4, Houston, 77006. We’ll be able to take advantage of the sunlight streaming through century-old windows in this original 4-plex in Montrose, just across Alabama Street from the University of St Thomas and down the way from the Menil Museum. (This office location might make for ideal pre- or post-session date-nights or self-soothing excursions!)

I’ll be sharing #4 with dear colleagues, Sarah & Skeetz, and I’ll be re-adding Tuesdays to my availability. Starting on February 2, you can schedule with me in Houston on Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays.

Affordable Counseling

You may already be acquainted with this project of mine and with my February move, Houston clients will be seen in the new main office of Affordable Counseling Collaborative Associates. In fact, Skeetz Edinger is one ACCA’s counselors, also seeing clients in The Woodlands plus on Graustark Street. Our other therapists are located around Houston and in south Harris and Galveston Counties. If you know people who would like to talk with a counselor but are unable to afford it, please give them ACCA’s phone number (601) 533-8255 where our Administrative Assistant will answer their questions and help them find affordable counseling.

Meet Darbi Lockridge

Speaking of ACCA’s Admin Assistant — you may have already met her when trying to schedule a session with me. Darbi Lockridge assists me in responding to calls, emails, and texts, so I can be sure that everyone who tries to contact me can hear back from someone as soon as possible. Darbi has many years experience working with people from all walks and circumstances, and her natural compassion shines through all of her busy life’s activities. I hope you’ll feel perfectly comfortable interacting with Darbi for your scheduling needs, and she knows when any situation requires contacting me directly.

Now, let’s get this Decade started!

Looking for Signs of Growth

In Finding Community, Meditation, Psychotherapy, Self Care

Have you ever heard me remark about “bringing hindsight forward”? I know it’s not quite Spring yet, but I’m already taking time to reflect on future growth. How might any of these happenings interact with your world?

Another Day, Another Office

As promised, I’m now in the Houston office 3 days each week — Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays. If you have a chance to come on different days, you’ll have the added benefit of new scenery each time! I’m in a different room in the Spectrum Center every day of the week, and each one has a unique feel — here’s a shot of my brand new Tuesday room.

Meditation In The Woodlands

We’re just a few weeks away from the start of Meditation for Regular People in The Woodlands. If you’ve let me know you’re interested, or if you’re just now thinking about it, please feel free to join us on Wednesday mornings — starting on February 27 — at 9:20am. For more information on this class, see this previous blogpost. I’ll send you a list of all the scheduled dates when you RSVP.

Each 30-minute class is only $10, and there will be as much ‘learning about’ meditation as actual practice. I promise you will not be required to sit silently, eyes closed, legs crossed on the floor, for half an hour!

AIDS Walk

Some of you know that I used to be a social worker and spent several years as a family case manager for AIDS Foundation Houston. It was a hugely meaningful time of my life that I continue to draw upon for inspiration. This coming March 3, my colleagues from Affordable Counseling Collaborative Associates are joining together as a walk-team to continue the efforts at supporting AIDS-related organizations. HIV and AIDS are still with us, and are preventable and treatable. If you want to learn more about one of the largest fundraising walks in the country, visit http://aidswalkhouston.org.

Spirituality, Madness, Children, and Resilience

In Children, Madness, Resilience, Spirituality, This is Life

The title of this blogpost came to me in a flash. Did those 4 separate words bring you here, too, out of curiosity?

No plans for a high-level, complicated essay on the concepts — spirituality, madness, children, resilience. Just a quick list of the books currently on my reading shelf, all of which I’ve recommended to clients in recent weeks. Some were recommended to me by clients. Some I’ve read in the past, some I’m reading in the present.

The Spiritual Gift of Madness: The failure of psychiatry and the rise of the Mad Pride Movement, by Seth Farber, Ph.D.

10 Principles for Spiritual Parenting: Nurturing your child’s soul, by Mimi Doe with Marsha Walch, Ph.D.

Resilient: How to grow an unshakable core of calm, strength, and happiness, by Rick Hanson, Ph.D. with Forrest Hanson

I’ve wanted to write a brief post on books I read, without actually reviewing them, for long time. And as I looked at my current pile and wondered how they fit together, if at all, the title came to me — and I was intrigued.

Aren’t words fascinating?

Are these words —

Spirituality

Madness

Children

Resilience

— connected or disconnected, to you?

New Group Forming: For Parents After Infertility

In Support Groups, Uncategorized

I’m excited to announce that a new therapy group is slated to start in January 2018:

Finally, A Baby – Now What?

If you’re thinking that this will be about babycare for new parents, think again.

This group will provide a very special, safe space for people who struggled through infertility before finally having a baby, and who now may feel… different… from most of the other parents in their world.

There’s a particular type of anxiety that is unique to parents who went through infertility, whether they ended up using fertility treatment or not. And the complexity and confusion of their feelings are compounded by the responses they may get from people around them — friends, co-workers, even loved ones who might have cheered them on during their infertility journey, but who are now perplexed about why the new parents aren’t feeling constantly blessed.

This weekly group — Finally, A Baby – Now What? — is designed to provide both emotional support and practical therapeutic work to assist participants toward a place of calm confidence. The ultimate goal is to transform inner struggles and enhance relationships so that parenting is indeed the journey they dreamed about for so long.

The group — which is for women and men, whether individually or as couples — will be held at The Center for Postpartum Family Health’s group room in Houston, Texas on Tuesday evenings starting in January 2018.

Please help me reach out to those in need of this special kind of support. Let them know about the group, and please direct them to me or this informative flyer with any questions they may have.

Registration for the January group is open now —

Hello world!

In Psychotherapy, Self Help

This is just one of several websites about my psychotherapy services. I’ll be adding blog posts to this one in the future.

Have you seen my other websites yet? You can find out more about me, the services I provide, and my thoughts about different topics by visiting TracyMorris.com

Thanks for visiting!