Today I talked about ways to pick a therapist. I speak a bit about my own experiences picking therapists and how I went about it, ranging from "go to therapy because someone said so" to "I'm ready to change some things in my life". Picking a therapist is hard, and you are not stuck to the first person you choose. Therapists understand that the relationship is crucial and they may not be the right fit for you.  *Looking for therapists* www.psychologytoday.com www.goodtherapy.com Like/Subscribe/Follow <3  https://www.facebook.com/kimberly.azevedo.5245 Instagram: Opening_dialogue https://azevedofamilypsychology.com/ https://www.alignable.com/cary-nc/azevedo-family-psychology https://www.linkedin.com/in/kymazevedo/ Relationship Road Trip Podcast https://www.relationshiproadtrip.com/  (A podcast by Dr. Azevedo, Ben Azevedo, and myself).

Today I talked about ways to pick a therapist. I speak a bit about my own experiences picking therapists and how I went about it, ranging from "go to therapy because someone said so" to "I'm ready to change some things in my life". Picking a therapist is hard, and you are not stuck to the first person you choose. Therapists understand that the relationship is crucial and they may not be the right fit for you.  *Looking for therapists* www.psychologytoday.com www.goodtherapy.com Like/Subscribe/Follow 

Coffee with Kym

Who Do I Talk To?

A brief chat about how we show our love and compassion to others in our lives- specifically friendships.  https://www.facebook.com/kimberly.azevedo.5245 Instagram: Opening_dialogue https://azevedofamilypsychology.com/ https://www.alignable.com/cary-nc/azevedo-family-psychology https://www.linkedin.com/in/kymazevedo/ Relationship Road Trip Podcast https://www.relationshiproadtrip.com/  (A podcast by Dr. Azevedo, Ben Azevedo, and myself).

How do I love you?

Learning to communicate with your romantic partner is hard work. Constructive I statements (set up as I feel __ about __. I need __.) can help you speak gently to someone about things that you need changed. https://www.facebook.com/kimberly.azevedo.5245 Instagram: Opening_dialogue https://azevedofamilypsychology.com/ https://www.alignable.com/cary-nc/azevedo-family-psychology https://www.linkedin.com/in/kymazevedo/ Relationship Road Trip Podcast https://www.relationshiproadtrip.com/  (A podcast by Dr. Azevedo, Ben Azevedo, and myself).

Constructive I Statements

You are doing what you can in this very moment. Keep doing your best and offering yourself the grace you offer others even when you think you don't deserve it. https://www.facebook.com/kimberly.azevedo.5245 Instagram: Opening_dialogue https://azevedofamilypsychology.com/ https://www.alignable.com/cary-nc/azevedo-family-psychology https://www.linkedin.com/in/kymazevedo/ Relationship Road Trip Podcast https://www.relationshiproadtrip.com/  (A podcast by Dr. Azevedo, Ben Azevedo, and myself).

Always at Your Best

Learning to love yourself is hard, but I believe in you! Developing a sense of self and an identity all starts with finding the language to describe you. https://www.facebook.com/kimberly.azevedo.5245 Instagram: Opening_dialogue https://azevedofamilypsychology.com/ https://www.alignable.com/cary-nc/azevedo-family-psychology https://www.linkedin.com/in/kymazevedo/ Relationship Road Trip Podcast https://www.relationshiproadtrip.com/  (A podcast by Dr. Azevedo, Ben Azevedo, and myself).

A Little Love for Me

Today we are talking about a very basic scribble art activity. This is designed to be approachable by all individuals and very simplistic in nature. You'll take 30 seconds to draw, eyes closed, a bunch of scribbles on your paper. After you open your eyes, look and see what comes to mind. This is designed to be something enjoyable, not something that requires high skills. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out! :)  https://www.facebook.com/kimberly.azevedo.5245 Instagram: Opening_dialogue https://azevedofamilypsychology.com/ https://www.alignable.com/cary-nc/azevedo-family-psychology https://www.linkedin.com/in/kymazevedo/ Relationship Road Trip Podcast https://www.relationshiproadtrip.com/  (A podcast by Dr. Azevedo, Ben Azevedo, and myself). 

A Simple Scribble

This highlights a simple mindfulness exercise that you can do anywhere at any time. It is an activity of connection and creativity to strengthen your ability to imagine and connect with that creative child within you.  https://www.facebook.com/kimberly.azevedo.5245 Instagram: Opening_dialogue https://azevedofamilypsychology.com/ https://www.alignable.com/cary-nc/azevedo-family-psychology https://www.linkedin.com/in/kymazevedo/ Relationship Road Trip Podcast https://www.relationshiproadtrip.com/

In Time and Space

Today we talk about your history with art. What does it meant to you. The primary questions I ask are: -What was the role of art in your life as a child? -What beliefs did your family have about art? -When you were a child what type of art did you do? -What were any negative experiences you had with art as a child? Learn more about me and my practice (Azevedo Family Psychology): https://www.facebook.com/kimberly.azevedo.5245 Instagram: Opening_dialogue https://azevedofamilypsychology.com/ https://www.alignable.com/cary-nc/azevedo-family-psychology https://www.linkedin.com/in/kymazevedo/ Relationship Road Trip Podcast https://www.relationshiproadtrip.com/

Your Art

Today I encourage you to just TRY an art exercise. Super simple drawing lines on paper with various pens/markers/pencils. This is a very low risk activity in just getting used to different art materials. I encourage you to give it a few minutes of your time, maybe listen to a good song and just give it a run.  https://www.facebook.com/kimberly.azevedo.5245 Instagram: Opening_dialogue https://azevedofamilypsychology.com/ https://www.alignable.com/cary-nc/azevedo-family-psychology https://www.linkedin.com/in/kymazevedo/ NEW*** Relationship Road Trip Podcast https://www.relationshiproadtrip.com/

Humor Me, Please?

Today we're talking about all the different art-making *stuff*. I talk about the different tools of art ranging from the structured/rigid pen and pencil world all the up to the cool world of alcohol inks (my favorite). I encourage you to wander into an art store some day and just pick out one thing that looks interesting and play with it! (Or go outside and find cool things in nature to make into cool things that look neat. https://www.facebook.com/kimberly.azevedo.5245 Instagram: Opening_dialogue https://azevedofamilypsychology.com/ https://www.alignable.com/cary-nc/azevedo-family-psychology https://www.linkedin.com/in/kymazevedo/ Relationship Road Trip Podcast https://www.relationshiproadtrip.com/

Pen, Pencils, Paints- Oh My!

Today we delve in to the broad topic of Expressive Arts Therapy. I'm a certified expressive arts therapist (cheers App state for offering such an awesome certificate program). In this episode I talk about what it means to bring art into the office and express your inner world beyond words. It's a pretty cool process!  https://www.facebook.com/kimberly.azevedo.5245 Instagram: Opening_dialogue https://azevedofamilypsychology.com/ https://www.alignable.com/cary-nc/azevedo-family-psychology https://www.linkedin.com/in/kymazevedo/ Relationship Road Trip Podcast *publish pending* https://www.relationshiproadtrip.com/

But I'm not an Artist!

Today's episode is about the other side of the coin from negative feedback loops. Positive feedback loops (started by a catalyst of some form) elicit change and a push to a new negative feedback loop to a new homeostasis. A positive feedback loop simply means you are moving through the process of change! So, it may be uncomfortable, but know - you are making changes in your life and that is awesome!  https://www.facebook.com/kimberly.azevedo.5245 Instagram: Opening_dialogue https://azevedofamilypsychology.com/ https://www.alignable.com/cary-nc/azevedo-family-psychology https://www.linkedin.com/in/kymazevedo/ Relationship Road Trip Podcast *publish pending* https://www.relationshiproadtrip.com/

A Catalyst for Change

*Bunchy - a term once used by one of my mom's preschool special ed students to refer to their pants being wrinkled and twisted about their legs. Today's episode is about starting a day feeling off and working on finding a way to bounce it back to a good day. I talk about grounding ideas and ways to return to homeostasis (your stable neutral). This (in marriage and family therapy world) is called a negative feedback loop. It is behaviors that return you back to that neutral. (It sounds bad, but it isn't I promise. If I could figure out how to link pictures on here I would - instead I will post one on my instagram for y'all to look at as how I visually represent negative feedback loops.  https://www.facebook.com/kimberly.azevedo.5245 Instagram: Opening_dialogue https://azevedofamilypsychology.com/ https://www.alignable.com/cary-nc/azevedo-family-psychology https://www.linkedin.com/in/kymazevedo/ Relationship Road Trip Podcast *publish pending* https://www.relationshiproadtrip.com/

Feeling Bunchy*?

Today I talk about my (second) favorite processing technique - train of thought writing. This is a pretty basic technique wherein you simply write out everything you're thinking. No filter, repetitive words are fine (and encouraged if that's what you're thinking). The beauty of externalizing your thoughts onto paper (or a word document) is that you can throw it away/delete it/burn it/what have you. The point is once it is out of your head and on a physical item you can manipulate it how you want. Edit your thoughts, throw them away, etc. I highly recommend you try this. It's pretty fun on less anxious days to let it all out and then throw it away or annotate your own thinking.  Follow me/like me on any of the following: https://www.facebook.com/kimberly.azevedo.5245 Instagram: Opening_dialogue https://azevedofamilypsychology.com/ https://www.alignable.com/cary-nc/azevedo-family-psychology https://www.linkedin.com/in/kymazevedo/ Relationship Road Trip Podcast *publish pending* https://www.relationshiproadtrip.com/

Thoughts are words in your head

I decided to share my anxiety with you all today. This goes into my thought processes around anxious thoughts and what I do when I'm going through them. It is the process of reminding myself that I'm only human (previous episode for more on that), and that pushing away things like my anxiety won't inherently solve them.  https://www.facebook.com/kimberly.azevedo.5245 Instagram: Opening_dialogue https://azevedofamilypsychology.com/ https://www.alignable.com/cary-nc/azevedo-family-psychology https://www.linkedin.com/in/kymazevedo/ Relationship Road Trip Podcast *publish pending* https://www.relationshiproadtrip.com/

Everything is a lot of things

Wandering the world of mental health in the 21st century.

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Coffee with Kym

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