Breakthrough Mental Health Services LLC

One year ago Breakthrough opened its doors, and it has been a much more successful year than I had dared hope. As I celebrate one year, my father in law is closing the doors to his small business after over 30 years. This beauty lived at his shop the entire time, and now Breakthrough is inheriting her! Fingers crossed that she has as long of a life at Breakthrough!

Breakthrough Tour!

If I gotta spend Saturday night playing catch up, this is not a bad place to do it.

I used to be rigidly opposed to change. Stubbornly, I hung on to hairdos, fashion, music, and friends. Sometimes longer than I should have. Luckily, with age has come flexibility. I have learned to be proactive in controlling what I can control, and not dwell on that which I can not. I guess after facilitating 1000’s of cognitive behavioral sessions, my brain has finally soaked up some of the information that I share with others. With that being said, change is coming ...to Breakthrough Mental Health Services LLC. Tianna Niesen has accepted a position as a therapist at a local agency in the community. They will be lucky to have her and she will benefit from being surrounded by the expertise of so many others working in the mental health field. As for me, I will carry on doing what I love so much. Sitting in my crazy blue chair in my office and having the honor to become a small part of others’ healing. Breakthrough has quickly become such an important part of my life that I actually can’t imagine being anywhere else or doing anything else. And when it comes to a career, who can ask for more than that? Follow Breakthrough’s FB page to keep up with changes happening and to follow my new blog, Closer To Fine. Also, keep an eye out for updates to the website at www.breakthroughmentalhealthservices.com. Wishing you health and hope, Megan

I'm learning more and more about the pros and cons of video sessions every day! FIrst the pros: 1) Most of you seem more relaxed and open in your natural environments. 2)I get a visual of what I have been hearing about! I have seen some fabulous teenagers' bedrooms over the last few days. Now the cons: 1) There have been a few of you whose wifi just doesn't cut it. Long pauses and freezing up makes for a pretty frustrating session. 2) It is really difficult to get family members to give you the privacy needed to have a session! I don't have a perfect solution to this, but I am going to add some evening appointment to my scheduling availability over the coming weeks. Existing clients, log in to the portal to see new available hours.

Effective tomorrow, both Tianna Niesen and Megan York will offer Telehealth sessions for all existing clients. For now, Tianna will continue to offer sessions in the office as well. Megan will only be doing Telehealth sessions outside of emergency situations where an exception may be made. If you are a new client seeking services, I encourage you to ask yourself if this is a now or later problem. If it is not an immediate problem, I recommend waiting to start when we can meet in person. If, on the other hand, it is a "now" problem and a problem that is appropriate for Telehealth- we are open to accepting new clients.

Update: Just completed my first Telehealth session and am relieved and surprised at how smoothly it went. At Breakthrough we use a HIPAA secure telehealth system through Simple Practice. If you are an existing client and wish to use Telehealth for your upcoming appointment, let me know.

A friend posted this and when I read it I Immediately felt anxiety leave my body that I didn’t even know I was holding. It was a good reminder. Pay attention to how you talk to yourself. Focus on your self-care. These are things we can control during scary times.

This is the time of the year when many of us wish we could curl up in a ball and wake up around April. Vitamin D is needed for the production of brain chemicals such as dopamine and norepinephrine and acetylcholine. Unfortunately, life keeps happening and most of us don't get to check out for the season. However, there are proactive ways to keep our brains producing the feel good chemicals while we wait for warm weather. This is not new information, but a good reminder of what works. Bundle up and get outside, even briefly. Go for a walk or a bike ride. Turn off technology and focus on human connections. Stimulate your body and your mind and your mood will follow.