Helping You Find & Forge Your Own Path

COVID-19 is having a significant impact on the lives of everyone, and with an increase in anxiety, depression, isolation, and general stress, Psychological & Counseling Associates strive to be here to support you throughout. We are offering psychotherapy through telehealth.  Research shows this modality to be effective and most clients see positive results

Psychological & Counseling Associates is taking extra precautions by increasing the frequency of cleaning and limiting the number of in-office visits. We do have specific guidelines for the limited in-office visits.  If you have any questions, please contact our office at 256-837-2127 or email us at psycounselingassociates@gmail.com.

Please do your part to stop the spread of Covid-19. For the latest COVID-19 updates, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website.

Ways to increase the benefits of telehealth:

1. Do your best to engage in your normal routine before therapy.For example, get into a comfortable space prior to your appointment, and center yourself.
2. Minimize distractions.Prior to the pandemic, your in-person psychotherapy was in the comfort of your therapist’s office, which offered minimal distractions. Try to keep the same practice while engaging in your telehealth sessions. Find a secluded area where you can safely explore your thoughts and feelings. If you do not have one in your home, find a quiet space outside.
3. Notice disconnection.Whether in-person or not, we have countless ways of avoiding discomfort during therapy sessions. Even if you minimize distractions, you may notice your mind wandering during a session. Instead of feeling guilty, be curious as to what is making you want to escape from the moment. Be a nonjudgmental observer.
4. Within reason, aim for growth and change. In addition to the emotional and psychological impact of the pandemic, we all still have the same issues from the pre-pandemic days. Consider how you are coping with the pandemic in similar ways to the way that you coped with life before the pandemic. Explore where you learned to cope in this way. Consider areas where you would like to change. Consider the risks that you will have to take to make the changes you desire. However, set realistic expectations and give yourself loads of compassion.
5. Shift your focus to the Here and Now. We are all going through trauma right now. Try to focus on your experience of what is going in internally instead of staying topical. Work to process your thoughts and feelings, and this will likely lead you to some familiar ground. In psychotherapy, we always have what happened in the past, what is happening outside the therapy room, and what is happening in the “here and now” inside the therapy room. Those experiences between you and your therapist can be most healing and growth-promoting.