Jennifer's Blog

Jennifer Smith This back to school season is different than any other. Whether you’re a student, or a parent who’s sending their children back-to-school, the return to in person classes can be a huge anxiety trigger. Kids and parents are being separated after being stuck at home together for a year; a perfect recipe for […]

Jennifer Smith As seen on Instagram this week (@smithpsychotherapygroup) our DBT topic of focus is Interpersonal Effectiveness. There are four concrete skills that make up this division of DBT and they can be remembered by these easy acronyms: THINK, FAST, GIVE, DEAR MAN. THINK: goal= to reduce negative emotions towards others The meaning of T […]

Jennifer Smith | Updated: Aug 13, 2021 As the biggest sports event in the world floods the media this summer, new headlines are being brought to our attention: “Simone Biles withdraws from individual all-around gymnastics competition at Tokyo Olympics to focus on mental well-being”. This decision by Biles was inspired by tennis player Naomi Osaka’s choice […]

Jennifer Smith Updated: Aug 13, 2021 Emotion Regulation is all about learning to understand and balance your emotions and this blog will help you do just that in seven easy steps. By implementing these emotion regulation skills, no matter what emotion you are feeling, you will be more in control of it and able to navigate […]

Jennifer Smith If you follow us on Instagram (which you should… @smithpsychotherapygroup) then you would know that this week’s DBT skill is dedicated to distress tolerance! In Tuesday’s post, we introduced the acronym IMPROVE. Each letter in this acronym stands for a tool that can help you manage stressful situations. This blog will dive deeper […]

Jennifer Smith This week’s DBT skill of focus, as seen on our instagram (@smithpsychotherapygroup), is mindfulness. Within mindfulness, there are three States of Mind. States of Mind refer to the way we portray certain situations, our outlook or perspective. They guide us in the decisions we make and the emotions we feel. The three States […]

Jennifer Smith As we move into the summer season, much talk arises regarding the perfect summer body. This image puts pressure on people to appear to others as society expects them to, skinny. Social norms have done an extremely good job at scaring humans about fatness. This fear is also what drives many industries to […]

Jennifer Smith It’s (almost) summertime! For many kids, teens, and young adults, summer days bring more free time and a break from the tight-knit schedule that exists during the school year. This can be a relief for some people but it can also be an anxiety trigger. If you can relate to this anxious feeling, […]

Jennifer Smith Accepting the truth about a situation can sometimes be viewed as an excuse to act as a doormat. This in fact is not true. Especially when it comes to Radical Acceptance. This practice is a conscious choice in which you put yourself in the best position to make necessary changes. Radical Acceptance is […]

Jennifer Smith June 15. The day that California will return to “normal” again. But what will this normal look like? This past year has been very traumatizing for many people. There has been so much loss, confusion, and anxiety. Due to the stay-at-home orders, most people have been very eager for the return to normalcy […]