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We help adults naviagte challenges in their lives.
There are so many things that you never knew about being an adult, until you arrived here. That in itself, sends many people into a tailspin. The year we experienced in 2020 revealed the gaps in how we think we manage and how we actually manage. Research found that anxiety rates increased at least 40% in Spring 2020. That means that before the global pandemic, people only thought they had healthy coping skills when, in reality they were kind of just hanging on by a thread. The pandemic was the weight that made the thread snap.
Post-traumatic growth.
During traumatic and stressful events, it can feel like nothing will ever feel safe again and nothing good can come from it. In some cases, you're right and it remains challenging to see growth following a trauma.
In many cases, however, we can find a growing point after experiencing something hard. We call that growing point, post-traumatic growth. It looks like removing the stigma from mental health counseling and allowing everyone to seek therapy may be post-traumatic growth on a societal level. This may even be what brought you to this page.
Our counseling services for adults are for specific concerns.
Below you will find descriptions for the counseling areas in which we specialize for adults. Some services that are for adults and overlap with other areas my be briefly mentioned and here and linked to their own specialty page. For example, this is the case for perinatal and pregnancy related concerns. When in doubt, please reach out to us with your questions.
Anxiety.
These words likely produce significant reactions for you. While "anxiety" is commonly used in everyday conversations, the experience of racing thoughts, rapid heartbeat, feeling flashes of warm all over, and sometimes feeling paralyzyed or like you can't make a descision, may be less talked about in your community. In therapy, you can only freely discuss what is happening for you but and find ways to manage your anxiety symptoms and reduce their intensity. You don't have to accept that frequently feeling intense anxiousness will always be a part of your life. You can get support to help make what you feel more manageable. This includes, but is not limited to, general anxiety, adoption, pregnancy, and postpartum related anxiety.
Rape.
This word can be almost as upsetting as the action. That is why we say it - rape, to take the power away from it. One of the most important things for you to know after you have been raped is, this was not your fault. No matter what you were wearing, no matter whether or not you said, "no," no matter how many things you have done in past that you regret, someone raping you was not your fault. You couldn't have seen it coming. You couldn't have stoped it. Rape is the unwanted, forced penetration to mimick sexual intercourse. Penetration can include vaginal, anal, or oral and be with a body part or an object. If you are raped or sexually assaulted, there are a few things that may help you feel safer moving forward:
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Get to physical saftey as soon as possible.
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Call 911 or your local police station
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In many areas, you can file a police report, even if you decide that you do not want to prosecute. Calling the police right after the rape, increases your chances of finding the rapist and for prosecution should you want that eventually.
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Get to the nearest hospital or emergency room and request having an examine with a rape kit.
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They will check you for injuries, sexually transmitted infections and may offer medication to prevent pregnancy depending on your sitatuion and state.
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While you wait, contact someone you trust who can meet you at the hospital and wait with you, if you can.
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This wait could take a long time. You can also speak with someone at the National Sexual Assault Hotline 1-800-656-HOPE (4673)
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Do not wash, comb, or clean any parts of your body.
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Your instinct my be to do so because many people want to remove the physical sensations and scents from the their body that was left by the rapist.
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Remember, this was NOT your fault. We are here to help you.
Sexual Abuse.
We tend to reserve this category for adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse. In most United States terriroties, a person under the age of 18 years old who is forced to engaged in sexual activities by an adult (usually a person who is over 18 years old and more than 3 years older than the child) is considered to have been sexually abused. Children are sometimes abused by a child (at least a 5 years age difference). This varies between states depending on the age of consent for sexual acts. At PlayfulLeigh Psyched, we are concerned with helping you work through your thoughts and feelings about your sexual abuse to help you establish or maintain healthy adult relationships. Your care and healing are what matter to us.
Sexual Assault.
Often used interchably with the word rape, sexual assault is usally any forced sexual act up until the point of penetration. If penetration occurs, we use the term rape. If you are ever assaulted, please refer to the above steps as soon as possible.
PlayfulLeigh Healing
Trauma Recovery? >
Often in our society, adults think that they can simply "get over" things that happened to them. In the Black community, there remains the notion that strength means not showing feelings of sadness or pain. For Black people who identify as women, we frequently believe that there is strength is masking pain. As a community, we raise our boys to "man up," "stop crying" and "keep their feelings to themselves." This fosters the belief that they can only demonstrate stoicism and anger. Let this way of thinking stop here and now. All of us have a full range of emotions. It is time you learn what to do with the feelings buried deep inside.
Trauma.
For psychological health, a trauma is any event that made you think that you might die or where you thought that someone else might die. You can experience post-traumatic symptoms even from learning about an event. You do not have to be physically present at a traumatizing event for it to impact you. That's our empathic brain at work. Additionally, there are many types of events that can cause you to have trauma symptoms such as events concerning race, sex, childhood experiences, gender, nationality, and so many more. If you are bothered by something that happened to you or something that you learned about, please contact us.
Important Policies
For Emergencies
If you are in a life-threatening situation, do NOT use this site.
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Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, a free, 24-hour hotline:
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1-800-273-8255. Your call will be routed to the crisis center near you.
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If your issue is an emergency, call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room.