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Holy Cross of San Antonio
Counseling Department Support Services
Individual Counseling
Social-Emotional Counseling
Academic Counseling
College Counseling
Career Counseling

Contact Ms. Romero by email or phone to discuss support services requested for your child.

melissa.romero@holycross-sa.org
210-433-9395 ext. 222

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Catholic Schools Archdiocese of San Antonio_ Counseling Resources

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We believe mental health wellness encompasses the physical, biological, emotional, social and spiritual aspects of a person.

Forever Hope Counseling specializes in helping children, teens, adults, families, and couples in the following areas: marriage & family issues, complex trauma, ADHD, autism spectrum, selective mutism, depression, anxiety, grief & loss, mood disorders, oppositional defiance, parent-child relationships, as well as alcohol and substance abuse.

Our therapies include: Dialectical Behavioral therapy, EMDR, Trauma-Focused-CBT, Restorative therapy, Family Systems therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Mindfulness & Relaxation, Narrative therapy, Acceptance & Commitment Therapy, Registered Play therapy, Expressive Arts as well as other clinical techniques.
To schedule a new appointment, please call our appointment line at (210) 490-9062. We are open 8am - 8pm Monday - Friday and 9am - 4pm Saturday
Stone Oak (Main Office) Boerne
1162 E. Sonterra Blvd #130 108 Oak Park Dr
San Antonio, TX 78258 Boerne, TX 78006

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child adult family therapy | mood disorders | stone oak counseling alamo heights counseling

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Forever Hope Counseling provides counseling, skills training and psychotherapy for all ages: children, teens, adolescents, adults and couples. Our specialties include: Anxiety, Depression, Trauma, Addiction, ADHD, Selective Mutism, Autism Spectrum Disorders, Mood Disorders and other behavioral concerns.

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Cyber Safety and Digital Responsibility:A Parent's Guide

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The Cyber Safety and Digital Responsibility: A Parent's Guide video is a collaboration between the Texas School Safety Center and Safer Schools Together. We recognize that technology is constantly evolving and deeply intertwined in the daily lives of our youth.

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Parent Guide: Teaching Boundaries and Safety

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Parent Guide: Teaching Boundaries and Safety

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College is a time of significant transition and discovery. This can be fun and exciting, but also stressful. Whether you're completing an online or on-campus program, devoting your time and energy to learning is a complex process. You will have to learn how to balance classes and studying with work, extracurricular activities, and social obligations. This may also be the first time you're living away from home; dealing with homesickness, roommate conflicts, and newfound independence can present their own challenges.
Whatever college life throws at you, it's important to remember that stress is an entirely natural process. In fact, there are two types of stress:

Eustress, or positive stress, serves as motivation to keep working towards achieving goals. This type of stress is actually beneficial in creating and maintaining a sense of well-being.

Distress, or negative stress, is what causes problems and affects your academic performance and overall health.

Fortunately, distress can be managed. Although the following tips cannot magically cure or prevent all stressful situations, they will help you minimize and manage your stress in a healthy way, throughout your education and beyond.

11 tips for managing stress

Know the symptoms of stress

#1: Understand the difference between normal and harmful stress
Remember, stress is a normal response, particularly to unfamiliar situations, important events, and unpleasant surprises. If you are feeling stressed before taking a big exam or turning in a final project, it doesn't mean that you aren't studying well or able to process course material. This is what is known as acute stress, and it is a natural reaction to a situation like a significant academic assignment. The problem arises when your stress around these events becomes so severe you cannot study or finish your assignments, or when you begin experiencing chronic, or ongoing, stress.

#2: Learn the toll that stress takes on your body
Although stress is commonly thought of as something that only occurs in your mind, acute and chronic stress affects your body in a number of ways as well. Symptoms of acute stress include recurring headaches, fatigue, insomnia or difficulty resting, and indigestion. Chronic stress often shows itself with grinding teeth, forgetfulness, overeating or excessive drinking, confusion, and other symptoms that may start to feel familiar and natural. Stress also weakens the immune system, leading to frequent colds and infections, and can have long-term effects on your cardiovascular system.

If any of these symptoms describe how you have been feeling, admit it to yourself. The first step to handling your stress is recognizing it and accepting that you need to make changes.

First aid: What to do in the moment

You can begin noticing the symptoms of stress at any time. If you feel yourself getting overwhelmed, you can use these strategies immediately to lower your stress levels.

#3: Breathe deeply
Taking several deep breaths will reoxygenate your blood and give you a few moments to step back from a stressful situation. There are many different deep breathing techniques for relieving stress. At a minimum, you can sit up straight, put a hand on your abdomen, just below the navel, and breathe in slowly through your nose until your lungs are full. Hold the breath for a moment before exhaling. Repeating this several times will help feel calmer, refreshed and more focused.

#4: Take a break
If your specific task is something you can put down for a brief period, do so. Take a short walk, do some stretches, have a glass of water or a healthy snack. Even if you're doing a time-sensitive task, when you are stressed, you often aren't doing your best work. Giving yourself a short break will help you relax and refocus on the task at hand.

#5: Avoid caffeine and junk food
This may seem counterintuitive if you have long hours of work ahead of you, but in addition to boosting your energy, caffeine increases your levels of cortisol, making you feel more stressed. Likewise, reaching for a quick sugary snack might ease your hunger while you're stressing, but the subsequent sugar crash can leave you feeling irritable and tired. Healthy foods and beverages can give you energy while decreasing your stress levels.

The long term: Understand yourself and take control

Stress usually follows patterns and cycles. By observing yourself and learning those cycles, you gain valuable information you need to train yourself to handle stress better. After you've dealt with your immediate situation, use these tips to build your own stress management plan.

#6: Look for your stress signs and stressors
You will find you have certain physical cues that tell you when you're stressed, even if you're not consciously aware of it. Physical cues of stress can include headaches, muscle tension, or an upset stomach. If you notice any recurring symptoms like this, it could be due to stress. Watch for patterns to determine which academic subjects or tasks bring on these symptoms. From there, you can start to develop practices to help you alleviate this stress.

#7: Chunk tasks
Huge tasks, like a long term paper or a final exam, can seem overwhelming, and bring on stress. If you break the task down into smaller parts that can be tackled individually, it becomes more manageable and less stressful. A 15-page paper is less stressful when you write three pages per day, and edit five pages at a time, rather than writing and editing it all at once. You will also feel more accomplished when you complete numerous small tasks, rather than making a tiny bit of progress on a large one. This is why developing and following a study plan is so critical; it allows you to spread your work out over several weeks or days, rather than rushing to get everything done at the last minute.

#8 Avoid procrastinating
Breaking up tasks won't do you much good if you keep everything for the last minute. Again, planning and time management are key in avoiding procrastination. Stick to your study plan, don't skip or put off your study sessions unless it's an emergency, and when your study time is over, put your work away and let your mind rest. You will be more productive and willing to work if you know there is an end in sight.

#9: Don't be afraid to say no
You can and should keep up with your nonacademic responsibilities and commitments, but you aren't under an obligation to say yes to everything. Spending time with friends or participating in extracurricular activities can be a great way to relax and relieve stress, but if they are taking up a disproportionate amount of your time, they can actually increase your stress levels. Check in with yourself to see if you're experiencing any of the stress symptoms listed above during these activities. Give yourself permission to skip an event or say no to an extra work shift if you need the time and space to rest your mind and body.

#10: Take care of your health
Stress is a physical reaction, and by building up your health, you'll be able to handle it better. Be sure to eat regular nutritious meals with a minimum of junk food, especially when studying. Regular exercise makes you healthier, relieves stress, and gives you more energy. Also, reduce or quit your bad habits, such as smoking or staying up late, as these habits drain your energy, increase stress, and make studying an uphill battle.

#11: Seek help if necessary
Stress may be a normal part of life, especially for college students, but it doesn't mean you have to manage it all on your own. Don't be afraid to ask for help if you are having difficulty managing your stress. For some individuals, talking with friends or a loved one may be enough to relieve stress, but in certain situations, it may be necessary to seek help from a professional. Visit your school's counseling center or an outside counselor who specializes in stress management. A counselor can help you by letting you talk about your stress, and giving you additional strategies for coping with it.

Additional resources

Mayo Clinic - The Mayo Clinic is one of the nation's largest, non-profit academic health systems. Their website offers many resources for understanding and managing stress.

Mindful - This non-profit promotes mindfulness, which can be an effective tool for relieving stress.

Psychology Today - In addition to a variety of articles offering advice on handling stress, Psychology Today has a search tool for finding licensed mental health professionals if you are seeking help.

Talkspace - For those who don't have access to licensed mental health professionals locally, Talkspace can connect you to a therapist online through video chatting and messaging.

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College is a time of significant transition and discovery. This can be fun and exciting, but also stressful. Whether you're completing an online or on-campus program, devoting your time and energy to learning is a complex process. You will have to learn how to balance classes and studying with work, extracurricular activities, and social obligations.

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Can Journaling Improve Your Mental Health?

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Journaling is an amazing practice that serves so many different purposes. At first, journaling was perceived as an activity reserved for writers and high-school teens. Of course, that is no longer the case, as people of all ages have discovered that journaling is a valuable tool for improving one's mental health.

Keeping a journal allows you to establish, track, and achieve your goals, improves the quality of life, and helps you alleviate or eliminate pressing mental health issues like depression, anxiety, or stress. Besides the reduction of negative symptoms, journaling will improve your cognitive and emotional power, allowing you to explore your full potential.

So how come writing in a journal has such a tremendous impact on our mental health and wellbeing? After all, journaling is the simple act of putting words on a piece of paper.

Writing in a journal requires the application of the rational left side of your brain, which is basically the analytical part of your mind. While your left brain (left hemisphere) is "busy" or "occupied", the right brain (right hemisphere), which is the creative and sensible side of you, will be free to wander and play.

While your creative juices a triggered, you'll become more intuitive, inspired, and confident in your own thoughts.

What is journaling useful for?

Overall, journaling is known to be useful for:

Boosting your moods and positive feelings

Improving our self-awareness

Reducing the symptoms of depression and anxiety

Improving your memory power

Enhancing your sense of well-being

Diminish the post-traumatic symptoms such as intrusion or avoidance

The Cambridge journal suggests that journaling/expressive writing is particularly useful for individuals who suffer from PSTD conditions and also for those who have a history of trauma. The journal suggests that writing about our deepest fears and challenges can help us reduce our inhibited emotions (and the stress that comes with them).

Besides, it can help us confront, process, and overcome the memories of terrible events and make us stronger in the face of similar, future experiences.

Since depression is one of the most daunting mental health issues, people have been struggling to find effective ways to combat its effects on a regular basis. After many years of scientific research, journaling has been identified as an incredibly helpful practice that can aid people in managing their depressive symptoms.

Here are some scientific studies that document the effectiveness of journaling for combating depression:

Journaling can significantly reduce the symptoms of depression in women who have been abused by their intimate partner[1].

Journaling has been proven to reduce the rumination and brooding of college students who are vulnerable to depression and anxiety symptoms. These are two of the primary factors that lead to depression[2].

Three days of expressive writing (20 minutes/day) has reduced the symptoms of people who were diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder[3].

High-risk adolescents can reduce their depressive symptoms by journaling daily as much as they can do so by approaching CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy)[4].

In short, the benefits of keeping a journal for people who suffer from depressive symptoms are quite clear. It helps them maintain a positive frame of mind, allows them to confront and diminish negative thoughts and emotions, and gives them the opportunity to enhance their sense of well-being.

Anxiety and depression are two different yet highly similar mental health issues. Many times, depression is triggered by high doses of anxiety, and the other way around. Journaling is a universal tool that fights both of these terrible mental conditions, making people's lives easier to cope and digest.

To address our disempowering thought patterns, we must first identify them. As psychiatrist Barbara Markway suggests the best way to acknowledge and understand your thought processes is to simply write them down.

A journal is our best friend when it comes to that because it is our intimate channel of communication that allows for an effective communication with ourselves. If we keep practicing, we'll identify the primary roots of our pressing problems and our subconscious mind will be able to start "working on it".

How journaling affects your mood

Here's how journaling can positively shape and affect your moods and emotions while dealing with anxiety symptoms:

Journaling is a tool that allows you to explore the experiences that make you anxious.

It helps you clear your mind of intrusive thoughts that "won't leave you alone".

Journaling helps you calm your mind.

It releases negative feelings and thoughts.

By keeping a journal, you can mark your successes and failures, and you'll be able to identify the factors that contributed to those results.

It helps you detect your emotional triggers. Therefore, keeping a journal can improve your self-awareness.

Journaling will help you measure your progress as you undergo treatment.

As for the scientific proof, here is a small sampling of resources that showcase concrete evidence on how journaling is effective for diminishing the effects of anxiety disorders:

Journaling reduces anxiety, physical symptoms, and health problems in women. (LaClaire, 2008)

Patients with multiple sclerosis report reduced symptoms of anxiety after journaling for a couple of weeks[5].

Keeping a journal is extremely beneficial for students who have trouble managing their anxiety and stress symptoms. On top of that, it has been proven to increase their engagement and meaning for learning[6]

While anxiety and depression are two serious diseases that must be managed and controlled, their arousal can often be prevented by reducing the levels of stress that we experience each day.

Elizabeth Scott, a successful coach that specializes in stress management, suggests that,
"Journaling is an effective method of diminishing the daily stress because it allows you to explore your past and present thoughts, emotions, and actions. It releases tension and helps you fully integrate your past experiences into your mind."
Besides the mentioned effects, keeping a journal can also help you alleviate your stress symptoms through:

Improving your immune system

Strengthening your cognitive abilities

Planning out your future actions while taking into consideration more potential outcomes.

Reducing symptoms of different health problems.

Examining and studying your thoughts and shift your mindset.

Reducing promoting and rumination action.

Related content: Natural Remedies that Support Positive Mental Health
Stress, anxiety, depression - these are the extreme situations that can be managed with the use of this amazing practice. However, besides the recovery aspects, daily journaling can also facilitate the following benefits:

Keeping a journal can boost your long-term well-being, increase the quality of sleep, and diminish the physical pain symptoms.

It can increase your levels of optimism, which will directly impact your health and happiness.

Journaling can help turn you into a friendlier person, helping you experience positive feelings while engaging with other people.

By keeping a daily journal, your commitment and discipline to follow through with your goals will improve.

It facilitates personal growth by developing a record of key lessons and ideas that you've discovered on your own. It helps you remember everything more effectively.

Journaling can help turn you into a more sensitive and grateful person.

It can help you discover your voice, an aspect that can turn you into a professional writer.

Keeping a journal gives you the chance to store both your negative and positive experiences. You will be able to come back and observe the person you used to be and gain the necessary inspiration and motivation to keep on progressing.

Scientific journals and studies provide evidence of the benefits of keeping a journal. The experiences and benefits that journaling brings are different for each and every one of us because we're obviously facing different problems, we come from different backgrounds, and we have different goals.

Our journals are for us and us alone, allowing us to be authentic, honest, and transparent with every thought and feeling we experience. That's something that you can hardly achieve when talking to our family, friends, or even psychiatrists. All you have to do is give it a try. I promise you won't regret it!

References

[1] Classen, Wales Holmes, Koopman, Palesh, Ismailji, 2005
[2] Gortner, Rude, Pennebacker, 2006
[3] Deldin, Krpan, Berman, Kross Askren, Jonides, 2013
[4] Rohde, Burton, Stice, Bearman, 2006
[5] Norozi, Hasanzadeh, Khoshknab, 2012
[6] May, Moore, Flinchbaugh, Chang, 2012

***
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First published June 2018, this article has been reviewed and updated for republication on April 11, 2020.

Serena Dorf is a content writer at essay On time. She is interested in marketing, writing, personal development, and public speaking. In her free time, she is reading classic American literature and learning Swedish.

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Can Journaling Improve Your Mental Health?

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Journaling is an amazing practice that serves so many different purposes. At first, journaling was perceived as an activity reserved for writers and high-school teens. Of course, that is no longer the case, as people of all ages have discovered that journaling is a valuable tool for improving one's mental health.

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Guidance Lesson: Fixed Vs. Growth Mindset

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Guidance Lesson: Fixed Vs. Growth Mindset

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Free Social Emotional Learning Activities

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Free Social Emotional Learning Activities

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Welcome to our supplemental Social Emotional Learning Activities page!

As you will see below, many of the supplemental SEL activities and lesson plans include characters from our game-based, social emotional learning interventions. And when you use the online programs with your students, these activities will reinforce the learning that occurs during game play.

These supplemental resources - lessons, activities, and worksheets - are in the following SELskill areas: Communication, Cooperation, Emotion Regulation, Empathy, Impulse Control, and Social Initiation.

These resources are age-appropriate for elementary and middle school students and are typically used in a classroom or a small group setting. And in most cases, if materials are required for the activity, they are items that you already have in your classroom or office.
Note: Please share this page on your school website so other educators may also benefit.
Social Emotional Learning at Home

Additional Resources for Social Emotional Learning

Our classroom management plan is a step-by-step guide and includes proven strategies, tips and printables for elementary school teachers, and it covers four key components for establishing a successful, well-managed classroom.

These free downloadable posters will decorate your classroom and be great teaching resources, reinforcing social and emotional skills in your classroom and reminding students to practice their skills like emotion regulation, impulse control, empathy, and more.

Social Emotional Learning Quotes

For each of the topics below, we have curated a list of quotes. You can incorporate these quotes in your social emotional learning lessons, add them to social media images, create classroom posters, or write one on your whiteboard each day.

Need Something More Engaging And Effective For A Few Students?

Simply request a FREE Centervention educator account and start using our online programs!

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95 Free Social Emotional Learning Activities

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95 free social emotional learning activities, worksheets, and lessons to help students in elementary and middle school. Most are no-prep and ready to go.

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The Disaster Distress Helpline (DDH) is the first national hotline dedicated to providing year-round disaster crisis counseling. This toll-free, multilingual, crisis support service is available 24/7 to all residents in the U.S. and its territories who are experiencing emotional distress related to natural or human-caused disasters.

Call or text 1-800-985-5990.

Español: Llama o envía un mensaje de texto 1-800-985-5990 presiona "2."

For Deaf and Hard of Hearing ASL Callers: To connect directly to an agent in American Sign Language, click the "ASL Now" button below or call 1-800-985-5990 from your videophone. ASL Support is available 24/7. FAQs for ASL NOW users.

Counseling Services

The helpline puts people in need of counseling on the path to recovery. When you call or text, crisis counselors listen to what's on your mind with patience and without judgment. DDH is staffed by trained counselors from a network of crisis call centers located across the United States, who provide:

Crisis counseling for people in emotional distress related to any natural or human-caused disaster

Information on how to recognize distress and its effects on individuals and families

Referrals to local crisis call centers for additional follow-up care and support

Healthy coping tips

There is no need to give any identifying information when you contact DDH. The counselor may ask you for some basic information at the end of the call, but these questions are optional and intended to help SAMHSA keep track of the types of calls it receives.

Who Can Call the Disaster Distress Helpline?

The helpline is open to anyone experiencing emotional distress related to disasters. This includes survivors of disasters; loved ones of victims; first responders; rescue, recovery, and relief workers; clergy; and parents and caregivers. You may call for yourself or on behalf of someone else.
Disasters may include:
The impact of crises may affect people in different ways. Recognize the warning signs and risk factors for emotional distress related to natural and human-caused disasters.

How do I Connect with a Trained Counselor?

Call or text 1-800-985-5990.

Standard text and data message rates will apply when texting from mobile phones. International text and data rates may apply from within U.S. territories and free association nations. SAMHSA will not sell your phone numbers to other parties.

Languages

DDH callers can connect with counselors in over 100 languages via 3rd-party interpretation services. Indicate to the responding counselor your preferred language and they will connect you to a live interpreter (interpretation in less commonly spoken languages may require calling back at an appointed time). Get DDH information in 30 commonly spoken languages.

Other Inquiries

If you're not in immediate need of crisis counseling support and would like to contact us for other reasons, send us an email. Contact us for:

Technical problems. If you encountered a technical problem while trying to contact the helpline, please include your name and preferred contact information in your email if you wish to receive a reply.

Provider inquiries. Providers with specific inquiries about technical assistance and support, requests for materials, and exploring collaborations are encouraged to send an email.

Feedback. To provide feedback about your experience with the helpline, send an email describing your experience and SAMHSA will look into the matter. Please include your name and preferred contact information if you wish to receive a reply.

Social media inquiries. Email us with questions about the helpline's use of social media.

All media inquiries. Members of the media with questions about the Disaster Distress Helpline are encouraged to email media@samhsa.hhs.gov.

Our staff appreciate hearing from people about their experiences. SAMHSA takes feedback about our services, whether it is positive or negative, very seriously.

SAMHSA also encourages public promotion of the Disaster Distress Helpline. Anyone can use the Disaster Distress Helpline logo and telephone number on their website and link to the Disaster Distress Helpline's materials and social media properties.

Call 211 for information about disaster-related evacuations, shelters, food and clothing distribution, volunteer opportunities, and other resources and referrals. Or visit the national 211 Call Center website to find the 211 information and referral center nearest you.

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The Disaster Distress Helpline (DDH) is the first national hotline dedicated to providing year-round disaster crisis counseling. This toll-free, multilingual, crisis support service is available 24/7 to all residents in the U.S. and its territories who are experiencing emotional distress related to natural or human-caused disasters. Call or text 1-800-985-5990 .