Community Service fuels the heartbeat of Coach Debbie! She is pictured here with her children as they volunteered to make meals for over 40,000 disadvantaged families in South Florida. #LifeMatters #kindness #LifeMatters #faith #love

Coach Debbie was honored at the 2017 Florida Association of Marriage and Family Therapists annual state conference as Student of the Year for her doctoral research in adverse childhood experiences, mindfulness, and infant mental health. In addition, she was also highlighted for her community outreach focused on mental health awareness and advocacy in diverse communities. #MentalWellness #Awards #Mindfulness #Happiness #LifeMatters

You can’t control your heart rate or blood pressure, but you can control your breathing. Take a moment to stop and recognize your breathing... Is it smooth? static? Or even suffocated? And do you know what your breathing style means? In this post we'll explore breathing exercises connected to your thoughts and behavior through mindfulness. So let's begin. Where have your thoughts taken you? Past, present, future? Reflect and note where your mind takes you; then repeat this ce

According to the National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families or “Zero to Three” (zerotothree.org, 2016), the first three years of life are a substantial period of growth in all areas of a baby's development: “A newborn's brain is about 25 percent of its approximate adult weight. But by age 3, it has grown dramatically by producing billions of cells and hundreds of trillions of connections, or synapses, between these cells. While we know that the development of a young

Coach Debbie served on the ATB panel at the Center for Creative Education sharing how art therapy can help promote harmony, hope, and healing. Check out pictures from the event below. Learn more about ATB: Created in 1992, ATB Fine Artists & Designers LLC is an established art-based consulting firm that creates, sells, promotes and educates art of different disciplines nationally. This includes visual, performing and literary arts. They have created art events and exhibitions

Did you know that... About 1 in 5 American adults will have a mental health condition in any given year? But only 41 percent of them will receive services? About 10 percent of the American adult population will have a mood disorder, such as depression or bipolar? And 18 percent have an anxiety disorder, including post-traumatic stress disorder? Mental health conditions, such as depression or anxiety, are real, common, treatable, and in your genes. Today, my grandmother's gene

'Resilience' is a documentary film about the Biology of Stress & the Science of Hope. Directed by James Redford, this film highlights how early life experiences have an affect on your health as an adult. As a member of the ACEs Connection Network, I had the opportunity to watch a private prescreening on Sunday and as always, I love to share with you all: Researchers have recently discovered a dangerous biological syndrome caused by abuse and neglect during childhood. As the n

Emotion moves us and reason guides us. Emotion is a brain phenomenon that is vastly different from thought. It has its own neurochemical and physiological basis and is a unique language in which the brain speaks. The limbic system is responsible for basic emotional processes such as fear (LeDoux, 1996). The emotional brain enhances decision making by rapidly reducing the options that one can consider. Additionally, our different memory systems can sometimes cause problems whe

#MentalWellness #JesusChrist #MentalHealth #Faith #LifeMatters #hope4mh

#Counseling #MentalHealth #MentalWellness #Faith #LifeMatters

Dignity in Mental Health Thousands of people with mental health conditions around the world are deprived of their human rights. They are not only discriminated against, stigmatized and marginalized but are also subject to emotional and physical abuse in both mental health facilities and the community. Poor quality care due to a lack of qualified health professionals and dilapidated facilities leads to further violations. The theme for this year’s World Mental Health Day, obse