Journal Archive
Complicated Grief in the COVID-19 Era
In June, I attended a webinar on Complicated Grief in the COVID-19 Era. Expert panelists Kenneth J. Doka, PhD, MDiv, Robert A. Neimeyer, PhD, and Leah McDonald, MD, explored the complicated grief that will likely emerge from the pandemic....
Movin’ For Your Mind
Studies have shown that exercise can not only improve your physical health, but also reduce anxiety levels and raise your self-esteem. Creating an exercise routine is difficult, but I hope to share with you some tips on how to get...
COVID-19 Plan to Return to Face-to-Face Sessions
As the state of Iowa continues to open up through the COVID-19 pandemic, Heart and Solutions is dedicated to the safety and needs of its clients and team members. As of the date of this article, Iowa Medicaid has extended telehealth...
Dealing with Negative Mental Health Impacts from the COVID-19 Pandemic
As discussed in last month’s article, the COVID-19 pandemic can have a negative impact on our mental health. If you are feeling overwhelmed with some of these issues, please contact Heart and Solutions for telehealth therapy and...
Heart and Solutions Offers Telehealth!
If the COVID-19 pandemic makes you feel grief, depressed, anxious, numb, scared, and numerous other emotions you’re in the right space. Stress from this outbreak can look like worry and fear about you and your loved ones’ health,...
Out of the Darkness Suicide Prevention Walk
Out of the Darkness Suicide Prevention Walk is an annual event held on the University of Northern Iowa’s (UNI’s) campus at Gallagher Bluedorn Performing Arts Center. Out of the Darkness is focused on addressing the stigma surrounding...
Inner Critic: The Anecdote
Have you ever wondered what it might be like to have freedom from the constant stream of self-criticism? What if instead of an inner-critic you had a compassionate-self? In order to make that transition, it’s important to understand what...
From the Mind of a Behavioral Health Intervention Service (BHIS) Provider
Mental health plays a role in everyone’s daily lives. Mental health involves our emotional and social well-being, which affects how we all think and act. Our mental health also determines how we handle different stressors in our daily...
Heart and Solutions LLC Partners with Foundation 2
Heart and Solutions is excited to announce a new partnership with Foundation 2 and their J-FAST program! Foundation 2 is a nonprofit human service agency that provides crisis prevention and intervention for a variety of individuals....
The Importance of Sleep for School Aged Kids
As adults, we have, and are, experiencing difficulty getting the sleep we need. We have kids to wrangle, homes to clean, jobs to do, and countless other demands on our time. However, we also know how this lack of sleep impacts us:...
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are used to designate all types of neglect, abuse (emotional, physical, and/or sexual), and other traumatic experiences. This can include household challenges such as domestic violence, substance...
The Untold Story of Heart and Solutions, LLC: The Moment I Knew Who We Were as a Company.
It was 2014, we had four team members employed and a fifth preparing to come on board. I was at home working at our first Heart and Solutions Office – our dining room table. I couldn’t feel my hands, my heart was pounding, and the tears...
SHH! My Brain Needs Quiet
We tend to live our lives to the beat of background noise: podcasts, music, books on tape, TV, etc. Everything we do from showering to driving is accompanied by some type of self-chosen noise. Silence is hard to come by may even bee an...
Animal Camp
Animal Camp is a mental health camp for children developed by Dr. Linda Nebbe and presented by Heart and Solutions and Hope Tree counseling agencies as well as Black Hawk Wildlife Rehabilitation. The mission of this camp is to assist each...
Self-Care: DO IT!
“Stress” is a word that we hear a lot. It’s caused by numerous and seemingly endless events, both good and bad: an impending deadline at work, bills arriving in the mail, high school graduation, starting a new job, etc....
Mental Health Support Can Create Safe Classrooms
Many of us have heard of it, if not seen it. It sometimes comes along with the unhelpful and unwitting tagline used across generations: “These kids today.” In 2018, the Oregon Education Association (OEA) held 14 forums across the state...