Float On Counseling Blog | Float On Counseling, LLC

Anxiety March 30, 2021 By Joel Schmidt 0 Comments

Your All-Things-Anxiety Resource

Struggling with anxiety? This page is an "all-things-anxiety" resource. We'll discuss types of anxiety, causes of anxiety, treatments for anxiety, and provide a few quick and helpful strategies and resources for anxiety.

What Anxiety is

To start with - EVERYBODY deals with anxiety. Anxiety is your body's natural response to stress. Anxiety is typically future-oriented and is associated with feelings of fear, worry, uneasiness, or dread. Although we typically frame "anxiety" as a bad thing, anxiety served us from an evolutionary perspective by its ability to warn us of potential dangers and to help us prepare for situations that require action. In threatening situations, our all-on fight-flight-freeze response kicks in to help us survive whatever dangerous situation we might be in. At its best - and when it's truly needed - anxiety is your very own built-in "Super Hero". At times, though, your "Super Hero" is just a little bit overprotective and kicks in full blast when it's not totally necessary.

Solving the Puzzle: A Whole-Person Approach to Treating Depression

When it comes to treating depression, there's no clear-cut one-size-fits-all approach...that's because depression can be complex - and there are usually multiple contributing factors that can be sort of like puzzle to sort out. Research has pointed us to some answers, though, and some of the causes of depression include: genetic links, brain chemistry, hormonal changes, certain medications or alcohol/drugs, interpersonal conflict, loss, major life events, illness or chronic pain, lack of physical movement/exercise, inadequate nutrition, anxiety, distorted thinking patterns, traumatic or stressful events, illness, low self-esteem, and a lacking social support network.

Moderate Drinking – Is it Right for You?

We often have people reach out to us because they want help with their drinking. They don’t necessarily want to quit – but hope to develop a healthier relationship with alcohol. In the world of mental health and substance abuse, it’s often the case that resources are lacking for people who don’t want or need a black and white approach to help them with with their unhealthy drinking patterns. Read more

Self-improvement May 28, 2020 By Joel Schmidt 0 Comments

Getting Past the Barrier of Low Motivation

One of the things I see people struggle with most is lack of motivation. This ultimately leads to a vicious cycle of procrastination, carrying the weight of all things left undone, and guilt for putting those things off. Whether we’re talking about exercise, staying organized/clean, keeping up with that to-do list, developing better habits, or daunting work projects, we all struggle at times to find the motivation needed to “just do it”. When we just don’t feel like it, we put it off til later. After all, there’s always tomorrow. The problem with this, however, is that tomorrow often turns into the next day, week, month or year. This leaves us feeling discouraged and reinforces the idea that we just don’t have what it takes to stay on top of things or to develop healthier patterns that stick. Read more

Online Counseling March 25, 2020 By Joel Schmidt 0 Comments

Teletherapy: What it is, Benefits, and How it Works

Amid the COVID-19 outbreak and social distancing recommendations, people are opting to (or being told to) stay at home. This means that many things that we typically do face-to-face (such as doctor’s appointments, work meetings, and even social interactions) are now being done virtually from home. Many therapists, including myself, are even temporarily taking therapy online in order to protect the safety and well-being of ourselves, the community, and people we work with.

So what is Teletherapy?

Teletherapy – also referred to as distance therapy, online counseling, or virtual therapy – simply refers to therapy that is conducted online via live video sessions on a secure platform similar to Facetime or Skype. It’s easy to do – and aside from being done remotely – is no different than a traditional face-to-face session.

Benefits of Teletherapy

Research has shown that online counseling sessions can be just as effective as traditional in-office sessions. In addition, they come along with a lot of added benefits for people who choose to go this route. Here are a few of those benefits:

They can be done from almost anywhere! – I’ve had sessions with clients from their car, office, and couch.
No need to drive – Online counseling sessions eliminate the need to spend time or gas money traveling to or from the Therapist’s office.
Privacy – Since you pick the time and preferred location to conduct your session – and aren’t physically visiting your therapist’s office – you can ensure your own privacy.
Flexibility – Since you can do therapy wherever you choose and don’t have to arrange for travel/transportation, you might find that you have increased options for when your session can be done. Lunch break? why not?
It’s safe! For obvious reasons, doing online counseling sessions is probably safer right now than exposing yourself to the general public and other people who could get you sick.

How it works and what you need

Teletherapy is simple. All you need is private/quiet space, an internet connection, and a phone or computer with audio and video capabilities. A couple minutes before your session is scheduled to begin, we’ll send you a link to click on that will securely connect us. It’s that easy! If you aren’t super “tech savvy”, we’ll patiently help make sure you’re all set up and ready to go.

If you’re considering giving online counseling a try, reach out by sending us a message or by calling or texting 727-258-5231. We’ll briefly discuss your reasons for counseling, schedule an appointment if it sounds like we’ll be a good fit, and will send you a link to complete some basic information about yourself.

Float on Counseling’s physical office is located in the Carrollwood area of Tampa on North Dale Mabry Hwy. With discretion and extra precautions in place, we are still seeing some clients in the office when virtual counseling is not a viable option.

Joel Schmidt, MA, Licensed Mental Health Counselor