Worthy Convos: Lisa Landry on Mental Well-Being

If you are looking to improve your physical health, you zero in on diet and exercise. But what about your mental health? Isn’t having control over your mood, thinking and behavior just as important as the time you spend meal prepping or tracking weekly cardio? The specialists at Landry Therapy Group sure think so. This private practice founded by Lisa Landry, a licensed clinical social worker, is dedicated to helping people reach a healthy place in their lives. Whether you are dealing with life’s daily struggles, trauma, conflict, or illness, LTG provides a secure space and a specialized therapist so that you can achieve mental well-being.

How do you describe mental well-being to your patients?  

Mental well-being is the ability to live your life free of self judgement, guilt, and shame. It’s having a sense of agency over themselves, including their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors; living their lives free of traumatic triggers that lead to unhealthy consequences for themselves and others; having a feeling of self-worth, self-respect, and value; feeling empowered and confident enough to speak up for themselves (and others) to set boundaries when others aren’t respecting them.

While therapy seems to be more widely discussed and accepted than ever before, why do some feel hesitant to seek counseling? 

I think many people feel that seeking therapy or being in therapy is a sign of mental weakness. Or that there is something wrong with them, and that they are “crazy.”  Many people don’t seek therapy because they haven’t yet accepted that there is a problem. If you don’t acknowledge that there is a problem, then you can’t fix it.

How has therapy evolved in the last decade? Or even in the last two years? 

Well, we are learning more and more about how the human brain functions; what trauma can do to the mind. Also, how the mind and body react to trauma. We’re learning more about human behavior, and how new therapy approaches can treat maladaptive behaviors stemming from trauma. I personally am realizing that most maladaptive behaviors stem from some type of trauma in my clients’ childhood.

In the past two years, therapy has evolved by being able to see clients virtually. Virtual sessions were previously available, however, [they] didn’t occur very often. We are realizing that we can help people just as much with this approach as in person. Also, over the past 2 years, the mental health stigma is decreasing. The more awareness about mental health issues, the more people are starting to accept that most people have struggles at some point in their lives; even athletes, celebrities, friends, family members, and those who appear to “have it all.”  No one is immune to mental health issues.

Photo courtesy of Landry Therapy Group, PLLC

What are some basic mental health exercises that anyone can do when they start feeling overwhelmed or anxious? 

First and foremost – breathe. Step back from the overwhelming situation and take several deep breaths. There are so many different breathing techniques, but the one I typically use is: breathe in for 4 seconds, hold it for 2 seconds, then breathe out for 6 seconds. When you start to feel your body relax and your heart rate decrease, then you start self-soothing. You are telling yourself that “it’s going to be fine, just breathe and try to relax.” Say things to yourself that you’d say to a friend who is having anxiety or is overwhelmed. The next step is to think logically or rationally about the situation that’s causing the anxiety or feeling of being overwhelmed. Anxiety is the irrational fear of something. So, if your anxiety is being caused by the fear of, let’s say, being fired because you made a mistake at work, then think rationally about this thought. Do you typically make mistakes that would get your fired? Has your boss written you up because of mistakes? Is there any evidence that you would get fired? If your answer is “No,” then most likely this is an irrational fear of being fired based on no evidence to back up this thought. Anxiety is very manageable either in conjunction with medication or without it depending on the severity of the anxiety. Anxiety isn’t necessarily a mental illness unless it’s chronic and is not being treated. We all have irrational fear, therefore, we are all prone to anxiety at some point in our lives. Having the tools and knowing how to use them can help to alleviate anxiety. Once you learn and practice some coping strategies, your brain will sometimes do the work for you without having to think too much about it.

Meditation and mindfulness are great when dealing with anxiety. When practiced on a regular basis, your brain learns what is irrational fear or thoughts, and it will automatically start to calm your nervous system down without you even being consciously aware of it happening. Eventually, those “big” stressors that would lead to anxiety are no longer stressors.

Is therapy covered by insurance? 

Yes, it is.  Therapy services, psychiatric services (medication), and comprehensive psychological evaluations can all be covered by insurance plans who have opted for behavioral health coverage. Insurance companies have come a long way in recognizing that mental health is health. A key component to a person’s mental health is therapy, but beyond that, medication may be appropriate for those who are in acute mental anguish or have chemical imbalances. Also, psychological evaluations help pinpoint any contributing factors like ADHD, spectrum disorders, learning differences or gifted and talented diagnosis. There are many aspects to mental health, and we try to make sure that each client gets the help they need.

Helping people achieve happiness seems extremely rewarding, but I imagine it can also be very tough. How does the LTG team manage the harder moments? 

I personally have a self-care routine. I say “no” when I need to, I set boundaries not only with other people, but also myself. Therapists are in the helping people business, so we tend to want to help anyone who needs it.  Being able to set boundaries with people (friends and family, or clients on the weekend) who “need your advice” is paramount in keeping yourself mentally healthy. I also meditate on a regular basis to help with emotional stress. I have a routine before I start my sessions and I try not to gravitate from that routine much. I try to keep my mind calm before and during my sessions; and when I’m done for the day, I leave work at work.

Can anyone achieve happiness or acceptance? 

I think most people can achieve happiness. Our thoughts drive our feelings, and our feelings drive our behaviors. So, if you learn how to manage negative thought patterns, this will produce a less negative thought, then the behavior will not be negative. It sounds simple, but this can be very difficult to do at the same time. Our thought patterns are typically set from years of thinking a certain way. Sometimes a great deal of therapy is needed when treating trauma and negative core beliefs because these beliefs are so embedded when us. As far as acceptance, a person may never be accepted by another person, a community, or a society; however, I do believe that a person can eventually learn to accept themselves for who and what they are either with therapy or without it.