By Nicole Houck You may have heard words like “neurotransmitter”, “hormone”, and “dopamine” before, especially within talks about mental health, but do you know what they mean? You have these things called neurotransmitters in your body, even if you don’t really understand what they are or what they do. Let’s learn a little bit about our body’s “feel-good” hormone and neurotransmitter, dopamine. Neurotransmitters In order to understand dopamine, we should first explore all th

By Nicole Houck ‘Tis the season for warm coats, sledding, ice-skating, and spending time with loved ones. Winter can be a time of joy and renewal for many. However, for those with seasonal depression (also referred to as Seasonal Affective Disorder or Major Depressive Disorder with Seasonal Onset), winter comes with its own unique challenges.  What is Seasonal Depression? Seasonal depression is exactly what it sounds like: a form of recurring depression that is spurred on by

By Nicole Houck The world of Psychology is fascinating. But, those of us who have never had the opportunity to study it may not know much about it at all. I’ve compiled some ten interesting facts in and around the realm of psychology. Maybe these will come in handy at your next trivia night. Who knows? 1: Modern Psychology has Roots in Ancient Greece What we know as “psychology” today is rooted in some… interesting theories. Take The Four Humors  for example. Hippocrates’ the

By Nicole Houck This month’s blog is going to be a bit different. While we typically talk about various topics surrounding mental health and therapy, we want to give readers an insight into something that therapists might encounter during their professional lives. Originally coined by nurse Carla Joinson in 1992, the term “compassion fatigue” applies to all those working in helping professions, such as nurses, therapists, social workers, hospice aids, dispatchers, and more. (

By Nicole Houck and Taylor Mathus At Authentic Counseling & Therapy, we have a lot of great people on our staff. Each individual brings a...

By Nicole Houck Chemicals found within the brain often take the brunt of the blame when it comes to mental health disorders. It is an...

By Nicole Houck The results are in–meditation is a great way to improve mental health. Particularly, meditation can be a great tool to...

By: Nicole Houck If you’ve never considered how mental health and sports might be connected, you may be surprised to learn that there is...

By Nicole Houck Social media is an online space in which people can virtually interact with each other, share content, and communicate....

By Nicole Houck Furniture and decoration may not seem like important factors in the efficacy of therapy, but research points out that...

By Nicole Houck As Women’s History Month comes to a close, let’s take a quick look at the history of women in psychology. Although many...

by Nicole Houck For many people, the month of February is all about love. Whether it's a special night out with your partner or a...

As we enter the colder months, many individuals notice a decline in their mood and energy levels. This seasonal shift can be attributed...

This month marks the beginning of a new season, and many of us are striving to create healthier habits to embrace this quarterly shift....