The Joy Factor – Perinatal Mental Health & Brainspotting
Welcome to Episode 29 of The JOY Factor.
Our guest today is Jana Glass:
Jana started her career working with children and families struggling with mental health issues. She has experience in a variety of settings including in-home therapy, outpatient therapy, day treatment, and residential care. She founded Supportive Solutions twelve years ago to support people managing depression, anxiety, substance abuse, trauma and abuse, infertility, and grief.
Although she works with a wide spectrum of clients, her special interests include Healing Trauma, Substance Abuse, and Maternal Mental Health. Prioritizing this population including infertility, miscarriage, difficult births, pre and post-partum depression, anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive disorders.
Jana is acutely aware of the challenges that can accompany individuals and couples on their journey to become parent(s). She struggled with infertility for over three years that included painful experiences of multiple miscarriages, surgeries and invasive reproductive assistance interventions, hospital bedrest, a difficult birth, NICU stay, as well as post-partum mood challenges. Jana was able to find healing through family and community support along with Brainspotting therapy. From these obstacles and challenges, Jana gained a unique ability to understand and empathize with clients still building their desired family. She works with families of all compositions including blended families, LGBTQ Families, and Individuals building their own family. Jana is passionate about helping to foster hope when faced with situations that appear hopeless.
Highlights and Glimmers from Today’s Show
Brainspotting:
When trauma overloads our system, brainspotting helps our head and heart realign so that we are better able to make sense of what happened, move on, and feel better. This healing approach expands our capacity to reflect on the experience and see it as just part of our story that we overcame instead of something that feels like it’s still happening in the present. We will always remember what happened but it won’t hurt anymore.
As Jana would say,
“It takes its rightful place on the timeline of your life.”
“Creating the space for it to be different allows people to have more possibilities which breeds more hope. Having possibilities is enormous for people. “
There are many paths to healing and Brainspotting is an amazing one to include. The brain is powerful and knows how to heal.
There are many lessons to be learned along the way.
Here are a few:
Learn how to give and receive support.
Really listen and try to understand. So many things can’t be fixed but showing you are present and attuned is more important than finding the right words.
Do what you can to stay curious. Try not to make too many assumptions about a situation. It’s ok to have ideas but try not to hold on too tightly and be open to where the day takes you.
Generate hope by making whatever safe connections you have available to you.
Work to build empathy. Be an ally by deeply listening or know your limits.
Expectations of the way things are supposed to be steals joy. Try to be more reasonable with how much you can do in a day and what you expect of others.
Relationships are more important than anything else. So many different things that come up that don’t go the way we’d hope but we can navigate those times with more skills when we stay connected and nurture our relationships.
Keep that love connection and relationship in the front-that’s how we tap back into the joy.
There is a point to turn things around. Focus on the rebound. We can fall down but we get back up.
Be in the moment
The small things are the big things. Every moment isn’t perfect but the times you can find a reason to smile or be silly are beautiful. Right here right now.
If you try one thing