gokc Nature Therapy & Mental Health Counseling Blog

How to write a grief letter without saying goodbye

Grieving the loss of a loved one can be an incredibly difficult time, filled with waves of emotions that often catch us off guard. As a close friend or family member, finding the right words to offer support can feel overwhelming. Whether you’re writing a condolences letter to a grieving person or trying to express your own emotions in a personal letter, understanding the importance of your message is key. In this blog, we’ll break down a template for writing a heartfelt grief letter, addressing the impact of the holidays, and discuss how grief can be mistaken for other things.

Additionally, for those struggling with grief, we’ll provide resources like a loss worksheet or grief worksheet and offer insights on the next step in healing. If you’re in Kansas City, Missouri, or the surrounding areas such as Springfield or St. Louis, grief therapy or working with grief therapists can be a powerful aid in the healing process. So, let's walk through how you can write a grief letter that offers hope, healing, and a pathway forward.

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Embracing Nature in DBT: How the Outdoors Support Emotional Regulation

Emotional Regulation is not an easy task. Especially for those receiving DBT treatment. The blessing & curse of DBT is that it's heavily skills-based. If you find difficulty sticking to your plan of skills, homework from a full DBT Program or being so activated that you can't even practice skills then consider the benefits of walking out your door. Nature will always be accessible & welcoming to you. I'd strongly encourage you to utilize Mother Nature's availability to your advantage during all times of the year. Even during our bitter mid-western winters. With the right layers & mindset, a little time outside in all seasons is wonderful for you. You will be able to thrive in your wise mind. Keep going!

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nature, connection, mental health Aaron Shore nature, connection, mental health Aaron Shore

Nature Therapy: How Nature Heals Us

Nature therapy is a wonderfully accessible & broad practice. Gardening, walking through a park, landscaping, mowing - maybe that’s a stretch! Regardless, nature therapy is completely accessible to you wherever you live!

We’ll be digging into nature therapy throughout this entry. Take a breathe and settle in, as we’ll be jumping into several components:

  • Defining Nature Therapy

  • Ways to Practice Nature Therapy

  • Dietary and Health Practices

  • Benefits of Connection to Nature

  • Local Community Agencies to Get You Into Nature

Keep going to learn more about how our connection to and within nature is wonderful for us. And keep an eye out for a couple of personal stories that have impacted me along the way.

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nature, relationships, connection Aaron Shore nature, relationships, connection Aaron Shore

Backpacking Adventures Series: I Threw That Shit in the Fire

Good friends pay dividends for miles and miles (and miles). I underestimate the hilariously entrenched memories until they rage back to the forefront while in a backcountry pick-up truck shuttle from a guy called Leroy. This adventure on the Taum Sauk Mountain section of the Ozark Trail was shared by me & two good friends. The Ozark Trail is a fantastic backcountry trail that (eventually) connects suburban St. Louis, MO to Little Rock, AR

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mental health, connection Aaron Shore mental health, connection Aaron Shore

Borderline Personality Disorder: How to Cope with BPD

If you ever experienced an episode of intense emotions, mood instability, impulsive behaviors exploding into suicidal thoughts and/or self-harm then it's possible you've encountered an episode of Borderline Personality Disorder. We've come a long way in identifying the BPD experience of folks who are suffering from them regularly. This post is not intended as an extensive dive into all components of BPD. Rather, today's post is going to dig into the components of a bpd episode, distinguishing characteristics of personality disorders from other types of mental health conditions and review effective treatments of BPD.

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mental health, nature, connection Aaron Shore mental health, nature, connection Aaron Shore

Welcome to the gokc blog

Welcome, good morning, how do you do? This is our initial blog post - yay! I hope to add some value to your day, as well as to provide opportunity to stay focused about the things that matter to me. And just maybe we’ll be lucky enough for those topics to matter to you too. This post will cover three things:

  1. Introduce ourselves to you - gokc is a leading mental health private practice in KC

  2. Provide a roadmap for the gokc blog in 2024

  3. Encourage you to keep going no matter what!

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